Chapter fifteen

Mother gasped. She genuinely gasped.

And Roy loved it.

"What... What are you wearing?" she asked, looking at Ed in horror as she gripped the wineglass in her hand tighter. She had been midway through saying something about how Ed had to decide which non-alcoholic apple cider he liked best, meaning that she had been followed by one of the maids, a new one that Roy hadn't met before, who was carrying a tray of five different wineglasses whose contents were all different shades of what looked like carbonated, diluted apple juice.

Roy had yet to change into his tuxedo, as he was currently busy helping Edward with getting his own just right, before he would help Alphonse do the same. They had decided that Edward should get dressed first simply because of the way Roy's parents looked like they wanted to take Ed's leather trousers and burn them.

So instead they would have Ed dressed in his very best clothes as soon as possible, the boy grinning triumphantly despite the bowtie Roy had been about to help him with inside his own room. The walk-in wardrobe had plenty of light and mirrors, and so Roy preferred having both Elrics in his proximity for as long as possible, seeing as how Riza required rather a lot of time to get her own looks done. It was a bit amusing the way that they put so much work into making it acceptable not to do the acceptable thing. If Riza looked stunning in a dress with her hair done properly, then it was just as good as spending thirty minutes from locking the bathroom door until coming back out in her uniform. But she too had decided to do like Roy, also because when she wore her uniform at these sorts of functions, she was usually treated as a subordinate hardly above the level of a maid because she was heavily outranked by most of the guests. And it made Roy furious. Hopefully the way she'd be wearing a very glamorous, turquoise, tight-fitting gown with so-called butterfly sleeves going down to her elbows would sway people from believing her to be little more than a subordinate. Even if she was actually Mother and Dick's previous ward, it was still very clear to most that Riza was the butler's daughter and Roy's subordinate and that was the attitude she was met with. To most of these guests, Riza was little more than Roy's loyal puppy. And he was damn tired of indulging that view. If he wasn't wearing a uniform, then neither was she, and that was why she'd be wearing a ridiculously expensive dress along with their equally ridiculously expensive tuxedos.

And now Ed was wearing his, smiling innocently up at Mother, Roy still in his trousers, shirt and waistcoat, Al in the wheelchair, wearing jeans and a sweater, and all in all they were a delightful bunch in Roy's opinion.

"It's my tuxedo," Ed said. "We bought it at that shop you like."

"Roy..." Mother said, looking at Roy like he had murdered her puppy.

"I'm sorry you don't like it, Doctor Mustang," Al began politely and sweetly. "But it reminded us of the blanket in our living room back in Resembool. Brother chose it because it gave us a way to bring a piece of home with us here, seeing as how all of our possessions were burned during the raid." He ended his explanation with a sorrowful look that Roy knew wasn't at all fake. A lot of the time on the train had been spent with Edward and Alphonse grieving the loss of the Rockbells and the rest of their town. Roy wasn't particularly fond of the way that they were continuously rubbing it in with what had happened just by being there. In a way, Edward being a vampire and the fears surrounding that had been working as a distraction from their grief.

Mother decided to just focus his attention on Roy and Roy only. "I heard that you would be wearing a tuxedo too, Roy?"

Roy just pointed towards the far corner of the wardrobe. "They're over there, I think you'll find them satisfactory, Ed was the one to pick them out."

He could barely contain his smirk at the nearly invisible flinch she made as she placed the wineglass back on the tray. Then she stalked over to the two outfits and seemed to be at least a bit less hostile at the way that they were up to her standards. "Will you be wearing that plait of yours this evening, Edward?" she asked after seeming to have found the two tuxedos suitable, which meant moving on to some other pressing matters.

"Yup. I'm gonna redo it right before the guests arrive so that it's as neat as possible, so don't you worry about that," Ed said pleasantly enough.

