Completed: FMA; Gracia x Havoc; Epsilon
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Gracia Hughes x Jean Havoc
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: R (for 1 bit o’ language; otherwise, PG)
Disclaimer: FMA is not mine, thank little baby Jesus for small favors.
Notes: I’ve only seen what’s aired on Adult Swim, so if I get stuff wrong, let me know so I can call it AU. :) First fic evah - bring the concrit, but softly… ^_^;
EDIT: Gah, forgot to say that havocmangawip's lovely fic inspired this pairing in the first place, as well as the basic setup. Also, #9 is ganked totally without remorse from same. ^_^;
1. Motion
When he first came to stay with them, and later on especially bad days, she would see him staring at his own legs in such a way that she just knew he was trying to make them move by sheer force of will; and what worried her most wasn’t the possibility that he wouldn’t succeed, but that he would catch her watching.
2. Cool
As she pulled the car up to the curb, Gracia had to smile at the way the lanky blond draped himself over the wheelchair, the way the cigarette dangled carelessly from his lips, the way his cool demeanor would all but evaporate the moment they arrived back home and Elysia came bounding out the front door to meet them.
3. Young
“I know I’m… not as young as the girls you used to date,” she said, and was utterly taken aback by his fervent prayer of thanks.
4. Last
He could almost feel his brain actually freeze when he felt her step into the bathtub behind him; to say it wasn’t the first thing he’d expected of her couldn’t begin to describe the depth of his shock, or of his gratitude.
5. Wrong
He knew, beyond all discussion or doubt, that he could never be a worthy successor to Maes; all she knew is that she had to prove him wrong.
6. Gentle
In the beginning, his gentleness was almost as much of a shock to her as her ferocity was to him.
7. One
Maes and Gracia had been one, and the arrival of Elysia had only made them more complete; now one part was gone, and while Havoc wasn’t bad with numbers, he just couldn’t see himself fitting into this equation.
8. 1000
She had missed her husband, thought of him, mourned him, a thousand times a day, in a thousand different ways; with time, the number had gradually diminished until there was room in her heart for other thoughts, other wishes, other pains… and finally, impossibly, another man.
9. King
Though the drawing Elysia had made of him, seated on a wheeled throne with a golden crown atop his golden head, remained pinned to the icebox door long after he had left, Gracia refused to allow herself to wonder why she left it there.
10. Learn
When she’d noticed him watching her knead the dough and had cheerfully asked if he’d like to learn, she had little idea of the trouble it would lead to.
11 - Blur
Later, he would be unable to number the days between Riza Hawkeye’s visit to his parents’ home and his arrival in Central; all he knew was that one day he was sitting stagnant in his old room, and the next he was living in Maes Hughes’ (no, not Maes’… just Gracia’s, now) house.
12.Wait
“W-wait,” he protested weakly, but Gracia had waited, had healed, and was done with waiting; and she told him so clearly, unmistakably, but not in so many words… or in any.
13 - Change
Most people feared change, but for Jean, his greatest fear was of seeing disappointment in her eyes when his condition failed to improve.
14 - Command
For someone so accustomed to taking orders, she thought, Jean Havoc could be remarkably commanding when the occasion warranted.
15 - Hold
He had grown used, after a fashion, to the nightmares, the waking up soaked in sweat; waking up from the terror to find soft arms wrapped around him and a sweet voice in his ear was something decidedly new.
16 - Need
So gradually that neither had noticed, a seed of mild curiosity had sprouted into idle musing, then grown to a far-off wishing, through persistent desire, and finally blossomed into inescapable need.
17 - Vision
When, he wondered, had his view of her changed from that of the stereotypical widow, always off-limits, to what it was now; how had such a radical shift in perception even begun to take place, all without his being aware of it?
18 - Attention
He was rather amazed to find, though he really shouldn’t have been, that her attention to detail was hardly a skill that applied only to interior design.
19 - Soul
Time did heal an awful lot, she knew that now, but there were some wounds that also required the intervention of another.
20 - Picture
He never dared to let himself think that there might one day be a picture of him anywhere in her house.
21 - Fool
“Don’t be an idiot, Gracia,” she muttered to herself, “the man has enough on his mind already.”
