Golden eyes opened slowly just before a hand came to rest on her shoulder to more than likely shake the woman awake.
"Young Miss, you asked me to wake you when we were getting close to Central Station." The older man, a conductor, said softly to the young woman sitting on the bench. The woman nodded her thanks to the man and knocked her foot into the leather boot of the teenager sitting next to her.
"I'm awake." His voice was gravelly from sleep, but he was definitely fully awake. He scrubbed a hand through his short dirty blond hair and stretched on his side of the bench before pulling on his long, deep red trench coat to cover a black long sleeve shirt, black jacket, and black slacks that were held up by a thick brown belt that he wore. He also put a golden scarf around his neck and tucked his hands into a pair of matching knitted gloves. It was approaching winter in Amestris, so it was a bit chilly out and he didn't run as warm as his companion.
Said woman was dressed simply in the same style as him except she had on a black button up shirt that trailed a few inches longer than her waist into a small split, and she had on leather pants and leather heeled boots. She didn't wear a jacket but her coat that she wore wasn't quite as heavy as his, and stopped just at her waist, but was the same deep red color. Her golden blonde hair was up in a high ponytail that was then braided down her back. It was a testament to how long her hair was as the end of the braid was tied off at the small of her back.
As the train pulled into the station, she stood and grabbed their luggage from the overhead rack and handed him his. They waited their turn to step off the train, but the woman was immediately on edge when she set foot on the ground. She let out a low growl that had the teen checking for negative auras and he was surprised by what he found as well. Something was terribly wrong with this city.
They gave each other a look before brushing the feeling off for now and heading towards the exit.
"Are you ready, Sister?" The teen asked the young woman.
She sighed. "If I wasn't then I wouldn't be here, little brother."
Al just let out a chuckle and turned to face the two auras that seemed to be focused on them.
"Elrics. It's been a while." The dark haired man known as Colonel Mustang approached them with a confident stride. Edena narrowed her eyes at him. "I see you've changed your mind about being dogs of the military." He gave Ed a smug smirk.
Said woman tsked and gave him a sharp tooth sneer. "Bow wow. Want me to wag my tail, too?"
Al slapped her arm before giving the man an apologetic smile. "It's good to see you again, Colonel Mustang. Who is your friend you have with you?" Al nodded to the man behind the Colonel who had dark brown hair, glasses and a beard. Apparently the man had no problem introducing himself. And exuberantly as well.
"Good morning, Elrics! My name is Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes! I've heard so much about you from my buddy Roy here. He was very sad when he couldn't talk you into joining on as state alchemists almost a year ago, but you should have heard how excited he was when you finally called him last month. Practically jumping for joy! He never told me you were both so young, though. I have to admit that I'm very surprised. How old are you both, exactly?"
Ed was as cautious about the man as she was with every other stranger she meets, so Al had decided to do the majority of the talking for them.
"My sister, Edena, will be turning eighteen in a few months and I'll be thirteen in April. I know that we are young in your eyes, but I assure you we're a lot more than our age." Al gave the man a reassuring smile while Ed just kept an indifferent look on her face.
Colonel Mustang cleared his throat. "Well put, Alphonse. Let's get you both to Central Command so you can get this test over with." He and Hughes each grabbed the luggage from them to put into the trunk of the car they had sitting on the curb. Mustang had a bit of trouble with Alphonse's case. Did the boy carry rocks in there, or something? Little did he know, Hughes was having the same problem with Edena's case. The woman rolled her eyes at the struggling men and settled herself into the backseat of the car. Al gave a sympathetic chuckle as he settled in next to her.
On the way to Central Command, Mustang explained how the test came in four parts. A written test that they had five hours to complete, a physical test after lunch that was not only a medical check, but also more than likely some sort of sparring match to make sure test takers knew how to defend themselves, a weapons test to show that exam takers either knew how to use them or would need to be trained to use them, and the final part of the exam was an exhibition for them to show off what type of alchemy that could perform. They didn't have to show off everything, just something to wow the proctors.
Lieutenant Colonel Hughes left them at the front of the building with instructions to come find his office after the written exam so they could all grab lunch together.