"Are you sure you don't want to have your hair cut, at least slightly? Your fringe is perhaps a tad bit too long? Or the antenna? Or maybe you would like a ponytail for some variation?" she asked, obvious trying to find some way for making Ed's hairstyle less offensive.

Roy was close to laughing, but then froze at the bitter look of hatred that was in Edward's eyes. "I will NOT wear a ponytail when that was the last thing I saw as that bastard turned his back on us and left Mom to die!" the kid hissed, glaring at her. "Now, if you would just start minding your own fucking business and just tell us what's up with those wineglasses so that you can leave us as soon as possible, then that would be a hell of a lot better!"

Roy placed a hand on Ed's shoulder to give him a silent reminder about not losing his temper. The boy still glared at Mother, but he made an obvious effort at calming down slightly as he took deeper breaths.

Mother seemed slightly taken aback at the fierce reaction, and obviously took it as a sign to step back unless she wanted to explain to the Führer how the people that were being welcomed to their home were checking in at a hotel and having pizza for dinner instead. "Like I said, we'll be serving a non-alcoholic option to champagne, so we wanted to hear with you two which of the three we have bought that you prefer."

"Ask Al. I'm drinking what he's drinking unless it's milk."

"If you like different ones, then we can make sure to provide both types. Clarke," she said.

Which caused the young, black haired maid to walk forwards, before stopping in front of Ed, holding out the tray. "The three on the right are for you to sample, Mister Elric," she said in a polite and stiff manner.

Ed looked at her, not grabbing any of the proffered wineglasses. "What's your name?"

"Clarke, sir."

"Nah, I mean first name."

"Elizabeth, sir."

"Do you have a nickname that you like better? Lizzie or Liz? Maybe Ellie?" Ed asked.

"I am fond of Liz, sir."

Edward offered her his right hand to shake. "Hi, Liz, I'm Ed."

The girl looked shocked at the display and looked to Mother for permission, receiving a stiff nod. And so she shifted the tray to her left arm as she reached out and shook his hand. "I-it's very nice to meet you, Mister Ed."

"Nah, it's just Ed. But it's nice to meet you, and please apologise me for treating you like my equal. But I'm still gonna continue doing so, so you're just gonna have to get used to it."

"Oh... That isn't necessary si... Ed," the young girl blushed.

"Remember, I'm not some stuck-up brat. I'm a country boy, I don't sit on a high horse, I prefer ponies."

Roy couldn't help the small chuckle as he too reached out his hand. "And you may call me Roy, and I am very happy to make your acquaintance."

"This really is too kind..." she began, but not before Al had rolled up to her and shook her hand too, telling her to call him Al.

She was very flustered by the time she left and the Elrics had decided on the same apple cider, which turned out to be the least diluted one.

...Basically, the one that tasted most like the fruit that it was originally based on.

And so it was time for Roy and Al to get into their tuxedos, and soon enough they were walking down the staircase to the entrance hall, the room already buzzing as Roy carried Al and Ed carried the wheelchair, while Riza had more than enough with holding the skirt of her dress so as not to step on it and trip herself.

But it meant that their quarry was earning a lot of attention. But at least they were running late so as to not have to greet every single guest at the door "because the boys were struck by another wave of grief because of the events in Resembool."

Mother hadn't complained about it as she seemed to be highly worried that if she displeased Ed even further, then she'd find herself mortified as the older Elric insulted the Führer. It seemed too that she had come to the conclusion that the less people Ed talked to, the less chance of him mortally offending their guests.

"And remember, Major Armstrong is a hugger and a behemoth, but he is kind and won't kill you, so no screaming. I'll be the one to tell him to let go of you," Roy whispered, knowing that Edward heard him without difficulties.

"Okay."

A young blonde came running up the steps towards them, easily recognisable as Catherine Elle Armstrong, dressed in a shiny, light pink ball gown whose skirt she held up with her right hand. "Oh, please let me help you, Roy! I can take the wheelchair for you!"

