Alright folks- this is the last chapter. I feel like this fic is kinda trash and that I didn't manage to get ym point across, but I also feel like it's some okay writing, so please give me feedback!
I hope you like it, please review! :)
Roy at at the table, gloved hands steepled, as he stared at generals, colonels, and other military officers around him at the table, pretending to be interested in the reports. Fuhrer Bradley sat at the head of the table, looking quite interested.
Truthfully, Roy was steaming slightly. He found it not only annoying but also unnerving that the fuhrer not only stop by unannounced, but also insist Colonel Mustang sit in on all the meetings and reports from other regions he had no interaction with.
While it was a good way to pick up useful bits of intel, it also meant he was getting further and further behind in his own duties...
All of a sudden, the door to the conference room was kicked open, the door slamming against the wall.
A shock of blonde hair and a red cloak flashed into the room.
"Hey Dad, here's your report!" Ed shouted, crumpled papers clutched in a gloved hand.
Ed's eyes widened slightly, coming face to face with the high-up brass.
"Uh... am I.. interrupting something?" he asked, eyes wide.
"Not at all, son." Roy growled from within grit teeth, as he quickly stood, snatching the papers form Ed and sitting back down. "Now, run along and play..." he growled, barely continued fury burning in his charcoal eyes. Still, Ed didn't appear to have paid any attention to it.
"Okay then. See ya at dinner." Ed waved, smiling slightly, before ducking out of the conference room, grinning.
Roy could've sworn he heard muffled laughter down the hallway.
The conference room was dead silent for a moment, as everything had come to a grinding halt.
"Well, Mustang, I didn't know you were so... ahem... friendly... towards your subordinates." hummed a Major.
"It isn't like that!" Roy barked, though his face was red as he hurriedly folded Ed's report and pocketed it, knowing he'd need to read it later.
Everyone full silent a moment later, as fuhrer Bradley's chuckling turned into all out laughter.
He looked up at the shocked gaggle of military men in the room, his one blue eye glistening with humor.
"I, for one, think it's quite admirable. The way the military fosters fraternity and bonds among its men."
Everyone stared for a moment, mouths opened, and Roy cleared his throat.
"It's not exactly like that, Sir..."
"Pish posh, no need to explain." the fuhrer flicked his wrist dismissively at Roy. "In face, it reminds me a little bit of Selim and I."
"But Sir, the boy just waltzed in here like he owns the place!" protested a General.
"Ah, so the boy is a bit uncouth." the fuhrer said calmly. "So what? I find his youth and spirit to be invigorating. Exactly the kind of thing a soldier needs to be- enthusiastic, with just a touch of recklessness. That Fullmetal boy is a source of inspiration for us all. I wish we had more soldiers like him."
Several of the officers glared mutely at Mustang, resentful- it wasn't often the fuhrer praised someone openly- let alone for recruiting a rogue kid like Edward.
Roy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "With all due respect, Sir, I have to disagree with you. I don't think the world could survive more than one Fullmetal."
Several generals guaffed, and some rolled their eyes at what they presumed to be Roy's dramatic, but the fuhrer chuckled.
"Perhaps you're right, Colonel. Perhaps you're right. The boy is quite a fire cracker. Now, back to matters at hand. General Hall, if you'd please continue with your report..."
Ed was sitting comfortably on the couch in the Colonel's office, his flesh leg crossed over his automail, arms spread out beside him.
He chatted happily with Hawkeye, when Roy came storming into the room and cuffed him upside the head rather roughly.
"Hey!" Ed protested, looking irked.
"What was that for!?"
"That was for that stunt you pulled in the conference room! Do you know how badly that could've gone!?"
"I ain't afraid of no bureaucrats! I'm stronger than all of 'em! I'm a state alchemist!"
"I wasn't talking about you, you idiot! I was talking about my reputation!"
"Huh!?" Ed suddenly looked horribly offended, flailing his arms wildly. "That's all you care about, huh, your stupid reputation!"
