Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Chapter twenty-eight
Roy had never before realised how much work went into preparing for a trip to the beach. He had bought all kinds of sunscreen, aftersun, swimwear, food, drinks, a cooler, flip flops, sunglasses, towels, a first aid kit, plastic bucket and mini-shovel and an inflatable violently green turtle that Ed had named Robert.
And so Roy was suddenly sitting slightly squashed in Madame Christmas's car with a thoroughly excited Ed on his lap and Al beside him. Hawkeye was driving, joined by the Madame in the passenger seat. The trunk was stuffed and Robert had been shoved in a deflated state inside Al's armour in order to save space. The giant turtle was a metre in diameter after all. Roy was honestly starting to wonder if he was spoiling Ed by buying it, but Ed's eyes had grown so wide when he saw it in the store. The boy hadn't even asked if he could have it, Roy had just seen the agonising longing. Plus, it was so large that Ed would be able to use it for a few years. So Roy had picked up the cardboard box and had had Ed hugging him almost nonstop ever since.
Roy was wearing shorts for the first time since he joined the military and felt odd. He was actually doing a proper Dad thing with Dad clothes and Dad gear. He had promised Ed and Al that they were going to go fishing soon too. But it was good that they could do something like this after the rush of the last few weeks.
They reached the beach after about thirty minutes and it was thankfully empty due to it being in the middle of the school week. Ed practically jumped out of the car and was shedding his layers of clothes except for his flip flops and red swimming trunks with a "WHEEE!" before the rest of them were really sure what had just happened. Roy set off after him, not able to hold back his smile. Soon the flip flops were being kicked off too and Ed was standing with water up to his knees, holding his arms around him as an indicator of the temperature. Ed then stooped down and picked up a small conch. "Daddy! Look!"
Roy shed his own shorts and T-shirt, but folded them neatly before he put them on the ground. He was left standing there in his dark blue swimming trunks as he removed his own flip flops before he went over to the water and walked over to Ed. The water was in fact a bit cold, but it would turn pleasant soon enough. Ed handed him the conch and Roy studied it. "That's a really nice one, Ed. How about we take it home with us?"
"Can we?" Ed was grinning widely.
"Sure." Roy put it in his pocket. Ed took his hand and began leading him out into the water until it reached Ed's waist, which meant that it went up to Roy's thighs. Ed was smiling, pointing at different shells and plants and a few small fish as well. Then Ed suddenly bent his knees and swiftly ducked under the water before he stood up again, wiping water out if his face. "Your turn, Daddy!"
Roy wasn't quite ready for the whole ducking thing, he still felt that the water was cold enough already, but he wasn't going to let himself be beaten by a five-year-old, and so Roy decided to do a sort of compromise and took a couple of swimming strokes before he sat down in the water, trying to keep himself from showing any signs of cold. Next second, Ed had jumped at him and Roy tipped backwards, finding himself desperately trying to keep Ed above water while also finding his own way back above the surface. He managed both somehow and was soon sitting with a laughing Ed hugging him tightly. "Now you're all wet too!"
Roy was about to tell him that that had been dangerous, but instead he was laughing along with him.
"Dad! Don't you need sunscreen?!" Al shouted. Him and the ladies were standing on the beach, the Madame wearing a dress and a sun hat, Hawkeye wearing a black swimsuit with a blue towel tied around her waist.
"Thanks, Al! We'll be right there!" Roy said. He looked at Ed, stroking his soaked fringe away from his eye. "You heard him: sunscreen."
Ed nodded and stood back a bit, allowing Roy to stand up himself. Ed lifted his arms in the air and Roy picked him up, carrying him back to the others where Hawkeye greeted them by handing them a towel each. Al was busy drawing a transmutation circle in order to inflate Robert. Roy put Ed down and Hawkeye began drying him off while Roy dried himself. He then helped Ed with the sunscreen before Ed helped him cover his own back. Roy was left applying the rest of the sunscreen as Ed ran over to Al to collect Robert. The two brothers were soon out in the water, Al was obviously being careful about the depth because of his blood seal. Ed was lying on top of Robert, holding onto the handles as Al made it spin around. Roy smiled.
