-.-.-.-.-. notes.-.-.-.-.-.-

I do not own FMA, nor do I wish to.

General rating, language.

italics are inside thoughts. or a letter. or emphasis.

-.-.-.-.-. Story -.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ed kicked in the door to General Mustang's office early in the afternoon and slammed a report down on his desk. "Read it now." he demanded before retreating to a chair in the far corner of the room.

Mustang rolled his eyes, "Ed, I've got piles of work to do and I didn't send you on a mission. What are you even reporting on?"

"Just read the damn report Mustang. It's not like you want to do your paperwork anyway."

The General raised an eyebrow at Ed, it looked suspiciously like the boy was hiding in the corner and it seemed like he was ready to transmute an escape hatch through the wall at any moment.

Looking back at the report didn't make him feel any less annoyed than the pile of paperwork beside him, there were scratched out words and pen scribbles all over it and the paper itself looked like it had been crushed into a ball at some point. Sighing, he settled in to read.

General Mustang *scribble*
Roy *scribble*
bastard
there's this thing about me *scribble*
I have something to tell you *scribble*
I've been lying to you.
I wasn't sure how to say it so i'm writing it.
I'm not a year older than Al, I'm five years older than Al.
And my name is Edaline, not Edward.
you might be mad *scribble*
you're probably mad *scribble*
i know you're mad but i needed military resources. The odds of getting in as a woman were significantly lower than if i were an man.
So there you go.

signed: Edaline Elric the Amazing Fullmetal Alchemist

Roy read the paper three times before he felt comfortable lifting his head to acknowledge Ed in the corner of the room. This was a lot to process, if it was even true. When he saw Ed she was no longer sitting and had moved a bit nearer to the door. He stared at her as she edged her way closer and closer to escape.

"Stop."

She stopped.

"In case you were wondering, Yes. I do have questions, Edaline. First, not really a question. I don't believe you, prove it."

He didn't look like he was joking. How was she supposed to prove she was a woman? She sure as shit wasn't taking her top off.

"What do you want me to do Mustang? I'm not showing you my chest pervert."

He smirked at that visual. "I'll settle for a birth certificate."

She grimaced, "I kind of set fire to the records hall in Resembool so that you wouldn't be able to do a background check."

He rolled his eyes. Of course you did. "No matter, two copies are made so we can keep backups here in Central for enlistment purposes. They're in the records section of the … library." shit. that building had been destroyed too.

"That wasn't me! I wasn't even here."

He sighed, "Go get Sheska then, we'll see if she had a chance to read birth certificates."

Ed ran from the room happy to get away from the whole situation and almost knocking Hawkeye over in her escape.

The markswoman sent Mustang a questioning glance and he waved the paper at her. "Ed wrote this letter saying she's a woman and I'm making her go get proof."
"Why?"

The question was so abrupt that he sputtered a bit. "What do you mean 'why?' because you can't just go around saying you're someone else all of a sudden."

She just stared at him.

Mustang groaned, "It's true isn't it?"

She nodded.

"And you've known for how long?"

"Since she was able to change her brother back last year. I was with her at the hospital afterward."

Fuck. "And you didn't tell me because…"

Hawkeye shrugged, "Not my secret to tell."

Mustang took advantage of the childish moment he was having, balling up the paper Ed had written and throwing it at Hawkeye. It bounced harmlessly off the side of her head and she rolled her eyes.

"Ed knows that I know." She waited for her commanding officer to catch on and when he did he smacked himself in the face, "She's not getting Sheska is she?"

Hawkeye shook her head.

"Why tell me now?"

Hawkeye had several reasons but decided on the easiest, "She's out of the military in a month and I don't think she liked keeping it from you."

Mustang dismissed her and turned to look out the window, contemplating his lieutenant's response. still, why now?

He watched as FullMetal practically flew out the front doors of HQ knocking new recruits aside, using alchemy to bank her corners as she ran away laughing. He chuckled to himself, "21 years old?" Maybe he did know why, fraternization laws and all…

-.-.-.-.-. Notes-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Short chapter.

The line "piles of paperwork" was originally "a tonne of paperwork" but when i looked up how much a 'ton' was to see the comparison i learned that even though 'ton' is imperial and 'tonne' is metric, 'tonne' is used more for measured quantities whereas 'ton' is used for imperial measured quantities AND as a synonym for 'a lot', 'a large number of', etc.

So my line would have been, "a ton of paperwork" and then i realised that 'ton' was just too cliche for my mood today and i scrapped the whole thing.

Anyway, if anyone is interested. 'Tonne' = 1000 KGs = 2240 'tons'.