Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! I'm really sorry that it took so long! I kind of had a writer's block on how the military would react... Anyway, please review to tell me how you found it! By the way, the chapter is longer than usual! Oh! And I made a video with the Fullmetal Alchemist manga if anyone is interested in watching it on Youtube! "Ave Mary A - A Fullmetal Alchemsit Tribute" is the title and the song is by P!nk!

Disclaimers: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Beautiful Disaster

"Are you sure about this? You just got out of the hospital, earlier than the doctors would have liked."

"I'm sure, Mustang," replied Evelyn, taking a deep breath as the two of them stood outside of the Furher's office.

Her superior officer looked down at her and frowned. The young woman had showed up in her blue military outfit, until then never worn. Her trademark braid was no longer resting at the back of her neck but instead, she had tied her hair into a high ponytail, also keeping her bangs out of her face. Around her neck, Mustang could tell there was still the white bandage covering a still dark bruise and he knew there were still other bandages under her clothes. She is too stubborn for her own good, he thought, taking a deep breath. She was in the hospital for less than two days and she still persists on coming here.

Little did the Colonel know, Evelyn was mostly trying to her mind off of her heartache. She would have never thought that something like that would last that long or hurt so much. Try as she might, the only thing she could think about that removed the most pain, meaning that occupied her mind the most so that she temporarily forgot about it, was the military's reaction.

"Fine, let's go," he ordered, earning a stiff nod from the young woman.

Mustang took a step forward and knocked on the door sharply. It opened after a moment and the two of them stepped inside. Mustang stayed next to the door as Evelyn made her way towards the middle of the room where a bright light lit that area only. The rest was almost completely in shadows. The two officers saluted, Evelyn keeping her head high and her face calm as she stared directly in front of her where she could make out the figure of the Furher himself.

"State your name," ordered one of the officers around her.

"Evelyn Elric."

"Then Evelyn, why did you pose as a male during all these years?"

"I wanted to join the military as a state alchemist when I was young. I did not know if they allowed women in that position or not, Sir. I did not want to take the chance of having my application rejected because I was a girl."

"Why did you want to join the military?"

"It's the same reason I gave the day I went through the State Alchemy exam. I made a promise to someone that I would always protect them, no matter what and I plan to keep that promise."

"Apart from your brother and your mechanic, who knew of this arrangement?"

"My aunt. They were the only three who knew. Though I made them swear to keep it secret. If anything, I'm to blame for them keeping it a secret."

"They still could have denounced your lie to the State. They are as guilty as you."

"Then I will take the responsibility of accepting their punishment. I'm the one who got them into this mess in the first place."

"I see. And what about Colonel Roy Mustang and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye? Did they know about this?"

"No, I never told them and they never showed signs of having figure it out."

"All right," cut in the Fuhrer, standing from his chair. "The question now is if you will continue to serve in this military and what will be the consequences of your actions, Evelyn. What do you have to say to defend yourself?"

"I have everything that I have done all these years in the military, Sir. I'm still the same person as I was all this time, the only difference is that everyone now knows that I am a girl. That does not change who I am nor what I did. I am an alchemist and an officer of this State. I am a legend in the East. My abilities remain the same whether I am Edward Elric, Evelyn Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist or a Major. A person is not measured by how he or she looks, where they come from or who they meet: they are measured by what they did and who they are. That is what should be important."

Once she finished, Evelyn could feel the weight of the gazes of all the occupants in the room bearing down on her as if trying to see something else she could be hiding. Mustang could only watch from the back of the room, hoping that Evelyn's defence would work. The officers stared at the young woman, thinking over the dilemma they had on their hands. It took a long time before someone actually spoke up.

"Well," started the Fuhrer himself, "it seems that we cannot forget your exploits, Elric. Though, we will have to see if you are still loyal to the State. You will be confined to a desk job for a month in which time, your co-workers will evaluate if you are to continue to serve or not."

"Yes ,Sir," she replied, nodding stiffly.

"You will continue to work under Colonel Mustang and it will be his subordinates who will report to me whether you are capable of serving or not. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," she saluted before he dismissed her and Mustang.

The Colonel saluted as well and turned around, opening the door and leaving the room, closely followed by Evelyn. Once the two of them where outside and far enough, Evelyn spotted a small row of chairs against the wall and she fell onto one. Mustang stopped in his tracks, watching the young woman carefully. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she held her head in her hands.

