Gem: Warning. Mild AU. For all intents and purposes, Al is human and Ed's still studying to be a state alchemist. I was proofreading yoo-hoo's project for one of her classes and she made Ed a student. Well, soon afterwards, I had a chibi Ed stuck in my head. So this is the resulting idea which is the only thing I own. There is probably some OOCness in here too.
Roy wasn't sure how he of all people got stuck basically babysitting Ed and Al. He had more important things to do! Besides, they were eleven and ten respectfully and able to take care of themselves. Their guardian in Resembool probably didn't want them in a house of their own.
"Despite them living in their own house back there. But didn't they normally get dinner at their guardian's house?"
He figured that he should make sure that both boys were ready for the day. He poked his head into their room and noticed that neither one was in there. There was noise coming from the kitchen so Roy headed towards it. Well, at least he found them. They were busy eating bread and cheese.
"I have to go grocery shopping again!"
"Are you both ready for today?" Roy asked.
Getting two nods from the boys in front of him, he sat down to his bowl of oatmeal.
"Roy, waz a sandpiper look like?" Ed asked. "And can we use the feathers we found in the yard yesterday to make fake sandpipers?"
"You want them to be like stuffed animals?" he replied and waited until he received a nod from Ed before continuing on to explain what a sandpiper looked like.
Roy would have to drop them off at Hughes house for the day since he had work. He ushered Ed and Al to their room to grab their backpacks and met him in the front hall. He looked at the two expectant faces and watched as they ran out to his car. There was a small scuffle for who would sit in the front seat on the ride to Maes Hughes's residence.
"How about Ed rides up front on the way over and when I come to pick you up, Al rides up front? Does that sound okay with you?"
Getting another two nods, both boys quickly scrambled into the vehicle. He allowed himself a small smile. He missed out on having a younger or older sibling to fight with. Maybe he should take them somewhere tomorrow. After all, it was his day off and Ed was studying way too much for a boy his age. As he arrived at Hughes's residence, he noticed Maes give his wife a kiss before heading out to the car. It was fair exchange that she watch the boys while their car was getting fixed. Their car had needed two new tires so Roy decided to be nice and take Maes into work.
"Equivalent exchange? But then again, I didn't want to leave them by themselves or take them to the office."
"A smart move on your part. At their age, they're bound to get into some form of trouble if they're left alone too long."
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Gracia Hughes smiled as the boys came into her house. She couldn't wait until her and Maes had children of her own. She'd offered when Roy had dropped off Maes the day before and had both boys sitting in the backseat.
"Have you boys eaten?"
"Yes, Mrs. Hughes."
She smiled and watched as they got settled at her kitchen table to do their work and to study for the state alchemist exam. She would make them lunch eventually to get them away from all the work that they had spread out. She smiled and ruffled both boys' hair before heading off to do her own work.
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After work, Roy found wherever Maes had wandered off to since he was Maes's ride home. He found him on the phone with his wife. Honestly, couldn't he wait five more minutes until he was home? He tapped him on the shoulder and signaled 'let's go.'
The ride back was mostly quiet and when they arrived, he found that both boys didn't want to leave. In fact, Gracia had cooked dinner for all of them. At least Roy knew who he could leave the boys with on a Saturday. They were more settled than they were that morning though both tried to drag him out of the car.
"Is that all they ever think about? Food and alchemy?"
There was definitely a very enjoyable dinner between all of them. He missed family oriented dinners. There hadn't been one with his family since he'd left to live with his teacher.
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Roy smiled as he watched Ed and Al climb out of the car. Both were stumbling around slightly from how tired and full they were. He hadn't intended to stay that long over at Maes house but he truly missed having a conversation outside of work. He gave Ed the key to let them into the house and opened up his mailbox. He flipped through the mail as he walked towards the open door.
"Bill, bill, letter for Ed's guardians, love letter, bill, bill…"
Roy pulled out the letter for Ed's guardians first and tore into it. He wondered what it was for. Ed's class had taken a trip to the beach a few weeks back and now they were giving presentations on what they had discovered.
"Well, that at least explains about all the sandpiper questions. I'm going to have to take off of work for this. They'll understand though since they asked me to watch the boys."
Roy noticed that the date wasn't until the coming Friday so he had time to call off. He decided to ignore the rest of the mail except for the love letter and checked in on Ed and Al. Both were sleeping peacefully. Apparently they were tired out from the day. He smiled slightly before continuing to his own room to read his love letter.
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"Yes, I am coming into work today. I'm just going to be slightly late. I am requesting this coming Friday off though. Both brothers are pestering me to go to Ed's presentation. What?! The entire military's getting the day off? Why? You've got to be kidding. Alright. Thank you."
Ed looked up at Roy as he hung up the phone. He wasn't sure why Roy was calling the military office when he was headed to work. Roy massaged his head briefly before pushing Ed in the general direction of the door. Once outside he found Al tending to a stray cat. That was the fifth one in three days. Where did the kid keep finding them? Oh well, he was going to be late but he wasn't going to let either boy be late for school. At least their school was on the way to the office.
"See ya later!"
Roy waved as he dropped the boys off and headed towards the office. He wondered why the entire military was getting Friday off. He looked over at Hawkeye when he walked in. She knew the story and why he was slightly late. That was the only problem with being the Elric brothers' guardian. He had to take them to school but at least the boys got ready on their own.
"Sir?"
"I'm fine," he said, answering the unspoken question.
