Disclaimer: Don't own FMA.
Two Little Alchemists
"So, have you quit the military?"
Roy and Riza were sitting in the kitchen. It was morning, and Riza was preparing some scrambled eggs.
"I thought about it," she replied, her eyes never leaving the pan in front of her. "After your death there wasn't anything holding me there… But you know, I didn't have any idea what else I could do, so… I just stayed. I've taken a maternity leave as little Roy was born, but then I continued working as a soldier, and I still hold the rank of a first lieutenant. Though I've been moved to another department and most of my duties is paperwork, which I am allowed to do at home. As the mother of your son, I have quite a lot of priviledges," she smiled at him.
"So everybody knows he's my son?" Roy blinked in surprise. Riza eyed him with pity.
"Who else's could he be?" she asked rethorically. "Besides, he looks exactly like you. Even if I had tried, I wouldn't have been able to fool anyone, believe me."
"And you haven't faced any repercussions? I mean, hell, there is the fraternization law! How come you haven't been fired?"
"The fraternization law is no more in force. The new government has abolished it."
He blinked once more. "We have a new government?"
Riza gathered the eggs from the pan and she parted the mass in two; then she slid it onto two plates, one of which she placed before Roy.
"I think your information is much out-of-date," she stated, sitting by the table. "The military has been taken over by the government and there is no longer any Fuhrer now."
"How come?"
"It's all Ed's doing."
Roy's black eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
Riza nodded calmly, ignoring his strong reaction to the statement. "He managed to defeat the Homunculi. I do not know all the details, but judging from what Winry has told me, he had a hard time then. It is rumoured that he encountered them one by one, accompanied by Al, and they eventually made it through, with Bradley being their last opponent. It's quite a story, but if you want to hear it in detail, you'll have to ask Edward himself."
"The kid's got some real talent," Roy smirked at his thoughts. "But! I've got something much greater…"
He leaned forward to kiss his love. But when they parted, Riza smiled and announced:
"Actually, he's no worse in this area than you are."
"What do you mean? You're not saying he's married, are you?" Roy laughed at his own comment.
"He's not married, but neither are you," she pointed out and this shut his mouth for good. "But he's got a girlfriend…though they are not engaged…yet."
"Lemme guess. It's that Winry girl, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
"Ha!" Roy slammed his hand against the table. "I can't believe it! Fullmetal's got a girl!"
"It's true. I love watching them together…"
"Mommy!"
"Hi, sweetie," Riza caught the rushing boy and lifted him. "How did you sleep?"
"Great!" he turned his head around to look at Roy. "Hi, mister!"
"Hi," he couldn't suppress a grin forming on his face.
"Have you slept here? Does this mean you're staying with us for longer?" asked the boy with excitement evident in his voice.
Silence fell in the kitchen. They wanted to tell him the whole truth, but…not yet.
"Yeah, probably," Riza smiled uneasily at her son.
"Great!" exclaimed little Roy. "I'll show you my drawings!"
"First you'll eat your breakfast, my dear," said Riza. The boy looked at her and immediately changed his mind.
"Yes, mommy."
"Damn it!" Roy threw the receiver back onto the telephone. "What's wrong with them?!"
"What is it?" asked Riza, walking downstairs from their son's room.
"I've called the Headquarters, but they won't believe it's really me!" he whined, pouting.
"Oh, quit complaining, it's understandable. You're considered dead, don't you remember?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Mommy! What is this?"
They both looked at the boy, running downstairs with something in his hand. Riza gently took it from him and inspected it. The thing proved to be a pack of cigarettes.
"Crap. Jean must've left it yesterday…"
Roy took it from her.
"Give me that. I'll return it to him. Guess I have no other choice but to go to the Headquarters in person and tell them everything."
"Mister, are you going to the military?" asked little Roy in awe.
"Yeah. I'm a soldier, remember?" he smiled at his son.
"Mommy!" the boy turned to Riza. "Can I go with him?"
Both adults blinked in surprise. Riza cleared her throat. "What for, my dear?"
"I want to tell uncle Jean that this mister is staying! He'll be happy, because he said that he knows him. Are you friends?" little Roy turned to big Roy.
"You can say that," he stifled a laugh.
