Haha! Here we go~ I've fixed some misspellings and grammatical errors!
Disclaimer" I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, or the characters, or the story. At all.
"You mother fucking bastard!" Edward screamed at the man behind the desk, and slammed his hands onto said desk for emphasis. "Why the hell won't you send me on any missions out of H.Q.?!"
This happened on a weekly basis. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, would stomp his way into Roy Mustang's, the Flame Alchemist and now Brig. Gen. at Eastern H.Q., office and cause a loud ruckus about wanting a mission outside of H.Q. It seemed as though the entire area of Eastern Headquarters had gotten used to this…
"Because, Fullmetal, outside of Eastern H.Q. is too dangerous for you," Mustang simply replied. This response never got him anywhere, but it was true. There was currently a crazed serial killer on the loose all over Amestris. And, incidentally, he chose not to go anywhere near the East. Just…everywhere else, it seemed. So, amongst many other reasons, the Brigadier General decided to use this excuse as the best one for the job. Though he DID have a better reason…
"What kind of a shit reason is that?! You tell me that every frickin' time, and you still insist on sending me on these wimpy missions that even Furey could do!" He had removed his hands from Mustang's desk, which luckily, this time Ed's automail arm didn't leave indents. Yes, he had Al back to his original body, but unfortunately for Ed, his automail stayed.
…Which admittedly, the Brig. General liked…Not that he would ever admit it aloud… "Fullmetal. I have a lot of work to do, so you're dismissed."
"I'm not leaving until I get a hell of an answer better than that crappy one you dish out every week!" He emphasized this by plopping down on one of the couches in Mustang's office.
"Do you want, as long as you keep quiet…" Mustang muttered under his breath while glancing over a few papers before hastily signing them.
"What, did you spend too much time sleeping instead of doing your work, General?"
It was rare that Ed ever called Roy by his military rank. He looked up from his papers and stared at the shorter boy in confusion. "You're being formal? You must really want a different answer. Too bad I'm not going to give you one." Well…I could give him the truth, but…No…For many reasons…Like…Inner work relations in the military are usually frowned upon, especially if it's same sex couples…
"Oh, shut up unless you're going to give me a different answer…" Ed stared at the General's eyes a little longer, stuck in the darkened pull that they had him in.
"Alright, fine. There are already enough people from Eastern H.Q. out on the further missions right now." He said simply, bringing his eyes back to his work quickly. Ed had looked a bit mesmerized…
"Not the answer I'm looking for."
"Really? Well, then, what exactly are you looking for?"
"Oh, I dunno, maybe an apology and a 'Sure, I'll send you on whatever mission you want instead of those stupidly easy missions that I can make Breda or Havoc do in half the time.'" Ed said in his most 'Roy Mustang-like' voice.
"Mocking an officer of higher rank won't get you anywhere near those missions, you know. Besides, what is it exactly that you want to accomplish now that your brother's back to normal? What's your next goal?"
This left Edward speechless for a moment or two. "I…dunno…What's it matter to you, anyway?"
"Are you going to move up the ranks like I did? Are you going to leave the military? Get an office job? Hell, even find someone and settle down?" Roy visibly winced at his own words, feeling like he had just stabbed himself in the heart. Other than the General himself, there was only one other person who knew of how much Mustang really cared for the angered boy in his office. And that was only because she was not only very perceptive, but very well-armed.
"Who says I have to decide now, huh? And once again, what's it matter to you?"
"I am your commanding officer, that's why. I need to know what you are wishing to accomplish, otherwise I'm just sending you on blind missions."
"Oh, kind of like you're doing right now? Sending me on blind missions that don't have any relevance to anything? I'm sure you must enjoy watching me run around like some sort of id-"
"You're dismissed, Fullmetal."
"Like hell I am! Like I said, I'm not leaving until-"
"You are dismissed, Fullmetal…Now…"
Ed stopped his ranting and stared at the General, a little afraid…Almost like Roy had struck a painful chord in his heart. He left the office without another word with his face lowered. Down the long corridors, he muttered wild profanities about the "mother fucking Brigadier Bastard being such a goddamned prick" and other things that teens shouldn't say.
"Well, well, if it isn't the shorter of the Elric brothers! Speaking of which, where's your brother, Fullmetal?" Havoc asked with a slight bop to the top of Ed's head.
"WHO YOU CALLIN' SO SHORT HE COULD HAVE A FLEA FOR A PET ONLY IT'D BE MORE LIKE HAVING FLEAS FOR LIVESTOCK BECAUSE FLEAS WOULD BE REALLY REALLY BIG IN COMPARISON MORE LIKE ELEPHANTS SO IT'S MORE LIKE HE'S SO SHORT HE'D BE RINGMASTER IN A FLEA CIRCUS?!?!?!?!(A/N: Thank you, Taka!)"
"He never said any of that, Fullmetal…" Hawkeye always had the best composer for coolness in Roy's entire military group…She also seemed to be the closest to the General, which Ed highly disliked.
"Oh…Hey Hawkeye…" Ed's entire being seemed to be downcast, the same as before the encounter with Havoc only moments ago. He once again proceeded to ignore Havoc's question about his brother, who was currently in Risembool. He walked on down the corridor, only to have Hawkeye follow him.
"Is something wrong, Fullmetal?" Despite the formal names, Hawkeye had a caring tone to her voice that reminded Ed of a big sister.
