"Some Other Beginning" (Fullmetal Alchemist, Roy/Al, WIP, 7/?)

[mjules.livejournal.com]

Title: Some Other Beginning
Author: m.jules
Rating: Hard R for the whole thing
Summary: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Alphonse Elric helps Roy Mustang face life after more tragedy than one man should endure and finds something for himself in the process.
Pairing: mainly Roy/Al, with hints of and references to others. (Including, but not limited to, Ed/Winry, Al/Paninya, Gracia/Maes/Roy/Riza, and Al/Elicia.)
Disclaimer: Arakawa would KILL me. I bow low in supplication.
Author's Notes: This was meant to be "The Story That Proves In-Character Roy/Al Is Possible." Don't know if it worked. For my 7stages claim, prompt "New every morning."

Thank you to my betas and my patient readers...

This is manga-verse, with every chapter yet released and scanlated as fair game for spoilers and many liberties taken as far as speculation about the future. If you want to know how Al got his body back, Yet Gentle and The Frost of Awakening can be considered my default answer to that question for now at least.

I am posting one chapter every Sunday/Monday. Previous chapters can be found here.

Anybody who wants to hurt me for the sidestep I take in this chapter? I promise, Roy and Al *do* eventually get it together. I'm actually writing ... stuff right now. You know the kind of stuff I mean.

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( CHAPTER SEVEN: Always a Good Idea )