"Colonel."
"What is it Havoc?" Roy spat.
"There are several alchemical ingredients missing from the State storeroom."
"I don't give a damn about missing ingredients Havoc."
"Sir, these are substances carefully monitored by the military, they're illegal. We have them to use only in desperate situations."
"I said I don't give a damn." growled Roy.
"But Colonel—"
"Look Havoc," Roy slammed his book shut and stood up so quickly his desk slid forward. "In case you're blind my desk is covered in papers and notes and very old filth caked books. I'm working on something very important. I don't give a shit about missing ingredients. If you really want to help, go find me Fullmetal's notes. His true notes, not more of the chicken scratch Fuery dug up."
"Yes, sir!" Havoc saluted and jogged out of the room. Roy sat back down and returned the desk to it's original spot. He did not spend more than a few seconds looking at his chaotic notes before he slid down in his chair and closed his eyes.
"Colonel."
"What is it Riza?" he said wearily, not bothering to open his eyes.
"You seem tense." Roy grinned and chuckled out of exhaustion.
"I might be a little tense."
"Is there anything I can do?" Riza offered.
"Yeah, be more careful when you're swiping ingredients."
"I didn't get caught." defended Riza.
"No you didn't." Roy sighed. "Thanks for that by the way."
"You're welcome. Is there a chance you'll tell me what it's for?" Roy looked over at her and shook his head.
"Are you following orders from Central?" Roy shook his head again.
"Personal endeavor?" Riza continued guessing.
"I'm sorry."
"I suppose we'll all find out soon enough."
"Not at the rate this research is going." said Roy, flicking his notes.
"Is there anything else I can do?" asked Riza again.
"How about a lap dance?" Roy smirked. Riza rolled her eyes.
Havoc rushed back in carrying a dusty box. He set it on Mustang's desk.
"Don't you think you could have taken a little longer Havoc? I was about to get a lap dance." said Mustang in pretend annoyance. Havoc glanced at Riza.
"I call next." Riza ignored him.
"Did you get what you needed sir?" The Colonel took a handful of papers out of the box.
"Elric was never one to keep decent notes..." he said with a disheartened look. "Oh well...quality over quantity, right? I hope the kid didn't make a code..."
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"...nel...Colonel." Roy Mustang jumped into the waking world.
"Ugh..." He rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Almost four." replied Hawkeye. "We need to catch a train to Resembul."
"We?"
"I decided to go with you today." Roy smiled.
"Winry will like that. She's missed you the past week." He gathered up his notes and a few books and stuffed them carelessly in a briefcase in his briefcase.
"That damn kid." he grumbled, glancing at a few of the papers, "His code is nearly impossible, I don't know how he can even read this...it's a travel brochure or something...I bet he made it hard just incase I tried to read it...Ah well, let's go Lieutenant."
Anna jumped into Roy's arms at the Resembul train station while Ryan latched onto Hawkeye's leg.
"Hi Winry!" Riza waved, limping over.
"What happened to your head Colonel?" inquired Winry, referring to the large red bump on the Colonel's forehead. Roy brushed his bangs over the lump, but did not answer.
"He hasn't been sleeping lately, so he fell asleep on the train and when it stopped, he didn't." Riza explained.
"Ouch." commented Winry.
"I'll make it better." said Anna, and kissed the red spot.
"Thank you very much." said Roy, smiling. "It already feels better."
"That's what Kasan does when I get a cut and it always feels better."
"I guess you inherited her magic touch." said Roy. Anna beamed at him.
"Guess what Riza?" said Ryan, tapping her knee.
"What?" asked Riza, picking Ryan up off her leg.
"Kasan said we're going on a picnic for dinner!"
"That's great! I love picnics! Where are we going?"
"The back yard." answered Winry. "Kasan has annoying clients that like to come in during work hours, so we can't stray too far."
"When we have a real picnic," said Anna, "We're going to show you our favorite tree. It has lots of shade and it's real good for climbing in."
"It sounds great." said Roy.
"It is." Ryan chirped in. "But you have to wait. Anna and me are saving it for a big super picnic when Otousan and Uncle Al come back." Roy saw Winry's beat fall momentarily, but she picked it back up with a smile.
"We'd better hurry back. We wouldn't want it to get dark on our picnic, would we?"
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Winry was kept busy through almost all of dinner. It seemed like all her clients had decided to go see her that day. She ushered her last visitor out at eight o'clock sharp and slumped into an armchair.
"You're very busy these days." said Riza, tying off the braid she had put in Anna's hair.
"They keep growing." answered Winry, pointing at Ryan and Anna. "But I really blame it on Ed. He got so famous around the East, now everyone is coming to get their automail done by the mechanic of the Fullmetal Alchemist. I can't complain though. I don't remember a time when we were this well off."
"Roy, I wanna show you otousan's books." Ryan tugged on Roy's jacket.
"You showed me all of them." said Roy, yawning.
"Not these, I just found them. But you can't see any words. Otousan wrote all over them." Roy suddenly found himself wide-awake.
"Well then, we should take a look." Ryan led him away.
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Then, I should be able to—
"Roy, are you done yet?" Ryan moaned. Roy tore his gaze away from the book in his hand.
"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry Ryan. Yes, I'm done." Roy gathered seven or eight books and several loose papers into his arms.
"Alright Ryan, let's go." But in the time it had taken Roy to collect his material, Ryan had fallen asleep on the floor.
"My apologies Miss Winry. I'm afraid I bored your son to sleep" Roy entered the living room with a stack of books in one arm and Ryan in the other. "I'm sorry for taking so long. May a borrow these?" he nodded to the books.
"Of course. Give him here…" Roy slid Ryan off his arm and into Winry's.
"I was just telling her that you had something to give her." said Riza pointedly.
"Oh! Right!" Roy set the books down on a stair. "I can't believe I forgot. I must have been too excited about the books. I meant to give this to you after dinner so Ryan and Anna could look at it too, but you can show them tomorrow. Anyway…" Roy pulled a silver pocket watch out of his coat pocket.
"You're drafting me?" said Winry curiously, eyeing the military rune on the watch.
"Open it." Roy smiled gently. Winry took the watch. She had to jiggle the clasp a little, but it soon gave way.
For a moment, she thought it was an ordinary watch. Then, her eyes fell on an engraving.
Don't forget
3, Oct.10
Her mouth went dry.
"You found it." Was all she managed to say.
"When we were cleaning up Lior." said Riza. Winry rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry." said Mustang immediately. "I didn't mean for it to be sad."
"It's not." Winry brushed the hair out of her face. She was smiling. "I'm crying because you found it. Ryan and Anna will be so happy, thank you."
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"Did you find what you were looking for?" Riza asked once the door closed. Roy smirked.
"Yeah."
"Before you begin again, get some sleep sir."
"Lieutenant—no, Riza, I need your help once more."
"More than swiping ingredients?" Mustang shook his hair back under his hat.
"We're going back to the office Riza."
"Why?" Roy's smirked turned into a grin.
"Because, if I'm right, by the end of the week those kids with be having a picnic with their dad."
"...Sir?"
Oh, Ryan and Anna are two. "But wait, there was a three year gap between the end of the series and the movie", right? No, there wasn't. It's impossible. Ed is eighteen in the movie, I heard him say it with my own ears. Well, at the end of the series he was sixteen, wasn't he? Sixteen plus three do not an eighteen year old make. There was a two year gap. End of story.
