Alright, well this is my first attempt at writing a series of sorts. I thought I really needed to practice all areas of emotional writing, and in what better form to do it than my favorite gang of genius buffoons. Mustang's team (plus Edward).
This is more or less a series of things that go on at the office, whether or not they are fluffy, funny, angsty, serious, or complete author shananigans, it doesn't matter. There will be drabbles, poems, play-format skits, and even the occasional oneshot, as well as a bunch of other junk. All about Mustang and the other guys who make life in the office a whole lot more interesting than it should be.
Now, I know that with a title like "Office Shananigizing", the first chapter is expected to be the humorous sort, but this was the idea that started it all, and therefore, it goes.
"Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seeds of either success or failure in the mind of another." ~ Napoleon Hill
Roy could practically hear the drywall chipping and denting and cracking when the inner office door was slammed into the wall by an all-too-familiar, midget sized boot. The noise had triggered a headache and the Colonel could already tell that the mission was a failure as well as his paperwork. As the mistreated door swung madly back into place with another slam, the young alchemist gave a tired yawn and a trademark scowl - a strange but common contrast from the energy of the slamming door.
"Welcome back, Fullmetal. Come up short again, have we?" The Flame Alchemist decided to just go through the motions and get this over with as quickly as possible.
Instead of a usual short rant, Edward gave a twitching glare to his superior and flopped down lazily onto the same spot on the same couch that he always sat on no matter what. Roy didn't even bother to wince as the boy's boots dug into his mahogany coffee table across from the black sofa.
"Yep, another dead end and wild goose chase that you pulled out of your ass." Came the biting remark after another yawn.
"I see. Your report?" Mustang waited for the usual 'nothing interesting happened' or 'I didn't have time to write one' or some stupid excuse for causing Roy another paperwork stump.
A yawn. Pen scritch-scratching on paper filled the air.
The Colonel waited.
A shifting of clothing.
The Colonel looked up from his work.
A dark, brooding frown.
"Fullmetal?" Roy's disinterested tone did not betray his slight confusion.
Another silence and shift in position, this time facing the door with his legs on the middle seat of the couch.
The Colonel waited.
"Do you think we'll ever find it?" Came a quiet but clear reply.
This question itself only set Mustang slightly off. There had been many times when Edward was first enlisted when he had asked this question, and it hadn't been rare for Roy to answer with some comment as to say he didn't know, but to keep trying. Because he really didn't know. As the months, and eventual years, passed, Fullmetal had slowly stopped asking, as if he didn't want to hear the answer anymore. Roy didn't blame him. It simply was not likely.
"The big question, is it?"
However, as normal and melancholy and rhetorical the question was, something was different. The way Ed had said it tipped the Colonel off. So like the first time he had asked that ridiculously unanswerable question, it seemed that the young alchemist genuinely needed an answer. Roy could practically feel the despair and hopelessness that clung to the boy's words. And this time, something in Mustang changed as well.
"Well, Fullmetal, it depends." Roy returned to his paperwork.
Ed scowled at his superior's nonchalantness.
"If you're asking yourself whether or not you will succeed, it seems that you're asking a rhetorical question. But," Roy wrote on, his signature slowly deteriorating into mere scribbles and swoops as his hand cramped up. "if your asking yourself how to succeed, doesn't it seem to be a more approachable question?"
Edward was silent.
"So the real question isn't whether or not you will find the the Stone. With your own determination and dedication, that is not the issue. You will find it whether you like it or not- and when you do..."
Roy looked up from his work, hand throbbing, and met eyes with his charge.
"When you do, make sure that you ask yourself if all the times you wavered and asked the wrong question if it was worth it to waste time pondering the unfathomable answer."
Ed broke the eye contact and looked at his shoes as Mustang stood from his desk and stretched, making his way to the door as he did so. He put his hand on the banged up knob and turned it, keeping the door closed.
"You're going to succeed, Edward, whether you like it or not. Whether or not you do it the easy way or the hard way is up to you."
With that, the Colonel left.
Five pairs of eyes watched the Colonel leave his inner office in confusion. Riza was about to ask why he was walking out in the middle of a meeting with Edward when the door opened again, revealing a seemingly bored Fullmetal that stood straighter and gazed nonchalantly around the room with molten golden eyes that clearly asked what his next lead was.