Chapter 3: My Friends

Disclaimer: FMA characters are not mine but I'm gona use them to entertain my bored self so there.

The door opened and the bright afternoon light from within the office shined through. What awaited Ed on the other side?

POP!

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Ed!" the people in the room chorused when the Fullmetal Alchemist entered the room.

The General's office that was usually dull and serious-looking was now filled with colorful confetti and cheerful laughter. A large white banner with bright red letters on it that said "Happy 17th Birthday Ed" hung on the wall adjacent the windows of the room. The desks where Havoc and the rest usually do their work have been used as makeshift tables where several different delicious looking dishes were placed.

Ed smacked himself on the head with his human hand. He has been too engrossed in his work that he has forgotten his own birthday once again. Everyone present for the celebration gathered around him, greeting the birthday boy with their warm smiles.

Havoc, Breda, Fuery as well as Farman showed a hint of red on their cheeks. Apparently, Mustang's subordinates couldn't wait for Ed to arrive so they decided to get a 'taste' of the liquor that they bought especially for the occasion.

"Hey, little man!" Farman mused. Ed's ears tingled at the word 'little' but since he was such in a good mood, he let it go…just for today. "I'll get you for that someday, Farman." Ed thought to himself, a smirk forming in the corner of his lips.

"Glad to see you came back here safe." Added Fuery who seemed to be a bit tipsy.

"Things here have been different since you left. You shouldn't do that again." Breda said as he put an arm around Ed's shoulders. Breda wasn't making any sense at all but the Fullmetal Alchemist knew at the back of his mind that it had something to do with Mustang.

"Edward Elric! Here, let's all drink to your health." Havoc exclaimed as he gave a glass of clear vodka to their guest of honor.

The younger man took a sniff at the drink that smelled like strong alcohol and allowed his nostrils to get used to the burning sensation he felt as he inhaled. Ed then stared at the glass of liquor in his hand and said "I guess drinking this would make things official. I am no longer a child. Today, I am a man." He motioned for a toast and his friends obliged but before he could take a sip, a shriek came from the door and more familiar faces came in to join the party.

Armstrong was still standing behind Ed, holding the door open for the other guests.

"Young men like Ed are not supposed to drink alcoholic beverages! Havoc, you should be ashamed of yourself." Gracia Hughes scolded the lieutenant as she stormed in the room.

"How admirable Mrs. Hughes, fighting for the betterment of the children." The Strong Arm Alchemist mused, pink stars glowing around him.

"But…I'm already 17." Ed tried to argue.

Gracia took the glass of vodka from the young state alchemist and smiled. "Happy birthday, Ed. I'm sorry, I'm just trying to look after you and your little brother."

Ed sighed, nodded his head and said "Mothers will always be mothers."

From behind the major, a clumsy-looking brunette carefully walked towards them holding something with both hands.

"I'm sorry we're late, Ed. We had to make a quick stop at the bakery you see." Scieszka said as she entered the room carrying a large decorated cake with Ed's name on it.

A little girl was following Scieszka around when Major Armstrong carried the cute child up on his muscled shoulders.

"Yeah, we're sorry big brother." The adorable Elysia said shyly from Major Armstrong's shoulders.

From behind the muscular Major and Mrs. Hughes, he noticed two more friends form work who were standing at the door waiting for him to take notice of them.

"Happy birthday, Ed." Lieutenant Ross and Lieutenant Bloch greeted Ed with a salute.

"No need for such formalities, guys. Relax would ya." Ed smiled and invited his friends to go inside with the rest of the gang. While the older birthday boy was distracted, two more people arrived to join them in the celebration.

The young alchemist was facing away from the door and was busy talking and joking with his friends that he failed to notice the Lieutenant.

A woman spoke from the door behind him. "Happy 17th birthday, Edward Elric."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Ed jumped when he saw the serious looking officer. "Where's-"

"I'm here brother." Al said as he showed himself from behind the female officer.

"I'm sorry for making you worry but I had to get your present from our quarters." Al said innocently as he revealed two packages. One gift was as big as a suitcase while the other was about the size of a pocket book.