"Uh, there's no need, Miss, it's not that heavy, and you have to be careful about your dress..." Ed said, looking horrified at the prospect of making a teenage girl do his job for him while she was wearing a ridiculously expensive dress.

"Oh, but it's really no problem, Mister Elric," she said, blushing. She was sweet and shy and ridiculously strong like the rest of her siblings, save Olivier.

Roy decided to help the confused child out. "Edward, Alphonse, this is Catherine Elle Armstrong, and she's nearly as strong as her brother."

It was Ed's turn to blush. "Oh, but are you sure you want to?"

"I'd love to help," she said shyly.

"Uh, so how do you want to lift it?"

She just leaned forwards and placed her hand under the bottom and lifted it up on her palm, carrying it over her head, holding her skirt with her free hand as she walked forwards. "I prefer it this way."

Ed and Al stared in shocked terror. "Th-thanks for your help, Miss Armstrong."

"Oh, it's no trouble, I love to have something to distract me. I'm meeting my date any minute now and I'm rather nervous about it. My oldest sister Olivier is going to introduce us once they arrive, and the rest of my family is already in the ballroom so that they won't distract my date," she said quietly, her cheeks bright red as she looked down.

Roy was intrigued. It would seem that Catherine was being set up with one of Olivier's own men, which could either go horribly wrong or perfectly well.

Then the wheelchair was put down on the ground and Roy placed Al in it, the Elrics soon shaking hands with the blushing woman. Roy figured that making small talk with the least threatening person in the entrance hall wasn't such a bad idea. The Armstrongs were well-known and the prospect of talking to Olivier at any minute seemed to be terrifying enough to keep people away from them.

Then the Major General herself walked in through the double doors, all dressed up in uniform, next to a giant of a man with an automail arm, a mohawk and an overall appearance of a human bear.

"Oh, he's strong..." Catherine said, blushing and holding her cheeks in her hands, looking at the two newcomers.

"Captain Buccaneer, this is my little sister Catherine," Olivier said, and Roy could see the blush in Buccaneer's cheeks. He was definitely one for pretty girls who admired his looks. "You get acquainted with her while I talk to Captain Mustang and his new wards," she ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Buccaneer said, saluting her, then Roy, before he leaned down and carefully kissed Catherine's hand, and Roy could tell that he was instantly smitten. "It's an honour to meet you, Miss Catherine."

"It's very nice to meet you, Captain Buccaneer... You certainly are a strong man," Catherine said, and Roy was beginning to realise that those two could quickly become a very successful couple, despite the age difference.

Roy could see from Olivier's stern look that she was giving Roy a silent order to show her to the ballroom, obviously not interested in hearing her little sister flirting.

They walked a few metres away, before she paused, meaning that they paused too, as she stood up in front of the Elrics. "So you two are the Elrics," she said sceptically, sizing them up. "From what I heard, your ankle was merely sprained, I would have expected you to be on crutches."

Roy decided to answer for them, as the boys were blushing and Edward was clutching his plait protectively, too scared to talk lest she cut it off. "He also suffered some major blood loss, General. To walk on crutches for the entire evening would cause him a lot more fatigue than what is advisory, especially as he has been walking on them a lot already today."

"I see... And why are neither you nor Lieutenant Hawkeye wearing your uniforms?"

"Because we didn't wish to alienate my wards when it's their first social function."

She looked sternly at Edward. "Tell me, Elric, why are you clutching your plait?"

"Because the General tried to cut it off with a sword two hours ago, sir," Ed said uncertainly.

She was about to reply, but then came a very familiar booming voice from the adjacent room. "OH, BIG SISTER! HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN SINCE I SAW YOU LAST! ARE YOU WELL?!"

The Elrics flinched and turned pale as Alex came bounding into the room, only to have a sword pointed at his chest by his sister as a clear message to NOT hug her. "Of course I am well, Alex."