22 - Mad
“I gotta be out of my fucking mind,” Havoc mumbled to himself, shaking himself out of yet another impossible fantasy.
23 - Child
It was all going as Riza had hoped: Maes Hughes’ daughter had begun the healing of Havoc’s soul, and now Gracia would finish the job.
24 - Now
When she was ready, she knew, she would take the photo of Maes from its old home on her nightstand and place it on the mantle in the living room.
25 - Shadow
She seemed ready to move on, but the memory of Brigadier General Hughes still clung to Havoc’s conscience like a shadow.
26 - Goodbye
“Don’t go,” Gracia choked, but her voice was hoarse with tears and didn’t carry.
27 - Hide
Such an innocent game, hide-and-seek; it often led to mischief, but hardly ever, Havoc suspected, anything quite as awkward as this.
28 - Fortune
“You imbecile,” Roy thundered, “don’t you realize the chance you’ve been given?”
29 - Safe
“Shh, it’s alright,” she whispered, rocking him the way she used to rock Elysia when she’d had a bad dream, and then she lied, “you’re safe now.”
30 - Ghost
Long ago, Edward had haltingly told her of seeing Maes wave to him from a train platform; now, as then, it comforted her somehow, but that didn’t stop her from fervently hoping he’d never mentioned it to Havoc.
31 - Book
She’d never been a snoop, truly… but the notebook just happened to fall from the edge of the bed and open to a certain page, and before she could stop herself she saw the words, “I have to get out of here, the sooner the better…”
32 - Eye
“Oh, no, Jean Havoc,” she told him softly, almost coldly, “you’ll look me in the face before I let you walk out of here.”
33 - Never
For a long time after Maes was killed, the question simply didn’t exist, and for a while after that the answer was always the same - never! - but that was a long time ago, and now Gracia knew better.
34 - Sing
When Elysia asked why his eyes had teared up when they sang him “Happy Birthday,” he had to say it was because her mommy was so off-key.
35 - Sudden
“It’s happening so fast, Riza… but at the same time,” Gracia mused, fiddling with her wineglass, “it feels like it’s been years in coming.”
36. Stop
“For God’s sake, don’t stop!” she breathed, and then, when he didn’t obey, craned her neck around and saw what had stopped him so cold: a picture of Maes, grinning cheerily at the pair of them in his bed.
37 - Time
When Hawkeye had first come to invite him to Central, his response had been a bark of a laugh and a bitter, “I got nothin’ but time”; what on earth would he say when she came to drag him back there?
38 - Wash
She was so on edge that the sound of his voice made her jump, the glass dropping into the hot, soapy water with a loud plunk.
39 - Torn
He was mortified when the hem of her skirt caught in the rim of his wheelchair and ripped, but the normally prim Gracia was far too occupied with other matters to worry about such trivialities.
40 - History
“Don’t embalm me along with him, Jean,” she said quietly.
41 - Power
“How can you call yourself powerless,” she murmured, “when you’ve done so much to me?”
42 - Bother
“Don’t be silly, Jean, of course I’m not bothered,” she said as she left the bathroom, and this time he wondered why her voice sounded so unnaturally chipper.
43 - God
When Elysia asked if he believed in God, he hesitated, gazed at her mother, and muttered, “I never used to…”
44 - Wall
His hands tightened on the wheels as she came toward him, but his back was already to the wall.
45. Naked
He was mortified when she came in to deposit clean towels for after his bath, and that was the only thing that kept him from noticing that her own discomfort, once invisible, had grown nearly unmanageable.
46 - Drive
When they rode around town together, Gracia found herself studying the looks they received and wondering: was everyone really so accepting, or was her role as Widow so engraved in their minds that they could admit no other possibility?
47 - Harm
“I don’t see the harm,” she’d told Riza then, “sure, tell Lt. Havoc he’s more than welcome to stay here; in fact, I insist on it!”
48. Precious
Who would have thought, he mused, that the mother and child snuggled sleepily on the couch could ever have become so precious to him?
49. Hunger
Never in his wildest imaginings - and his imagination had been pretty active, lately - could he ever have seen the impeccable Gracia Hughes looking at him the way she was right now.
50. Believe
Gracia grinned at his still-surprised exclamation - would he ever stop being surprised? - and leaned over him for another kiss, whispering, “Believe it, Lieutenant.”
