Author's Notes: There were a lot of different ways that I could've gone with this one. I could've done the obvious (something to do with Black Hayate), but then I started thinking about the nickname for State Alchemists. Instead of focusing on Roy though, I decided to focus a little more on Riza and Edward and how protective they are. So here's some parental!Royai/Ed. This is the longest one yet, I believe.
36. Dog
It started off as a simple walk back to Edward's hotel room.
It ended up with them running into an abandoned building with a mob of angry men chasing after them.
Riza wasn't quite sure exactly how they ended up in this position. Edward had showed up at the office to yell at the Colonel about the mission he'd been given. Upon trying to leave after throwing every synonym to the word "bastard" around, he'd realized that he didn't have enough change to get a ride back to his hotel. Normally, Riza would've given him a ride, but Roy had been so aggravated that he'd refused to leave the office. Edward was old enough to go on his own, but she'd felt a twist in her gut that said that he shouldn't be alone.
In retrospect, she would be thankful that she'd told him that she would walk him back to the hotel since it was close to her apartment, despite the sputtering from Roy. At the moment, however, she was not exactly ecstatic to be storming through an unfamiliar and eerie building with unknown assailants on their tail.
"What's with these guys?" Edward demanded, puffing along at her side as he followed her. Despite the fact that he was younger and had more energy than her, his automail was beginning to hold him back, keeping him a few steps behind her. She was nearly thirty, but still in the prime of her life and able to sprint long distances. Running had always come to her naturally, which was strange since she was known for holding her ground.
"I don't think it's us that they want," Riza answered as best as she could as they rounded a corner. They both slid to a halt, looking at two doors and trying to figure out which way to go. She didn't know this building, something that she hated. She did not like not knowing her surroundings. It put her at a disadvantage.
Shouts from behind them made Edward turn his head back and glower like the sulky teenager that he was. Odd since his life was in danger that he would still react the same as if someone was trying to force him to drink milk. "It's Colonel Bastard, isn't it?"
Insubordinate as ever, even when his life was on the line. Edward would never change. Riza nodded her head. "He has a lot of enemies – people that think they can use his subordinates against him." She pulled out one of her guns and slipped out the clip to check it. Three bullets remaining, plus one in the chamber. She noted Edward's uneasy glance in her direction – or rather, in the gun's direction. He didn't like the weapons.
She fought the urge to curl her lips. Edward had signed up to be a State Alchemist. He was a weapon himself, whether he knew it or not. Roy had learned that lesson well enough years ago.
"Well, I'm not about to let them take you," Edward proclaimed, slapping his hands together and then onto his automail arm, turning it into a short spear. A surge of fondness wound its way through her, despite the adrenaline already pumping in her system. Of course he wasn't worried about himself at all. He was so much like Roy in that respect, no matter how much both of them ignored it.
Pointing her finger to the left doorway, both of them started up again, running through the door and down a series of winding corridors. She thought this might have been a laboratory at some time, abandoned by State Alchemists after the war. There were more buildings like this lying around headquarters from each corner of Amestris, emptied when men and women could no longer forgive themselves for their transgressions. It didn't help her know her way though. Every turn seemed to lead them further into darkness, the shouts and shots of guns ringing closer to them with every passing second.
After making a turn, both of them came to an abrupt halt, staring at a wall.
"What!" Edward shouted. He ran to the wall and smacked it with his hands. "It's…it's been made with alchemy! Freshly made, too! Argh! I can get us through, but–"
Riza bit down on her fear. There was no time for that. She'd wondered if anyone in the group might have knowledge of alchemy. This only confirmed her thoughts. On the other side of that wall was an alchemist, most likely not a state one. At least she had one on her side right now and a brilliant one at that. But judging from the way he was fuming, he'd be a dangerous one as well.
"How many men do you think were chasing us?" Riza asked as she tried to find a spot to take cover. The room was large and filled with containers and barrels. This must have been where waste was taken afterwards. It looked like it was near falling apart as it was. Edward wasn't known for keeping buildings standing after he performed his alchemy.
Edward huffed. "Ten at the most." He hunkered down next to her. "The Colonel sure has a lot of enemies."
"He's good at his job."
"How does a man acquire so many enemies while sleeping at his desk and flirting with women?" Edward mumbled under her breath.
Despite the situation, Riza had to fight back a smile. It was true that the Colonel did both of those things, much to her frustration and often hidden embarrassment, but it was as much of a front as well. Roy was clever. He knew that he couldn't outright show how ambitious he was, and so he used his early promotions as a mean to show just how young he was, all the while accomplishing solid, fantastic results. Some people tended to see the worst while others saw the best. In the end, they saw what he wanted them to see, as Roy did with Edward. Who knew what the young State Alchemist would do if he knew that his superior officer kept such a careful eye on him and gave him specific missions that would help with his research to return his and his brother's bodies?
"Has this happened to you before?" Edward suddenly asked. Riza glanced at him curiously. "I mean, have people come after you because you're….close with the Colonel?"
"A few times," Riza admitted, "but I've only been kidnapped once."