Then he turned to the rest of them and his eyes immediately filled with tears before he swept Roy and the Elrics into a bone-crushing hug. "OH, I AM SO DEEPLY MOVED BY YOUR STORY AND I AM LOOKING FORWARDS TO OUR TIME TOGETHER AS YOUR ESCORT TO THE TOURNAMENT!" he announced.

"Major Armstrong, he has a sprained ankle!" Roy wheezed.

The hug was quickly terminated as Al was gently put down in his wheelchair. And instead Alex bowed at the boys. "My apologies, Alphonse Elric. And I would like to congratulate you on ranking third during qualifications, you truly are a pair of young prodigies," he said as he extended his hand to shake theirs in turn.

"And what tournament might this be?" Olivier said, sounding suspicious as she always did when she was curious about something and wasn't demanding an answer right away.

"It's the East Central Times Crosswords Tournament, dear sister," Alex said, straightening up, his chest puffed out as if he has been tasked with guarding the Führer himself. "Captain Mustang has asked me to perform the task of escorting the Elric brothers as he and Lieutenant Hawkeye will be doing research so as to be completely prepared to defend the Elrics."

Olivier turned sharply to Roy. "You won't be training them?"

"No, I won't. They have no interest in being hunters and I have no interest in training them to be so. They should have a chance at having a good adolescence where they choose their own path. That is why I choose to encourage their obvious talent."

Alex was crying again, unsurprisingly.

Olivier just scoffed.

"But tell me, dear sister, how did Catherine's first meeting with your subordinate go? She has been rather nervous about it all week."

"Their first impression of each other certainly suggests that they will fit together," she commented like she really couldn't care less.

"Mother and Father have been rather curious about this Captain Buccaneer fellow, are you sure that he is right for her? The age difference alone would suggest that-"

Olivier interrupted him mid-sentence. "Catherine is eighteen and she said she wanted a strong and big man. It only makes sense that I introduce her to one of mine as they are the strongest soldiers in the country. Buccaneer fits all the physical criteria and unlike any of the men you would provide, I can trust him. Age difference becomes irrelevant as long as they approve of it. Now stop asking stupid questions, Alex," she said sharply, before turning to Roy. "I expect I will meet you three later on."

Then she walked off, and left two pale and utterly terrified Elrics staring after her.

"Well, my dear Elrics, there are a lot of guests waiting to meet you," Alex said. "Now if you won't mind, I will make my leave for the bathroom."

"O-of course, sir," Alphonse said quietly.

Alex broke down into tears at that and had to barrage the three of them with tearful compliments before he could get himself to leave.

And so Roy grabbed the handles of Al's wheelchair while Ed looked like he was ready to save Al from whatever sword-wielding attacker they might find inside the crowd. Roy could understand why: the only ones they had met who didn't use a sword were Catherine, Buccaneer and Riza, but that was because Riza usually preferred a machete.

Ed was getting fed up. He was feeling nauseous because of all the people. They were everywhere and their smells and their voices and every damn sound they made was getting to him. He could hear about a hundred heartbeats at once and it was driving him insane. He needed a break.

He turned to Roy. "Hey, I need some air, I'm getting a headache..."

"I'll follow you," Roy answered quickly.

"Nah, I really, really just need to be alone right now. To just get some peace and quiet, you know?" Ed told him, just as he spotted another general making his way towards them. "I'll be careful."

Roy took a glance in the direction of his parents, seeing that they were busy speaking with the Führer, which left Ed able to sneak out without psycho-parents knowing about it.

He felt Roy squeeze his shoulder. "Fine. There's a maze down the garden path, I think you'll find it to be peaceful enough because people don't dare go in there during parties in fear of getting stuck, but the path is lit by lampposts. I'll come look for you in an hour just in case. But if something happens, then you run to come get me, okay?" Then he whispered so that Ed doubted he could even hear himself, "You have pretty good control of your punches, use it if you must. There are guards positioned around the outer wall of the property, so I doubt you'll find yourself in trouble, and you'll be able to run while whatever attackers there are are being fought off by the guards. Now go before Mother or Dick sees you. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you have a headache and you're sleeping it off in your room."