"Mommy, please…"
Riza looked at Roy. He shrugged, as if saying: "You're the mother here, so you decide."
She eventually gave in. "Fine, you can go as well."
"Thanks, mommy!" little Roy threw his arms around his mom's legs (he couldn't reach higher) and hugged them. She laughed and freed herself from his hold.
"Ok, ok, but you have to change quickly."
As the boy rushed to his room, the adults smiled to each other and then Riza went to help their son dress.
"How long are you going to stay?"
Roy looked at the boy. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because ever since you came, mommy is happy," he explained. "I like seeing her happy."
Roy smirked to himself. "Well then, if that's the case, maybe I'll stay for long…"
"Yeah!"
"But now there is something I need you to do for me."
"What?" the boy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"You need to lead me to the Headquarters…because you know, it's been awhile since I was here last time and everything has changed. I even don't know anymore where we are now. Your mommy takes you there sometimes, doesn't she?" he suddenly panicked, realizing that the boy might not know the way as well.
Fortunately, he needn't've woried.
"Of course! We're almost there!"
They took a turn and a large building revealed itself. Roy looked at it and despite not having seen it for four years, he immediately recognized it.
"So, here we go…"
He knew it wasn't going to be easy. Everyone in there believed him to be dead. What was he going to tell them once they cross the treshold? 'Hi, sorry for my long absence, but now I'm back!' No, he supposed it wouldn't work.
But they boy took his hand and pulled him along towards the Headquarters.
"Come, mister, you'll meet mommy's friends!"
Roy supposed that those friends were the same as back then, but he didn't protest. They needed to go there anyway.
From the point of view of an ordinary passer-by, it was an intriguing picture. A grown man being dragged along by a small copy of himself…
Roys entered the building a minute later. The adult one looked around, taking in the sight.
Sure a lot has changed here…
For example, the secretary desk was now at the left just beside the elevator, instead of at the right next to the entrance.
They walked up to there. The woman let out a frightened breath.
"I'm telling you that it was him!"
"Bullshit, Havoc," Breda gazed at him somewhat worryingly. "You must've had a dellusion or something."
"Ask Riza if you don't believe me!"
"I…I don't think we would dare…" interrupted Fuerry.
Havoc growled with irritation. No one, literally no one believed in what he saw just the previous day! Sheesh, such people! He was actually beginning to believe them. Maybe it was really just his sick mind…but if it wasn't (which he was still quite sure of), then they would have to acknowledge it sometime anyway.
"Fine!" Havoc took out a cigarette with his hands trembling with anger. "Do as you wish!"
He turned around and paced through the room. He then burst the door open.
At the other side there was Roy, his hand held up as if he was just to knock. Havoc glanced at him, still angry.
"Hi, colonel," he nearly barked and walked past him, heading towards the stairs.
Roy watched him along with his son, both surprised to no limits. When Havoc vanished from their sight, they simultaneously turned their heads towards the men in the room.
All of them were slightly pale and pratically immobilized. Little Roy let go of his father's hand and run up to Fuerry.
"Hi, uncle Kain!"
Some part of Fuerry's mind recognized the boy and he almost mechanically bend to lift the child up.
"Look, uncle Kain! I met this mister yesterday! Do you know that uncle Jean knows him? And my mommy knows him too! And he is staying with us! And he's a soldier!" little Roy stopped for a moment, thinking of any other information that he could share with Fuerry. "Oh, and mommy is soo sooooooooo happy! And…"
The three men didn't listen to him anyway. They stared at their former superior. Roy was beginning to wonder if he had pink hair or maybe he was only in his boxers or something… But no, he checked that. So why were they staring so intensely? Was it forbidden to be miraculously alive? Well maybe it was, Riza told him that they had a new government after all…
He still didn't know what to tell them, so he tried the simplest version.
"Hello…?"
"Ah!" Breda jumped at the sound. "He talks!"
Hm. Last time he was there it was normal for a human being to talk. Had the rules changed that much?
"Are you…are you real? Colonel?" Fallman asked tentatively.
Roy sighed and entered the room. They all instinctively took a step back.
"Of course I am real, Fallman. How else could I be here?"
"Well…"
"I'm back. I wanted to correct my status to a living soldier, but they wouldn't believe it was me when I called them. So I decided to come here in person, and I just thought I could drop in."
