It's been a long time since I posted here. But something about Fullmetal Alchemist made me want to write again, so here I am. I figure I'll update this as I get ideas. Although if my sister, and my Ed muse have their way, that will be all of the ideas I have.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor any of it's characters. Unfortunately.

No one had had to catch a glimpse of the short (which very few people ever called him to his face after seeing his temper) teenager with the blond hair to know Edward Elric was back. They knew before he had even set foot in their offices, the headquarters for this deadly team of soldiers working towards an unnamed goal. Some things, this group, this family, just knew. It was why they all prepared for what was coming next without bothering to look up from their paperwork or grab earplugs. At least, until the door opened. Then they looked up, this group that was incredibly unlikely to accept outsiders into their folds, and smiled warmly, with open welcome.

The door to the inner office hit the wall with a bang, opened by a well-placed kick to the stained wood. While there were others in Eastern Command who may have flinched, the occupants of these offices were not among those personnel. They were used to the noise. It was a routine, and a comforting one at that. Because everyone on this team knew there was only one person who would have done that to a superior officer's door. In fact, everyone knew, because said perpetrator had been doing that for years now. Instead they turned towards the hulking suit of armor that had stayed behind in the outer office with them and smiled. Conversation started with the younger Elric brother as the five officers welcomed back one of their own. In their own way, they were reminding him that he was much a part of their team as his older brother was, despite his outward appearance.

The door shut with another loud noise, this time because the wood was being slammed back into its frame. There was no reaction from the dark haired man at the large desk however other than an arched eyebrow.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well, what?" the teenager grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I imagine you are here to turn in your report. That is the only reason you would come here after a mission, is it not?"

"Yeah, yeah," Edward rolled his eyes.

"How many holes are in the report this time, Fullmetal?"

"Everything you need to know is in my report. If I didn't put it there it's because it's not important," Edward shrugged.

"How many buildings did you destroy this time?"

"Why do you assume I destroyed any?"

"Because in the time you have worked under me you have destroyed an alarming total of buildings throughout the course of your missions. And in every mission that that has happened, that fact is missing from your reports. The military needs to know so they can pay damages, Fullmetal."

"Shut up, Bastard. I didn't destroy any buildings this time," Ed smirked.

"Now, now, Fullmetal. Try and own up to it. Be the bigger person for once."

The desired reaction was instantaneous, and while it was predictable, that made it no less enjoyable for the man who had called it forth.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE CAN'T EVEN BE SEEN WITH A MICROSCOPE YOU BASTARD!?"

Colonel Roy Mustang, also known as the Flame Alchemist, sat back in his chair, smirking at the tirade he had created with so little effort in the teenaged prodigy in front of him. It was always highly amusing to Roy that he could create this display of fire and fireworks with nothing more than a well-aimed remark. There was no real double meaning, no hidden agenda meant to further his goals and boost him up the military ladder. There was nothing more than insults that were meant to get under each other's skin, a unique bond that the two alchemists shared but neither would admit to. A bond that neither Roy nor Edward would ever examine too closely.

It had been this way ever since Edward had joined the military a State Alchemist and placed under Mustang's command. They were comfortable trading insults, calling each other names, trying to get on each other's last nerve for some reason. It was how they were, and it worked for them, just as Hawkeye's casual habit of pointing a gun at any of them who were slacking off or angering her worked very well for her. This unit had its quirks, but that was what made them so formidable.

"Are you done?" Roy asked, smugness evident in a voice he wasn't even trying to keep professional.

Edward stayed silent, glaring all of his hatred at the Colonel in front of him. He only wished that the heat of his anger could make the bastard burst into flames. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen, but that didn't stop the blond from wishing it. What he really wanted was something to throw back at the superior officer, but so far he was sorely lacking in material. Which was frustrating, for the boy who wanted to know just about everything, and hated having anyone hold something over his head.

He dropped his report on the desk and turned his back to Mustang, heading for the door to the outer office, and then freedom.

"Leaving so soon?"

Edward shrugged as he grabbed the door handle, smirking in satisfaction as he caught sight of the small hole in the wall where the handle had made impact when he'd kicked open the door. At least he'd damaged the office a little, simple fix or not.

"I've got things to do. Call me when you have a mission. One with a lead on the Philosopher's Stone."

He wrenched open the door and left, slamming it behind him for effect.

And then it was silent.

Not quiet, that only ever happened when Edward was away from Eastern Command on a mission. Quiet, was when all the personnel, and even the buildings themselves, seemed to relax as the whirlwind of energy and passion, obsession and anger, was away, causing mischief and mayhem somewhere else. Quiet was going about their daily routines and getting work done without waiting for anything more than the end of day or next assignment.

