(Character guest appearance in this chapter! XD)

Mustang's Pride

It was the day after. They had spent a whole day planning out this moment. They had covered all bases and thought out responses and countermeasures for every possible thing that could go wrong. And while Mustang would probably figure them out in the end, they didn't think that he would do anything more than tell them "nice try," and toss them out. The hard part was Joshua's job and that Trisha and Nina would have to keep Mustang talking long enough for Joshua to do what he needed to do and get back before Mustang (or even his mother Riza) could figure out what he was up to.

"Okay, we all remember what we talked about?" Joshua recapped as he led them down the street.
"Yup!" The girls chimed.

"Good."

"And if Mustang sniffs us out and tries to turn us into human rotisserie, we blame everything on you and make like a bug and flee," Trisha smirked.

Joshua frowned. "I don't remember us agreeing to that."

Trisha only chuckled.

"Ok. We're here."

Joshua stopped so abruptly that Trisha ran right into his back. Grumbling, she rubbed her nose and glanced to the left. Her jaw dropped and she sputtered. The Fuhrer's mansion was enormous. It was three, maybe four stories high and spanned the length of a soccer field, maybe longer. She couldn't tell how far back it went, but she knew it had to be pretty big in that direction as well. The front lawn itself could double as a soccer field if the paved walkways weren't in the way. Half way down the courtyard stood a tall, extravagant fountain with a rearing mustang horse as the fountain head. Trees and brushes dotted the landscape.

"Huge!" Trisha and Nina shouted.

Joshua laughed. "Yup. And it made for some pretty cool explorations as a kid."

"You grew up here?!" Trisha gaped.

"For the most part, yes."

"Now I really feel like a country girl…" Nina said quietly.

They crossed the large front yard, stopping briefly to gawk at the magnificent fountain. Trisha quipped that it would be funnier if "Mustang were riding the mustang," to which Joshua just rolled his eyes. Eventually, they reached the large double doors. There was an intercom system to the right of the door. Joshua punched the call button and a few seconds later, a voice drawled out from the speaker.

"May I help you?" The voice was of an older man that Trisha pictured would have slicked back salt and pepper hair and a pencil mustache.

"Hey, Alfred. It's Joshua," he spoke back into the speaker, holding the talk button.

"Welcome back, Sire," the tired voice greeted.

There was the sound of a lock clicking, and Joshua reached out and turned one of the door handles, pushing inward. The moment the doors were open, they saw a tall, older man dressed in a pressed, black and white butler's uniform. He looked exactly as Trisha imagined, to which she wondered if Mustang had went out and found a butler with the most stereotypical appearance ever.

"Master Joshua," Alfred bowed, outstretching his arm for Joshua's coat.

"Morning, Alfred. Is my father around?" Joshua handed over his coat to Alfred.

"Yes, he is. If you may, please wait in the common room, and I will call for him."

"Thank you."

As Joshua took them to the common room, Trisha looked back at the entrance to find Alfred already gone. She blinked.

"Damn! He's a ghost!"

"That's what I said," Joshua laughed. "Dad thinks that maybe he installed secret passageways throughout the mansion. Mom thinks that he can teleport."

"I bet your dad hired cute maids too," Nina giggled.

"Several," Joshua grinned as he pushed open two more double doors.

Once again, the girls lost their jaws.

The common room was easily the size of half the Rockbell house. The walls were a deep mahogany and the lavish leather furniture matched. A thick, glass coffee table was the centerpiece of a set of couches, loveseats and recliners. A tall lamp sat at the edge. The tan floorboards were so polished they could see their reflections in them. There were desks and roll-tops pushed up against the walls. At one end, up against a wall, sat a tall, antique grandfather clock. The pendulum inside rocked lazily from side to side. The clock reminded Trisha of Alfred in some way. Overhead was a lavish crystal chandelier. Two large flower pots sat on either side of the oak fireplace. Overhead was a painted family portrait of Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye and a young Joshua who looked no older than twelve. Joshua's young smile split his face and his eyes were bright. Raven hair looked as though it had once been combed back, but was recently mused and messed up. Below the portrait on the mantle was a line of other family pictures. Above the flower pots were large cabinets with glass and wood cross hatched doors. Inside sat other antiques and family heirlooms as well as books and photo albums.

"It's so beautiful," Nina said breathlessly.

Trisha stood at the fireplace, gazing up at the poster sized portrait. "You were kind of adorable, huh?"

"Only kind of?"

"Kind of," Trisha repeated. "Allan was cuter."

"Allan?"

"My brother."

As soon as the words were out, Trisha thought that maybe Joshua at twelve did take the cake. He had puffy cheeks and pouty lips. As she looked closer at him, she realized he had dimples; two deep ones, one on each side. She bit her lip and turned to look at the present day Joshua. Suddenly she had an urge to see those dimples. She tried to think of a way to make him laugh. Her mind scrolled through dozens of lame knock knock jokes and ways she could poke fun at him. She looked back to the portrait then down at the family photos. She picked up one of an elderly woman with a permanent scowl. Next to her stood a younger Mustang with shorter hair.