He could drop in. As if dead people just casually came and dropped in.
"How come you're alive, colonel?" asked Fuerry.
"Uncle Jean also said you're a colonel!" little Roy unexpectedly interrupted. "It is a very high rank, isn't it, uncle Kain?"
"It…it is," replied Fuerry, confused by the rapid change of subject.
"I asked mommy and she said that the soldier from the story was also a colonel," the boy continued, as if nothing happened. "You know what mister?" he suddenly pointed his finger at his dad. "I think you can be the soldier! Because you're just the same as him! Yeah!" his face lightened with a glorious idea. "If you could be the soldier, then mommy could be the lady! Great! And then I could meet you everyday, and mommy would be happy, because she said she wanted me to meet the soldier someday, but then she said it was impossible because he was dead, but now if you would be the soldier, then you would be alive and I could meet you, and I'd be happy too, because I've always wanted to meet the soldier, and…and yeah!" he ended, deprived of breath both from the excitement and the lack of any pause in his speech.
The four adults stared at him wide-eyed.
Fuerry wondered what story the boy was talking about.
Fallman was impressed by the train of the boy's thoughts.
Breda was still trying to comprehend what the boy had said.
Roy felt respect for his son for being able to say it all in such a short period of time.
Little Roy looked at them one by one. "What?"
They shook their heads. "No, nothing…"
The next hour passed as Roy was telling his former subordinates his story. Little Roy was taken by Havoc, because he had heard the story anyway. There was the danger that he would hear something he shouldn't hear yet…or at all.
So the two sat at the bench just outside the Headquarters. It was lunch time, so Havoc bought himself a hamburger and his tutee an icecream. Another of Riza's strict bans: no fast food. But he could at least give the boy something tasty, if he couldn't buy him french fries.
Little Roy shared his idea with his guard.
"Do you think that mister could really be the soldier?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "Because I really think that mommy is like the lady."
"Well, I don't know…" he said carefully. "But maybe…"
"Great!" the boy was evidently delighted. "When I get home, I'll tell mommy!"
"Yeah," Havoc smiled. "Tell her."
Maybe it was the easiest way to explain to him the whole truth?
"Ok, I need to deliver that report now, so…" Ed looked at Winry tentatively. "Are you going with me?"
"I think I'll go visit miss Riza," she replied, frowning a bit. "I've neglected her a little recently."
"You're always so kind for people. It's a pity I'm the only exeption."
"Hey, you know that's not true."
Ed leaned forward and kissed her lovingly. "I know," he muttered against her lips.
She send him a beautiful smile, which made his eyes sparkle, and they parted. Winry walked down the street while Ed turned right, heading towards the Headquarters.
He saw Havoc and little Roy sitting on the bench and walked up to them.
"Hi there," he greeted them.
The boy's eyes flashed with excitement. He opened his mouth, but stopped, evidently hesitating what to say first. But finally he made up his mind.
"Look, uncle Ed," he reached to his tiny pocket and took out a folded sheet of paper. He straightened it and gave it to the alchemist, who scanned the drawing. "It's still not what I want, but it's a lot better, isn't it?"
Ed gazed at the transmutation circle drawn on the paper. It was quite complicated, but no wonder about that: the boy had been perfecting it for ages. The most evident difference between this one and the last one was that he added a small symbol of flames (so now there were three in total) and a triangle in the upper area.
Ed could understand his internal need for the flames. As for anything else, he knew that an alchemist devised his alchemy array himself and there was no point in telling the boy: "this triangle or this circle is unneccessary." The array would work perfectly only when the alchemist was satisfied with it. So he made no comment on that matter. Actually, the array looked pretty good. It was well composed and…well, it was somewhat familiar. Like a mixture of his own old array, which the boy was using for the time being, and the colonel's one. But Ed guessed it couldn't be helped. Both arrays were shown to the kid several times. Now all that was left was for him to make a unique one for himself.
"It's good indeed," he praised the boy and smiled at him.
Little Roy's eyes sparkled with happiness. Since uncle Ed thought his new array was good, he proceeded to tell him the next thing.
"We're having a guest, uncle Ed! He's now with uncle Kain, uncle Vato and uncle Heyman. And you know what? Everyone seems to know him…" he added, bewildered with that fact.