Mustang looked them up and down before he ushered them into the building. "That's cute, the matching. Are you sure you're not cold though, Edena? I'm sure that coat isn't very warm."
Ed huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I run warm. The cold doesn't bother me much." She kept her eyes forward as they walked, ignoring the attention they drew.
Mustang nodded, not really liking her answer, but accepting it either way. Al looked all around the building with wide open eyes and excitement sparkling in them.
The Colonel led them to the exam room where there were five other exam takers waiting. They all looked nervous and were sweating bullets.
Mustang smiled at them. "You'll both do great, I'm sure of it. Just take your time with the questions and read them all carefully. You can always skip questions and go back to them if you need to." Al nodded, looking a bit nervous himself, and Ed just pursed her lips.
When they were finally let into the exam room, they were each given a pencil and directed to seats as far apart as possible.
Mustang went to go grab a coffee before settling on the bench outside the door to wait on the two. He technically had paperwork he should be doing, but Hawkeye wasn't here and he didn't want to look like an idiot trying to do paperwork in the hallway. He'd probably get it done tomorrow on the train before he got back to East City.
He finished off his coffee and settled in on the bench, prepared to wait forever for the two siblings to get done. But to his surprise, after only two and a half hours, the eldest Elric opened the door quietly and came to sit next to him on the bench, shaking out her right arm. He gave her an incredulous look.
"Did you give up, or something? Was it too hard? You can go back in there and finish the test. I'll talk to the proctor." He went to stand up to go in and beg the proctor to excuse the young woman's walking out, but a couple of leather clad legs settled across his lap as the woman turned sideways on the bench to stretch out.
"Hold your horses, Mustang." She gave him a smirk. "I didn't walk out of the exam. I'm done with it."
He blinked at her in confusion. "Huh?"
Edena rolled her eyes. "I'm finished taking the exam. Well, actually I finished about thirty minutes ago, I just wanted to double check my answers." She shrugged at him as she closed her eyes, resting. "It wasn't hard or anything."
Forty-five minutes later, the younger Elric was walking out of the exam room as well. He came whining to his sister.
"Sister, my hand is cramping. Why was there so much writing?" The young woman rolled her eyes and took her brother's hands into her own and started giving it a little massage.
"It was quite a bit of writing. My automail even started stiffening up me from all the small movements writing takes." She continued the massage all the way up to his elbow and Al damn near melted at the fading of the pain.
Mustang was still just blinking at them. "You're done too? This is one of the hardest tests ever and you both just finished it in less than three and a half hours."
Al frowned at him, tilting his head to the side. "That was supposed to be hard? Hmm. Interesting." Ed chuckled at her brother and stood.
"Come on. Let's go find Mustang's friend and have an early lunch. I'm hungry." She pulled her little brother along down the hall, deeper into the building.
"You're always hungry, Sister." Al said as he rolled his eyes.
It took Mustang a minute before he got up to follow them. He couldn't let two genius teenagers run around Central, no matter how fun the idea sounded.
Mustang and Hughes watched in fascination as the two teens put back two meals each and shared a dessert. They had found a restaurant that served quick meals and Hughes was about to insist on paying for everyone, but Ed glared him into submission as she paid for her and Al's food before finding a table in a secluded corner where they could eat.
"I can see that half of your salary will be spent on keeping you two fed, if this is how you eat." Mustang snarked at them as he picked at the salad he had ordered. Hughes slapped his friend's arm.
"Stop it, Roy! They're growing kids." He smiled at the two of them. "I'll have to let my darling Gracia know that we will need slightly larger portions for the two of you for dinner tonight."
Ed frowned and Al tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Hughes seemed to have stars in his eyes. "Oh! I haven't told you about the love of my life yet?" He pulled out a few pictures to show off a kind looking pregnant woman who kind of reminded Ed and Al of their mother, but with short hair. "This is my beautiful wife, Gracia! She's pregnant with our baby girl right now! I can't wait to meet that wonderful bundle of joy!" He hugged the picture and sighed dreamily. Roy rolled his eyes and Ed and Al chuckled at his antics. Al was happy that Ed was starting to warm up to the man. "But the three of you will be staying with us tonight instead of getting a hotel."