Ed nodded and made his way upstairs, headed for his newly assigned bedroom next to Roy's, and headed for the window. He could tell that there weren't anyone nearby, but just in case, he decided that jumping down was a bad idea, so instead he took a calculated jump into the tree outside his window. Then he climbed down from there and ran out into the garden, avoiding the lampposts by running on the grass instead of the gravel path. He could smell someone approaching, someone wearing wool and the metallic scent of a gun, but Ed decided to continue like he didn't know that the person was there, even if he slowed down to a walk. It was most likely a guard and Ed was being dodgy, it only made sense.

And soon enough, a voice rang out. "Hey! You a guest?"

Then he was blinded by a flashlight, and he held up his hand to shield his eyes. "Please put that down, I'm Edward Elric, I just wanted some peace 'cos of a headache's all. The gravel's too noisy."

The flashlight disappeared immediately. "I'm sorry, Mister Elric. Just had to make sure."

"No worries, have a good evening."

"You too, Mister Elric, I hope you'll feel better soon."

"Thanks, see ya."

It was two minutes later that Ed discovered that mazes were amazing. It smelled of fresh air, no humans, and pure nature. There were a few birds and insects, but that was it. He was alone, and he could sense what path was the right one to some extent, because he could smell which ones were a dead end usually.

And so, when he reached the centre after about twenty-five minutes, he found himself being embraced by a surge of relief as he sat down at a bench and leaned back against it, taking some clean, deep breaths of air. It calmed him down and made the nausea fade, so he decided to remove his tuxedo jacket and folded it up to use as a pillow as he laid down on his side, closing his eyes. He just lay there like that for about fifteen minutes, before he heard crunching and the faint sounds of whistling. It was definitely a male, judging by the smell, and he was wearing wool, so he was military.

Ed groaned inwardly. His haven was about to interrupted by another self-absorbed high-ranking official.

And so he closed his eyes again, hoping that it would serve to tell them to leave him alone without any exchanging of words.

The stranger made it to the centre of the maze during the next five minutes or so, and then the walking stopped just as he came in through the final gap between the hedges. "You know, that is some really good fake-sleeping you got there... However, it does seem like a cause for concern that you're supposedly sleeping in your bedroom and you're lying on a bench in the garden. The least they could have done was give you a hammock, right?"

Ed opened his eyes with a small snort of laughter, and looked up at a bespectacled man with black hair and green eyes. "If you're down to earth, then what the hell are you doing here?" he asked in confusion. Because the stranger was smiling. It was a genuine, human smile. Not the smile of someone who cared about money and power. He was immediately recognisable as a family man even.

The stranger chuckled. "Honestly? I don't know really. I have some theories, of course. If you'd make some room, I'll share them with you."

Ed was intrigued. Intrigued enough to sit up on the right side of the bench, leaving the left side open for the stranger. "So who are you?"

The man smiled, offering up his right hand. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, it's nice to meet you, Ed."

Ed grabbed his hand in relief. "You're the first stranger I've met tonight who actually called me by my first name, not counting the butler's "Young Master Edward." It's nice to make sure I haven't been fooled into believing I have a first name for the past twelve years. So what should I call you?"

"You might as well call me Maes, then," he said with another smile, before he leaned back against the bench, looking up at the night sky with a sigh. "So, as to my theories as to why I'm actually here, the strongest reason is probably the same one as to why I got my promotion two weeks ago. I work in Investigations, you see. And two weeks ago, I tracked down a couple of serial killers by the name of the Slicer brothers. They had an odd MO because they used a strange sort of sword to make it look like a vampire attack, when it actually wasn't, which explains why none of the victims had any fang marks. I think that that, mixed in with the fact that I'm now Major Armstrong's CO has swayed the Mustangs to invite me here too."