Silence was entirely different in Eastern Command. Silence was everyone holding their breath, everyone waiting to see what would happen next, what would explode or smoke, what would show signs of alchemical power where Edward had done something. Silence was waiting for the blond to show up in the training room, where he and his brother mesmerized the entire staff with their abilities in hand-to-hand. It was waiting for Edward to get restless and chaos to ensue. It was holding their breath, seeing what would happen next, with both dread and wary interest.

The Colonel and his team much preferred Silence to Quiet. It was never spoken out loud, because that wasn't the way that things were in their unit, where they used a lack of words as a weapon when needed as much as guns or flames. But there was no denying that they were happier with silence, because it meant that Edward and Alphonse were here and they could keep an eye on them, enjoy the company that they so often were without. They could tease them, talk to them, and make sure that the boys knew, without words, that they were home.

"Did you have to mention his height?"

Dark blue eyes met sherry ones they knew better than their own, and Mustang's smirk softened just slightly.

"Of course," he shrugged. "You know I did."

"Yes, sir," Riza Hawkeye shook her head, her lips curving upwards in a small smile filled with warmth. "Of course you did."

"Was there something you needed, Lieutenant?"

"The paperwork in the corner of your desk, gathering dust. It's due in ten minutes, sir. I expect it to be done in five." Hawkeye pushed the paperwork in question closer as she picked up Edward's report. "I'll put this to the side for you to read afterwards."

"Lieutenant, it's my job to read that report when it is given to me," Mustang protested, eyeing the paperwork with strong dislike. "It will take quite some time for me to get Fullmetal to fill in the holes he's left out."

"After your paperwork, sir," Hawkeye said firmly.

"You act like reading Fullmetal's reports are a treat," Roy grumbled, even as he reached for his pen to begin signing off on the mountain.

"They are for you, sir," Hawkeye smiled slightly again as she closed the door to his office behind her.

Mustang growled to himself as he worked, promising horrible things to whoever invented paperwork should he find them one day. In his opinion there was only so many times a man should be subjected to signing his name in one day, and that amount should never exceed ten. It was only his respect for his second, and the knowledge that she would shoot him in painful places, repeatedly if necessary, that forced him to continue signing.

He was just about done when he heard a shout of anger from the courtyard below. A shout that sounded suspiciously like it belonged to his teenaged prodigy.

He stood, opening the window behind his desk to look down into the yard below just in time to catch sight of a scene to make his day.

Alphonse hovered near the edge of the fountain in the center of the stone court, laughing as his brother stood, water pouring down on his head from the streams above, drenching the fourteen year old completely. His hair was plastered to his head, and it was obvious that his coat was now far heavier with saturated water, as Edward attempted to climb out of the pooled water. The blond made a face, stripping his coat off for it to hit the ground with an audible and rather wet plop.

"I'm sorry Brother," Alphonse was saying, his laughter having mostly subsided. "I didn't mean to. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Edward shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Al."

"Nice look, Fullmetal," Mustang chuckled, leaning against the window sill to watch. He couldn't help it, it was almost like seeing the young genius as a teenager rather than the State Alchemist he'd been forced to become. Edward was still too young for the world he was part of, despite blazing intellect and unmatched skill.

"Shut up, Bastard!" Edward called up, folding his arms across his chest.

Roy Mustang didn't have to reply. He just smirked, and let himself laugh.

Or he was laughing until he was hit with cold water, drenching him from head to foot in a matter of moments. After that he was just sputtering.

"Ha!"

He looked down to see Edward grinning up at him as he finished drying his own clothes. And somehow, the level of water in the fountain pool looked a little lower than before. Mustang growled, wishing that he could do something more than light the brat on fire in return. He'd never hear the end of it from Hawkeye if he did though.

"Brat," he growled, slamming the window closed. "Snotty, child."

"Well," Hawkeye said as she picked up the paperwork and dropped Edward's report on his desk again. "He didn't get the papers wet. Enjoy the report, Colonel. I'll send someone in with a change of clothes."

Mustang picked up the report, still muttering under his breath about all the ways he was going to insult Edward's height and irritate the shrimp as soon as he saw him. He could not believe that the brat had done that.

Mustang hated being wet like he knew Fullmetal hated being called short. And he would remember this, for the future. Just like he doubted Edward was planning on forgetting this anytime soon. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid found a way to bring water to their next meeting, just to piss him off.

That was when a building almost fell on top of us.

Mustang paused and reread the line his eyes been drawn to. The building had almost fallen on them? One would think that Fullmetal attracted danger everywhere he went, even on the most mundane missions.

He groaned, closing his eyes. He would have to get Edward to fill in the blanks, because he could already tell that there were huge holes in the report, because there was almost no explanation for this building falling. That was going to be fun, it was always like pulling teeth to get Edward to fill his reports out properly, even for someone like Roy who didn't care for paperwork and the like.

And he knew that the blond would come ready to soak him if he had half the chance.

He could already hear Fullmetal's laughter in his mind.