Ed shook her head. "That is not necessary, Lieutenant Colonel. We don't want to be a burden. I have enough money to get my brother and I a room for the night."
Roy and Hughes both waved away her concerns.
"Even if this idiot here hadn't insisted that we all stay with him, the military would cover your room costs for this test." Roy finished up his meal.
"And don't call me Lieutenant Colonel. Maes or Mr. Hughes is fine." Hughes then proceeded to blow over any protests they may have had after that and showed them more pictures of Gracia.
By the time they got back to Central Command, Ed and Al were sure they knew more about Gracia than the woman knew about herself.
Hughes stuck with them for the rest of the tests, skeptical and intrigued by what the two teens would do for their exhibition. He took the lead as they walked to the gym after the medical portion was completed quickly because it was a very simple physical. They walked into the large room and some of the test takers were there already along with some soldiers just using the equipment.
A tall, extremely muscular bald man with a swirl of blond hair coming off of his head came over to introduce himself as Major Luis Armstrong. Hughes said he was a friend and heading this portion of the exam. Major Armstrong had chosen two soldiers per test taker for the exam.
The first person would be used for the test takers to show how they would execute a quick take down and the second portion would be a drawn out spar to show off any combat skills they may have. They were all given the opportunity to change into more comfortable clothes and a few actually did. Alphonse and Ed, on the other hand, just shrugged off their coats and winter wear.
This drew a lot of attention. Ed's sleeves were only three quarter, showing off automail that most were surprised to see, and her boots had a bit of a heel on them. She didn't seem phased by the staring though.
Mustang and Hughes were confused and surprised by the young woman. Mustang remembered, vaguely, Ed mentioning something about automail while talking to Al this morning, but he figured he'd misheard.
"How does a girl that young end up with a metal arm?" Hughes asked, voicing almost everyone's thoughts in the room.
Alphonse heard them and answered the question with the well rehearsed story they had come up with with Teacher. "It was during the Eastern Rebellion. I remember Sister telling you about how it got too close to Resembool, but she never really said how it was actually much closer to home. Sister was hurt in a small skirmish that broke out not too far from our house. She had been out playing in the fields and ended up losing her entire right arm and her left leg from the knee down as a result." He watched his sister as she watched the other test takers go through their fights.
Mustang and Hughes felt a wave of guilt ripple through them at hearing the story. "And someone performed automail surgery on a child so young?" Mustang asked.
Alphonse shrugged. "My sister is the bravest and strongest person I know. It only gives her slight problems, but she has handled having automail very well. She even uses it well in combat. Which reminds me…" Al stepped up behind his sister before it was her turn to do the take down and spar. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go easy on them."
Mustang and Hughes felt a chill go down their spines as they watched the woman's shoulders bounce as she laughed into her hand. They said prayers for the men who were chosen to face her.
Major Armstrong called out Edena's name and the young woman stepped up to a burly looking man who gave her a smirk as he looked down at her feet.
"You wanna take those off?" Ed just gave him a bored look. "Suit yourself, little girl. You can start whenever you're re—" The man was cut off in the middle of his antagonistic sentence by a pair of thighs wrapping around his head and the counterweight of a body spinning to the open air behind him pulling him down to the floor with a twist. He squeaked as he landed on his side and those thighs tightened around his neck, squeezing the breath out of him. He reached up to try and pry the legs apart, but a strong grip pulled one of his arms up and away.
"I. Am. Not. A little girl!" Ed growled at him. She squeezed her thighs tighter until the man's face was turning red and then blue and he was tapping out with his only free hand. She released him and rolled quickly to her feet to step over him and walk back to her start position as the man gasped for air on the floor.