"Evelyn," called Mustang, catching her attention.

"What?" she growled softly without looking up at the man.

The Colonel continued to stare down at Evelyn, unsure of what he could possibly tell her. He took a deep breath and then held out his hand. She glanced at the hand and then at the man, her head still supported by her hands.

"I told you, we will be here for you," he whispered, waiting.

Evelyn sighed and closed her eyes. After a moment, she took his hand and Mustang helped her stand. He gave her a small smile before they headed towards his office.

"Colonel, Major," called someone behind them.

The two mentioned soldiers turned around to face their interlocutor. He walked briskly towards them, stopping near Evelyn.

"I guess luck was on your side this time, Elric," whispered the man, staring down at the young woman. "I would not have been that forgiving."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you are not Furher, General Vilder," she replied curtly, looking up at him.

"I just hope your... coworkers can trust you once again. You have betrayed everyone here," he whispered, giving the Major one last look before walking off.

Evelyn took a few deep breaths, the General's words sinking in. Mustang glared in Vilder's direction before placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder. She looked up at him, a hint of doubt showing in her features.

"Don't listen to him," whispered Mustang. "You did not betray any of us. Remember, he never liked any of us to begin with."

"I guess," breathed Evelyn, heading towards the office.

The Colonel watched as she walked down the corridor, her body hiding the doubt she felt inside, the fear. She had years of training, of hiding these faults of hers and she seemed ready to face the others on the outside. However, inside, she never felt so unsure of herself. Mustang caught up to her after a moment and they finally reached the Colonel's office. When they entered, Havoc, Fuery, Falman and Breda looked up from their work to gaze at both of them. Evelyn tried to make eye contact with any of them but they avoided her gaze and then returned to their work without a word. The young woman bit her lip slightly but followed Mustang closely towards his desk.

He paused for a moment in front of it before turning around to face her, a pile of papers in his hands. He glanced briefly at the pile and then at her, a regretful face staring down at her. She glanced at the papers, looking ready to make a snide remark though none came. She reluctantly took them and turned around. At the large arrangement of desks in the middle of the room, only two places were free. One of them was in the middle, between to Havoc and Falman as the other was at the end, next to Breda. She decided on the last corner one, knowing full well that none of them really wanted to talk to her then. She hesitantly took her seat, sensing that Mustang was watching her from his desk. She placed the pile of papers in the corner and pulled the first report out, studying it. She had done some paper work before, but never this much.

When she was halfway through her first report, she noticed Breda standing up and heading towards Havoc. He asked the other man a question but, he did not return to his seat. Evelyn looked up at them, hurt, though none of them dared return her gaze. She bit her bottom lip before returning to her work, wanting to finish it to get her mind of the problem at hand.

Mustang looked up from his paperwork, eyeing the change. He frowned slightly, watching Evelyn as she continued to work, keeping her attention on the papers in front of her. He noticed that, even though on her face, she looked fine, he could see in her eyes that she was hurting.

Past one o'clock, when Mustang and Hawkeye returned from their lunch break, they were surprised to see that Evelyn was still at her desk, writing the reports. Her pile was almost finished, surprising them even more.

"Evelyn, did you eat anything?" wondered Hawkeye, approaching the young woman.

The young blond looked up from her work, staring at the two officers.

"Not really," she replied, looking around. "I... I guess I lost track of time..."

"Well, go have some lunch," ordered Mustang, looking down at her with concern. "You should not start missing meals on top of everything else."

Evelyn looked back at her work for a moment before hesitantly recapping her pen placing it down. She stood and looked up at the two adults. Mustang raised his eyebrows, motioning towards the door and she reluctantly left the room.

As she entered the cafeteria, the chatter quieted for a moment, most of the officers looking in her direction. She noticed that most of them wore frowns or surprised faces. However, she realized that none of them were glad to see her. The chatter returned after a while and Evelyn lowered her gaze, making her way towards the line. Even the soldiers in line avoided her, making the young woman even more uneasy.

Once she got her meal, she looked around the cafeteria, searching for a place to sit. She did not look for long when a strong hand grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room. She gasped in surprise, trying to keep the food on the tray as she was dragged backwards through the corridor.

