AN: Written for the comment_fic community prompt: Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric+Any(+Alphonse Elric), Who buys Ed (and Al) his first drink?

It could only be Hughes. Even if I have to make it so he never died.

"—been so long!" Maes said, wandering around the office as far as his phone cord would let him go. On the other side, he could hear Roy sighing, but Roy needed these distractions no matter how much he claimed they annoyed him. Granted most of the calls tended to be dedicated to Elicia, but Roy didn't stop by nearly often enough; as his best friend, Maes was obligated to keep him informed of his perfect daughter's steps of life. "We really need to meet up for drinks sometime soon."

"Fine," Roy grumbled on the other end. "We can set up a time. What are you doing Tuesday evening? Eightish?"

Maes flourished his datebook. Inside the front cover he had two photos of Elicia with Gracia, and one of Elicia holding their new kitten. In the back cover was a copy of his wedding photo and Elicia's first baby photo. He flipped to the calendar for the month and scanned down. "Tuesday should be fine." He glanced at the square a few days ahead of it. "…Roy."

"…What?" Roy asked, his long suffering tone going wary. Maes probably shouldn't have used a different tone of voice; Roy was a bit too used to hearing that one before Maes came up with some sort of grand scheme.

"Are the Elric brothers in town this week?"

Papers shuffled on the other end and Maes wandered over to the cork board over his desk. Behind photos of Elicia and notes to himself was a photo of Edward and Alphonse Elric as he had last seen them, several months ago now. Ed was ducking from Winry Rockbell's hand on his head. Alphonse was laughing. After almost two years since regaining his body he looked much healthier. The boys had returned to Risembool after taking out Father, but it hadn't surprised Maes that they'd returned to traveling as soon as Al was healthy enough to do so. They traveled separately as much as they did together, and that was a bit surprising, but last Maes had seen them, they looked happy and healthy and that was about all he could hope for them.

"I haven't heard from them recently," Roy said. "Winry would probably know where they are if anyone does. Did you need them for something?" He still sounded wary, but less like he was expecting Maes to suggest something that would either need a lot of cleanup or a cover up operation.

"Just wondering," Maes said with perfectly pitched innocence that Roy wouldn't believe for a second. "So, we'll get drinks Tuesday."

"…Sure. Tuesday."

"Great! You really should come to dinner beforehand if you can! It's been so long since you saw Elicia and she has these little—"

"Yes, yes, you've told me about them at length. I'll try to make it over sometime this month." He sounded amused and annoyed again, which was good. Maes smiled. If Roy didn't take breaks from paperwork he'd go crazy, and a call from Maes was always a Riza approved break method. "Whatever you're planning, please don't leave me with a bunch of forms to deal with."

"It's nothing that dangerous," Maes assured him. "See you Tuesday." He heard the click of Roy hanging up on the other end and he hung up as well before flipping through his date book to find his list of phone numbers in the back. "Let's see if Winry's heard from the boys recently…"

~o~

The Elric brothers, as it turned out, were only a train stop away on their way to Central before heading to Risembool which worked out perfectly in Maes's opinion. It meant Edward would be in town right on his birthday—though Maes had the feeling that Ed probably didn't even remember that it was his birthday since he tended to forget dates that didn't seem important to him. Maes only knew it was his birthday because Alphonse had mentioned it last year.

Inviting them over to dinner had been simple, and enjoyable as well. Elicia had looked overjoyed at seeing them and the boys had had fun catching up on her life in person—though if Elicia showed more signs of having a crush on Alphonse, Maes was going to have to have a heart to heart with him. Just in case.

A very serious heart to heart, possibly with a convenient weapon on hand.

Not that Maes thought that Alphonse would break his baby's heart.

Just to be on the safe side.

Anyway, Maes was satisfied with how the evening was going, and that only left one thing; taking the celebration to a less family oriented locale and ushering in Ed's rite of passage to adulthood over a drink.

"To the bar!" Maes said cheerfully, throwing an arm around Ed's shoulders. Behind him Gracia laughed into her hand as she ushered Elicia to bed.