"That's my grandmother."

Trisha jumped and looked behind her to see Joshua towering over her. She looked back to the photo. "Your grandmother?"

"Well, technically she's my great aunt. She's my father's aunt on his father's side. She's my biological grandfather's younger sister."

"Where's your real grandparents?" Nina asked, looking over Trisha's shoulder.

"They died when my dad was really young. He doesn't even remember them and there's no pictures or documents or anything."

"How did they die?" Trisha wondered.

*"There was a fire. My grandfather told my grandmother to take my father and get out. She made it out, but she couldn't leave her husband. She left my father in her sister-in-law's hands and went back in to save him. Neither of them came out."

"That's terrible," Nina raised her hand to her heart.

"I suppose that's why he wanted to learn Flame alchemy. He's never confirmed or denied that though," Joshua replaced the picture back on the mantle and turned towards the seating area.

The three of them sat down on the largest couch. Soon, Alfred came in with a rolling cart filled with tea, coffee and pastries and cookies. Behind him was Mustang. Alfred wheeled the cart next to the coffee table and set it with goodies. Trisha immediately picked up three linzer cookies.

"Wow. You live like a king," Trisha grinned, biting into a cookie. She froze then tears overflowed in her eyes and she held the cookie up. "This is the best cookie I've ever had in my life! No fair! I want to live here!"

Mustang grinned. "I take it you're no longer angry with me."

Trisha stuffed another cookie in her mouth. "If I was, this cookie made me forget about it."

Mustang chuckled and sat down in the recliner. "So, to what do I owe this visit?"

Trisha sobered up, wiping cookie crumbs off with her sleeve. "The two of us, Nina and I, wanted to learn more about our fathers. They won't really tell us anything when we ask them about their past. We figured you might tell us some of what they won't."

Mustang sighed. "I see. I can understand why they won't tell you. Their past wasn't a happy one. Even less so than what you can imagine."

As Mustang spoke, Joshua rose to his feet and excused himself. Quietly he left the room, leaving the girls to talk with his father.

"I know that. We know that, but…"

"We want to know anyway," Nina finished. She looked to Trisha. "My sister has already gone through hell. We're already partly exposed to some of what they went through. Even though I wasn't involved in the transmutation, it still affects me in other ways."

"I want to become a better alchemist," Trisha said sternly. "The best alchemist I know of is my dad. I want to learn from his mistakes and his experiences so I can be just as great as he is, if not better."

Mustang scratched his jaw. "Your logic is sound." He sighed once more. "But, unfortunately I can't tell you anything. Well, rather that I shouldn't. Those brothers' past isn't something I should go around discussing freely with anyone. Not even—and probably especially—their own daughters. If they haven't told you specifics, then I can only assume that there are reasons they haven't told you. Regardless of what they are, I need to respect those reasons as someone who lived their life alongside the Elric brothers. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

Trisha gritted her teeth. "I see. No wonder Dad trusts you so much. He's always said 'I don't like Mustang, but I'd trust him with my life.' I've never really understood that, but I guess I kind of do now."

Mustang quirked a smile then put his hand back to his chin. "You know, now that I think about it, I made Fullmetal submit just about everything that happened to him in writing. He hated doing reports, which just made me want to give him more to do. Yup, I could have probably written a book and made millions with all the reports I made him write."

Nina and Trisha blinked then looked at each other. Trisha shot to her feet and bowed. "Thank you!" She said the words loudly and simply.

"Oh? Was that it?" Mustang feigned surprise.

"Yes, that's is," Trisha's lips twitched.

"Alright then," Mustang stood up. "I'll walk you to the front." As they left the common room, Riza walked by. "Riza. Have you seen Joshua? He got up and ran off somewhere. He brought them here, so he should walk back with them too."

"I saw him just a few minutes ago," Riza blinked and looked back the way she came. "He kissed me on the cheek and kept going. I'll go find him. I'm sure he couldn't have gotten far."

"Really? In this place?" Trisha looked down the never ending hallway.

"It is very big," Riza chuckled. She turned to Mustang. "I'll send him up this way when I find him."

"Thank you," Mustang said, kissing her on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Joshua was searching every corner of his father's study, which was a decent sized room inside of their library which was several rooms long and just as many wide with long, tall bookshelves, all filled to the brim. He poked and prodded and up turned piles of papers, files and books, looking for any sign of his father's alchemic journal. He opened and emptied drawers and pulled books off of shelves and even flipped through them. When he thought he had thoroughly searched every part of the study, he stepped out and walked over to the reception desk where their librarian was filing things away. She was a mousy woman with brown hair and glasses.

"Miss Sheska."

"Yes!" Sheska's squeaky voice chirped from behind a shelf.

"I'm looking for something my father might have hidden in the library. He might have given it to you to put away somewhere."

Sheska slid the last of the files into their place and walked over to him. "What is it?"

"It would have been a journal. Mostly likely leather bound. If you read it, it would have made no sense to you, most likely. In fact, it might have reminded you of Tim Marcoh's notes that were kept in the Central Library."