"Just that damn Brigadier Bastard…He's completely ignoring my requests for missions further out…"
"He has his reasons…"
"Oh, yeah, they're reasons alright…Pretty shitty ones at that…Whenever I want a real reason, he just dismisses me like I never even asked a question! It's pissing me off!"
"What reasons did he give?"
"The ones he always gives…That it's too dangerous for me or that he's already got soldiers on the scene or some other crap like that…"
"Edward…You don't see it, do you…? The Brigadier General is trying to protect you…He always has been. He doesn't want you getting hurt…"
"I somehow have a hard time buying that, Lieutenant…"
"Yes, you probably do…He's completely ignored many opportunities to climb up the ranks to ensure your safety ever since you joined the military…He cares for you more than you could possibly imagine, Edward…And recently, it's been even harder for him to keep you out of harm's way…The latest case, the madman serial killer, hasn't shown any signs of arrest and shows no definite pattern for us to follow…And, since the serial killer killed the case's commanding officer, the Brigadier General has had to take on that responsibility while trying to climb the ranks and protect you…He's been under a lot of stress…I haven't seen him rest once since receiving this case."
Edward was silent for the next few minutes. He opened his mouth to say something, to thank the Lieutenant, perhaps, but no words left his mouth. Instead, he nodded to Hawkeye in a silent 'thank you,' and walked back in the direction of the Brig. General's office.
Ed carefully opened the door to Mustang's office, only to find him asleep on top of the papers he was supposedly signing. I guess the Lieutenant was right…I've never seen him fall asleep on his work like this…
He quietly walked over to the large, wooden desk that was cluttered with a mix of signed and unsigned papers and an asleep General, pen in hand. He looks sort of…peaceful… Ed carefully combed his hand through Mustang's hair, trying very hard not to wake him. His hand drifted from the older man's raven hair to the strong contours of his jaw, leading down to his neck. Realization suddenly hit the younger boy when his hand ran into the collar of the blue military uniform the Mustang wore. Ed pulled his hand away a little too quickly, and hit the General's arm. Roy stirred, but fell back into the somewhat peaceful lapse of silence.
He decided that standing right next to the man while he was sleeping wasn't exactly the best idea, so he retreated to one of the couches that resided in the General's office. He sat on the couch for a few minutes before deciding something. He stood and walked over to the Brig. General's desk, taking the only stack of unfinished papers and a pen. He placed himself back on the couch, and began to work.
-
Few hours later, Roy awoke with a rather loud yawn. Rubbing his eyes, he stood from his place at the desk and moved to the couch.
"I see you're finally awake…I brought you some coffee…Just how you like it." Ed said as he walked into the office, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand.
The older alchemist looked at Ed, then to his desk. What happened to the huge stack of unfinished papers…? They're all…finished. "Ful…Ed…Did you do all of this work…?"
"Oh….um, yeah…That's not a problem, is it…? I knew you were kinda swamped with work, so I thought I'd…" Ed stopped, realizing that at some point, Roy had moved to stand right next to Ed, and his hand had wrapped itself around Ed's, the coffee cup included.
With his lips almost placing feather-like kisses on Ed's golden hair, he spoke. "Thank you, Ed…" Roy hesitantly stepped away from the teen and slipped his coffee out of Ed's grasp. Was he…No, he couldn't…It's probably just anger…Don't get your hopes up, Roy…
Ed stood there, shocked, for moments before slightly recovering and failing to remove the deep red blush that graced his cheeks. "Y…yeah…N-no problem…" He said, taking a seat on the couch and finding the creases in his right-hand glove very interesting. Out of the corner of his eye, Ed watched Roy. He watched the way his brows knit together in a contemplative manner…As is if he were confused about something… Without thinking much, he spoke. "Is…something wrong, General…?"
Roy's eyes widened slightly in shock. Ed refused to call him by his military status unless he was severely pissed… "Just…thinking…"
"About what?"
"It's nothing, really…It doesn't concern you…" Like hell it doesn't…It has everything to do with that beautiful boy…
"…You should really spend your time working on your career, not worrying over how you can protect me…"
"Ed-"
"General…I greatly appreciate it, but you need to work on your own career…At least don't focus on it nearly as much…"
"…I can't do that." Roy was once again away from his desk, tossing the empty Styrofoam cup into the wastebasket. "I have to do everything I can to protect you…"
Ed stared at the General, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Why? Why is it co crucial that you have to protect me?" He already had a good idea of why, but he had to hear Roy say it…
"Ed…That's what someone feels that they need to do…" When they're in love… "To protect a certain person at all costs, no matter how it will hurt you in the end…To see them with a smile on their face…"
Edward had moved closer to the General, only a few feet away. "…Could you explain a little more, General…?"
Roy turned towards the still red-faced teen and smiled lightly. "I told Hawkeye not to tell you any of that…Oh well." He said, giving Ed a light tap on the head as he walked to the door. His hand paused on the door handle, feeling Ed tug at his sleeve.
"You're not gonna tell me, are you…?" Ed's eyes were slightly downcast, looking as if he had failed an important mission.
Roy turned with his back to the door, standing less that a foot away from Ed. His gloved hand caressed Ed's cheek, a touch that Ed unconsciously leaned into. "It's all about love, Ed…Someone's strong will for another person's protection…"