Roy is trying to help Ed here. But he doesn't realize that Ed isn't exactly the type to share his problems or ask for help, so Ed's not going to go the easy route to recovery here. Thanks so much for all the reviews- I read an enjoy they all!
Ed rode out the rest of his day at the office in a tense silence. He banged out all the paperwork he knew how to complete, bouncing his leg restlessly and half-paying attention when Al read him promising bits of research, but otherwise using most of his energy to keep himself under control.
He made a pointed effort to ignore Mustang, a favor which the man returned, and when five o' clock rolled around he fairly sprinted out of the office, Al in tow.
"We should visit Winry first, brother. She's been working hard all day on your arm."
"We will. I just want to go home and change my clothes first." Ed lied fluently.
As soon as they reached the dorms he threw open a dresser drawer, grabbing a handful of clothes. Al was distracted by some research notes he'd left lying out, and he snagged a small box from the nightstand and a book of matches, ducking into the bathroom to change.
He had three cigarettes left. Only three. That Bastard had taken his pack. But he lit one up anyways, not worrying about Al- it wasn't like his brother could smell the smoke anyways.
He was down to two cigarettes. His irritability melted slightly as he took another drag, wondering how he was going to get more. He was underage, but if he flashed his state alchemist's watch, he could probably get more. He'd just have to figure out how to hide them from Mustang at work...
"Brother? Winry's been at the shop all day, shouldn't we go?"
"Shit. I forgot to bring her lunch today!" he'd been so wrapped up in fighting with Mustang, he'd completely forgot.
"There's an Italian restaurant she mentioned wanting to try yesterday. We'll get something there for her. But we should get going." Al reassured him through the bathroom door.
"Right. One second, Al." Ed took the last drag of his cigarette, tossing the remains into the toilet and flushing, hurriedly tugging on his black shirt and pants before stumbling out of the bathroom.
"If everyone could stay behind for a brief team meeting, I'd appreciate it." Mustang said, as his subordinates- minus Edward, who'd rushed out the door as soon as he possibly could- gathered around his desk.
"Fullmetal's been making some stupid choices lately. Mainly, the kid is smoking cigarettes and he got into a rough situation this morning. I think his actions were justified from his side of the story, but getting into fights and smoking cigarettes isn't acceptable for someone his age. So I'm going to be tightening his leash. You might see some push back over the next few days. And I'd like you all to keep a close eye on him and report to me if you see him acting out of character at all. Does anyone have any questions?" Mustang asked.
"Isn't this a little harsh, Sir? Ed's only fourteen, and he seems to be having a hard time since he go back from the boarder." Furey, normally quiet, spoke up. "N-not that I'm questioning your authority, Sir, I just... he's just a kid, you know?"
"You raise a good point, Furey. Which is exactly why I'm doing this. If I don't make sure to drag the kid back onto the right path- however hard it may be- he's going to struggle a lot harder later. Disciplining the kid is my job, not yours. I'm simply asking you all to report on his behavior, since I can;t babysit 24/7. The whole reason we're doing this is because we don't want to see anything bad happen to him."
"Edward needs to learn he can come to us with his issues- he's trying to do everything himself right now, which is where he's running into trouble. IF we're harsh but fair with him, hopefully he'll realize he can come to rely on us." Hawkeye spoke up.
"Yeah, makes sense. Ed's normally a good kid, I'd hate to see him throw it all away." Falman spoke up.
"I'll quit smoking around the office. I won't keep cigarettes in my desk anymore either. Better not to tempt the kid." Havoc promised.
"We'll all do our best to look out for the little beansprout, Sir." Breda agreed.
"Thank you. Dismissed, everyone."
Everyone filed out of the room, but Hawkeye lingered.
"Lieutenant, I'm glad you decided to stay behind. I need a woman's opinion on something."
"You normally do, Sir." Hawkeye said, looking slightly amused.
"Yes, well... that fight Fullmetal got into with Major Poole's boys? The one where he broke that man's jaw? He claims they were grabbing Winry in the alley by the dorms. He said she's been staying with them... at the dorms."