After a moment, they finally stopped, in a large, deserted room and Evelyn was able to turn around to face the person who had dragged her away. She craned her neck back to look at his face since she was that close to her.

"Major!" she gasped, surprised to see the man.

"This was a great shock when I found out," he began, glancing at her. "I never believed you to be a girl."

"Surprise," she whispered, looking guiltily away from him.

"What is this?" he wondered, his turn to be stunned as he watched the young woman sit on the unused desk and stare at her meal. "Where is the spark of youth you once had?"

"Sorry Armstrong... I'm just not in the mood today," she replied, glancing up at the man, smiling softly at him.

"Then how about I tell you a story from one of the many exploits of the Armstrong line to cheer you up!" he suggested proudly.

"Sure. That would be nice," she replied, smiling warmly at him as he took a seat on the chair of the desk next to hers, making them the same height.

She ate slowly, listening to the man's tale, relieved that he did not regard her as a different person but for who she was: the person he had grown to know over the years.



A few days later...

"Havoc! There's something here for you!" called Breda as the tall blond officer entered the room.

"Really?" he wondered, surprised as he approached his desk and picked up the small present. "Well, whoever gives these has not yet missed a birthday!"

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hoping that it's different people," remarked Breda. "Different girls if you know what I mean."

"Like secret admirers?" wondered Fuery innocently.

"Of course! Wouldn't that be great?" laughed the red head with a large smile.

"Well, for us yes, but maybe not for Lieutenant Hawkeye," clarified Fuery, a light blush on his cheeks at the thought of a girl giving him presents.

Hawkeye shook her head, glancing at the men's direction.

"All of you must have better things to do," she remarked, facing them.

"But it's the whole idea of the mystery behind these presents, Lieutenant," replied Havoc, a large smile on his face as he opened his gift.

"What are all of you talking about?" wondered Mustang, entering the room. "And where did you get that, Havoc?"

"A secret admirer," teased Breda as he laughed with the others.

"It's Havoc's birthday today and he got a gift, just like the rest of us on our birthdays," explained Hawkeye, bursting the others' fun.

"Wait, presents?" repeated Mustang, surprised. "Since when?"

"I few years now, I believe," replied Falman. "It will soon be seven, if I remember correctly."

"Didn't you ever get any, Colonel?" wondered Fuery, surprised.

"You did," cut in Hawkeye before Mustang could reply. "You're paperwork had been mostly done for you when you came in. That's why you could always leave earlier on your birthday," she explained, earning a surprised face from her superior officer.

"Really... I never noticed before," he murmured, heading towards his desk. "By the way, Happy Birthday Havoc."

"Thanks, Colonel," chuckled Havoc, eyeing his gift, a brand new lighter. "Very nice."

"All right, get to work the lot of you," ordered Hawkeye, taking a seat at her desk.

"Um... Colonel," called Fuery, after a while, catching the man's attention, "the Major isn't coming in today?"

"It's her day off," he explained, glancing at them. "She should not be coming in..."

The end of the sentence was barely above a whisper when he saw Evelyn enter the room, looking depressed. Without a word to any of the officers since they never replied to begin with, she headed towards her desk and picked up the pile of papers from the corner. Looking down, she left the room, along with a quiet group of officers.

"I thought she had a day off," whispered Fuery hesitantly, looking towards the door from where Evelyn had entered and then left.

"I told her to stay home," growled Mustang, frustrated as he massaged his forehead.

"Sir, had she not finished her paperwork last night?" wondered Hawkeye, looking towards the Colonel.

"Well, that's what it seemed like when she left," explained Havoc, remembering that he had stayed later than usual so that he would be able to leave earlier that day. "I left the office a few minutes later and closed everything. But... I don't remember there being so much."

"I can't get her to stop," sighed Mustang, more frustrated with himself than with Evelyn. "Why is she still doing work?"

"Maybe she wants to clear her head or get her mind of something," suggested Hawkeye, leaning on her desk.

"Mind off of what?" wondered Breda.

Mustang looked up at the four men in front of him and his frustration slowly transferred towards them. They still don't get it, he thought, gritting his teeth.

"Your attitudes," barked the Colonel, surprising his subordinates.

"What?" stuttered Havoc, bewildered.

"The four of you! She was sacred to tell the four of you the truth because she did not how you would react! And now I see she had reason to! I never thought that my own men would turn their back on their friend, because that is exactly what you did," explained Mustang, staring at the four now guilty looking men.