"Have fun and be safe!" she called.

"Of course, for my lovely wife and daughter I will be on my best behavior," Maes said grinning.

Ed sputtered, trying to duck out from under his arm. "Hughes, we can't—it's getting late we should really be—"

"Edward Elric, you turn eighteen once in your life, and you're finally legal," Maes said. "I'm buying you a drink." He looked at Al. "Alphonse, you'll have to wait until next year, but I'd love to buy you a drink when you come of age too."

"Thank you, Mr. Hughes," Al replied, smiling as Ed continued to fail at escaping Maes's grasp.

"Hey, I don't need a drink! How do you even know it's my birthday?" Ed asked as he was manhandled out the door.

"Al told me," Maes replied. Al shut the door behind them and put an arm around Ed's shoulders as well, helping Maes propel him down the street.

"Oi, Al, did you have to tell everyone and their mother that—"

"Brother, try to have some fun," Al admonished. "Mr. Hughes is being nice."

Maes tuned out their back and forth commentary and Ed's occasional bids for freedom—you'd think going out to a bar was the worst thing in the world. Maes had seen Ed in bars before gathering information or for entertainment. Hell, some bars had probably served him a drink before, but it was the tradition of things that made it important, and it wasn't like either of them had a father to buy them their first drink anymore. He took them to the first place he knew that wasn't shady or gaudy and dragged Ed up to the bar with Al trailing after them, still smiling.

"He'd like a vodka cranberry, and I'd like whisky on the rocks," Maes said, then leaned over to Ed and asked, "You did like cranberry juice the last time you visited, correct?"

"Yes, I like cranberry juice." Ed finally shook of Maes's arm and crossed his arms. "And you don't have to do this." He scowled vaguely toward the bar, not meeting Maes's eyes. That meant he was probably embarrassed, not actually annoyed at Maes. Good. Sometimes Maes knew he came on too strong, though he usually was good at seeing when he was about to cross a line in time to back off. "I've had drinks before. I'm from Risembool," Ed grumbled like Risembool was supposed to explain everything.

"They're not too picky about what age you drink so long as you're not being stupid about it," Al filled in. He sat at the bar and calmly ordered a glass of orange juice. "And Granny Pinako likes to celebrate."

"The stuff she brews is awful," Ed complained. He sat next to Al, arms still crossed defensively. "Like moonshine and paint thinner and strong enough to make your hair stand on end."

"Not that we'd know," Al said with false innocence, and Ed snorted.

"Alcohol's overrated."

It was good to see them again, Maes thought suddenly. Good to see them interacting and seeing Al's face shift through expressions and him interacting with his environment. Even after a few years, it still caught Maes off guard how relieved he was to see Al as himself and them looking their age. He was smiling, probably that dopey smile he got when he watched Elicia sleep or when Roy did something that reminded Maes why they were such close friends. He sat on Ed's right, sure now that he'd made the right choice to drag Ed here.

"Alcohol," Maes said as their drinks arrived, "is best enjoyed with good friends and in moderation." There were plenty of people who would disagree with the moderation part, but Maes liked his control a bit too much to get drunk like some of his old friends did. He'd bet that Edward was the same way, preferring to take the edge off a mind too busy with thoughts without clouding it.

Ed picked up his drink. He hadn't been asked for identification, but then Ed looked eighteen these days. He'd hit his growth spurt somewhere along the way and he was well on his way to becoming a fine young man. "I'll have to take your word for it," Ed said, taking a drink. He swallowed and pursed his lips. "Not bad."

"My choices in alcohol are excellent," Maes sniffed. His whiskey warmed him as it went down, curling comfortably in his stomach. "Welcome to adulthood," he said with a flourish.

Ed laughed and finally relaxed, leaning a bit closer to Al. "Your choice is passable, not great."

They had become adults too soon and too young, something he hoped Elicia would never have to be. Maes sipped his drink and listened to Ed start a story about sneaking a drink with Winry when they were much younger and felt warm. Just because they had grown up too young didn't mean they had to face the last formal step to adulthood alone.