The Ties that Bind
A series of related one-shots that range from Roy finding Ed and Al in Resembool and far, far beyond. Not chronological. EdWin, AlMei, Royai Parental!RoyEdAl Parental!RizaEdAl
Every Promised Day – 1917
Older Brother 18, Younger Brother 17
Roy almost dropped his fork as he stared between Ed and Al in silent horror. The boys stared back, though the silence went on for so long that first Al then Ed and even Winry—who wasn't being stared at by Roy because she hadn't just said something so phenomenally stupid—started to squirm.
"I'm sorry," Roy managed after ordering himself to get it together. "You want to go where?"
"Well," Al said, shifting nervously with his hands clasped in his lap. He hadn't touched his food at all since he and Ed broke the news. "Mei Cheng invited me to visit Xing to study alkahestry, I want to see if it's possible to bridge the gap between alchemy and alkahestry or at least to create a more perfect form of alchemy that can't be so easily corrupted in the future. Ling Yao agreed that I could come and even said I could stay at the palace. And since he's the crowned prince now, he was able to expedite my visa for an extended stay."
"No," Roy said, waving a dismissive hand. "I got that, and I think it's a great idea, though we'll be talking about traveling requirements later. What I don't understand is what your brother said."
Roy leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms with a prompting glare. "Care to repeat yourself, Edward?"
"What's the point?" Ed grumbled, pushing his peas and mashed potatoes around his plate until they were thoroughly mixed. "You obviously heard me."
"Creta!" Roy said, almost before Ed had finished. "You want to travel to Creta! Of all places!"
Reaching up, Roy massaged his forehead with one hand where a headache had begun to form. "You do realize we were at war with Creta until just recently?"
"To be fair," Al replied, raising a finger to divert Roy's attention, "we were at war with pretty much everyone until just recently."
"Be that as it may," Roy conceded, because it's not like he could refute that. Especially since Amestris was still at war with Drachma to the north and in a very tentative ceasefire with Aerugo to the south. "You had to choose the one country where a vengeance-mad general with a track record for attempted genocide not only knows who you are but would gladly have you arrested as a war criminal."
"Don't be stupid, Colonel—"
"You know he's a general now, brother."
"—what would Ashleigh have against me? All that insanity was because his soul got corrupted when he swallowed that philosopher's stone. It all worked out in the end."
"Considering he left Table City without a word to immediately return to Creta, we have no idea what he might have in store for you, Fullmetal—"
"I'm retired, dammit!"
"—and besides, life isn't an adventure novel; you can't just go around assuming people will conform to your way of thinking just because you beat some sense into them one time almost three years ago."
Roy knew he wouldn't win this argument; Ed and Al had told him their plans as a courtesy, not because they wanted his permission. But knowing the boys were adults now—and Truth knows they had survived far more than most men three times their age—didn't stop Roy's heart from clenching with terror at the thought of these boys—his boys—being in the midst of enemy territory on their own. Especially Ed, who was at a severe disadvantage without his alchemy.
"Look," Roy said, placing his palm flat against the table with a thump to recapture their attention. "I get that this is important to you, Ed, and the last thing I want is to keep you locked up in a cage—" Roy forgave himself for such a blatant lie; he would gladly lock both boys up in a maximum-security facility if he actually thought it would do any good, "—but you can't just run off half-cocked, and you certainly can't go alone."
"And why the hell not? You think I can't take care of myself or something? Because Al and I spent four years wandering every inch of Amestris, and we never ran into anything we couldn't handle."
Now was not the best time to tell Ed that Roy had the boys followed religiously during those first three years, and even when he started to loosen the leash, Ed and Al had a stricter check-in policy than anyone else in the Amestrian military—including the Fuhrer. But, oh, was it ever so very tempting.
"Regardless," Roy said instead, "if you boys want to leave the country for roads unknown, you'll be required to check in at least once a month, and I want you to take at another person with you. Preferably someone military."
"You can't be serious!" Ed jumped to his feet and slammed both palms onto the table, making Winry jump and drawing attention from the other diners in the café. He scowled at Roy, completely oblivious to the scene he'd created. "We're not kids, and we're not military anymore either; you can't order me to do anything."
Roy wanted to scream in frustration, but he had to be the adult here since Ed clearly wasn't acting his age. It was like he'd devolved back to his rebellious teenage years, and Roy could really do without rehashing those first three years of knowing the hot-tempered shrimp.
"Edward," Roy said, lacing his fingers atop the table as he leaned forward, almost glaring. It was the same pose he had always used when Ed acted particularly unruly, and the boy had come to recognize it—at least on a subconscious level—as a sign that what Roy was about to say was entirely serious and not to be ignored.
"Do you have any idea how many of Amestris's enemies would kill to get their hands on you boys?" Roy looked longest at Ed, but he made sure Al got the full brunt of his authoritative stare as well. "It would be irresponsible of me to let you go off on your own without having a way to know if you've run into trouble. The military's official stance is that we don't negotiate with terrorists, but if either of you got kidnapped—especially you, Ed—we wouldn't have much choice. We would have to do anything we could to get you back, or it would mean war."
Ed rolled his eyes. "You're exaggerating things, Colonel—"
Roy's eye twitched. "It's General!"
"—the military isn't gonna get off their butts and go to war over someone like me. Especially not now that Fuhrer Grumman is in charge."
"It's because Grumman is in charge that we would go to war, Fullmetal! Or did you conveniently forget the part you and your brother played in making that change?" There was a moment's pause before Roy sighed and leaned forward in his chair, tenting his laced fingers over his nose. "You spent almost five years turning yourself into the Hero of the People, Ed. Did you really think that wouldn't have consequences?"
Ed was stunned, Roy could see it all over his face, as he sat down hard in his chair. Al reached across the table's corner to pat his brother once on the shoulder, though he almost looked as stunned as Ed.
"We're sorry, Sir," Al said, turning his attention to Roy as he blinked repeatedly, obviously trying to reconcile what he'd just learned. "I guess we really didn't think about it like that."
"Well think about it," Roy said, exhaustion setting in now that he finally seemed to be getting through to the boys. "You'll both call me at least once a month?"
"Yeah." Ed's tone was low and grudging, but Roy knew he meant it when he said, "We'll call."
"Good," Roy returned—he'd save the travel-buddy talk for a later time. For now, he was just glad to have Ed's promise to call.
Deciding to reset their meal—it was unnerving to have so many eyes on their table as the other diners were clearly still captivated by watching the drama unfold—Roy picked up his knife and fork to resume eating. He smiled at Winry as he cut his chicken into bites and asked, "Well, Winry, what about you? Planning to head off to Drachma to learn the secrets of their self-repairing automail?"
Winry perked up, her previously wary gaze now alight with sparks of interest. "Do they really have such a thing?"
Roy let himself laugh. Later in the day, he, Ed, and Al would be required to stand at the front East City's military HQ where Roy would deliver his speech to commemorate the second anniversary of the Promised Day, and later still he would have to sit down with Riza to make travel plans for the boys, so he would know without a doubt that every 't' was crossed and 'i' dotted when it came to their health and safety. But for now, Roy chose to enjoy the moment. They all deserved it.
Kaliea: Ugh, why do my endings always suck so much? Also, I hope this story was interesting for you guys because some of the information isn't new at all, having been lifted almost verbatim from "His Kids," but this moment will be important to future stories (at least the ones that take place at a later date than this one), so I figured I could get away with it ^-^;
Anywho, thanks as always for reading, and don't forget to review!