"Sir, calm down," murmured Hawkeye though it seemed it was only for show since there was no other threat that came with that order.

"But what would you have us do?" wondered Havoc, crossing his arms. "We can't forget that she lied to us."

"She only lied to you about being a boy. She's been truthful about everything else all these years," explained Hawkeye. "She was never putting an act on to hide her true personality; that was her during all this time. She was just a girl hiding behind the clothes and name of a boy."

"They have a point," whispered Fuery, looking down guiltily. "We have known her for a long time..."

"I sometimes forget how long," added Breda, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Almost seven years," replied Falman.

Havoc, Breda and Fuery all looked towards the older man, the information sinking in. However, it was not only the duration of the time that shocked them but the amount: seven years. Falman had said the exact same thing previously and yet, for all this time none of them had put two and two together.

Havoc headed quickly to his desk and picked up the small piece of paper that had come with the package. On it, his name was written as well as a birthday wish. The others crowded around the man, looking down at the note as well.

"Wait a minute; that looks like my hand writing," remarked Falman, surprising the others.

"Now that you mention it, my notes looked unusually like Havoc's hand writing," added Breda.

"Well, that means whoever has been sending us these presents can copy any of our ways of writing," remarked Falman.

"And I think I know," whispered Fuery, heading towards the last desk and searching through the folders. "It's not normal that someone should be working later than anyone else trying to complete their paperwork when they finish it quicker than anyone else," explained Fuery, pulling out six packs of papers, each with the name of one of the officers in the room.

He opened the one with Falman's name on it and the group of officers crowded around the younger man, staring at its contents. The report was halfway completed and Havoc brought the birthday card towards the pages, comparing the handwriting.

"This is definitely the same," he remarked, exhaling loudly.

"But I don't remember writing any of this," explained Falman, scanning through the report. "It looks and sounds like my work but it isn't."

"Damn it, Evelyn," growled Mustang, sinking into his chair and massaging his forehead.

The group stood in silence for a moment, taking everything in. However, something struck Havoc as odd when Mustang had pronounced Evelyn's name.

"Colonel, your niece and the Major wouldn't happen to be the same person, would they?" he wondered, surprising Mustang and Hawkeye for they had completely forgotten about those times.

"Yes, they are the same," he replied softly.

"But, the Major said neither of you knew!" breathed Fuery, shocked. "She lied?"

"Yes, to protect us," answered Hawkeye, nodding towards the younger officer. "But not a word to anyone else."

Meanwhile, Havoc sat further away, gripping his head in his hands. How could I have not noticed? He thought, guilt worming its way up. Looking back, it should have been obvious... The way she acted, that voice and... her golden eyes... How could I have missed that? He sighed in frustration, glancing to the side and spotting his birthday present. And to think... She's the one who's been... Wait, does this mean she doesn't hate us? He stared at the note and then at the gift once again before closing his eyes. I really don't have any luck with women...

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and the officers looked up, surprised. However, it was a low-ranking soldier who hesitantly saluted them before walking towards Hawkeye and handing her a note.

"Thank you, soldier," she replied as the young man saluted before turning and exiting the room, leaving Hawkeye to read over the message.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" wondered Mustang, curious.

"Nothing that you should worry yourself about, sir," she replied, looking up from the paper. "I was just reminded about something I have to finish before tonight."

Mustang glanced at the woman, wondering why she was being so cryptic all of a sudden. Before he could ask another question, Evelyn returned, catching all of the officers' attention.

The young woman stopped suddenly, conscious of all the stares she was receiving. She took a step back, glancing back at the occupants in the room, wondering what was happening.

Meanwhile, Havoc glanced from Evelyn to the gift on his desk before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath. Suddenly, he stood and made his way to the still worried looking young woman. He stopped a few feet away and looked down, noticing that Evelyn was not meeting his eye.

"Hey, thanks," he whispered, watching Evelyn's shocked reaction.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she glanced around, really not trying to meet Havoc's gaze. The man smiled at this tossing the new lighter in his hand a few times.

"I believe we owe you quite a few 'thanks', Evelyn," he added, watching as she caught her breath. "But also, a few apologies."