Ed tilted his head and asked "You're giving me two gifts this year?"

"This won't be equivalent exchange anymore since I gave you just one gift on your last birthday." Al's older brother teased.

"No, big brother. The other present is from Winry." Al pointed at the larger package.

"Huh? How did it get here and why didn't she just give it to me person back at home?"

"She asked me to deliver the package while we were in Resembool. I sent the package to our address here in headquarters when I took Fletcher and Russel to the station. Winry asked me to keep it a secret so that you'll be surprised."

"Oh, Winry." Ed sighed merrily as he inspected the larger package.

A round head with brown hair and a pair of glasses suddenly popped out of nowhere and stood between the Elrics.

"Ed, let's get this party going!." The enthusiastic Scieszka said.

"Scieszka, geez you scared me." Ed mumbled.

Once everyone was inside the office, the young state alchemist noticed that somebody was missing. Although he knew things were more pleasant without that particular person, that didn't stop him from wondering.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, where is the General? I mean this is supposed to be his office and all but does he even know we're having a party in here?"

Riza smiled as she replied "Of course. The General was the one who arranged this event but unfortunately, he won't be able to join us this afternoon."

At that moment, Ed felt like he was just struck by lightning.

"Wasn't it nice of General Mustang to have gone through all the trouble for you party brother?"

Al looked to his side expecting his older brother to be there but he wasn't. The younger brother looked high and low around the room full of people and finally noticed Ed's antenna-like bangs from across the large table where the food was.

"Brother, what are you doing over here?"

"I have a bad feeling about this, Al. Mustang is up to something I just know it."

Ed could imagine the demented General with his smug look and sarcastic smirk that he always wore whenever he would give Ed a new assignment.

"Brother, we seldom see all our friends in Central all gathered together in one place. Let's make the most of this event."

"'Coz it might be our last." Ed added.

The party went on the entire afternoon. They played games such as truth or consequence and pin the tail on poor Fuery while blindfolded. Armstrong suggested that they have a contest that involved muscle and figure. As the major flashed his large buffed body, Havoc began to remember his bad and awkward experiences with the major's family specifically with Armstrong's younger sister. Nobody could outdo the major's display of strength but everybody had a great time nonetheless especially Ed. He seemed to have forgotten his worries about the General and the punishment that awaited him. He simply spent the whole time relishing his experiences with his comrades. Similar to any normal children's party, a certain time during the party was used to open presents and even though Ed was now 17, he still felt really excited to open his gifts. "I guess this is what happens when a person is deprived of his childhood." He thought but he knew that he had no regrets whatsoever in the things he has done with his life.

In seconds, gift wrappers were flying all over the room. From Mrs. Hughes and Elysia, Ed received three new pairs of underwear and a colorful drawing of him.

"Hey, you can draw better than me, Elysia." Ed praised the little girl. Elysia blushed at this and hid behind her mother's skirt.

"You must always have clean pairs of underwear" Gracia explained.

Scieszka gave Ed a book titled "Making that first move."

"That's one of my favorite books. I wasn't sure if you needed it but I still want you to have it. Although I still have several other books that I could give just in case you're not interested in such things but maybe you should try reading that anyway so that maybe-" Scieszka began ranting.

"Uhh. Thanks a lot." Ed said, unsure of what the book is about or if he would even consider reading it.

From his other friends from HQ, he received rather odd gifts such as a well-crafted miniature sculpture of himself making a rather macho pose.

"It's a skill passed on in the Armstrong family" the major claimed.

Ed also received a pair of elevated shoes,

"…For those odd moments with the women." Havoc mused. Ed frowned saying "Maybe you should wear them then."

He also got a toy gun and several other weird things. Though he might not be able to use most of their gifts, Ed was glad people cared enough to give him stuff for his birthday. He opened all the gifts except for two, the gift from Winry and the gift from his younger brother. Ed promised Al he'd open the rest of his presents once they were in their quarters.

