historically inaccurate but well-meaning t-rex (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scriveyner) wrote2013-01-02 12:32 pm
scriveyner) wrote2013-01-02 12:32 pm
Fullmetal Alchemist (Tobira no Mukou e) - The Vacuum of Time
Title: the vacuum of time
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
AU: Tobira no Mukou e
Characters/Pairing: Nick, Talvi, Roy
Rating: M
Length: 1612
Summary: “I will not accept your resignation,” Roy said. “And while I agree that the Major General could use several lessons in both diplomacy and timing, unfortunately you will have to apologize to him.”
“He’s a dick,” Nicholas said.
“Of that I am well aware,” Roy said.
The water from the tap in the washroom ran cold but clear. Nicholas Elric splashed it on his face and exhaled, trying once again to gather in the reins of his temper even as the cold water dripped down the collar of his shirt. He braced both hands on the white porcelain and stared down into the bowl of the sink, watching the water swirl around the drain before vanishing into the pipes below. The washroom was quiet, even now the only sound was the running water. The door to the washroom slammed open, the knob of the door hitting the wall like a gunshot. Nicholas jumped despite himself, his automail hand gripping the sink so tight he imagined he felt the porcelain crack. It was not Mustang standing there in the door like he had anticipated - instead, it was Talvi, her eyes narrowed and jaw set. Nicholas licked his lips and opened his mouth to smart off, this was the men’s washroom, after all - but Talvi beat him to the punch, her accent thick in her anger. “What the hell was that, Elric!?”
Nicholas bit his lip, glared at her, and then turned his gaze back on the still-running water. He had not had time to think on it, to formulate his response - Nicholas had always, always espoused the civilian role, the polite discourse. Even if he was a smug dick about it, he always turned words to his favor. It was not like him to lead with fists first - especially when the person he had hauled off to punch outranked his boss. “He deserved it," Nicholas said, his voice so dry it almost cracked.
What made it all the worse was that the man had deserved it. Despite that, you did not just go around punching men in the top military brass full-on in the mouth. It was only a last-second judgement call that meant Nicholas did not lead with his automail fist and that the man still had all of his teeth - and the fact that the Major General was likely still so stunned was the only reason the military police were not two seconds behind Talvi. Nicholas took a deep breath and turned off the tap, the last of the water swirling away down the drain.
"We all know he deserved it,” Talvi had not quite moved her tone into shouting but the words were hovering there. “That was not your call to make! What were you thinking, he could have you discharged, that’s gross insubordination -”
“I’m not in the military,” Nicholas muttered sulkily.
Talvi stopped her tirade and eyed him darkly. “They can still discharge you. You work for the military, even if you are not an enlisted soldier. You can still be arrested.”
“Mustang won’t let that happen.” He looked up into the mirror, his blond bangs lay lank against his face. He could still hear the condescension in the man’s voice as he addressed Mustang. It was not that he had called Nicholas a faggot - he had heard that term and then some in the past few years, but they were only words, and words that he could ignore. It was the utter loathing in his eyes when he turned to look at Talvi, her ancestry evident on her features, and called her a word that made every ounce of Nicholas’s blood boil.
Her hand on his flesh shoulder, tensed through his shirt, surprised even him. “I have been called much worse, in my time,” she said softly. “The general knows my worth, and that is all that matters to me.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that,” Nicholas said, and for the first time felt helpless. He did not have the built in prejudice of the entire Amestrian army when it came to Ishbal, if anything her white hair and red eyes made her exotic and fascinating to him. It had been years since the conflict, and Talvi was not even a full-blooded Ishbalian, and yet because she had the features her life was in danger even from her own military. “No one should.”
He looked up into the mirror, saw Talvi’s hand on his shoulder and his own hair, brightly blonde, a color unlike anyone else’s he had ever seen - and gold eyes, unnatural back home and still unnatural here. He was an outsider as much as she was; the difference was that his alien features were acceptable, and hers were not. He sighed, deeply, and shrugged her hand off of his shoulder. “I’m not sorry,” he said finally. “The bastard had it coming.”
“No, but you should be sorry for all the trouble you have caused General Mustang,” Talvi said shortly. “This will be a difficult situation to extract from. It will cause a lot of problems.”
#
General Roy Mustang sat at his desk, his head in one hand. The sunlight that slanted through the half-drawn window shade glinted off of the gray in his hair, and he was tapping one finger against the blotter on his desk. He looked up when Nicholas opened the door to his office.
It was hard to say that Nicholas looked that much like his grandfather (or was it great-grandfather? Roy had never pressed, the fact that time flowed differently between that world that Fullmetal had vanished to and here was something he had never been able to wrap his head around) any longer. His hair fell in a similar manner, the bangs cut a little too similarly, but his jaw was squarer and his shoulders broad. Despite his strong profile he was folded in on himself, slightly defeated, as he skulked into the office resembling more of a kicked dog than a special agent.