"Oh really? Who is it?" Ed turned his gaze to the captain.
Havoc stared at him, a creepy smile crawling onto his lips. Oh how he would delight in seeing the reunion of those 'old friends'…
"Come with us," he grabbed Ed by the wrist.
"Hey!" the alchemist protested. "What are you…"
But he was already being dragged to the office.
"Hey, hey, uncle Ed, do you know that that mister looks exactly like me?"
"What do you mean 'he looks exactly like you'?" Ed asked a bit annoyed, as he was currently being shoved into the office by them both. "And could you two stop throwing me around as if I was a doll?"
"You're so small they've probably missed the difference, Fulllmetal."
Ed's face tensed. He slowly turned his head and his golden eyes fixed upon the raven-haired man in front of him. The man was grinning…it was a sadistic grin. The one he usually had on when Ed was around.
"Col…is that you?" the blonde asked in shock.
"Why my dear Fullmetal, don't you recognize me?"
Little Roy tugged onto Ed's sleeve. "Are you friends as well?"
Havoc lifted the child. "You can say that," he replied instead, grinning as well.
During those four years Ed sometimes went back to the times when the colonel had been still alive. He had regretted that it had ended that way. His final encounter with Bradley was kind of a revenge for Mustang's death. However, even having managed to defeat the Homunculi, he wouldn't feel well. There were times Winry found him sitting late at night, deep in his thoughts. She would comfort him and he would cling onto her, grateful that at least she and Al remained alive. He knew she took lieutenant Hawkeye onto herself. He himself was unable to look at the woman's tears and grief. At times Winry returned past midnight from Riza's house. She was helping with the childcare and consoling her friend as well as she could. Then the time came for him to take care of the colonel's son as well. It was the last thing he could do for that man. They were on the same side, after all. They both had faced Homunculi, they had cooperated to save the ones important to them, they had helped each other. Ed realized that Mustang had taken him under his wings back then. At least he could do the same for his little son.
But now, being greeted with such words, Ed burst out with anger.
"Who are you calling so short that could be easily mistaken for a doll?!"
To his surprise and actually to his fury, each and every man in the room roared with uncontrollable laughter.
"So that's how it is…" Ed said sarcastically half an hour later. "Had it not been for me, you wouldn't've regained your memory. How nice."
"Quit yapping, Fullmetal, I know you're happy to see me again," Roy smirked at his victim.
"Yeah, whatever…" he crossed his arms on his chest.
Roy leaned forward in his chair. They were left alone and they could talk freely.
"Riza told me you've got a girlfriend. I see that you've finally learnt something from me. You're not as stupid as I thought you to be, after all."
Ed's blushed slightly, but didn't respond. Roy continued:
"I've also heard you've erased all the Homunculi from the face of Earth. I must admit that I'm impressed. Good job, Fullmetal."
"Yeah… Al has helped me a lot."
"Where is he now?"
"He's got the State license and now he is doing some reseach at the East."
"He took the exam?" Roy was surprised. "I've told you that he shouldn't…"
He was surprised to see Ed's smirk. "Lieutenant Hawkeye has not told you yet, has she?"
"About what?"
With no further word Ed pulled up his right sleeve. The black fabric revealed a perfectly healthy human flesh arm. Roy's eyes widened at the sight.
"When we defeated the Homunculi, we were able to transmute their bodies. We obtained an amount of the Philosopher's Stone sufficient for us to regain our own original bodies. I've got my leg and arm back and Al… Al is a normal human being again."
He lifted his gaze to look at the colonel. Te raven-haired man looked back.
"You know, Fullmetal," he said thoughtfully. "When I found you in your aunt's house, I had great expectations towards you. When I got to know about your human transmutation, I was furious, but also surprised that you've survived it. When you passed the exam with flying colors, I was impressed and slightly proud of you. Then I always made sure you were headed on the right track. But you know…I've never respected you as much as I do now."
This was definitely something Ed didn't expect to hear from that man. But having gotten through the initial shock he smirked in response. "Guess all that effort was worth it since I've heard such words from your mouth. And I'm glad that you consider me a worthy alchemist. Because…there is something you'd probably want to know."
Roy blinked. "What is it?"