"What a fine display of agility and strength!" Major Armstrong yelled out as tears streamed down his cheeks. "That was a very fine move you pulled there Miss Elric!" All of the men in the room who had been watching agreed and couldn't decide it they were happy that wasn't them or very jealous for the same reason. Armstrong helped the man off the floor and another stepped up in his place. He wasn't as big as and it was obvious that his confidence had been a bit shaken by Ed's display. "Onto the next part of your exam, Miss Elric! A sparring match with Sergeant Williams, here! I'm sure you will not disappoint!"
Ed sized the man up and when Major Armstrong called a start, she took it a bit slow for the man, gauging him.
Mustang's sharp eyes watched her as the match proceeded. He could tell she was holding back. "Who the hell were you kids trained by?" He could see it in the way she moved and the way her muscles shifted. She wasn't exactly graceful, but Ed put off the aura of a big cat ready to strike at any moment. He must have said that out loud because Alphonse was suddenly laughing.
"Not a cat, no. I tend to think of my sister as more of a dragon. Always twisting and turning around her prey with sharp teeth and claws ready to rip them to shreds." Al grinned as his sister proved his point by snaking around to the Sergeant's back in a twisting move and whipping out a gloved automail hand grab the back of his neck while she swept his feet from under him and slammed the man into the ground, keeping her hand on his neck and pulling one of his arms behind him and up between his shoulder blades effectively pin him place and making the man tap out.
The gym was very quiet as this petite teenage girl took down two seasoned soldiers in less than ten minutes time.
Apparently Sergeant Williams was less than happy about the results of the spar because as soon as Ed released him and stepped away, he rolled over, getting up to his knees and was about to pounce at the young woman. Mustang and Armstrong were about to call for the man to stop, seeing what he was planning, but Ed already had it handled. She turned quickly to face him again, feeling his intentions, and as soon as he jumped up to tackle her, her booted foot raised in the air and her leg snapped down at an angle and her foot went right into his chest, knocking him back and the breath out of him.
He hit the ground hard and everyone in the room winced at the sound he made.
Armstrong stomped over to the downed soldier and shook his head. "It looks like Sergeant Williams got what he deserved, trying to attack the young lady even after the match was over." He waved a hand at him dismissively. "Someone get him to the infirmary. I will write up a disciplinary report later." He walked over to Ed and got down on one knee to praise her, eyes sparkling. "You are truly a vision to behold when you fight, Miss Edena Elric! A very skilled combat expert, indeed!" He took her hand and gave the back of it a kiss. "I apologize for Sergeant Williams's behavior and commend you on how well you handled the situation!"
Ed looked towards her brother and Mustang for help, panicked. "Umm… Thank you?" She said as she looked back down at Major Armstrong when they just shrugged.
"You are very welcome, my dear! Now let us move along to the last examinee! Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong stood and ushered her along as Al stepped up to his opponent.
Mustang placed a hand on Ed's shoulder as she got closer to him, and started to pull her coat back on as she eased it out of Hughes's arms.
"Are you okay?" His dark eyes were full of concern.
Ed shrugged his hand off. "I'm perfectly fine." She turned away from him to watch her brother's turn, which turned out to be very amusing for her.
Major Armstrong called a start and before the soldier could even put his hands up, Al's fist shot out quickly like a viper and hit him right in the throat. Surprise filled the soldier's eyes and he reached up to grab his throat, choking.
"Oh shit!" Al's eyes widened and he reached out to help the man down to the ground. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"
Ed laughed outright at her brother. "And you told me to take it easy!"
Al glared back at her and rubbed circles in the soldier's chest. "Shut up, Ed! I think I really hurt him! Come help!" A crowd gathered and Ed sighed as she had to push her way through it, Mustang and Hughes at her sides.
"We shall just get him to the infirmary quickly!" Major Armstrong shouted as Ed finally got to them.
"If you don't mind, Major Armstrong, I can help right now." Ed offered, pulling out a piece of chalk to draw on the floor with. The Major nodded his head to her and Ed made quick work of drawing an alkahestry circle on the floor as Al lifted the soldier gently. When she was done, Al laid him back down and Ed was already gathering energy to power the array. "Stand back, please." Everyone took a few steps back and the array flashed gold as she placed her hands on it before fading to blue as the red mark on the man's neck slowly faded. "There," she cut off the power flow. "Does that feel better?" The soldier nodded, rubbing his throat as Al helped him sit up. "That's good. You should drink some hot tea and honey and try not to do any yelling for the rest of the day. Other than that, you'll be fine." She patted his shoulder and stood, getting looks from all those around her. They'd obviously never seen anyone perform alkahestry before and she wasn't about to be the one to explain it to them.
