Here's chapter 1 of Aquamarine. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Like Ed is tall, I own FMA. Since we all know the former is untrue, that makes the later untrue as well. Hahahaha-...ow...(grins back at a scowling Ed)

~Aquamarine~

Chapter 1

The broken rays of the sun filtered through the thin cracks between the boards over the windows. With a steady progress they crept across the room until they rested upon Roy's eyelids. He turned his head away, burrowing the side of his face into the rather small but plush pillow. A groan escaped his slightly parted lips as a small weight on his chest prevented him from turning completely away from the intruding light.

After using what he thought was too much energy for its being morning, he gave up and instead resorted to gently pulling his hand from beneath the blanket and—

Wait a minute.

When did he grab the folded blanket from the closet? Last night he had forgotten to grab one, so how—? And then it hit him like a crumbling brick wall. In a rush of clay and mortar, the events of the previous night came back to him.

Dark orbs snapped open and the sight of blue and a tinge of tan and gold slowly came into focus to reveal sleeping soundly on his unmoving chest the baby he had been handed by some lady. Eventually he needed air and released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding in.

The small bundle twitched slightly at the difference in motion but quickly got accustomed to it and became motionless save for its infant breaths. Roy used his now free hand to run it through his hair, one of the few and rarely used signs of indecisiveness.

In this case it was many things. Such as, how he was going to take care of a baby? He barely even took care of himself properly. How the hell was he going to pull this off and make a decent job of it? Another was the supplies. He knew squat about what babies needed. Never in his life had he thought seriously about being a father, and now suddenly...he was.

During his vacation, no less.

"What an interesting vacation this turned out to be," Roy murmured, careful not to wake the baby. He contemplated reaching for the phone but thought better of it. Sure, it was just over the armrest on the table beside the couch, but he just didn't want to.

Innocent golden orbs stared up at him as if regarding the stranger in a relaxed ease. Sensing nothing dangerous, the child squirmed a little until his hands were free of their cotton prison. Something white fell from the confines of the cloth and onto the floor. With much effort—still too much without coffee, in Roy's opinion, but overridden by heightened curiosity—he clenched the folded parchment between his fore- and middle-fingers, using both hands to open it.

With all of my heart I thank you for keeping my son safe. If I had not needed to take him to a safer place then I would have raised him myself, but I'm afraid that was not a choice. I have enclosed all information of my son so he may live a normal life, away from the dangers our kind has somehow found.

Thank you.

It wasn't signed, but the smooth, almost watery blue ink it was written in and the beautiful curves of the words caught him off guard for a moment.

Glancing at the child still staring at him, blinking his big, owly eyes every once in a while, Roy couldn't help but ask softly with a tinge of playfulness, "What're you lookin' at?"

A toothless smile broke out on Edward's baby features and it seemed to be contagious because Roy couldn't help but smile back. Edward put the tips of one set of fingers in his mouth and giggled cutely, his mini antennae-like hairs bobbing as he bounced his head. The other hand reached out towards Roy's head and though it was hard to tell, Roy swore the kid had understood the question somehow.

He was, in a vague sense of the word, pointing at him!

The look on his face, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, was priceless, even to a young child. Edward started laughing that adorable, innocent little baby laugh Roy had only heard days before he left Central for his vacation. He had made a stop at Maes' house on the man's assiduous begging to come see his baby girl that was "the cutest baby girl in the whole wide world," as so stated by the man himself.

Roy groaned at the memory. It had been ...unpleasant when pictures of his girlfriend, now wife, were thrown at him every time the new husband was around. Now it was just hell, with all of the Elysia pictures in his face every five seconds if he wasn't careful enough to dodge the man in his spazzing moods or random calls from the Investigative Department. Twice now he'd had to replace the phone in his office from throwing down the receiver onto the base in irritation.

A vague thought flittered across his mind as Edward managed to grab a lock of his semi-short hair. 'Am I going to be like Maes?' He shivered at the thought. 'Hell no!'

At that moment Edward decided to regain the man's attention by pulling on the captive lock of hair. Roy hissed at the stinging sensation prickling at a small spot on his skull. Gingerly he removed the small, chubby fingers and gave the baby a stern but soft look he hadn't thought he was capable of showing before.