Ed leaned forward, a serious expression on his face. "I'm not sure if you know, but your son started showing interest in alchemy."
"Riza didn't tell me anything about that," Roy listened to him carefully.
"She only finds his drawings, and she thinks that's all. Captain Havoc has told me she didn't want her son to be taught alchemy at such young age. Though she acknowledged that he'd need a teacher anyway. She just wanted to wait with that."
"But?"
"But…one day your son came to the Headquarters. He showed us his drawings. Apparently, he found your old gloves in the house and tried to copy the array onto a sheet of paper. I warned lieutenant Hawkeye to keep him away from the gloves, for he could harm himself. But I also made a thorough inspection on the drawings and I talked to little Roy. He told me that he actually performed a simple transmutation."
"What?!"
"It was accidental, though. He unintentionally spilled some water onto the paper he had his drawings on. When he tried to dry the paper he changed the water into steam. However, he couldn't explain how. Lieutenant Hawkeye has forbidden him to do anything like that again, probably out of worry for him. So from that day on he only shows her his drawings, but what she doesn't know is that he has performed quite a number of transmutations and I must say that the majority of them were succesful."
"Wait," Roy shook his head. "How come? He doesn't know how to do it, right? You've just said that."
Ed smiled. "Well. His first transmutation performed at the age of nearly three…you'll agree that it's very soon. Even if he's a son of the Flame Achemist," he added mockingly. "So I recognized that the boy is very talented. And I don't like to waste such talents."
"Fullmetal…what exactly have you done?"
"I've thought it over. I remember how me and Al were just as clueless at his age as he was then, so I decided to take the matters into my own hands. I've asked Al for advice and he agreed with me."
"What have you done?"
"I've accepted little Roy as my apprentice."
It took Roy a few seconds to comprehend the message conveyed by those words.
"You've made him your student?!"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"As I've said, I hate wasting talents. Besides, he needed a teacher not in a few years, but now. Otherwise he could end up like us. And I wanted to prevent it. So I made sure that he'd be led the right path. And I think you're mistaking one thing: I didn't say I've made him my student, but that I've accepted him as one."
"Where's the difference?"
"The proposition came from him, not from me."
"Wait…" Mustang thought for a moment. "Are you saying that he asked you to teach him?"
"Exactly."
"And you agreed because you felt he really needed a teacher?"
"That's right. He needed someone to guide him through the complications of alchemy. Had I not done it, he would've probably been unable to solve some of the problems himself. Or he would've misunderstood them, just like us. Our father left early and we lacked a mentor, that's why we ended up losing our bodies."
"And you took him under your wings?"
"Precisely."
Roy gazed at him and smiled. "So my son is being taught by the great Fullmetal Alchemist…"
"Do you have a problem with that?" asked Ed fiercely. "Because you know, neither of us is going to quit."
"No," he answered unexpectedly. "I have no problem with this at all. I'm…" he smiled to himself. "I'm actually grateful. Riza knows this and that about alchemy, but she would be unable to take care of that matter herself. Thank you for doing this."
Ed blinked, astounded.
Yeah…sure a lot has changed.
It took Roy awhile to settle the matters down in the Headquarters. Well, dead people weren't supposed to appear suddenly and to start going around, were they? Mustang faced some problems, but eventually, after an hour or so, he left the secretary's office contended.
He went to the office that used to be his. Everyone gathered there: Breda, Fallman, Fuerry, Havoc, Ed and Winry with little Roy on her lap. She heard from Riza what had happened and rushed to the Headquarters to see the colonel. Roy thought that maybe he should take a box, place it in front of himself and hold a paper saying: "Come and see me! Only 2$!" He would probably get very, very rich…
"We need to go," he told his son. "Mommy's waiting for us."
"We'll go as well," said Winry, lifting the boy and placing him carefully on the floor so that she could stand up. "We should call Al and tell him everything."
"You're right," Ed agreed. "I've given them the report, so we're free now."
Winry once more walked up to Roy.
"I'm glad that you're still with us, colonel," she said, smiling. "And I'm happy to see miss Riza smile like she once used to. Please take good care of her."
"Don't worry about that," Roy smiled back.
"Come, Winry," Ed grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards the door.
"Don't tell me Fullmetal is jealous of me," smirked Mustang, but he received no reply from the blonde alchemist.
