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Unhappenings #V

At one point, Havoc had thought to curse his luck, but that was before his luck had started doing the sort of good/bad/good/bad/good/bad/good flip-flop... thing so quickly that he could barely keep up with it.

He was on his way home...

Havoc turned on his headlights a second after turning on his windshield wipers, a procedure so embedded in his mind that even off duty he found himself following the military's vehicle protocol.

The summer sprinkle turned into an all-out downpour moments later and Havoc found himself putting his cigarette out in order to roll up his window.

Up ahead he saw a figure in the road, small, with loose blond hair hitting mid-waist. Soaked and definitely in need of some rescuing. Surely, Havoc thought, some luck was his.

"Need a ride?" he called, rolling down the window he'd just rolled up. But instead of a lovely woman caught in bad weather and waiting for a knight in shining iron, Havoc found himself staring into the golden eyes of Edward Elric.

"What are you charging?" he asked, grinning at Havoc's crestfallen face. "You should know the army isn't handing me free money anymore."

"Get in," Havoc replied. "And show up more often than once every ten years."

Ed paused a moment before quickly scuttling into the car.

"Hey, it wasn't easy to get here this time," he replied sharply. "And I don't know where Al is, but as far as I can tell, he's not anywhere near by."

That answered what would have been Havoc's next question, not that he thought the younger Elric would even fit in the car, considering his size.

"But I'll find him," Ed continued before leaning back. "Going anywhere important?"

"Just home," Havoc replied, thinking. "If you want, we can put out a notice on your brother."

"Maybe," Ed replied. He crossed his arms across his chest and seemed to momentarily slip into deep thought. "Not sure it'll work, though."

"You staying anywhere?" Havoc questioned. The rain suddenly got heavier and he was glad they were almost to his place. He'd keep Ed for the time being anyway - unfair to send someone out in this sort of weather even if they were staying nearby.

"Not yet," Ed admitted. "And I'm flat broke at present too. I figured I could fix things for people for a bit, earn a bit and then move on. Give me some room on a dirt lot and I can make a house..."

Chuckling, Havoc didn't doubt that. And he almost wanted to find a spot just to see Ed actually do it. But it was raining, and a house made of mud just wasn't terribly appealing.

"You can sleep on my sofa," he said. "I'm still driving the gang around, if you want to see any of them..."

"Maybe," Ed replied softly. He frowned and then looked out the window. No one else found their last parting to be particularly upsetting anymore, but apparently Ed still did. Time healed many things, but not him. Not this time.

"I wouldn't have picked you up if things weren't okay," Havoc carefully fibbed. He didn't think Ed actually believed him. Not entirely, anyway.

"You just picked me up because you thought I was a girl from a distance," Ed countered. "I can't complain, though. I guess it worked."

Havoc chuckled. "Well..."

"Guess that means you didn't settle down?" Ed continued, finally looking Havoc over properly, as far as Havoc could tell. "Did anyone?"

Shaking his head, Havoc sighed. "There were some attempts in there, and one marriage-and-divorce within a span of months. Roy's still quite single..."

"Can't imagine anyone would ever put up with him," Ed added, nodding. "It's been about the same for me."

"Winry?" Havoc questioned.

"I can't be the person she needs," Ed replied with a headshake. "Besides, it's been ten years. I... hope she's moved on. I will look her up once I get settled."

"And find Al?" Havoc was a little surprised with the non-urgency of finding Ed's younger brother, to be honest.

"Yeah. I just... it doesn't feel like he's here. He'll get here, though. I think I accidentally made the jump without him this time. From somewhere new all-together, actually." Ed's smile was a curious thing. Havoc definitely wanted more details.

But they were home and...

Three months later, on a rainy day fall day, Havoc realized that three months had passed and Ed was no longer sleeping on his sofa, was no longer broke, but... hadn't left.

No, Ed was soflty snoring to his left, naked and with the blankets half thrown off. Peaceful, which seemed to be a new thing for Ed. Not that Havoc expected this to last. From the sounds of Ed's stories, he'd moved around a lot, and constantly. He was just waiting for Al and then would be off.

But Havoc didn't mind. He reached for his box of cigarettes before looking back to Ed.

'Home' was a relative term, after all.