"No pulling, Edward. That hurts." A glint of recognition splashed across the little one's face before it split into a yawn. He laid his golden head down and quickly fell asleep again. The fingers that had been in his mouth slowly slid out and for some reason Roy didn't mind the tiny bit of slobber now on his shirt.

He had always prided himself in his looks, including keeping everything clean, earning himself a reputation of being a neat freak among his friends. Even the slightest bit of dirt or grease or pen ink that fell upon his clothes was immediately taken care of, a ton of paperwork to finish or not.

Now, however, it had suddenly taken a backseat in his life and for reasons he couldn't comprehend, he couldn't care less. Besides, this shirt was due for a wash anyway.

For what had to have been a hour, Roy stayed there on the couch, staring blankly up at the ceiling with nothing else to do but think. Of what? That was obvious. What wasn't obvious was his future. If he decided to keep Edward, it would change his entire life. His goal was to climb to the top, but how would he be able to when he had some random person's baby to raise and take care of? If he explained, and perhaps bribed a little, he was sure his staff wouldn't mind helping a little, but...

Roy sighed. There were just too many variables, uncertainties, downsides that he didn't really know what to do. Maybe he should risk moving and reach for the phone.

Roy stretched a hand up and over the armrest, arching his back and digging his heels into the cushion as he tapped the table in blind search for the phone. With his fingertips he located the base and grinned triumphantly as he raised his hand higher to reach for the phone...only to find it wasn't there.

Eyebrows dipped low, Roy growled as he lay back down, glaring at the ceiling. The phone wasn't on the base, and Roy remembered why now. Last night Hughes had called him and after work matters had been wrapped up, he had started squealing about his adorable daughter and wonderful wife like some schoolgirl talking about a cute boy or something. Don't get him wrong. He didn't have anything against Elysia and Gracia. However, one can only take so much persistent bragging about the same two people for so long.

Now the phone was somewhere on the floor, kicked beneath a piece of furniture. Roy hadn't bothered to look before smacking the thing angrily with his foot. Needless to say he had stubbed his toe and through a haze of pain and frustration, decided he needed sleep. Of course that hadn't quite ended up as he had planned, either.

Roy sighed again and realized with a groan that he'd have to call his family-obsessed friend and actually listen to what the man was rambling on about. Damn it all. Just when he thought he would get to enjoy a much needed and long-deserved vacation and suddenly his life gets turned not only upside down but inside out.

Really. Why him? He'd had everything planned out, but nooooo...

After carefully placing Edward on the couch, much to his adorable protest, Roy ventured around the room. He scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of where it could have gone. After a long search, he finally located the elusive phone, currently the only real link to the outside world.

Black orbs drifted over to the half-awake and surprisingly quiet human being on the couch, wrapped up gently but snuggly in his warm, tiny blanket. 'This is for him,' Roy thought, 'and for her.'

With a tinge of reluctance Roy punched in the memorized numbers and placed the phone's speaker to his ear, counting each ring as they played from the phone. As he waited, Roy glanced at the boarded windows then backed up slightly so he could peek at the wall clock in the kitchen. A little past eight in the morning. Good. Should be at work by now—

"First Lieutenant Hughes speaking," A familiar, somehow cheery voice answered. It took all of Roy's willpower not to hang up now. No, he had to get this done and over with. Roy squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and let it all loose in a great big rush.

None of which Maes was able to decipher.

"Um, Roy? Could you, I don't know, say all of that again but slower this time?" Roy heard the playful grin no doubt on his best friend's face.

"Yeah, uh..." He cleared his throat and started from the beginning, this time at a comprehensible rate.

There was silence on the other end for a while and Roy almost gave in to the temptation to pull the phone away and see if "call ended" was flashing on the screen, when a hearty laugh came through. Roy narrowed his eyes and waited for Maes to calm down enough to speak. "You're kidding, right? Mr.-Most-Eligible-Bachelor-In-All-Of-Amestris taking in some stranger's child? I'm not against it in the least. In fact, I'm happy to know someone'll take care of this poor kid. But you, Roy?" Said man glared at the far wall as a substitute of the real target.