"Here, sir," Hawkeye said beside him, handing him a camera. Roy had bought it yesterday and picked it up before he took a couple of pictures.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Are you all set up or do you want me to help with something?"
"We are as good as done, you just go and play with your sons."
Roy gave her a brief smile before he handed the camera back to her and went back into the water.
They had a lot of fun playing in the water, and Roy was sorely tempted to try Robert himself, but realised that Hawkeye and Madame Christmas had his camera, meaning that there was a very real possibility that he'd be photographed playing with an inflatable turtle and he wasn't quite sure that his pride could handle that.
When they were done bathing, they went back to the ladies, finding them stretched out on their towels with a book each. Roy threw a towel around Ed before pulling one around himself too, sitting down at a third already laid out for them, next to their folded up clothes and flip flops.
Bless that Lieutenant of his.
Ed sat down in front of him, leaning his back against Roy's chest as Roy dried him off while hugging him.
Ed sunk into Daddy's warm arms, smiling contentedly. This day had been so fun so far. And Ed had learnt to swim and to float on his back, which was great. Ed rubbed his eyes with his towel, getting a bit sleepy. Auntie Riza handed him a juice box as if she could read his thoughts of thirstiness. Auntie Riza was funny that way. She often seemed like she could read Daddy's mind, handing him things without him asking for it and she had recently begun doing the same with Ed. Maybe it was some kind of special ability of hers.
Al was drying himself off with a towel to make sure that he didn't rust. Ed still wasn't quite used to how things had changed between them. He loved his brother, but Al was still supposed to be his little brother, but he sort of wasn't. Al was nine years older than him, had seen so much more pain, had seen so much of Ed's pain, yet Ed didn't share those experiences anymore. Al had watched him grow up once already and was still reminded of the old Ed. As was Daddy and everyone else. Ed didn't like that sadness, it made him feel awkward and it made him feel like he wasn't really there. Like he was a kind of echo of a distant past.
Like he was a fake.
Daddy had told him that he was as real as anything else and Ed believed him. It was just that it still felt odd knowing that these people knew him as somebody else. Because Ed felt separated from the old him. They weren't the same person, not really, right? The old Ed hadn't had Daddy and had seen Mom die and was responsible for raising Al, but Ed wasn't.
It was still so confusing. Ed knew that all these people loved him and cared about him, but they also loved and cared about the old Ed and it made Ed afraid of disappointing them if he grew up differently. And honestly, Ed often felt like there was a kind of wrongness about his whole existence. He was never supposed to be like this. He was never supposed to have Daddy.
Was he even supposed to be happy?
And if he wasn't supposed to be happy, did that mean that everything would just be taken from him at some point? Was he going to lose everyone?
Or were those ten years the price for his happiness? Was that an Equivalent Exchange?
It just wasn't fair. Not to Al. Not to anyone.
The strong arms squeezed him and brought him back to the present. "Hey, Ed, is everything alright?"
"I just want people to be happy, Daddy."
Daddy turned him around and hugged him tightly. Ed placed his arms around his waist, hugging him back. "We all do, Ed. That's why we're going to grill ourselves some sausages."
Ed laughed. "You're silly, Daddy!"
"But don't you let anyone know, it's our secret," Daddy whispered, but Ed could hear the grin in his voice.
Ed laughed. Then he grinned evilly, realising that if Daddy could be silly, then Ed could be too. And so Ed began tickling his sides, chanting "Ticklemonster Jr.! Ticklemonster Jr.!" Daddy fell backwards, laughing his head off and Ed was giggling too.
Once Ed stopped and Roy was able to catch his breath, he just lay back in the sand, panting. Ed was snuggled up against his side, still giggling. Roy knew that he didn't make a lot of masculine noises while he was being tickled. Suddenly Hawkeye was standing just behind his head, looking down at him and she was actually smirking.
"Not a word, Lieutenant."
"Of course, sir."
Roy was getting slightly nervous as she kept standing there, still smirking. "What is it?"
"Oh, it's just nice to know that I have a new way to make sure you do your paperwork, sir."
Oh, and I would just like to say that I had a Robert myself, although his diameter was 1,5 metres, and he was absolutely brilliant.