Evelyn stayed rooted to the spot in front of Havoc, unable to look up at the man. When she had entered the office that morning, her only intention was to distract herself. Also, she did not want Alphonse to worry if she had stayed home, holed up. She had honestly tried to spend her day off wandering the city and perhaps buy some much needed feminine clothes. However, after the first few blocks and all the stared and comments she heard, she had turned right back around and headed straight to Headquarters. She knew that she may not be warmly welcomed but she preferred the silent office to the gossip on the street anytime.

However, when she had entered the room, she spotted the gift on Havoc's desk and quickly reached for the pack of paperwork, using its excuse to get out of the room. She knew what she doing when she had sent the package that morning to Headquarters but, upon seeing it, she had begun to doubt herself. Could she really still give these men gifts on their birthdays like she used to, pretending nothing had happened.

This was one of the things that really began to irritate Evelyn. Any emotion she felt towards the officers in the room was slowly transferred to herself. She was angry with herself for acting so helpless. She was disappointed with herself for not having the courage to have told the men earlier. But, mostly, she was furious with herself for letting it get to her so much. So much, that it affected her composure and her confidence; that she acted like a small, afraid child, something she had always refused to be, no matter if she was pretending to be a boy or now, when she was a girl.

However, Havoc's last comments caught her off guard. Not only had they figured out that she was the one sending them their gifts every year, but he wanted to apologize to her. Evelyn was trying to find a logical explanation since she was the one who had lied to them all these years and yet, they were the ones willing to apologize. Sometimes, Evelyn realized that she did not spend enough time with other people and too much time with her nose in a book because no book could prepare someone to face these situations.

"I'm sorry, Evelyn," continued Havoc, noticing the young woman's change of demeanour. "We're sorry. It should not have taken this long for us to realize this but, your gift reminded me, reminded all of us, that you're still the same person who walked into our lives all those years ago."

"From now on, you can count on us," added Breda, pointing confidently towards himself and the others.

"We've got your back," put in Falman, nodding towards her.

"No matter what happens," whispered Fuery who stood close by, smiling towards her sincerely.

"I hope you can forgive us, Evelyn," finished Havoc, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

He glanced at her, trying to see what she would do. However, he noticed her shaking fists and his eyebrows rose in surprise. He bent down slightly, cautious that one of those fists was made of metal and that, if ever she swung it, his skull could break. Therefore, when he was finally able to see her face, his mouth hung open in surprise and he stared at her. After a moment, Evelyn realized what was happening and cursed under her breath before lifting her left hand quickly to cover her face.

"Damn it," she growled, willing herself not to cry in front of the men although, seeing as it was almost that time of the month once again, controlling those emotions was nothing simple.

"Evelyn?"

"It's not you," she sighed, taking a deep breath. "I'm angrier with myself for acting like this."

She heard a soft chuckle from the man in front of her and glanced quickly at him.

"That's the Fullmetal Alchemist we've always known," he added, smiling, "never one to show her true feelings in front of us."

"Well, you're used to it so live with it," she snapped though he noticed a small smile at the corner of her lips.

"So...? Are we forgiven?"

Evelyn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tried to control not only her emotions, but also her thoughts.

"Will we have to buy you dinner as well?"

"If you insist," she laughed, looking up at the man. "But all of you will be dancing."

Meanwhile, Mustang had watched the entire scene from his desk and breathed out softly, relieved. He had not only witnessed his subordinates almost beg for forgiveness but had also witnessed the pieces being picked up and put back together. He caught Hawkeye gaze and she smiled towards him, seeming also relieved that Evelyn was also beginning to return to her normal self.

"Careful, Evelyn, Breda is known to have two left feet," teased Havoc as their conversation continued, unaware of the two officers behind them.

"Well, I think I have the perfect place where Breda can prove that," cut in Hawkeye, surprising the group. "And he can prove it tonight even."

"What have you planned, Lieutenant?" wondered Mustang once again.

"You'll see, Evelyn," she continued, ignoring the men's confused stares, "this evening, we are going to get ready and we'll meet these men afterwards. How does that sound?"

Evelyn also stared at Hawkeye, blinking several times in confusion since she thought they were just kidding around. After a moment, she smiled and nodded in agreement. Mustang watched the young woman, realizing that he had indeed missed that smile of hers. Fullmetal is back, he thought, leaning back in his chair and smiling as well.

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