"Have you forgotten my reputation is what allows you to chase after some legend!?"
"Yeah, well at least I don't need my assistant pointing a gun at my head to make me do any work!"
Roy opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to come up with a decent retort, before he realized it- Hawkeye was his most valuable ally here.
"And you're just going to let him think this is okay!?" he demanded, turning to Hawkeye.
Hawkeye shrugged, chuckling slightly. "He said he'd get you back for calling him son. I didn't expect he'd do it that way, exactly, but I don't think he did either..." Hawkeye grinned. "But at least he warned you."
"Gah!. Whatever." Roy mumbled, fairy throwing himself into his chair and beginning to sign paperwork with an angsty flourish. Being a father could be so annoying- especially when your first kid was the mischief-seeking Fullmetal brat.
Roy Mustang plunked his tray across from Riza Hawkeye as he sat in the mess hall, sighing. Today had been a rough day.
"Rough day?"
"You have no idea. I can't believe all the things that need people to sign paperwork for. It's like all these soldiers need a signature to wipe their asses..."
He was interrupted by the sound of another tray plunking down beside Hawkeye made his head snap up, before he found himself staring ad Edward Elric.
Edward nodded, as if to ask him to continue, before he was digging into his food at an insane pace.
Roy frowned, brows furrowing together as he wondered why exactly Edward had chosen to sit with him- or, more likely, annoy him.
"Wha?" Ed asked, a drumstick hanging out of his mouth as he spoke around food. "I sa' I'd eat dinner wit you, Dad." he closed his eyes and gave him a stupidly big grin, before continuing to demolish his food at an insane pace.
Roy sighed, facepalming. Of course. One little joke, and now he was saddled with dealing with Edward all the time...
Suddenly, Roy spotted something and smirked. "Drink your milk, son." he urged happily.
Edward's whole face turned into a scowl. "No way! It's gross!"
"Now Edward- maybe you should listen to your father." Riza said calmly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Wha!?" Ed demanded, flushing.
Roy grinned. "Drink up, kid. It's the only hope you ever have of getting taller." Roy said with a grin.
"Who are you calling so short he'd need a step stool to climb the stairs!?" he demanded.
Roy burst out laughing mid-sip of coffee and ended up spiting half of the dark brown liquid on the table, laughing at Edward's shouting and spazzing.
"I'm not short, I'm fun sized! it's okay not to be tall, tall people could get struck by lightening!"
He ended up choking on what was left in his mouth, banging on the table furiously around laughter.
"Just you wait, I'm gonna hit a growth spurt and you'll all be on your knees before me!"
The mess hall was left staring at a ranting Edward and a coffee covered colonel, staring at the bizarre scene in front of them, baffled.
"What kind of a father are you!?"
Ed finished angrily.
"Yours, Edward! And if you're not gonna show me some respect as an officer, then show it to me as your father!"
"What kind of father makes his kid drink milk!?"
"A good one, dammit!" Roy shouted, grabbing the bottle of milk and trying to thrust it into Edward's hands.
Edward astutely refused, and the situation quickly devolved into Edward shouting profanity as Roy chased after him, his offending bottle of milk in hand.
Until Roy tripped, falling forward and taking Edward down with him, spilling the bottle of milk on the way down.
Which led to a milk covered Edward attempting to strangle a milk-covered Roy, all while still on the floor.
The mess hall watched in muted fascination as the alchemists- the feared weapons of the state- wrestled while covered in milk.
Riza finished her coffee and set the mug down on her now empty tray, clanking it down before walking over to where her boys had stopped wrestling and were now shouting insults at one another.
Roy abruptly stopped hurling insults and paused, closing his mouth the blink before taking the handkerchief Hawkeye had offered him, mopping milk off his face.
"Hey, gimme some of that, will ya?" Ed demanded, trying to snatch the cloth away from Roy.
Riza smirked. Those were her boys- a little crazy, a bit dysfunctional- but a family, nonetheless.
