I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter #1

"A dislocated shoulder, a mild concussion, a broken leg, and a broken nose," Mustang read off the paper before looking up at Edward who was sitting on the couch before him, shifting as though in discomfort. "Fullmetal, I'm very curious to know what exactly caused you to assault and cause this much damage to a mere pickpocket. Would you happen to be kind enough to explain?"

Golden eyes flicked over to him briefly but quickly darted back down to their owner's hands. Ed was fiddling with his gloves. He was obviously uneasy and slightly anxious about the whole situation. The blond licked his lips before he answered.

"Well, he was trying to steal my wallet. What was I supposed to do? Let him have it? I don't see what the big deal is."

The colonel resisted the urge to massage his temples to relieve the headache that was beginning to form. Of course, Edward did go overboard on most occasions but to go this far for some measly, insignificant thief… It was stupid, pointless and un-Edward-like. Roy knew for a fact that both of the Elric brothers were softhearted, even though the elder of the two hid it sometimes. And the way Ed was reacting to the whole situation seemed off too.

"The 'big deal' is the fact that you completely beat the living snot out of a smalltime thief," Roy said with a sigh. "Yes, he is a criminal but I don't think he really deserved the beating you gave him. Was that honestly necessary?"

"I've already told you," the blond responded, beginning to sound exasperated. "He was trying to steal my wallet. I don't know what else you want me to say, Mustang. That I'm sorry? So I went a bit too far. Oops! There isn't anything I can do about it now."

"Well, an apology might be a good start. Admittedly, you did over react," the man said.

Edward let out a long sigh, sinking into his seat a little. "Okay. Sorry. Can I go now?"

"Of course not. Firstly, I'm not done this paperwork which you are the cause of. And secondly, you haven't given me any facts."

The blond pouted a little, sinking lower into his seat.

Mustang signed a few documents before looking up at the young alchemist again. "So, just how much money is in your wallet anyway?"

"A dollar fifty seven," Ed responded automatically, looking over at him with a slightly confused expression. "Why?"

Roy looked up at the youth, eyebrows shooting up. He couldn't help it. The boy was making all this fuss over spare change?

"A dollar fifty seven, Fullmetal? A dollar fifty seven?"

"Yeah. So?" Ed said, still not making the connection.

"You tossed around a pickpocket for a dollar fifty seven," the man clarified.

Now, by anyone's standards, that was by all means unnecessary, pointless, and maybe just a little cruel. And it made the colonel think. Edward couldn't have been that worried about such a small amount of money. He didn't seem to be the type to worry about that type of thing at all. In fact, Mustang was sure Alphonse had been complaining about how Ed had forgotten his wallet in their room earlier that week.

"Well…" Ed started, his face going red. A sure sign that something wasn't quite right. "Well, I needed the money. I was going to use it to buy milk."

Roy couldn't resist. "That's obviously a lie, Fullmetal. You hate milk."

"Uh… It's not for me!" the blond said quickly, trying to correct himself. "It's… It's for Al! He's got a kitten, see? And we can't starve the poor thing."

"I thought you didn't let him keep any cats," Roy continued. "And you know that cats don't just survive on milk, right?"

Mustang had seen Edward blush before on a few occasions other than this one, but he'd never seen the youth's face so red! He looked something close to a tomato.

"Well, whatever! Why the fuck do you care anyway?!" the blond snapped, raising his voice to the point where he was nearly yelling. "It's my wallet and my money and maybe it really pisses me off that a thief was trying to steal it! So why don't you just fuck off, Mustang?!"

"Enough, Fullmetal. Settle down," Roy began. Ed seethed but surprisingly he remained silent and didn't make a run for the door. Yet. "I understand that it's your wallet and that you don't want it stolen but I'm just wondering as to why you were so rough on the thief."

"Because-I-didn't-want-my-wallet-to-be-stolen-you-fucking-moron," Ed ground out in a low tone.

"Is that really enough of an excuse? There's no other reason?"

"No! Of course there's no other reason! What other reason could there be?! Piss off! Just leave me alone!"

That seemed to be that last straw for Edward. The youth got up and bolted, flinging the door open and disappearing from Roy's sight.

To be continued…