A hard expression came onto Edward's face. She had a feeling that he would rather die than allow her to get kidnapped. He was irresponsibly protective. How so much like the Colonel. "What happened?"
"They all died."
Edward's face paled, but he snapped his mouth shut and said nothing, turning his gaze in the direction of where the men chasing after them were coming. Silence was needed now.
How those men died was not important, but she didn't want to taint Edward's image of the Colonel in any way. In truth, she had escaped mostly on her own, ending the lives of the men guarding her and then another, staggering her way back to the government building in order to alert the unit. No charges had ever been filed though. The men responsible for her kidnapping vanished reportedly to Drachma. No one connected it with a building catching fire on the outskirts of town; and any trace of bodies had been burnt to next to nothing. She knew rage quite well. It bubbled underneath the skin of both alchemists she cared for.
"Go over to the barrel near the stairs and do not move," Riza said, pointing in the direction she was talking about.
Edward gave her a confused look. "Shouldn't we stay together?"
Riza didn't respond and merely gave him a solid frown. Edward hesitated for a moment, but then followed her order. When he squatted down, he was hidden from the sight of anyone approaching them. Meanwhile, if she moved at all, she'd most likely be spotted. He didn't seem to realize what this meant, but it would come to him eventually. If either of them survived this, he'd be furious with her. Well, she'd dealt with the Colonel's anger for doing her job; she could deal with a fifteen year-old genius' anger too.
The men chasing them rounded the corner, coming to a halt. One of them pointed to the wall that had stopped them from running. "Looks like Carmen did his job."
"Which means…" Another man smirked cruelly and the rounded his hands around his mouth. "I know you two are in here! Come on out, Doggie! You're used to following orders, aren't you? Yip, yip!"
From her spot, she could see Edward struggling to jump right out and attack the men. It wasn't often that his title of State Alchemist was used against him in such a way. That was more for Roy, who had been in the Ishval War. And yet Edward could not completely avoid the title of Dog of the Military. It annoyed Roy to no end, but he said nothing. To Edward, it was like being slapped in the face with his own knowledge. She could only hope that he could contain his anger and keep hidden like she'd told him.
"Your ammo isn't limitless, Hawk's Eye!" the same man called. "Why don't you come out and we can settle this nicely? I doubt you want the boy to get hurt. We'll let him go if you're a good girl." He laughed coldly. "We only want to have a little fun!"
The wide-eyed panicked expression from Edward nearly caused her to jump. She recognized that look at once: it was the look of someone ready to sacrifice themselves for another. She waved a sharp hand at her throat, telling him to cut it out, and he settled down a little, though he didn't take his eyes away from her. He hadn't been in a situation like this before, but she knew better than to believe these people. Still, they weren't wrong about her ammo problem. Four bullets left in this gun. She'd been forced to abandon two guns while running here.
The man let out an aggravated sigh. "Well, if you're not going to be easy… Carmen!"
Light crackled on the side of the wall near Edward. He let out a yelp and jumped back as the wall turned into a giant fist and leaped out to grab him. The action brought him into the sight of the other men, two of whom raised guns to train on him.
"Edward!" Riza gasped. Completely unprofessional of her, but it was one thing seeing Roy getting attacked and quite another seeing Edward. He was still a child, despite all of his knowledge, and he wouldn't have been in this position if it wasn't for the adults that had pushed him into the program. He was under Roy Mustang's command and therefore under her protection, but it was more than that.
She was scared for him.
Without hesitation, she stood up from her hiding spot and shot the men that were pointing their weapons at Edward. He bounced away just in time to get away from the alchemic stone hand, but just barely missed the stairs crashing down upon him. All chaos broke loose. She used her last bullet to shoot the alchemist that had jumped through the newly made hole in the wall in order to give Edward more time to bounce back from the assault, but then had to throw herself to the ground when bullets from the remaining men followed after.
"Get the woman!" someone screamed, and a man jumped onto a barrel to tower over her, a manic sneer on his face and a gun pointed at her in his hands.
"DON'T YOU LAY A HAND ON THE LIEUTENANT!" Edward slapped his hands together and pressed them flat on the ground.
The floor beneath them began to shake. Riza could only hold onto herself as the concrete beneath them exploded, stone flying in arches to attack the men that had fought to catch them. One hit the man standing over her in the chest, sending him flying through the air. Shouts, yells, and gunfire rang everywhere as people tried to dodge his attack. She knew that Edward was an incredibly strong alchemist, one on level with Roy when it came to destruction, but it wasn't often that she got to see just how powerful he was. He held himself back, just as Roy did, but when he was angry like this, his power came out viciously. For however much he refused to end a life, his temper got the best of his gifts when he was set off.
Dust began to settle once the alchemic process stopped. Riza picked up a gun from an unconscious thug on the ground and pulled herself to her feet. The building was, of course, ruined beyond repair. Men were tied down by stone wrapped around them, mostly unconscious, though a few were babbling and crying out. Edward panted in a cloud of dust, a streak of blood on the side of his head where it looked like a bullet had grazed him. Her heart leaped at that. He turned to look at her, relief and fear still fighting in his eyes.