Hawkeye nodded at him and got back to her work. And for once, Roy was working on his own work. Apparently he didn't want to leave a lot of work for the day that he had called off. Both continued working in silence for several hours until they were interrupted by a nervous young man by the name of Fury.
"Sir? We all received memos about having Friday off. And I brought in your's and Lieutenant Hawkeye's."
"Thank you," Roy said as he got up from behind his desk. He had been so busy with his work that he forgot to check his military mailbox. He suspected the Fury was just as confused as him though with the day off. But as he scanned his own memo, he realized the one thing Fury had left out; they were invited to Ed's sandpiper presentation. Sure the rest of them didn't know what the report was about but how to explain this to the kid? Roy thought for a minute before he realized the Ed was rarely surprised by anything. Maybe now he could see more than three emotions on Ed's face.
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Friday had soon arrived. Everyone got a chance to see the fifth graders presentations on various subjects. They had set up in the gym and there were plates of "beach food." Ed was busy arguing with his partner about the "sandpipers" they had made. Ed's "sandpiper" resembled one to an extent and apparently his partner refused to have a "sandpiper" made by alchemy. At least the boys learned a bit out of the books they read outside of school.
"This is the first time in a long while that I've worn civilian clothes."
Roy sensed another presence behind him and noticed that it was Hawkeye. In his opinion, she looked much better with her hair down. She gave him a small nod and looked at all the other military personal who were mingling with the other adults. The last time they all had a day off together was a long time ago.
"Hey Ed. What are you presenting?" Hawkeye asked as she dragged Roy along behind her. Not that he minded that much of course.
"Sandpipers," was the reply.
Ed held out the tiny sandpiper that he had made. Roy absently noticed that half the stuffed sandpipers were homemade; crooked eyes and all. The other half appeared to be made out of alchemy. Yet another explanation for Ed and Al both chasing birds through the yard. At least the two boys managed to stay out of trouble.
"Hey Ed…" Roy began before Hawkeye shoved a hotdog in his mouth. Well, that was a fast way to shut him up. He watched her give a small nod to Ed and his partner and continued on, pulling him with her. He noticed that she had tucked the sandpiper into the small purse that hung off her belt loop. He also caught the small smile that graced Ed's face. It was a nice emotion to see on the kid.
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Fury and Breda walked in soon after Hawkeye had arrived. Roy had told them to come surprise Ed so here they were. The gym was extremely crowded already and Fury noticed that the people there seemed to be near their children's projects. But the entire military got the chance to meet Ed and Al at least once and they felt sorry for the two boys. It was hard losing both parents especially at their age.
They headed over to the table on sandpipers and Fury watched as Ed's face lit up some before it was hidden behind a mask again. Ed and his partner were just starting on their report for a group of relatives of Ed's partner. The boy had to keep looking at the information but Fury watched as Ed delivered his report very strongly. He noticed that Ed didn't even look at the information after he gave it an initial glance. Breda picked up one of the sandpipers that looked like something Ed had made or more specifically, transmuted.
"The sandpipers were made so people could take them home," Ed explained to Breda's unspoken question.
Fury and Breda exchanged glances and picked up two more. Everyone in the office was going to have one by the time they were done. They had seen Hawkeye with one of her own earlier and figured out that Roy didn't have one. Falman and Havoc could pick up their own sandpipers.
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Falman and Havoc walked in along with Armstrong and Maes and Gracia Hughes. They split up to look at other children's work and eventually see Ed's own work. Falman and Havoc arrived at Ed's table just as the two children were beginning another explanation on sandpipers. This time both were holding their own sandpipers in their hands. Ed had nestled two of his in his hands and caught Falman and Havoc's eyes. Both headed up to him once they were done presenting and took the sandpipers that he held. From far away they appeared to be very real. Falman and Havoc tucked them into their pants pocket for safe keeping and noticed a small smile flirt across Ed's face.
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"Who are those guys who keep visiting you?" Ed's partner asked.
"The first guy was my guardian. The lady I gave the sandpiper to was a friend of his. And the others are friends of his."
"But they all look like the military people Daddy delivers food to. Is your guardian in the military?"
"So what if he is?"
The other boy scoffed at Ed. At least all his visitors were relatives! Just how did Ed wind up with a military officer as his guardian?
"But why? Unless one of your relatives is connected with the military. Daddy isn't very fond of them even though he delivers food there."
"More people are coming. Let's just get this project over with."
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Armstrong, Maes, and Gracia were among a group of parents heading towards the sandpiper table. She had figured that they should find out what it would be like once they had children of their own. They listened to the report on sandpipers and both boys yet again were cradling their homemade sandpipers. Ed was now cradling three in his hands. They politely waited until the report was finished before approaching Ed.
"These are so cute dear!" Gracia exclaimed as she picked two of the sandpipers out of Ed's hands. He smiled some while blushing lightly. She tucked the two sandpipers into her purse and watched as Armstrong picked up the last sandpiper. She could tell just by looking at him that he thought the sandpiper was adorable.
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Roy looked in the review mirror of his car. Ed was curled up against Al in the backseat and both were asleep. It had been a busy day for Ed and it had gotten even crazier when the other grades got to see the fifth graders' presentations. He saw that everyone had picked up their own sandpipers and knew that they'd be all over the office tomorrow. Oh well, a bit of nonconformity conformity never hurt anyone. Besides, the sandpipers were cute.
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Roy looked surprised as he walked into the office that day. Every desk in the office had a sandpiper on it, including his. He caught the smiling faces of everyone in the office and it wasn't long before they found someone willing to take a picture of all of them with their sandpipers.
"I guess a little nonconformity never hurt anyone."