Ed felt highly uncomfortable at the thought of people who would intentionally make their murders look like vampire attacks so as to draw away any suspicion from themselves. "Oh... Well, congratulations on your promotion."

"Thanks, kiddo. And congratulations on your spot in the tournament."

"Thanks." Ed looked up at the sky too. "So did you come out here too because of the promise of fresh air?"

"Yes. You always make good use of warm October nights, because you never know when the rain comes and the fun's up. And let me tell you, the fun was pretty dead back inside. So, how's your headache?" His voice turned concerned and almost fatherly at that last part. He was definitely a family man.

"It's better. Fresh air helps."

"I get you..." Maes sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened in Resembool. If you want my honest opinion, I think our hosts are a pair of idiots, and are the mother and father of a man who is less of an idiot."

Ed chuckled weakly. His chest hurt with fear and pain at what happened. "He's pretty okay. Roy, not Dick, that is. Dick tried to cut my plait off with a sword less than five minutes after meeting me."

Maes turned his head sharply towards him at that. "He did what?!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Apparently it's a liability 'cos I don't know how to use it as a lure when fighting or some shit. You can say that their newest male heir is a bit of a disappointment to them."

"But your guardian isn't saying that, right?"

"Nah, Captain Butterfly's cool."

"Where exactly does "Butterfly" come from?"

Ed was very happy that they had worked out a lie for that part. "I kinda fell asleep in the bathtub, but he woke me up and in my panic, I managed to tear off the shower curtain and he got wrapped up in it. So now that he has emerged from his shower curtain cocoon, he's a butterfly."

"Why would he let you take a bath if you were at risk of falling asleep?" he asked with a concerned frown.

Ed sighed. "'Cos I needed something to calm me down after I had a really bad nightmare. I wasn't sleepy at all in the beginning, but I was very sleepy at the end."

"I see. Well, it was good that Captain Mustang was there to stop it."

"Yeah." Ed didn't really know what else to say, and so they sat there in amicable silence for the next five minutes before Maes spoke up again.

"So, do you have any plans for the future?"

"Don't really know yet. Al's kinda planning to be a writer or a doctor or a psychologist, so it's pretty open." Fact was, Ed had no idea what he should do when he was a dangerous bloodsucker. He couldn't have a job where he could potentially get himself killed just by getting a paper cut because it would heal up so quickly. But then a thought struck him and he couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Maybe I'll take over the family business..."

"You want to be a hunter?" Maes asked, obviously confused.

"No, I'm talking about the fact that someone needs to run that hedgehog rescue centre."

Maes stared. "Hedgehogs?"

Ed chuckled again and turned to look at him. "Yeah, Captain Butterfly founded one in East City a few years ago. It's got two branches and fifty employees."

Maes began chuckling himself. "I think I'm beginning to like that man."

"Yeah," Ed said.

And then his finger tips felt like they were on fire and he gasped, clutching them to his chest, immediately earning a pair of hands on his shoulders and a concerned stare. "Hey! Ed, what's wrong?!"

Then he froze as he grabbed Ed's wrists to look at his hands just as a sickening squelchy sound came from his fingertips. Ed knew that only he could hear them, but when he looked down to see a set of claws extending themselves over his nails, he felt like he was about to be sick for real.

Ed wrenched his wrists out of his grasp and ran to the nearest corner, acting on his survival instincts.

