An Offer
"What do I think?" Edward looked about him, his hands in his pockets. This was why he didn't like coming into the city. Mustang would always rope him into something. He had a supreme skill of getting people, namely him, to volunteer for things they didn't really want to do. But this? He didn't know what angle the alchemist was playing at.
"Do I have to repeat myself, Fullmetal?" Mustang didn't look up from the papers he was sifting through at his desk as if he hadn't asked such an outrageous question. "It's a simple request. Are you interested or not?"
"Why don't you ask the Lieutenant? And I'm not a State Alchemist anymore," Edward added, glancing away again, "quit calling me that."
"She and I both agree it would be for the best to not consider it." For that matter, where was the Lieutenant? It was strange to not see her by the General's side, on and off the base. Edward checked the clock to see if it was lunch break or something, but it was only 10 am. "She has her duty," Mustang continued, "it would be better to not complicate things." He glanced up at him. "And sit down already, Fullmetal."
Edward made a tch noise with his tongue before slouching into the chair across from him. Alphonse would say to think about it, Whinry …She would probably tell him to go for it. He folded his arms over his chest. They had a kid coming. Staying in one place for a while would be ideal. It wasn't his style, this prospect, he couldn't imagine himself filling these shoes.
"You want me to run with you?" Edward asked, feeling the ludicrousness of the proposition, "For office?"
Mustang didn't miss a beat. "People like you. Everyone knows you as the 'Alchemist for the People.' Your exit from the military is well known and has been seen as a noble move among civilians. Your research in the west is one of the most well-read scientific records. You and your brother have done wonders for our international affairs through your travels." Mustang turned his attention once more on his paperwork and added, "I trust you."
"You don't want me in office, I'm a – " he waved a hand look for the right words, "dirt and danger guy. Hands on. Not paper and polices. I'm not a pencil pusher."
Mustang smirked at 'dirt and danger' and instantly Ed felt his face flush in embarrassment. "This is as hands on as you can get. We'd be directly working to change policies. I could put you in communities, let you be the field guy."
Edward folded his arms over his chest. Mustang wasn't making it easy to say no. "How long would this go for?"
"If elected, four years." He answered shortly, fixing his paper stack to be perfectly aligned. "If elected again, another four years, and so on." Mustang placed the stack in his outbox and examined the leftover contents of his inbox. He tapped his pen against the desk. "You can call your wife, if you must."
"We're not married!" Edward felt his face flush as he reeled forward. He thought of the ring her had in his coat pocket. "Yet!" He added, saw the look on the General's face, and wished he hadn't.
Edward promptly stood up from his chair and started out the room. "And I'm not calling her, I need to get away from your stupid face so I can think!"
He called her.
Whinry seemed elated to hear he had seen the General and asked if he had talked to Riza and how was she doing. "I haven't seen her yet, Mustang wanted to talk to me in private," he explained Mustang's request. Whinry responded, weighing out the options. After a while Edward nodded and said, "That's what I thought, I'll see you in a few days." He paused, blushed, and mumbled, "yeah, I love you too."
Back in Mustang's office, he didn't sit down. Instead he help out his hand and said. "Don't make me regret this, General."
Mustang stood and shook his hand. "I won't."
A/N: I've always had the hc of Ed becoming Mustang's vp. Posted this up on my Tumblr first.