Updated: November 2, 2017


The sound of a door hitting a wall resonated through the command center of Central as Edward kicked his way into his commanding officer's office in his usual damage inducing manner.

"Alright Colonel, let's get this over with," Edward flings himself down onto the couch in the middle of the room without looking at the offending man still sitting at his desk.

"Brother," Al's voice comes from the armor ducking through the door, sounding disappointed, "You need to learn some manners."

"Manners-Schmanners. Let's just get this over with already," Ed waves his hand in dismissal in Al's direction before turning to look at the Colonel, only to find two other figures standing nearby to the Colonel seated behind his desk.

The sight of Lieutenant Hawkeye standing nearby to the Colonel was not unexpected. There were a number of times she would sit in on a briefing to act as mediator between the troublesome two. However, Ed was thoroughly surprised and none too happy to see his childhood friend and personal mechanic, Winry, also standing nearby.

"Winry?" Ed says, unable to say anything else as he stands up and turns fully towards the desk.

Al's reaction differs greatly from his brother's, excitedly he called out "Winry!" taking a single step closer to the desk while saying, "What are you doing here in Central? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"The Colonel invited me, " Winry responds, looking a little unsure at the Colonel who keeps his eyes focused on the two boys in front of him.

"What do you mean the Colonel invited you? Colonel, what is the meaning of this?" Ed demands, marching up to the desk and slamming his hands on it in anger.

The Colonel doesn't flinch, he simply sits back in his chair with a look of ease on his face, still assessing Edward. Winry was the one to speak up.

"At least he's trying to keep me updated, unlike you two! Would it kill you to at least call us once in a while and let us know you aren't dead?" Winry demands, trying to keep the look of hurt off of her face.

The metallic ring of Al's voice speaks up from his position still by the door, "We're sorry," he says in a small voice, "please don't be mad at us."

"Yeah, yeah, we're sorry," Ed removes his hands from the desk and crosses his arms, looking away in slight annoyance, "But that still doesn't explain why you're here and not at home in Reesembol."

"If you would calm down long enough to let me explain it to you I will Fullmetal," Mustang finally says in a calm voice.

Ed makes a noise of annoyance, but nods his head in the older man's direction to let him know he's listening.

Waiting a moment to ensure Edward will not make anymore comments, Mustang folds his hands in front of his face before saying, "She is here because I asked her to assist in an upcoming mission."

Edward's face remains scary blank as he processes the words. "A mission?" he asks in a low voice, waiting for Mustang's nod of confirmation. Looking between each of the three faces staring back at him, Edward lowers his arms to his side and lifts his head so he is standing at full height in all his four foot eleven glory before saying in an even voice, "Like hell she is going to be doing that."

Winry stomps her foot in anger, making Al jump in surprise at the sharp noise, before leaning forward to yell, "You can't just say what I can and cannot do! If you can go out in the world and save lives then why can't I?"

Still staring at Mustang in what had become a stare off, Edward answers quietly, "Winry you don't understand-"

"No Edward, you don't understand! Now shut up and listen to someone other than yourself for once in your life!" Winry yells, surprising Edward into looking at her with wide eyes.

Opening his mouth for the smallest moment, Ed seems to think better of what he is going to say before closing his mouth again and shaking his head. Turning on his heels, he walks back towards the couches in the middle of the room and throws himself onto one. After getting comfortable, he looks back at the three behind the desk before raising an eyebrow and gesturing with his hand as an invitation for them to have a seat on the remaining spots.

Everyone moves to get more comfortable. After everything has settled down, Ed and Winry found themselves sitting together on a couch facing Mustang with Hawkeye and Al standing behind their respective elders.

"We have been tracking a string of murders coming from a major port city in the west over the past year," Mustang begins, "We have no clue who the murderer is or what their motive is, but we do know that they always go after family's of four."

Edward nods his head, brain already in the process of determining a motive while he waited for Mustang to continue.

"The local forces have come up with nothing after a year of investigation, so the Fuhrer has decided to send in a team, undercover." Ed's eyes focus directly on Mustang, already understanding where this was heading. "The Fuhrer has also hand picked said team for the mission. It will be you Fullmetal, myself, the Lieutenant, and Ms. Rockbell here."

The room remains quiet as everyone waits anxiously for Edward to take in all of the information.

Leaning forward and clasping his hands between his knees, Ed lowers his head so no one can see his face before he says in a low voice, "What about Alphonse?"

"He will be working closely with the rest of the men, their jobs will be to keep an eye on those we interact with and pin point anyone that may be suspicious," Mustang explains.

"Why Winry?" Ed asks, so quietly that the only one who caught his words at first was the offended girl herself.

"What do you mean 'why Winry?' Do you have a problem with me coming along on a mission?"

Turning his head to just barley look at his friend, Winry saw a face she so rarely saw on Edward. "You don't understand, Winry. These missions we go on aren't like the books we used to read in school. We don't always catch the bad guys in time and we don't always get away completely undamaged. This is the real world. People die, and get hurt, and sometimes we even fail and never catch the guy."

The silence that passed between the two of them seems to stretch on forever as everyone else looks on, before Winry finally says in a hushed voice, "I want to help. I need to help."

Closing his eyes almost in a sense of defeat, Edward took a deep breath before standing up and staring just above the Colonel's head, "Alright, I won't object. But if anything even mildly risky occurs, Winry will be pulled out immediately. I do not care if it compromises the mission or not."

"Fair enough," Mustang nods his head in agreement towards Ed's demands, "Ms. Rockbell's safety is of the utmost importance."

The younger alchemist looks his commanding officer dead in the eye, mentally preparing himself for what's to come.

"So, what do we have to do first?"


The idea behind this story was inspired by twilighteve-writes story Almost about Parental!Royed one shots. That story is way better than mine so you should probably check it out before mine. Thanks for reading and have an awesome day 'cause you are beautiful :D. -DL