"I mean, come on. It's ludicrous! You barely even listen when I talk about Elysia—yes, I know you pretend to listen, Roy." The Lieutenant Colonel cursed under his breath. He had been hoping that when he did "pay attention" Hughes would take it at face value. Damn.

The conversation almost took on a new direction, "Speaking of Elysia—" But Roy stopped it in time by forcing himself in before the very proud father could rattle on about a recent gurgle or precious little motion she had made with her hand.

"So you don't think I can raise a kid?" He tried to be sarcastic, but there was an underlying tone of challenge.

A pause came from Maes' end before he spoke up, voice sober and intended to be friendly yet as stern as possible. "Are you sure you can do this, Roy?" Another pause. "Are you sure you even want to do this? I'm not saying you shouldn't or anything, it's just...before now you never really took an interest in children in general or having any of your own."

Roy took one look at Edward as he raised his chubby arms up in his direction, tiny hands clenching and unclenching as if trying to grab a hold of him from afar. Without thinking twice about it, Roy sat down beside the little wrapped-in-blue wonder and gently pulled him into his lap, phone clutched between his shoulder and the side of his face.

Those captivating golden eyes, inquisitive and full of innocence, struck an old, hidden chord in his chest. For a moment he imagined a relatively short but strong—both physically and mentally—young man standing there in front of him, gold braid swaying in the wind as he gave a thumbs up, grinning and eyes shining.

Then it was gone, replaced by the small bundle in his arms, once again reaching up at him. A soft smile found its way onto his lips, widening as Edward squealed in delight as he tickled the baby's belly. There was talking from the other end but he wasn't really paying attention.

He couldn't put his finger on it but for some reason he just felt...attached to this kid and he didn't want to let him go now. It was a strange, foreign feeling but he embraced it all the same. Screw all the women out there. Or in this case, not screw. For the first time in a long time he was genuinely happy and that was a gift in and of itself. All because of Edward.

Roy must have been talking about something, most likely Edward, since finally Maes breathed heavily into the phone and said after a moment, "Alright, I'll help you."

"Huh?" Roy blinked, shaking his head to gather his thoughts. When had he spaced out and for how long?

Maes grinned, patting Roy's back and giving a side hug in the form of his tone of voice. "I said I'd be more than happy to help you. Now that we're first-time fathers and all, we can learn this whole raising a child thing together, 'kay?"

Roy smiled and nodded, then quickly answered with a "thanks" when he remembered Maes couldn't see him. "So, oh wise one," Roy smirked slightly, "got any advice?"

Maes grinned and Roy heard the squeak of the office chair as he leaned forward. "How old is this kid?"

At first Roy didn't have the answer for that, until he remembered there was "enclosed information" regarding that. "Let's see." Roy hummed as he grabbed the two papers and looked at the second one. There.

"It says he's a few months old. Born...November eleventh. So yeah, about six or so months. Give or take a few days."

"He's about the same age as Elysia! Only older by a month. Aw! He could be like her older brother!" Maes raved in glee.

"Yes, Hughes. I suppose he could," Roy murmured as he cautiously placed the phone back to his ear. He could just imagine the Lieutenant sticking out his tongue. No wonder the man got along so well with kids. He was practically one himself.

"So when do you plan on coming back to Central?" The black haired man blinked at the question. "Um, soon, I guess."

"Well, let me know the night before you leave so I can arrange for transport and crap like that for when you get here." A grin bloomed from his smile.

"Sure thing, Maes. Now, about supplies..."

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Once the next chapter of Soul of the Guardian, Dual Sympathy, and this story, Aquamarine, are all posted, I will be putting up a poll on my profile and the story that will be most focused on will all be up to YOU readers! So please for the sake of yourselves and the other readers, VOTE! And review. Reviews are nice. They're like chocolate...yums...

Oh! And one last thing I almost forgot to mention. I have started thinking of ideas for a sequel to my oneshot Edvy. I have the Prologue typed up and some, if not most, of the first chapter typed up as well. I randomly started thinking about it recently, especially now that the actual writing part of my writer's block has been mysteriously and sudden lifted. Kinda odd how that happened, but I'm not complaining. XD Let me know your opinions on this too, please!