Although this day was a special day for the Fullmetal Alchemist, like all other days, it has an end. Soon enough, the sun had already set and it was time for them to go. After helping one another clean the office, the party guests were now preparing to leave.

"Great party, Ed. I hope you come to see Elysia and me sometime soon." Mrs. Hughes mused as she took her exhausted sleeping daughter in her arms.

As for the rest who work in HQ with Ed, they simply said "See you around." or "Later."

Al had gone ahead to catch up on his research and everyone else had gone home for the day except for Ed. He sat alone in the office on the soft couch beside the General's large desk and stared blankly at the dimming surrounding. Having celebrated his birthday today made the young alchemist think about what he has been doing in the past years and where he intended to go next in order to continue moving forward.

The older Elric could hear faint sounds of cars leaving HQ, soldiers and non-military personnel going home to their families and friends.

"I have a home to go back to and a brother who's willing to stay by me no matter what. I believe I have friends I could trust and more importantly, a dream to keep me going."

"Will I ever get my old limbs back? But what will I do afterwards if I do get them back?"

"I won't have a reason to stay in the military anymore. I won't have-"

At that moment, Ed could hear the door into the office open. The Fullmetal Alchemist stood up to see who it was. He was very surprised to see that it was the General who stood by the door. The older man was just as surprised to see Ed in the office.

"Oh, it's you Fullmetal." Roy said with the usual hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Ed couldn't move or say anything. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to thank Mustang for the party or if he should just leave to save himself from being lectured on proper behavior as a state alchemist. The young blonde-haired man just stood there and observed the older man as he walked towards his desk. Ed noticed Mustang had several documents tucked under his arm.

"You're working unusually late tonight. Trying to get another promotion soon, I presume?" Ed said mockingly. Though he felt a certain degree of fear and respect for the General, Ed simply couldn't help but be annoyed and sarcastic whenever he was anywhere near Mustang.

"For a person who just celebrated his birthday today, you sure haven't grown one bit…not even an inch." Mustang's smug smile reached the corners of his face. After years of having Ed as a subordinate, Roy knew very well how to anger the younger man.

Before Ed could get the chance to blow up at yet another negative comment about his height, the taller man quickly added in a serious tone "Sit. I need to discuss something very important with you, Ed."

His head still steaming with rage, Ed sat down and mumbled some things that the General couldn't hear.

The Flame Alchemist took a folder out of his desk drawer, walked towards Ed and placed the documents together with the folder on the small coffee table in front of the couch. Mustang looked at the man who was sitting in front of him and saw the usual defiant look the Fullmetal Alchemist always had. But something about his look that evening was noticeably different. Ed looked more relaxed somehow. He wasn't the same old child who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, desperately trying to know more about the philosopher's stone.

Growing impatient by the moment and feeling extremely awkward of being observed by the Flame Alchemist like that, the younger man finally spoke.

"I don't have all night, Mustang."

Mustang was quite amused with Ed. Even though this particular subordinate of his was not exactly the most obedient soldier, Roy has always thought Ed as the unintentional clown of the military. For him, Edward Elric was the youngest state alchemist and the most immature and impulsive brat he knows. But things change, don't they?

The General stood right in front of Ed who was still sitting very comfortably on the couch. Roy bent down low enough for their eyes to be leveled as he said "Tell me something, Ed."

"What?"

Roy moved in closer, putting both of his hands on the backrest of the couch leaving Ed unable to move and trapped between his arms.

Ed swallowed hard. He found himself in a very uncomfortable situation and there was nothing he could do about it.

"How…" Mustang trailed off, moving even closer.

"How what?" Ed said, still trying to sound defiant with his obviously quivering voice. Move, damn it. He ordered his body in vain

The General had moved in close enough for his breath to caress Ed's lips. All the while, Ed has been breaking into a sweat, his body still frozen. With Roy closing the gap between them, the younger man instinctively shut his eyes.

"How is it?" The General asked.

"Huh? How's what?" the confused and surprised blonde inquired, blinking several times at the man who was now about a head's distance away from him.

"The breath mint you gave me, shrimp." Mustang asked in a suspiciously innocent tone.

