Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery had to wonder why Ed and the Colonel were sitting in chairs, back-to-back, arms crossed, and resolutely facing opposite directions. Mustang informed them loftily that it was none of their concern, and Fullmetal was just an idiot and now they weren't speaking to each other, and it was just a small matter, so small in fact that you could hardly see i—
All of them agreed that it was the loudest silent treatment any of them had ever heard.
"Doesn't your hair get in the way when it's so long like that? Why don't you just cut it?" Roy asked one day.
"My mother liked it this way," Ed glared back, his voice dripping with dislike. Roy blinked.
And that was the end of that conversation.
It surprised Colonel Mustang when he heard some higher-ups talking about the Fullmetal Alchemist like he was a broken toaster. Sure, he knew that, technically, Alphonse was a soul in a tin can, and Edward was only half-flesh, half-metal. But even with seeing the boys directly after the human transmutation, Roy had never really considered them broken.
After the Scar incident, Ed had been faced with a very unique problem: he couldn't braid his hair with only one hand. Fortunately, Armstrong, ever-helpful, volunteered to do it, and it turned out that he was really very talented in the art of hair-braiding which had, apparently, been passed down in the Armstrong family for generations. Unfortunately, it turned out that he enjoyed playing with Ed's hair a bit too much. The blonde narrowed his eyes in confusion, wondering why everyone in the office kept biting down laughs. Mustang was close to tears.
He left with his hair in two high pigtails, still confused.
Ed munched absently on his sandwich, watching Colonel Mustang run madly around his office, muttering to himself and trying to get everything under control before he went for his one-on-one meeting with the Fuhrer.
Lieutenant Ross, who happened to be unfortunate enough to be present, asked cautiously, "Is it just me, or does the Colonel seem like he's—"
"Orange?" suggested Havoc.
"Generous?" said Breda.
"Contagious?" Ed offered.
"Stylish?" said Falman.
"Smashed?" said Fuery.
"Procrastinating?" said Riza from behind them, and everyone jumped and dove for their paperwork. Soon the only sound in the office was the noise of pens scratching paper and the occasional frustrated "aagh!" from Mustang's office.
"I was going to say 'unsettled'…" Ross muttered.