End
Pairing: Gracia Hughes x Jean Havoc
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: R (for 1 bit o’ language; otherwise, PG)
Disclaimer: FMA is not mine, thank little baby Jesus for small favors.
Notes: I’ve only seen what’s aired on Adult Swim, so if I get stuff wrong, let me know so I can call it AU. :) First fic evah - bring the concrit, but softly… ^_^;
EDIT: Gah, forgot to say that havocmangawip's lovely fic inspired this pairing in the first place, as well as the basic setup. Also, #9 is ganked totally without remorse from same. ^_^;
1. Motion
When he first came to stay with them, and later on especially bad days, she would see him staring at his own legs in such a way that she just knew he was trying to make them move by sheer force of will; and what worried her most wasn’t the possibility that he wouldn’t succeed, but that he would catch her watching.
2. Cool
As she pulled the car up to the curb, Gracia had to smile at the way the lanky blond draped himself over the wheelchair, the way the cigarette dangled carelessly from his lips, the way his cool demeanor would all but evaporate the moment they arrived back home and Elysia came bounding out the front door to meet them.
3. Young
“I know I’m… not as young as the girls you used to date,” she said, and was utterly taken aback by his fervent prayer of thanks.
4. Last
He could almost feel his brain actually freeze when he felt her step into the bathtub behind him; to say it wasn’t the first thing he’d expected of her couldn’t begin to describe the depth of his shock, or of his gratitude.
5. Wrong
He knew, beyond all discussion or doubt, that he could never be a worthy successor to Maes; all she knew is that she had to prove him wrong.
6. Gentle
In the beginning, his gentleness was almost as much of a shock to her as her ferocity was to him.
7. One
Maes and Gracia had been one, and the arrival of Elysia had only made them more complete; now one part was gone, and while Havoc wasn’t bad with numbers, he just couldn’t see himself fitting into this equation.
8. 1000
She had missed her husband, thought of him, mourned him, a thousand times a day, in a thousand different ways; with time, the number had gradually diminished until there was room in her heart for other thoughts, other wishes, other pains… and finally, impossibly, another man.
9. King
Though the drawing Elysia had made of him, seated on a wheeled throne with a golden crown atop his golden head, remained pinned to the icebox door long after he had left, Gracia refused to allow herself to wonder why she left it there.
10. Learn
When she’d noticed him watching her knead the dough and had cheerfully asked if he’d like to learn, she had little idea of the trouble it would lead to.
11 - Blur
Later, he would be unable to number the days between Riza Hawkeye’s visit to his parents’ home and his arrival in Central; all he knew was that one day he was sitting stagnant in his old room, and the next he was living in Maes Hughes’ (no, not Maes’… just Gracia’s, now) house.
12.Wait
“W-wait,” he protested weakly, but Gracia had waited, had healed, and was done with waiting; and she told him so clearly, unmistakably, but not in so many words… or in any.
13 - Change
Most people feared change, but for Jean, his greatest fear was of seeing disappointment in her eyes when his condition failed to improve.
14 - Command
For someone so accustomed to taking orders, she thought, Jean Havoc could be remarkably commanding when the occasion warranted.
15 - Hold
He had grown used, after a fashion, to the nightmares, the waking up soaked in sweat; waking up from the terror to find soft arms wrapped around him and a sweet voice in his ear was something decidedly new.
16 - Need
So gradually that neither had noticed, a seed of mild curiosity had sprouted into idle musing, then grown to a far-off wishing, through persistent desire, and finally blossomed into inescapable need.
17 - Vision
When, he wondered, had his view of her changed from that of the stereotypical widow, always off-limits, to what it was now; how had such a radical shift in perception even begun to take place, all without his being aware of it?
18 - Attention
He was rather amazed to find, though he really shouldn’t have been, that her attention to detail was hardly a skill that applied only to interior design.
19 - Soul
Time did heal an awful lot, she knew that now, but there were some wounds that also required the intervention of another.
20 - Picture
He never dared to let himself think that there might one day be a picture of him anywhere in her house.
21 - Fool
“Don’t be an idiot, Gracia,” she muttered to herself, “the man has enough on his mind already.”
22 - Mad
“I gotta be out of my fucking mind,” Havoc mumbled to himself, shaking himself out of yet another impossible fantasy.