Later that evening in the dorms area of headquarters, the Fullmetal Alchemist was walking alone in the dark empty corridors. He had with him a folder and a handful of documents that the General gave him earlier.

"Tch. Bastard." Ed hissed.

-Flashback-

"I'm feeling generous today, Fullmetal so here." Roy put the folder and the documents on the couch beside the younger Alchemist.

"More research work for you and your brother. It would be better if you looked into this with Al." The General added.

Mustang walked away from Ed, who was still awe-struck from the older man's advances earlier. Roy was about to leave the office when he stopped at the door and looked at the blonde who was still sitting on the couch staring at the papers.

"And by the way, Happy birthday. May you have many more birthdays here as a dog of the military." Mustang said smugly.

-End of flashback-

"Brother! What took you so long?" Al exclaimed when Ed entered their quarters.

"I met Mustang back in the office."

"And? Were you able to thank him for the party or did he get mad at you?"

"It was…well, here. He's giving us extra work." The older Elric sighed as he handed the documents to Al.

"Open your gifts from Winry and me, brother." The younger brother said in a cheerful manner as he looked over the papers he has just received.

Ed found the two packages from this afternoon lying on his bed. He removed the wrappers of the larger gift first and was very surprised to find a complete auto mail maintenance kit. When he opened the suitcase, it revealed several brushes, cloths, bottles filled with oil, screws and wrenches of various sizes neatly packed in the container. A note was posted at the top part of the kit saying "You better take care of your auto mail, Ed. Here are custom-made tools I've made just for you. Write me back soon. Happy birthday -Winry"

"She hasn't changed a bit." the young state alchemist sighed.

Setting Winry's gift aside, Ed then moved on to unwrapping Al's present.

"This should be interesting. You always give the best gift, Alphonse." He said happily.

Beneath the plain wrapper, an old photograph incased in a simple wooden frame came into view. It was an old candid photo of a family picnic with the Rockbells. The day was sunny and everyone seemed to have a smile on their faces. A younger Winry, her mother and grandmother as well as Trisha Elric were setting up the picnic table that stood beneath a big tree.

"I remember this tree. We used to climb it all the time back when we were kids."

"We do have some happy memories of that tree do we." Al said, still reading the papers and browsing through the contents of the folder.

At closer inspection, the young man with golden eyes could see the younger version of Al and himself together with their father. They were lying on the grass laughing, having the time of their lives.

"You were such a baby then, Al and dad well, he was still there. Mom looked so happy. Where did you get this?"

"Mr. Rockbell took that photo and Auntie Pinako was kind enough to give it to me. I hope you like it, brother."

"Thanks, Al." the older brother said sincerely and smiled at his gift. He then lay down on the bed and continued admiring the picture when Al gave an audible yelp of surprise.

Bolting up from the bed, Ed demanded "What's the matter, Al?"

"It's…it's. Mustang gave you a birthday gift after all." Al exclaimed merrily.

"What do you mean?"

Al pointed at the paper he was reading then handed it over to his older brother.

Ed read the document line by line. His eyes widened then he looked at Al.

"That's right, brother. We may have a concrete lead this time."

Apparently, the document Mustang gave Ed held significant information about an old researcher of the state who tried doing human transmutation without using a philosopher's stone. The research was about recreating a limb by combining raw materials and live human cells. A man named Sieg Boarque has been secretly researching such a method for the past 10 years in Drachma, a place in the north.

"It sounds promising, brother. It's like making a chimera but with the use of raw materials."

"Are you still with me on this, Al? There's always a chance for this to be just another dead end."

"Always." The younger brother replied.

"It's decided then. We leave for Drachma."

-to be continued-

Note: I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. LOL. That scene with Ed and Roy was well…there. Hehe. I'm in trouble lmao. I don't know much about the places in the north (only that there was a war there or something against the state) so if you guys could give me some info, that would help me a lot :D I'm waaaaay behind in my school work so I might not be able to update soon. Patience is the key '. Reviews, comments as well as plot ideas for the next chapter are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading :D