Playing With Fire

...

His onyx eyes were intensely focused on his target as he raised his hand to eye level, fingers aimed and ready. There was no hesitation, there could be no hesitation. Everything was perfectly laid out, from the knowledge in the back of his mind to the transmutation circle on drawn in ink on the back of his hand. He'd studied the lines many times in secret, he knew he had it right.

"Hey, Mustang! What're you waiting for? Get to it already!"

"Yeah! Yeah! I wanna see what you can do!"

His onyx eyes narrowed as he glanced back for one brief moment. "Shut up, you two. The last thing I need is someone telling me what to do!"

He watched as the siblings shared a glance. The grins that spread across their faces was the final straw. They didn't think he could do it, did they?

Well, he would show them that he most certainly could.

Snap!

His eyes widened as the flames spread out from his fingertips. The rush of energy was exhilarating, he'd never felt anything like it. The simple alchemy he'd practiced before was nothing to this, a candle flame before a wildfire. The flames shot out and consumed the straw dummy Ed and Allie had made for him, and he was captivated by the sight of it as it burned.

So captivated, in fact, that it took a while for him to realize he was in pain.

He blinked in surprise as he held up his right hand, saw the burns trailing down his forearm like will-o-the-wisps. He pressed his fingers together, wincing as the pain shot down his arm. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes even though he tried to hold them back. It hurt. It hurt bad.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a sharp intake of breath. Glancing back, he met Ed's gaze and saw sympathy written in the boy's golden eyes. "That's no good."

"What? What is it, brother?" Allie asked.

"Ricky's burned himself... Pretty badly, too," Ed sighed, showing Allie Ricky's right arm. Allie's eyes widened, and Ricky pulled away.

"It's not that bad," He said, trying not to wince as his arm brushed against his side.

Ed and Allie plainly did not buy it. "Come on, Ricky..." Ed sighed. "You need to get that treated. No point in trying to hide it."

Tears welled up in Ricky's eyes again, and he quickly wiped them away with his left hand. It was all his fault, all his stupid fault. He should've known better than to play with fire. It wasn't as if that rule hadn't been drilled into him since before he could remember. Fire burns, fire is not to be trifled with. Fire can kill you. Never mind how good it felt to wield fire, how good it felt to hit your mark.

Ricky's parents were going to kill him when they found out what he and his friends had been doing.

…

Edward Elric was busy in the shop when the three children slunk in through the door. He took one glance at them and sighed. "All right, you three. What happened?"

Ricky held up his right hand. Edward's eyes widened as he saw the burns. He dropped what he was doing and ran over to inspect the boy's injury.

His eyes did not miss the circle drawn on the back of Ricky's hand in ink. Ed sighed, letting go of his arm and standing. He put a hand on Ricky's head, messing up his shock of midnight black hair. "You ought to know better than to mess with something like Alchemy, Richard. You could seriously hurt yourself... You're lucky you didn't burn yourself any worse than you did."

Ricky frowned, trying to avoid meeting the man's eyes. He didn't have to worry, though, because Ed only had eyes for the two children who were trying to sneak off unnoticed.

"Don't even think you're getting off the hook so easy. Edwin, Allie... You two were supposed to be responsible for watching him."

Edwin and Allie shared a glance, then sighed, bowing their heads. "Sorry, father..." Allie muttered.

"We just wanted to have some fun," Edwin sighed.

Edward put a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Fun? What're you calling fun? You two are only twelve and eleven... And Ricky's only nine! You call alchemy fun and games? I'm surprised no one got hurt any worse! What have we told you kids about alchemy? Have you never been listening to us? We've told you a thousand times! No alchemy without adult supervision!"

The trio were shying away from Edward as he raised his voice. Oh, yes. Ed was a truly loving father, who managed to be patient most of the time. He still had his hang-ups, though. Having gone through everything he had to get his life back to normal, there was no way he was going to let his kids mess around with alchemy like it was a game.

Just when Ed was about to go on, Alphonse walked into the room carrying a load of boxes. He took one look at the children and Ed and sighed, setting down the stack of boxes and leaning up against the wall. "Okay, brother... What's going on?"

Edward pointed at the kids. "Those three were playing with flame alchemy, and Ricky got burned. Loot at his arm, Al! His parents are going to freak!"

Al was already looking Ricky's arm over, wincing at the burn marks. "Ouch. Doesn't look too good... But it isn't too bad, either. It's not my strong point, but maybe I can fix this..." With that, Alphonse frowned as he concentrated, sparks lighting up as he did a quick transmutation.

Ricky blinked in surprise as he stared at his newly healed arm. It didn't hurt anymore. Alphonse smiled at him. "There, see? How's it work?"

Ricky bent his fingers into a fist, then opened them again. The grin he shot Al was enough of an answer for the man, who smiled and nodded.

"Alphonse, weren't you listening to me? What're we going to do with them?"

Al went to stand beside his brother, looking the children over thoughtfully. "I dunno, Ed... Look at their faces. I think they were pretty scared. Maybe they learned their lesson on their own."

"Oh, sure. What'll it be next time, huh? An arm and a leg? I'm not taking that kind of risk."

Edwin and Allie shared a glance, then glanced at Ricky. Edwin's eyes lit up as he turned towards the brothers. "Father, Allie and I will tell Ricky's father what happened when he comes to pick him up. Will that suffice as punishment?"

Ed and Al blinked in surprise. After a moment, Ed nodded. "Alright. But be warned... Messing with him can be like playing with fire, too."

Ed and Allie nodded as one, and Ricky grimaced in anticipation of the punishment he, too, was going to get.

…

Ricky stared out the window of his father's car as the man drove his son home, his face sullen. Roy knew Ricky'd had a long weekend in Resembool, and what Edwin and Allie had told him had not gone over well. He hadn't spoken to Ricky about the incident yet, and he had no clue what he was going to tell Riza.

Roy was angry. Of course he was. Alchemy was most certainly not a toy, and Ricky was lucky to have escaped with burns that had been mild enough for Alphonse to heal. What's more, Ricky had to have been sneaking around with Roy's things to have found the transmutation circle to even use the flame alchemy. It was only natural for Roy to be angry.

And yet, Roy couldn't help but feel some measure of pride as well. His little boy, barely nine, had managed to accomplish a very difficult feat. It was dangerous, yes, and very reckless.

Roy couldn't say he hadn't done his share of stupid, reckless stunts in the past.

Glancing at Ricky, he sighed. The boy was quieter than usual, and at the sound of Roy's sigh he tensed up. He was expecting his father to boil over at any moment, Roy realized. He knew how his father's temper could be.

It came as a surprise when Roy reached over and messed up Ricky's hair, a smile on the Flame Alchemist's face. Ricky blinked, confused. "Father?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you smiling? Aren't you mad?"

Roy frowned a little as he tilted his head. "Of course I am, Richard. We're going to have a long talk when we get home... But I gotta say, I'm impressed. It's a rare child that can do what you did, Ricky. I look forward to see what you can do someday."

Ricky frowned thoughtfully as Roy pulled his hand away. Finally, Ricky smiled. "You mean you think I could become a State Alchemist just like you?"

Roy shrugged, smile still lingering on his face. Maybe not just like him. He hoped Ricky's life would be happier than his had been, hoped Ricky would never go through the sort of trials he had. But he'd be lying if he were to say that he wouldn't be proud to see his son as a State Alchemist.

"We'll see, Ricky. But I know you've got a bright future ahead of you, son. That is, so long as you learned your lesson today. Alchemy is not a toy... But if you're ready to learn to use it as the tool that it is, I'll see to it."

Ricky grinned at Roy, then, nodding vigorously. "Yeah! That'd be great, dad! Will you let me? Would you be the one to teach me?"

Roy shrugged again, smirking a little. "Hold your horses, Richard." Ricky raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Roy met his onyx gaze with one of his own. Roy grinned, and the look in his eye was frightening. "We still have to tell your mother, kiddo."

Ricky's face went slightly pale, and he sunk back into his seat, the image of Riza's furious gaze burned into his imagination. He didn't look forward to that conversation.

By the look on Roy's face, he wasn't too thrilled with the idea either.

...

Author: So, I just found out about Royai day, only to discover I missed it by a couple days. Darn!

Well, here's my late contribution.

It also happens to be the first time I've written anything for the fandom... So don't be too harsh if people seem off.

Tell me what you think, if you will!