Title: It Started Like This
Author: S J Smith
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Do you see a copyright on this? No? Well, that should be enough to prove I don't own it, nor am I making any money.
Summary: If Roy thought about it, it made sense.
It started like this:
"Uncle Roy's on the telephone, Elicia! Do you want to talk to him?"
On the other end of the line, Roy gritted his teeth. "Hughes, I called to talk to you, not - "
"He'o, Unca Woy," Elicia lisped.
Mentally, he counted to ten. "Hello, Elicia. How are you?"
"Fiiiiine," she said.
In the background, Roy could hear Hughes whispering, "Tell him what you learned today!"
"I went potty by mysef!" Elicia hesitated. "I forgotted to wipe, though, so I hadda have a baff."
Roy closed his eyes, counting to a hundred.
X X X
It was a ridiculously beautiful day, with a bright sun beaming from a nearly-cloudless sky, making the green sward vibrant and the marble monuments glow. Roy took a deep breath, seeing two people already at the gravesite, not at all surprised. The little girl watched as her mother brushed away some bit of dirt from the top of the stone. Gracia knelt down to pull some grass, tossing it aside.
Roy considered returning later, his fingers brushing over the bottle of whiskey in his coat pocket, but Elicia saw him, and pointed. Gracia sank back on her haunches, shading her eyes, and waved tentatively. He could only continue forward now, the cadenced gait he'd learned so many years ago putting him in front of the small family far sooner than he really wanted. "Good afternoon, Gracia, Elicia," he said.
"Hello, Roy." She smiled, brushing at her bangs with the back of her wrist. "I'm glad to see you here." She touched the stone. "I'm sure Maes is, too."
He wished he could believe that, that Maes might be watching them from somewhere. Preferably behind that tree, where he could pop out and say, "Surprise!" That was a ridiculous dream, though, and one he couldn't entertain. "I'd like to thank so." Squatting next to Gracia, Roy pulled at a couple of stems of grass, tossing them aside as Gracia had. "It's nice here."
"For what it is," Gracia shrugged lopsidedly.
"For what it is," Roy agreed.
"Unca Roy?" Elicia stepped closer to him. "We're gonna go get dessert after! You wanna come?"
He blinked, glancing at Gracia, checking her reaction. A fond smile lit her face, and she gave him the faintest of nods. Roy turned back to Elicia. "I'd be honored to, Elicia. Thank you for asking."
X X X
One chance meeting led to another planned one, and another after that. Roy discovered he enjoyed Gracia's company, and Elicia's, far more than he'd expected. When a telephone call came in to his office, he accepted it, ignoring the waggling eyebrows from Breda. "Mustang."
"Unca Roy? Will you come with me to the Father-Daughter blanket?"
He blinked a couple of times, afraid if he asked, Elicia might pout. "Um, yes? When is it?"
She squealed, loud enough that he had to pull the telephone from his ear. "Mom! He said he'd go!" The receiver clunked on the other end.
Roy asked, "Hello? Hello?"
"Roy, sorry. Elicia's a little excited right now," Gracia said.
"All right, I'm glad I made her happy, but what is she talking about, a blanket?"
"Banquet," Gracia enunciated.
"Oh." Well, that was a relief. He really didn't want to even contemplate the other. "I'm still happy to accompany her in Maes's place."
X X X
After the banquet had passed, Gracia said, "In thanks, I'll take you out for a real dinner."
"There is no reason, Gracia. I enjoyed myself. Learning the Aerugan String Dance did wonders for my back."
"I heard you fell," Gracia said dryly.
"No, no, I tripped, and caught myself," Roy scoffed.
"Elicia told Edward you fell." Gracia grinned, more wickedly than Roy expected. "He laughed, a lot."
Eyebrow twitching, Roy felt his thumb and forefinger rubbing together reflexively. "Edward Elric is an ass."
"He called you far worse. I had to remind him he was speaking to a child." She might've made a better impression, if the smirk wasn't fighting to control her mouth.
"Hmph. Keep this up, and I'll insist you take me to the most expensive restaurant in Central."
Gracia's smile grew. "You're on."
"Wait, what?" Roy blinked hard. "Gracia, that's not necessary."
"Oh, no, I've got a lovely dress I'm dying to wear out. And I have an excellent babysitter. Shall we say, next Friday? If I can get reservations?"
Nonplussed, Roy tried to close his mouth. "Um. Yes, that would be fine." He hesitated. "I'll make the reservations, though."
Gracia nodded. "Of course. As a known hero of Amestris, you probably would have better luck getting them." She slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow. "I'm looking forward to this, Roy."
He glanced down at her fingers, nestled on his arm. "Yes," he said slowly, realizing he was telling the truth, "so am I."
X X X
"It started like this," Elicia read from a piece of paper. "My Daddy had a really good friend, but my Daddy died. And for a while, Mom and I were all alone. No one wanted to spend time with us, because they were sad from Daddy's death. But Uncle Roy didn't leave us. He started to visit us, and we started to visit him. And it took time, but we finally figured it out, that maybe, instead of three separate people, we should be a family." She smiled at her Mom, wearing a simple dress, and Uncle Roy – soon to be Papa Roy, dressed in his military blues, holding her hands in front of Fuhrer Grumman, who'd be marrying them. "So, here we are, all together."
Alex Louis Armstrong, in the front row, sniffed loudly and blotted his eyes with a snowy handkerchief. Chris Mustang, also in the front row, smiled at her nephew, giving him a surreptitious thumb's up. Roy smiled back at his aunt, then offered his free hand to Elicia, as Gracia did the same, making them a little triangle as they faced Fuhrer Grumman, so he could perform the ceremony. To Roy's right stood Hawkeye, as his best man, and Mrs. Rockbell-Elric was on Gracia's left, performing the equivalent duties.
"Thanks, buddy," he mentally, and hoped, if he ever saw his best friend again, Hughes wouldn't kick his ass.
X X X