"I see. That's... not exactly a conventional arrangement. What did Edward say when you asked him about it?"
"He said he didn't feel the need to make the girl get a hotel when they had he extra bed. Alphonse doesn't sleep, of course. Still, that does little to ease my concerns that something... inappropriate might be going on. I doubt Fullmetal's been told about the birds and the bees, but I wanted your opinion on this..."
"The boy doesn't have a father, Sir. You're the next logical choice to explain everything to him."
"I was thinking Hughes, actually. But regardless- I doubt he's going to want to listen to any of us right now. But- as a woman- do you think anything is going on over there? Behind closed doors? Anything that warrants more... prompt action?"
Hawkeye frowned. "I doubt it, Sir. Edward may be getting to... that age... but most girls are rather... hesitant. Not to mention the fact that Alphonse is always present and doesn't sleep. Even if Edward were to be... curious... I doubt he'd make a pass with Alphonse present. He wouldn't want his little brother to see such adult things."
"He could always send Alphonse on an errand though."
"Yes, he could, but it takes two to tango, Sir- are we even sure they're romantically interested in one another? Edward may be an alchemic genius, but we don't even know if Winry is interested in him, and Ed... well, if it's not a transmutation circle, fighting or books, the boy is hopeless, Sir."
"Okay. Good. That's what I was hoping to hear. I can't exactly demand he throw her out, anyways."
"Alphonse said he and Winry were comparing it to when they'd have camp outs and sleepovers together as children. And that Ed passed out as soon as he'd eaten. I don't think you have to cross that bridge, Sir... yet."
"Right." Roy sighed. "Well, now I have to clean up the other mess the brat left me with Major Poole."
"Good luck, Sir."
"I'm drinking half a bottle of scotch when I get home." Roy muttered, heading down the hall.
He knocked on the Major's door, waiting and listening.
"Come in."
He pushed the door open to find Major Poole- a man with an auburn, pointy mustache- stacking papers neatly at his desk. "About time you came by, Mustang. What's the boy's discipline?"
"Before we discuss that, I think you should hear what my Lieutenant Colonel told me." Roy said, closing the door behind him and crossing the room in a few swift strides.
"Fullmetal told me he did assault both of your men around six am this morning. But he did so because they were groping his friend- a girl, who happens to be fourteen."
"What!?" Major Poole was on his feet, looking shocked.
"What did your soldiers tell you, Major?"
"I... nothing about a girl! They didn't report for duty as scheduled and I found out they were in the infirmary. They told me about getting attacked by Fullmetal. But wait... why did your Lieutenant Colonel have a girl outside the male dormitories at 6am?" the man narrowed his eyes.
Roy raised both hands. "It's a complex situation, Major. Lieutenant Colonel Elric's automail arm was destroyed in the conflict at the Cretan Boarder. That girl is his mechanic, and also a childhood friend- she came back to Central with his little brother to help rebuild his arm. To be honest with you, I myself wasn't aware she was staying with them either until today, but Elric is still kind of clueless- his younger brother was excited because he was saying it was like when they were kids having a sleepover again."
"And you really believe him?" Major Poole looked skeptical.
"I trust Edward's judgement, Major. Ed's been... he's been through hell, to put it lightly. I was the one who had to retrieve him from the field hospital in that hellhole. He's doing the best he can. I'm trying to address the things that need correcting while giving him room to grow as a soldier. All of that is compounded by the fact he's still fourteen..."
"And a Lieutenant Colonel. Damn, I don't envy you, Colonel." Major Poole admitted. "Listen, I feel kind of like an ass for even bringing this up. The girl- did they- how far was it?" the man's blue eyes flashed with concern.
"It was my understanding she was touched over her clothing and very frightened, almost crying. Ed said that her shirt had come forward and she wasn't... wasn't covered- from everything. But that's as far as Edward allowed it to go."