The couple left. Little Roy watched as Winry's short skirt disappeared behind the door.
"Auntie Winry wears miniskirt very often," he announced unexpectedly. He learned that word from the mechanic. "But mommy doesn't. I wonder what she would look like in a miniskirt. I think she would be even prettier than she is now, because auntie Winry looks prettier when she has that skirt. You know what," he stated suddenly. "I think that all ladies should wear miniskirts! They would be prettier!"
Everyone, including Roy, looked at him wide-eyed. In the silence that fell after his words the boy asked:
"What?"
Riza opened the door.
"And what? Have you achieved anything?"
"Actually, yes. There have been some problems while I was absent for four years," he followed her to the kitchen, "but I convinced them that I could work again."
She looked at him with surprise. "And they allowed you to?"
"It was hard…but yes. I'm starting on Monday. Till then I have to acquaint with all the details. Oh yeah, and they're not going to take my rank away, so I'm still a colonel."
She shook her head. "I can't imagine how you managed to do this, but nevermind that."
"Well, I talked with a secretary…and since she takes care of most of the paperwork she was actually the most important one there…and you know…" he smirked.
Before Riza could tell him off for seducing the secretary, their son asked:
"Mommy, what's for dinner?"
Roy made a mental note to thank him later and maybe buy him a big pack of candy.
During the dinner little Roy explained to his mother his new idea.
"…and then he could be the soldier! Mommy, don't you think it's possible? Because you're so much like the lady!"
He didn't think of course that he would be their son then…
The adults looked at each other over the table. A silent agreement was created between them.
"Roy, my dear, so you would like this mister to be the soldier?" Riza asked.
"Yeah!" the boy nodded so enthusiastically that his head threatened to fall off.
"And for me to be the lady?"
"Uhm!"
"So…what if I told you that I am the lady?" she risked, gulping.
Her son stared at her. "You are the lady?"
"Maybe…what then?"
She waited for his reaction. And then she heard…
"Great!" little Roy's eyes sparkled. "My mommy is the lady!" He turned towards Roy. "So you are the soldier?"
"Yes, I am…"
"Wow!" his voice was full of pure delight. "You're in the story! Hey, but…" the thought suddenly occurred to him. "But you were dead."
"I…" he hesitated how to explain that to him. "I was not dead…"
"Mommy said you were. And everything that mommy says is right."
"Well… That is because she though I was dead. But I just…I got lost. Like…like uncle Jean!" he exemplified, happy with the instance. "Do you understand?"
"But that's not the same!"
"Of course it's not. That's why I'm still alive. But your mommy though that I had died. She didn't know the truth, ok?"
The boy thought for awhile. The adults exchanged worried looks.
"Aaah…" the boy finally said. "So the soldier didn't die, but everyone thought he did?"
"Yes, my dear," replied Riza. "Exactly."
"So everyone would be happy to know that he is alive?"
"Yes…"
"And you are happy, mommy!" he pointed his finger at her.
"Yes, I am happy," she confirmed. "I am very happy."
"Sooo…it must be true then," concluded little Roy.
Fine. The fun part was over. There came the time for the more difficult one.
"And…this means, my dear…" began Riza slowly, "that you are…our son."
He looked at her. He blinked several times in complete silence.
"So…so what?" he asked tentatively, unsure of how to understand it.
"So…this mister…is your dad," she uttered.
"But I don't have a dad," the boy protested.
"Well…wouldn't you like to have one?"
"What for? I have you," he stared at her, surprised.
Oops. What now?
"Mommy?"
"Listen," Roy took his son and placed him onto his own lap. "But you know, do you remember that the lady had a son?"
"Of course I remember!"
"So the soldier was his dad. You know that, right?"
Yes. Riza told him something like that once or twice.
"But the soldier died and the boy didn't have a dad."
"Yes, but then the soldier returned," continued Roy, suppressing his nervousness. "Because, as you know, he wasn't actually dead. And then the boy had a dad."
"But you're the soldier!"
"Yes, I am. And I am your dad. Because you are your mommy's son. And your mommy is the lady, so you are the lady's son. So you are the boy. Do you understand?"
His son looked shocked. "I am the boy?" he turned to Riza. "Mommy, is it true?"