"Hmm, no I don't think so," Sheska tilted her head and put a finger to her chin.

"Really? You're sure?"

"Yes. Positive. I'm sure you know I remember everything that's ever been given to me to put away. I don't remember ever being given something like that."

Joshua sighed. "Then it's not here." He turned and leaned back against the desk, looking into the study. "Where could it be?"

He walked back into the study and closed the door. He went around behind the desk and pulled the chair out, proceeding to examine his father's desk top to bottom. He was running his hands against the smooth wood and looking up inside the top of the drawers when suddenly the study door opened.

"What are you doing?"

Joshua jumped and cracked his skull against the oak desk. He cried out and carefully came out from under the desk, rubbing his head. His mother stood at the door with a suspicious look on her face.

"Hi, Mom. I was, uh, just dropping off a file. Since he was busy talking to the girls I brought it here." He looked down at the sprawl of papers on the desk. His hands shot out to scoop them up into a neat stack. "They slipped out of my hands so I was cleaning up." He bent down to pick up some pens that he pulled out of a drawer. He held them up with a nervous laugh then set them in the cup filled with writing utensils.

Riza raised an eyebrow but let it go. "Well, your father is looking for you. Nina and Trisha are ready to go."

"Wow. That was fast," Joshua said mostly to himself.

"Come again?"

"N-nothing. Just, I thought maybe he would have told them a bit more. I guess not."

He swerved back around and head for the door. Riza followed him out and out to the hallway in front of the library. They walked silently for a while, Joshua's hands in his pockets. He knew he wouldn't find it. He told Trisha that there were too many possibilities—too many hiding spots—within the walls of the mansion. She, however, remained optimistic.

"You know…" Riza said suddenly. "Your father thinks the world of you."

"Yeah?" He replied halfheartedly, not really listening.

"He does, Joshua. He's always saying that he's proud of you and that you'll be a great man one day who does big things. You're his pride and joy."

Joshua rolled his eyes. Mama babble again. She always does this.

They hadn't taken even ten steps after she spoke those words when Joshua stopped dead, eyes wide. Riza stopped and turned to look at him.

"Pride and joy," Joshua repeated. He looked up at his mom who simply watched him like a TV show. "I forgot something." Then he turned and ran back in the direction they came, only this time taking a left.

Riza smiled and turned back, walking back to the front of the mansion.

"Of course he would do something like that," Joshua said as he ran. "The last place I would ever think to look."

After a bit of running, he came to a corner of the mansion with a single door. On the door was the name "Joshua" spelled out in big, craft letters. He threw the door open and was faced with his childhood bedroom. It was the exact same: messy, filled with knickknacks and other boyish stuff. He threw open the curtains, filling the dusty room with light. He looked around until his eyes gravitated towards his old desk. Walking over to it, he looked down at the desktop. Stuck to the surface with seemingly a whole roll of tape were several pictures. All of them were family pictures, mostly of himself with his dad. And in the middle was a picture of his father holding him as a baby. Baby Joshua was fast asleep on his shoulder, and Roy was also passed out, leaning back on the couch, still in his General's uniform, holding a book in one hand.

Joshua ran his hands over the collage of pictures, nostalgia welling inside him. He shook his head and forced it down, then tossed the chair out of the way. He examined his desk the same way he examined his fathers. Finally he opened the last drawer and stuck his hand inside. He pulled out drawings by himself years in the past and other piles of artwork. When the drawer was empty he pulled it out and knelt down, looking inside. Faintly, he could see a bulge in the dark wood. He stuck his hand inside the desk's cavity and felt around. His fingers brushed up against something distinctly leather. He hooked his fingers around it and pulled. There was the sound of tape being pulled and he pulled out a leather bound journal. He stripped the old tape away and cracked open the book for what seemed like the first time in years. He only needed to read the first line to confirm its contents.

"'My date with Clara today didn't go as planned.'" Joshua laughed, shaking his head. "Well played, Dad."

He closed the journal and slipped it into his pocket before leaving the old room, closing the door once more.

Ok first,Just to let you all know, in case you were wondering, the story about mustang's parents is not cannon. It's not even filler. I came up with that story for the sake of this chapter/story in general. The nature of Mustang's parents' deaths are unknown in the manga/Brotherhood. Now, Madam Christmas (Chris Mustang IS Mustang's aunt. That part is cannon.)

Yes, the butler's name is Alfred. No, his name is not Pennyworth. I'm just severely uncreative with names. XD

And now... Sheska! XD I love Sheska. She's adorable. I imagine that she would be hired by Mustang to keep all his Fuhrer stuff in order cause 1) there's so much crap and she's got a photographic memory and 2) Mustang is lazy... very lazy. I also imagine Mustang pays her better personally than her being a Private in the military. After all, she's in charge of his library. ALL OF IT. Who WOULDN'T pay her really well?

So. Next chapter we really get into the hardcore stuff. (And also another guest appearance. Who will it be? XD)

Enjoy!