TITLE: WHEN ROY MET THE ELRICS
AUTHOR: Lady Addiction
DISCLAIMER: Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine. This fic is a figment of my imagination.
WARNINGS: Fluff, AU, OOC?
SUMMARY: What if Hoenheim stayed with Trisha and the children?
NOTES: Eh, anything alchemical is an invention. Anything FMA is now disclaimed. Onto the fic.
WWWW
It might just be his imagination, but Roy could swear that someone was following him.
Slowly, he continued walking, keeping his gloved hands in his pockets. His eyes flicked from side to side.
There!
A flash of gold and brown caught on the peripherals of his vision. But before he could move, something rammed the back of his knee and he crashed to the floor with a smash. A heavy weight settled itself on his back, digging painfully between his shoulder blades. Tiny hands scrabbled for his right arm, yanking it out of his jacket pocket. Roy began to struggle as he felt his right glove being tugged off. He pushed up hard, hearing a childish yelp as whoever was on his back fell off. Then there was a thundering of footsteps.
Roy stood up, wincing at the sharp pains in his knee. His once pristine blue uniform was now wrinkled and had wet patches from the newly-washed floor. He dusted himself off, ran a hand through his hair, and then strolled in the direction his attackers ran to.
The corridors of the Brandenburg University's South wing were wide enough to accommodate a bi-directional stream of people, with large wooden doors opening up to small classrooms. The ceiling was high and ribbed, a beautiful curve of redwood that complemented the light brown of the stonewalls and floors. In between doors were brass light scones and pastoral paintings or portraits of significant historical figures.
It was a rest day, so most of the students and professors were outside. The first person Roy saw was a red-haired girl maybe four years younger. Her hazel eyes were somewhat unfocused and she walked in a dreamy pace. He prudently stopped alongside her. "Pardon me?"
The girl started. Her eyes were now clear and bright. "Yes?"
"Did you see someone running down here?"
Her eyes widened and then narrowed as she looked him from head to toe. Roy was taken aback; he was not prepared for such a show of hostility from a woman. "No," she replied abruptly before walking off.
The captain stared after her, nonplussed. Still, taking her response as affirmation, he continued on.
The corridor was about ten minutes long and soon led to an archway leading outside. Roy stepped through and looked around. There was a paved path to the opposite building, but on the left was a footpath that went through a copse. Roy moved to the footpath.
It soon took him on a winding walk that ended up by the river. Moving beside a mature maple, hidden by a thorny thicket, he watched as two small boys conferred. Roy noted with interest that there was a small handcart in the corner with a pile of leather-bound books and a picnic basket. The boys themselves were standing on a large square mat made of black cloth. One of the boys, who had a brighter sheen of gold in his hair, was reading a book that looked too heavy for him, while his friend was studying the array on Roy's glove eagerly.
"Hah! I knew it! That is Druchov's Theory!" crowed the tiny scholar, slamming the book closed loudly. Carefully, he placed it down on the mat. "It's a weather control array, but this here," pudgy fingers pointed at some obscure section (which Roy recognized -- it was his design after all), "basically gives control over the oxygen in the air, while this is a fuel design. And then, look at this! This glove is made of flint filaments. I bet that guy was some kind of pyromaniac."
"Uh, niisan," worried the brown-haired boy as his brother began to put on the glove, "I don't think you should be doing that. Mother always said we're not supposed to play with fire."
"We're alchemists, Al," the gold-haired one said importantly, "and scientists. Scientists naturally take risks." With that, he held out his hand over the river and snapped his fingers.
Roy leaped forward, tackling the younger boy and tucked him beneath his own body. But there was no loud, out-of-control explosion, no blazing heat against his back. Instead, all he heard a whoosh sound and the crackling of fire. He looked up to see the older brother standing in front him, tiger-gold eyes narrowed. His right hand was before Roy, a ball of fire at the tip of his fingers.
"Get off of Al," the boy demanded angrily. Roy slowly lifted himself off. Al crawled over to his brother and got to his feet. His hazel eyes shifted constantly between Roy and the fireball.
"I am impressed," Roy said nonchalantly, hiding the sweat sliding down the back of his neck. He was having the goosebumps, awed by such display of control. "But that is mine."
"Humph, it's nothing too great anyway. Just a lousy fire-starter," scoffed the boy. Suddenly the fire went out, leaving a cloud of dark-gray smoke.
"Niisan, that was so dangerous!" protested his brother. Niisan looked at him and the boy flushed. He scuffed his feet. "But...I want to try it, too!"
Roy watched, semi-horrified, as the older brother thought about it and then handed the glove to Al. Quickly, he stepped forward and plucked the glove from the children. Al gasped and then looked at him with sorrowful eyes. Niisan was indignant. "What are you doing?! It was Al's turn! Can't you wait for a few minutes?!"
"This is not a children's toy," the captain said coolly. "This is a weapon. Just because nothing happened when you tried it doesn't mean your brother can't have an accident." They glared at each other.
"Well, you've got your glove back, now shove off."
"I will if you tell me where to find Professor Hoenheim Elric."
The two boys looked at each other in surprise. Then the older one said soberly, "Okay, we'll take you to him."
Roy followed behind the boys, wary of that glint in the elder's eyes. It didn't help that the younger brother was shooting him anxious looks. He wondered if he would find soon himself abandoned in some communal shower room.
Well, he hoped they at least had the bright idea of leading him to the girl's bath.
Thirty minutes later, Roy was cursing ever having followed the little demons from hell. The boys had led him through a grassy pathway, claiming it was a shortcut. It was a shortcut, alright, straight into a small mud hole.
He swore that he felt a line against his feet just before he landed with a splat. He had noticed that at one point Niisan had disappeared for a minute or two.
Now, he was faced with having to walk through the campus looking like some kind of slimy monstrosity. What was worse was the feeling of heaviness as the mud dried. He consoled himself with the idea that it would at least do his skin some good.
No, check that. What was worse was that the diabolical fiends had made sure they cut through the most populated areas. Roy Mustang's charming smile didn't deter the appalled and amused reactions of the girls he met. The men cheered and jeered at him, their contempt of his uniform much more obvious.
He found that the two were actually Edward and Alphonse Elric, the children of Hoenheim Elric. At least, that was what most of the professors yelled out when they saw the commotion.
Roy thought of the official message safely protected in his inside breast pocket. He hoped that the professor would decline.
He didn't think he would survive the Elric brothers in Central City.
-FINI-
A one-shot inspired by those I consider FMA goddesses: Jaelle, Harukami, Nekokoban, and Ciceqi --- whose fics have managed to snare a FMA muse for me.
Had fun? Please let me know what you thought.
Lady A.