23 - Child
It was all going as Riza had hoped: Maes Hughes’ daughter had begun the healing of Havoc’s soul, and now Gracia would finish the job.
24 - Now
When she was ready, she knew, she would take the photo of Maes from its old home on her nightstand and place it on the mantle in the living room.
25 - Shadow
She seemed ready to move on, but the memory of Brigadier General Hughes still clung to Havoc’s conscience like a shadow.
26 - Goodbye
“Don’t go,” Gracia choked, but her voice was hoarse with tears and didn’t carry.
27 - Hide
Such an innocent game, hide-and-seek; it often led to mischief, but hardly ever, Havoc suspected, anything quite as awkward as this.
28 - Fortune
“You imbecile,” Roy thundered, “don’t you realize the chance you’ve been given?”
29 - Safe
“Shh, it’s alright,” she whispered, rocking him the way she used to rock Elysia when she’d had a bad dream, and then she lied, “you’re safe now.”
30 - Ghost
Long ago, Edward had haltingly told her of seeing Maes wave to him from a train platform; now, as then, it comforted her somehow, but that didn’t stop her from fervently hoping he’d never mentioned it to Havoc.
31 - Book
She’d never been a snoop, truly… but the notebook just happened to fall from the edge of the bed and open to a certain page, and before she could stop herself she saw the words, “I have to get out of here, the sooner the better…”
32 - Eye
“Oh, no, Jean Havoc,” she told him softly, almost coldly, “you’ll look me in the face before I let you walk out of here.”
33 - Never
For a long time after Maes was killed, the question simply didn’t exist, and for a while after that the answer was always the same - never! - but that was a long time ago, and now Gracia knew better.
34 - Sing
When Elysia asked why his eyes had teared up when they sang him “Happy Birthday,” he had to say it was because her mommy was so off-key.
35 - Sudden
“It’s happening so fast, Riza… but at the same time,” Gracia mused, fiddling with her wineglass, “it feels like it’s been years in coming.”
36. Stop
“For God’s sake, don’t stop!” she breathed, and then, when he didn’t obey, craned her neck around and saw what had stopped him so cold: a picture of Maes, grinning cheerily at the pair of them in his bed.
37 - Time
When Hawkeye had first come to invite him to Central, his response had been a bark of a laugh and a bitter, “I got nothin’ but time”; what on earth would he say when she came to drag him back there?
38 - Wash
She was so on edge that the sound of his voice made her jump, the glass dropping into the hot, soapy water with a loud plunk.
39 - Torn
He was mortified when the hem of her skirt caught in the rim of his wheelchair and ripped, but the normally prim Gracia was far too occupied with other matters to worry about such trivialities.
40 - History
“Don’t embalm me along with him, Jean,” she said quietly.
41 - Power
“How can you call yourself powerless,” she murmured, “when you’ve done so much to me?”
42 - Bother
“Don’t be silly, Jean, of course I’m not bothered,” she said as she left the bathroom, and this time he wondered why her voice sounded so unnaturally chipper.
43 - God
When Elysia asked if he believed in God, he hesitated, gazed at her mother, and muttered, “I never used to…”
44 - Wall
His hands tightened on the wheels as she came toward him, but his back was already to the wall.
45. Naked
He was mortified when she came in to deposit clean towels for after his bath, and that was the only thing that kept him from noticing that her own discomfort, once invisible, had grown nearly unmanageable.
46 - Drive
When they rode around town together, Gracia found herself studying the looks they received and wondering: was everyone really so accepting, or was her role as Widow so engraved in their minds that they could admit no other possibility?
47 - Harm
“I don’t see the harm,” she’d told Riza then, “sure, tell Lt. Havoc he’s more than welcome to stay here; in fact, I insist on it!”
48. Precious
Who would have thought, he mused, that the mother and child snuggled sleepily on the couch could ever have become so precious to him?
49. Hunger
Never in his wildest imaginings - and his imagination had been pretty active, lately - could he ever have seen the impeccable Gracia Hughes looking at him the way she was right now.
50. Believe
Gracia grinned at his still-surprised exclamation - would he ever stop being surprised? - and leaned over him for another kiss, whispering, “Believe it, Lieutenant.”
End