Before Riza could sigh in relief, a sudden movement caught her eyes. Without blinking, she pointed her gun in Edward's direction and shot once.
Edward yelled, jumping in his skin. "What the hell!"
A thud behind him made him go silent though. He slowly turned around and watched as the already wounded alchemist that had attacked him earlier fell to the ground, a bullet hole between his eyes. Edward choked on his words, staring in shock at the dead man. Riza lowered her gun. Better her than him. He had vowed to never kill someone. She could carry the blood on her hands for him, if she must. That was her duty.
"The MPs will be here soon," Riza sighed. She checked the clip of the gun (two rounds) and then walked over towards Edward. The amount of paperwork that would come out of this would be astronomical. Normally, she didn't mind, but the headache slowly building behind her eyes said that she would've rather slept for two days straight. Still, she'd try to make it as less for him as possible. He was even worse with mission reports than Roy.
"Lieutenant…" Edward seemed to stumble over his words. He had to jerk his eyes away from the body in order to look at her and even then it was shaky. "Are you okay?"
"A few scrapes and bruises – I'm fine." She reached out and put her hands on his head. It was a wonder that he didn't flinch away from her after what she had done. She wouldn't have held it against him if he had. He let her pull him close though to examine his wound. "I'm sorry. I wasn't quick enough."
"You…" His voice trembled. Distant shouts resounded in the room, shouts of questions and wonder. Rescue was here at last. Edward forced a smile onto his face. It looked pained. "You were quicker than me."
Her hard expression melted. What he meant was that she was colder than him. She was capable of doing something unspeakable whereas he wasn't. He wasn't angry with her for it though, not yet, but he would be later once the shock wore off. Still, she'd never begrudge him for it. She didn't enjoy taking a person's life, no matter how stoic she seemed. "It's my job to protect you."
"Lieutenant!"
At that familiar voice, both of them looked up and spotted Colonel Mustang walking towards them. He looked rather miffed, like he couldn't believe that the two of them would dare get into a spot of trouble without him. It was the same face Edward wore whenever Alphonse got himself into something by mistake.
Standing up straight, Riza saluted him, but Edward yawned lazily in response. Roy took one suffering look at her and then turned his glare onto the young alchemist. "What exactly did you get my Lieutenant into, Fullmetal?"
"Me?!" Edward practically screeched, all false laziness abandoned. He was slowly learning how to perfect the composure that came naturally to Roy, again whether either of them realized he was mimicking the older alchemist or not. He couldn't hold himself back whatsoever though. Absolutely no game. He would've been terrible in the game that came with climbing the political ladder. Edward pointed an accusing finger. "This is all your fault!"
Roy arched a perfectly infuriated eyebrow. "My fault? I wasn't even here when you decided to destroy government property under the guise of protecting my adjutant."
"If you weren't such a glory hog, then we wouldn't have been targeted!" Edward shouted. "You should know that your life isn't the only one on the line here!"
"I know that quite well, Fullmetal," Roy snapped back, his voice a little louder than before, but not yet anywhere near Edward's level, "and as do my subordinates. They know what they signed up for, just as you did when you became a State Alchemist."
"Yeah, well," Edward grumbled, folding his arms across his chest, "I'm not here to be bait for you. I've got my own things going on, thanks. And you should be more careful with Lieutenant Hawkeye since she's so important to you and all."
That shut Roy up quite effectively, something that Edward hadn't accomplished yet. Despite the fact that he'd managed to silence the Colonel for the first time, Edward didn't seem to notice it. He huffed in disgust at the men held down by his alchemy, MPs trying to figure out how to get them out, and then stormed away, a cloud of muted fury surrounding him. Just before he was out, he cast one glance back at her and she smiled at him. He nodded his head, his cheeks slightly pink, and ducked outside the building.
"He saved my life, you know," Riza pointed out, but then she knew why he'd reacted the way he did. Edward didn't handle commendations from authority figures very well. A thank you hidden in the disguise of a reprimand was about all that he could handle.
Roy rubbed the back of his neck. "This is going to cause a lot of paperwork to file, isn't it?"
"We still have to question the perpetrators," Riza added. She noted the way that Roy glared at the men being placed in handcuffs. It would probably be best if the investigation was turned over to another unit due to conflicting interest, but Roy would hang onto it out of anger. Breda would have to be put on lead for the interrogations, lest things get messy.
"You are okay though, aren't you?" Roy asked, giving her an edgy glance. His voice was mild, but she could see the worry in his eyes. She could only be thankful that it hadn't been worse. There was no telling what he would've done had either she or Edward been captured or seriously injured.
Riza smiled faintly. "I'm fine, sir. Hardly a scratch."
"Just in need of a shower." Roy shook his head. "Fullmetal really made a mess of this place."
"You two do share a knack for destroying things."
Roy scoffed. "I share nothing with that child."
"Of course, sir." But she noted the way Roy's gaze caught onto Edward's form as he argued with a military medic and his brother and the smile did not leave her face, even if it meant Roy glaring at her if he caught her.