Major Poole cleared his throat, nodding. "Right. Well, listen- as officers- could we make a deal? I'll write this off as my soldiers being in a drunken barfight on the books. Say Edward wasn't even involved, I won't mention the girl at the dorms. And in exchange, you- well, you'll not report my soldiers for the harassing of the girl. Sound fair? That way we each get to deal with our subordinates as we see fit and nothing embarrassing gets brought to the attention of the higher ups."
"I'm agreeable to it, on one condition. Both those boys get flags on their files- if there's ever any allegation of misconduct, be it with female civilians or soldiers- they be severely disciplined. It doesn't have to be an official warning from the brass- just something you recognize."
"That's a fair deal to me." the Major offered his hand, and Mustang shook it. "I don't envy you, Colonel." the Major admitted, eyes glittering. "I jsut have unruly boys in my squad- you have a fireball of a teenager, with a skills and a temper to match it."
"I'm aware." Mustang gave the man a tired smile, glad everything had worked out. "Now- I'm going to go home and count how many gray hair the brat's given me." he turned and left, hearing Major Poole's laughter over his shoulder.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he left the office- one fire put out, one less thing to worry about.
"I said they could only stay one night, Al!"
"But it's raining again!"
"They're cats, they'll find a tree to sleep in or something! Winry, don't you agree with me!?"
"I don't see the harm, it's only one night."
"Gah, whatever. You guys are hopeless." Ed threw up his hands, flopping onto his bed.
Riza heard the silence and took the opportunity to knock at the door of the dorm.
"Who is it?" Alphonse asked cheerfully.
"It's Riza."
Al hurried to open the door. "Oh, Hello Lieutenant! What brings you here?"
"Hello, Alphonse. The Colonel wanted me to check on you three and make sure everything was alright. May I come in? I brought some leftovers my friend at the bakery gave me..." she had a brown paper bag in her hands.
"Of course!"
She stepped through the doorway past Al to find an interesting scene in the room before her.
Atop his bed surrounded by alchemy books was Edward, dressed in a t-shirt and boxers and with one sock on his flesh foot, reading furiously. The far wall had stacks of books up to Riza's shoulders, and a half dozen cats had splayed out or sat atop them, swishing their tails happily. A cat was perched on the windowsill, two more cats curled up on the bed nearest the door, where Winry was dressed in a white t-shirt and black shorts, with a takeout container, looking half asleep.
There were more discarded containers around, but the place wasn't disgusting. Rather, it was lived in.
"There's some cupcakes in here." Riza set the bag on the small endtable, looking at Winry worriedly. The girl was looking rather pale. "Is she alright?"
"I'm just tired. I've been working in the automail shop since six, I only just got home." Winry scrubbed at a smudge of grease on her cheek, giving Riza a tired smile."Ed's arm should be ready tomorrow evening, and then I'll be heading home..."
"Ah, I see." Riza nodded.
"You said the Colonel sent you?" Ed looked over at her sharply, features hardened with distrust.
"He just wanted me to make sure everything was okay." Riza confirmed.
"Well tell that bastard we're fine as we are, he can leave us alone."
"Ed." Al scolded.
"Don't be like that. He's just grumpy because he's Ed." Winry informed Riza, who nodded. "Well, I'll be going now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Al and Winry chorus back happily. Ed said it quietly, still eyeing her with distrust, before she was ducking back out the door.
"You said he had how many cats in there?" Roy was incredulous on the phone with Hawkeye later that evening.
"I counted at least 8, sir. But there was definitely no... adult activities going on at the dorm. Edward's bed was covered in Alchemy books, I doubt another person could sit on it with him. And Winry was exhausted- she's been at the automail shop since six in the morning, so at least you can rule your concerns about Ed's... personal life... for now. How did the meeting with Major Poole go?"
"It was fine, I worked it out with my charm like always." Roy said dismissively. "Though I'd appreciate it if the kid would at least try not to cause issues for the time being. With everyone keeping a close eye on him, I'm hoping we get through this with minimal property damage. Now let's just hope Ed gets it together before I have to pull any more fast ones to cover for him."