Descent

Chapter Thirteen

"Edward." Mustang said after a few beats. "Ed, I -"

"Well, what's wrong? Not gonna reprimand me for being improper towards my superior, sir?" Edward challenged. "Not gonna beat me senseless for opening my worthless trap? What's the matter with you, General? Normally you've already started! Go on, you know you want to! You and I both know you're just itching to hit my ugly face, put some nice bruises on it, maybe give me a black eye to match the colour of your damned soul! You know you want to kick me, break my ribs, you know you want to burn me with those precious gloves of yours!" He finally opened his eyes, standing up from his chair (it went flying behind him) and slamming his own hands on the table. "Well, General? Get to it, you abusive mother fuc-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH EDWARD!" Mustang bellowed. Edward flinched, froze, and locked his eyes with Mustang's. They were furious, yet, at the same time, he seemed to be wounded. Edward internally scoffed; after all Mustang had done to him, after everything he'd threatened to do, he had no right to feel wounded.

"That. Is. Enough. I know what I've done, dammit! I know everything I've done to you is wrong and I know I deserve to rot in Hell for it all, but God f&cking dammit I'm sorry! I don't know what the f&ck was wrong with me, why the Hell I did the things I did, I don't know. I can't even remember why or when the idea first came into my damned head! But I swear I am so, so sorry!"

Silence.

"Sorry?" Edward laughed at last. "You're sorry? That's it? You think that one meaningless apology and we're gonna be fine again? You think we can go back to being friends after this? Well, do you? You know what, I don't even care what goes on in that thick head of yours -"

"Now you listen to me Edward -" Mustang began, but Ed cut him off.

"No, you listen to me, bastard! Let me spell it all out for you, everything you've done to me, from beginning to end! Let me narrate the whole lot to you, because I don't know where your head was while it was all happening, but it certainly wasn't here! Now, first time was-"

"I know what I did, Ed! You don't need to -"

"Oh yes, I do. You think you''re sorry now? Well, let's see if you still are by the time I'm done!

"First time, my seventeenth birthday, remember? You were partially drunk. You lured me out into the warehouse district and started burning me because I hugged Riza. Then you punched me, kicked me, screamed at me, etcetera. You seemed to be under the delusion that I was having an affair with Colonel Hawkeye, although how the Hell that thought managed to cross your mind I have no idea. After I finally convinced you that I wasn't, in fact, having an affair with her, you threatened to dob in my brother to the court martial office if I ever told, and we went home, told them the cover up story, and all was well and good, you never bothered me again.

"Wrong.

"Later that night, in fact, was the second time you beat me. There was no reason for this one, though, except for your own damn bloodlust. I hadn't managed to get any sleep, at least not to my memory, so I went into the kitchen to get an apple, and then you started talking to me real low and menacing like, calling me your inferior, pipsqueak, shrimp, the usual pathetic insults. I tried to punch your smug face, because you were beginning to piss me the Hell off, but you caught my punch, told me that you could let it pass, for no other reason than you wouldn't be able to explain away my oh-so-suddenly destroyed hand. In my stupid usual rage, I then tried to kick you, and here's where things get real interesting. You yanked on my hand, I lost my balance and I fell on the floor, and you wanna know what you did? You started stomping your foot on my back. Again, and again, and again and again and again, until my back felt like it was being hit with a dozen sledgehammers.