Roy waited in silence as Nicholas arranged himself. He had had the privilege of watching both Nicholas and Takeo mature from hardheaded, reckless teenagers into driven, impassioned adults and had to say that he was thoroughly impressed with both of them. Takeo had become a State Alchemist, a legitimately good one, and while Nicholas had taken a pass from alchemy instruction, he was a hardy, down-to-earth and frighteningly clever man. He made an excellent operative, and it was a shame that he refused to enlist because he would have made an impressive soldier. “I’m not going to apologize,” he started off, and Roy sighed to himself. Despite all of his positive attributes, at heart Nicholas was still an Elric, stubborn as mules, the lot of them. “I’m not,” he said, catching Roy’s sigh and his eyes going narrow. Roy lifted his head from his hand and folded his hands on the blotter before him. “The Major General deserved it, every last bit of it. I’m not one bit sorry I cold-cocked him. But.”
Nicholas took a deep breath. “But, I’ll tender my resignation as a special agent to the garrison,” he said after a long moment. “I can’t endanger your mission, or what you are trying to do by dint of my reckless behavior.”
There was a long silence, pregnant with the possibilities. Roy had had decades to perfect his poker face, this did not even cause an eyebrow twitch. Nicholas tended to surprise him, at every given turn - even if his initial, off-the-cuff response reminded him of a fiery alchemist clad all in red, he could guarantee with one hundred percent certainty that Fullmetal would have never come sulking back this quickly with an apology, even if his brother had made him. “I will not accept your resignation,” Roy said. “And while I agree that the Major General could use several lessons in both diplomacy and timing, unfortunately you will have to apologize to him.”
“He’s a dick,” Nicholas said.
“Of that I am well aware,” Roy said. His headache had lessened slightly, and in a month this would be a funny anecdote, but at the moment the Major General was still in a swoon, secured back in his own office and certain that Nicholas had tried to kill him with his automail. Fortunately for everyone involved, the General’s aide had said, his lips pressed into a tight, thin line, that there was obviously no intent to assassinate and had Nicholas actually made contact with his automail, the Major General likely would be waking up in a week in a hospital bed, not nursing a broken nose and wailing like a sick kitten. “You will still have to apologize. In person, if the General prefers.”
It was as if Nicholas had unfolded, unpacked himself from that curled-in specimen and now stood at his full height. “Yes, sir.”
Now it was Roy’s turn to smile, even if it was a thin smile. “Tell Talvi to take the rest of the day off. You too, but-” he added, as Nicholas was about to turn away. “Tell that boyfriend of yours to stop sending flowers to the office. It’s making some of the others jealous.”
Nicholas paused, and then smiled. “Yes, sir.”
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
AU: Tobira no Mukou e
Characters/Pairing: Nick, Talvi, Roy
Rating: M
Length: 1612
Summary: “I will not accept your resignation,” Roy said. “And while I agree that the Major General could use several lessons in both diplomacy and timing, unfortunately you will have to apologize to him.”
“He’s a dick,” Nicholas said.
“Of that I am well aware,” Roy said.
The water from the tap in the washroom ran cold but clear. Nicholas Elric splashed it on his face and exhaled, trying once again to gather in the reins of his temper even as the cold water dripped down the collar of his shirt. He braced both hands on the white porcelain and stared down into the bowl of the sink, watching the water swirl around the drain before vanishing into the pipes below. The washroom was quiet, even now the only sound was the running water. The door to the washroom slammed open, the knob of the door hitting the wall like a gunshot. Nicholas jumped despite himself, his automail hand gripping the sink so tight he imagined he felt the porcelain crack. It was not Mustang standing there in the door like he had anticipated - instead, it was Talvi, her eyes narrowed and jaw set. Nicholas licked his lips and opened his mouth to smart off, this was the men’s washroom, after all - but Talvi beat him to the punch, her accent thick in her anger. “What the hell was that, Elric!?”
Nicholas bit his lip, glared at her, and then turned his gaze back on the still-running water. He had not had time to think on it, to formulate his response - Nicholas had always, always espoused the civilian role, the polite discourse. Even if he was a smug dick about it, he always turned words to his favor. It was not like him to lead with fists first - especially when the person he had hauled off to punch outranked his boss. “He deserved it," Nicholas said, his voice so dry it almost cracked.
What made it all the worse was that the man had deserved it. Despite that, you did not just go around punching men in the top military brass full-on in the mouth. It was only a last-second judgement call that meant Nicholas did not lead with his automail fist and that the man still had all of his teeth - and the fact that the Major General was likely still so stunned was the only reason the military police were not two seconds behind Talvi. Nicholas took a deep breath and turned off the tap, the last of the water swirling away down the drain.
"We all know he deserved it,” Talvi had not quite moved her tone into shouting but the words were hovering there. “That was not your call to make! What were you thinking, he could have you discharged, that’s gross insubordination -”
“I’m not in the military,” Nicholas muttered sulkily.