She nodded reluctantly. "Yes, dear, it's true."
The boy bit his lip, deep in thoughts. He tried to comprehend everything he'd just heard.
"Sooo…you're the lady," he pointed at Riza," you're the soldier," he looked at Roy, "and I'm the boy…?"
"Yes, my dear."
"So I'm in the story too?"
"Yes…you are."
"Wow!" his mouth opened in awe. "I'm in the story! Mommy, why didn't you tell me? Why did you say I couldn't meet the boy?"
"Because the boy is you, my dear," she replied softly.
"I see…so I couldn't meet him, because it was me all the time?"
"Yes."
He didn't understand it entirely, but he could comprehend it to a satisfactory extent. But then he looked at Roy seriously.
"So you are my dad?"
"Yes, I am."
"And…what does it mean?" his expression was worried. He feared the unknown.
"This means that I love your mommy very much, just like the soldier loved the lady," began Roy, trying to calm him down. "And that I will stay with you and your mommy, and we will spend much time together…if you want to," he added quickly.
"You will stay with us forever?"
"You said you wanted me to stay, right?"
"Yeah…so that mommy would be happy." He turned to her. "Mommy, do you want this mister to stay?"
She opened her mouth, but it took her a second to start speaking. "Yes, but only if you want it too, my dear."
"Will you be happy?"
"I…I will."
"And you love this mister just like the lady loved the soldier?"
"Yes, my dear, I do."
"And what about me?" he asked almost pleadingly.
"I love you just as much as I always have," she assured him, leaning forward to caress his small cheek. "And I will never stop loving you, remember that. I told you that the lady loved her son very much, right?"
"Right…" he looked calmed. "So you love me like the lady loved the boy?"
"Yes, just as much."
"Ok… So you this mister is my dad…so…so what is going to change?"
"That this mister will live with us from now on."
"And?"
"And he will play with you and take you for walks when I am busy."
"Just like uncle Jean?" the boy's eyes lit with recognition.
"Yes," she smiled. "Just like uncle Jean."
"But uncle Jean doesn't live with us."
"Because he is not your dad. And this mister is."
"Ahh…" he nodded in understanding. "So he will be like uncle Jean, but he will live in our house?"
"Exactly, my dear," she was happy that he finally comprehended that.
"And that's all?"
"That's all."
They waited for the boy's decision.
"It's not bad…" he stated eventually. "Because I like this mister. Do you like me?" he asked Roy.
"I like you very, very much," he smiled at him.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"Because you are my dad?"
"Yeah, also…"
"So do I call you 'dad' now?"
"Well…yes," Roy looked him in the eye.
"Fine. So if you want to be my dad, then I'll accept you as my dad," announced the boy.
Riza stared at him with her mouth slightly open. Where did he learn that sentence from? But Roy only smirked to himself. He knew the answer for that question.
"Really…?" he asked, grinning.
"Yeah!" little Roy finally smiled as well. "I think I understand now. If it's just like uncle Jean, then I guess it's fine."
"And…will it be ok?" Riza wanted to make sure.
"Yeah."
Both adults let out relieved sighs. It was tough, but they made it through somehow.
"So now, since you are my dad," began the boy cheerfully, "I'll show you my drawings!"
He jumped off of Roy's lap and rushed upstairs. Black eyes met the amber ones.
"I think he's got it, at least for the most part," said Riza.
"Will he be fine?"
"I think so. He 'accepted' you, didn't you hear?" she laughed. She felt so much relieved that it ended up well.
"What about you?"
She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"Well…" Roy took her hands into his ones. "The fraternization law is abolished, little Roy is more or less comfortable with me being his dad…what would you say if we legalized our relationship?"
She gasped. "Wha…"
"Riza…marry me."
She smiled at him, one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen. His eyes sparkled, just as Ed's eyes sparkled when he saw Winry's smile. Riza leaned forward and they shared a long, tender kiss.
"Do you think that I could say 'no'?"
A/N: So this is it, my dear Readers! This is the last fic of the trilogy with little Roy and his parents. Sad, but still it's true. Besides, you have been warned before about that fact.
So leave a nice review and I'll come up with another idea!
Thanks for all those who have been supporting me all this time, ever since "Because you're his son" was released. You were my inspiration.
See ya later!