But then he stopped himself as he reached the opening in the hedge, and turned around, looking at Maes who was still sitting there frozen in horror. He felt tears run down his cheeks as he knew that the game was up and that this was going to be the end of him. And he'd be leaving his little brother alone. Which meant that he had to save the three that were being left behind. "Th-they don't know... I-I've been trying to k-keep it secret... I-I managed to s-steal a couple of blood b-bags from th-the hospital before w-we left because o-of the chaos of the second attack... I-I swear they d-don't know..." Ed told him shakily as the man slid a dagger out of the sleeve of his jacket cautiously. "You can k-kill me, I know it's the law, I won't hold it a-against you, I s-swear... But please don't think they know, b-because they d-don't... I know I'm l-living on b-borrowed time already, s-so you can k-kill me n-now... It's probably s-safer... Y-you're a good m-man... You... You won't send A-Al to a lab as a c-comparison s-sample..." He took a deep breath to steady his voice, drying away his tears with his sleeve. "You kill me now... You... You kill me now to keep my only family safe."

What Ed wasn't expecting were the tears in Maes' eyes. "Ed... I..."

Ed interrupted him, knowing that the man was about to apologise. "Don't... It's the law... You're the only one who knows... Just keep my brother safe... Please... I won't stop you. I won't fight you. But please just... just promise that you won't let them hurt Al."

Ed suddenly heard and smelled Roy approaching, and he froze. He didn't have much time. Maes had to kill him now, or Roy would have to face killing either Ed or Maes, and Ed wasn't going to let that happen. "Just do it! Do it now! Roy's coming!"

Maes, however, just froze at that information. Yes, he was standing there with a dagger in his hand and tears down his cheeks, but his eyes were wide with realisation. "He knows, doesn't he? He took you two in to keep you alive... And now you're lying through your teeth to keep him, Al and Riza Hawkeye safe."

Ed was panicking. He couldn't get the three of them executed. "No! That's not true! Now kill me, or he'll have to instead! You can't leave him to explain to Al how he killed his big brother! Now please, Maes!" Ed pleaded, before lying down on the ground, pressing his face to the gravel to make it easier for him because he didn't have to look him in the eye. He was lying flat on his stomach, but Maes wasn't moving.

"You're lying, Ed. Which means that you don't have to die... You're being protected probably by the only man who can keep you safe... I'm not doing it, Ed."

Ed didn't dare move. And he could hear and smell Roy getting closer.

And then...

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY WARD?!"

And so Ed was faced with the fact that Roy was most likely going to attack Maes for attacking his ward, and so Ed got to his feet, looking up at Roy in panic and so he did the only thing he could think of to hold Roy back, and he hugged him around the middle to push him away from Maes. "He didn't hurt me, I swear!"

"He tried to convince me to kill him because he sprouted claws and tried to protect the three of you! I didn't tell him to lie down to make it easier for me to execute him!" Maes protested, and Ed could hear him moving the dagger back up into his sleeve.

Roy froze. "So what you're saying is that you'd do the same as me?"

"Seeing as how you're able to protect him and he clearly isn't the murdering, drinking blood for kicks type, yes. He's just a kid, which I guess makes us two of a kind."

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know that you won't run off to Central Command and tell them so that you can get a big promotion?" Roy asked sternly and warily, and Ed could tell that he wanted to move forwards, because he was still pushing him back.

"Because he isn't like the others! He's a family man!" Ed said in panic. "If I trust him, then so should you! I'm the one with the most to lose here, so just trust my fucking judgement!"

"Edward, are you sure?" Roy asked cautiously.

Ed nodded into his stomach. "Yes. Now stop acting like you're about to punch him!"

Roy stopped pushing against him, and so Ed let him pass, watching him closely as the man strode up to Maes, sizing him up.

And then he extended his hand. "Fine, I'm Roy Mustang, and you're Lieutenant Colonel ...?"

"Maes Hughes, and it's a pleasure to be your partner in crime," Maes said, grinning.

Roy sighed and turned to Ed. "So now we need to find a way to make you learn how to retract your claws before we can return to the house..."

"...And then I'll invite you for dinner tomorrow, Gracia's cooking is amazing!" came Maes' cheerful voice.

And so once again I would like to ask you people to leave reviews as it is a lot more encouraging with three or four than one or two.

But please no flames ;)