Talvi stopped her tirade and eyed him darkly. “They can still discharge you. You work for the military, even if you are not an enlisted soldier. You can still be arrested.”
“Mustang won’t let that happen.” He looked up into the mirror, his blond bangs lay lank against his face. He could still hear the condescension in the man’s voice as he addressed Mustang. It was not that he had called Nicholas a faggot - he had heard that term and then some in the past few years, but they were only words, and words that he could ignore. It was the utter loathing in his eyes when he turned to look at Talvi, her ancestry evident on her features, and called her a word that made every ounce of Nicholas’s blood boil.
Her hand on his flesh shoulder, tensed through his shirt, surprised even him. “I have been called much worse, in my time,” she said softly. “The general knows my worth, and that is all that matters to me.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that,” Nicholas said, and for the first time felt helpless. He did not have the built in prejudice of the entire Amestrian army when it came to Ishbal, if anything her white hair and red eyes made her exotic and fascinating to him. It had been years since the conflict, and Talvi was not even a full-blooded Ishbalian, and yet because she had the features her life was in danger even from her own military. “No one should.”
He looked up into the mirror, saw Talvi’s hand on his shoulder and his own hair, brightly blonde, a color unlike anyone else’s he had ever seen - and gold eyes, unnatural back home and still unnatural here. He was an outsider as much as she was; the difference was that his alien features were acceptable, and hers were not. He sighed, deeply, and shrugged her hand off of his shoulder. “I’m not sorry,” he said finally. “The bastard had it coming.”
“No, but you should be sorry for all the trouble you have caused General Mustang,” Talvi said shortly. “This will be a difficult situation to extract from. It will cause a lot of problems.”
General Roy Mustang sat at his desk, his head in one hand. The sunlight that slanted through the half-drawn window shade glinted off of the gray in his hair, and he was tapping one finger against the blotter on his desk. He looked up when Nicholas opened the door to his office.
It was hard to say that Nicholas looked that much like his grandfather (or was it great-grandfather? Roy had never pressed, the fact that time flowed differently between that world that Fullmetal had vanished to and here was something he had never been able to wrap his head around) any longer. His hair fell in a similar manner, the bangs cut a little too similarly, but his jaw was squarer and his shoulders broad. Despite his strong profile he was folded in on himself, slightly defeated, as he skulked into the office resembling more of a kicked dog than a special agent.
Roy waited in silence as Nicholas arranged himself. He had had the privilege of watching both Nicholas and Takeo mature from hardheaded, reckless teenagers into driven, impassioned adults and had to say that he was thoroughly impressed with both of them. Takeo had become a State Alchemist, a legitimately good one, and while Nicholas had taken a pass from alchemy instruction, he was a hardy, down-to-earth and frighteningly clever man. He made an excellent operative, and it was a shame that he refused to enlist because he would have made an impressive soldier. “I’m not going to apologize,” he started off, and Roy sighed to himself. Despite all of his positive attributes, at heart Nicholas was still an Elric, stubborn as mules, the lot of them. “I’m not,” he said, catching Roy’s sigh and his eyes going narrow. Roy lifted his head from his hand and folded his hands on the blotter before him. “The Major General deserved it, every last bit of it. I’m not one bit sorry I cold-cocked him. But.”
Nicholas took a deep breath. “But, I’ll tender my resignation as a special agent to the garrison,” he said after a long moment. “I can’t endanger your mission, or what you are trying to do by dint of my reckless behavior.”
There was a long silence, pregnant with the possibilities. Roy had had decades to perfect his poker face, this did not even cause an eyebrow twitch. Nicholas tended to surprise him, at every given turn - even if his initial, off-the-cuff response reminded him of a fiery alchemist clad all in red, he could guarantee with one hundred percent certainty that Fullmetal would have never come sulking back this quickly with an apology, even if his brother had made him. “I will not accept your resignation,” Roy said. “And while I agree that the Major General could use several lessons in both diplomacy and timing, unfortunately you will have to apologize to him.”
“He’s a dick,” Nicholas said.
“Of that I am well aware,” Roy said. His headache had lessened slightly, and in a month this would be a funny anecdote, but at the moment the Major General was still in a swoon, secured back in his own office and certain that Nicholas had tried to kill him with his automail. Fortunately for everyone involved, the General’s aide had said, his lips pressed into a tight, thin line, that there was obviously no intent to assassinate and had Nicholas actually made contact with his automail, the Major General likely would be waking up in a week in a hospital bed, not nursing a broken nose and wailing like a sick kitten. “You will still have to apologize. In person, if the General prefers.”
It was as if Nicholas had unfolded, unpacked himself from that curled-in specimen and now stood at his full height. “Yes, sir.”
Now it was Roy’s turn to smile, even if it was a thin smile. “Tell Talvi to take the rest of the day off. You too, but-” he added, as Nicholas was about to turn away. “Tell that boyfriend of yours to stop sending flowers to the office. It’s making some of the others jealous.”
Nicholas paused, and then smiled. “Yes, sir.”