Armstrong dispersed the crowd to finish up the exam. Alphonse had to discreetly promise the other soldier that he wouldn't pull the same move on him before the man would actually agree to spar. But that didn't mean Al was any less dangerous during the match.
Mustang realized that the young boy had been right. His sister was a dragon in combat. Alphonse was the one who was more like a big cat. A lion on the prowl with terrifying strength despite his age.
Hughes shook his head as the spar was over quickly and the soldier was no doubt going to be going home with more bruises than a little bit. "Where did you find these kids, Roy?" He looked over at his best friend to see that smug smirk on his face that meant he was quite satisfied with the outcome of the situation.
"On a train to East City." He said simply.
Hughes sighed. "Well if they handle weapons and perform alchemy as well as they do combat, then you've got yourself two new subordinates. Not to mention two of the youngest state alchemists to date and, if I'm not mistaken, one of the only female alchemists currently employed by the military. Quite the catch, Roy. You're a lucky man." Hughes pulled off his glasses to rub his eyes. "It's too bad that they're children."
"We may be children, Mr. Hughes," Maes Hughes jumped when Alphonse's voice sounded in front of him. He quickly put his glasses back on and looked at the boy. His determined eyes showed more gold than he had seen since they met. "But we are far from being naïve like most other kids our age. Nor are we weak or innocent in those same ways."
The Lieutenant Colonel looked skeptical, but he couldn't say much. He had just watched said kids take down two trained soldiers each like it was no problem to them.
Mustang sighed and started moving towards the doors. "Let's get this weapons test out of the way so you can get to your exhibition before the work day is over with."
"Yes Sir!" Alphonse yelled as he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her along.
Mustang and Hughes were exceedingly terrified by the amount of weapons the siblings knew about and knew how to use, and use well at that. Hughes had, at one point, mumbled something about a crazy person raising them to be child soldiers and Mustang was inclined to agree.
When they finally made it to the exhibition part of the exam it was 4:00 in the evening and Alphonse was looking a little tired. Edena seemed alright though, which also concerned Mustang because she was definitely the more dangerous of the two siblings and God knows what she was planning in that head of hers for the exhibition.
Alphonse's turn was quick. He showed off his quick hand in drawing the most perfect arrays and even showed off layering multiple arrays in order to do elemental alchemy. Water to be exact. He used arrays he drew to pull hydrogen and oxygen molecules from the air and pool them into a focal point where he used a third layered array to be able to shoot the water in controlled and precise locations. Something like that would be useful for fighting fires. The whole showing had Mustang sweating and Hughes laughing at the man.
Ed was about to head down to the floor for her turn, but suddenly tensed and looked towards the doors where a tall man with salt and pepper slicked back hair, a large mustache and an eye patch walked through the doors clapping. Every soldier in the room stood at attention and saluted the man.
"At ease, all of you." The man said while putting up a dismissive hand.
Ed bristled as the man approached her little brother, who she could see was tensed up as well. Everything about that man just screamed wrong. A low growl escaped her throat and she could feel Mustang and Hughes give her incredulous looks.
"That was quite a showing, young man. That quick hand of yours and layering arrays." He placed a hand on Al's shoulder and Ed was itching to shift and bite off the offending appendage. "I'm positive you will be quite an asset to this military."
Alphonse, not really wanting any confrontation, thanked the man and bowed before leaving the room with hurried steps. He met his sister half way. Mustang and Hughes hadn't even seen or heard her leave the observation deck. Ed pulled Al into a tight hug before touching her forehead to his. They nodded to each other in understanding that they would talk about the situation later. Alphonse joined the two men in the observation deck and Ed walked into the exhibition arena.
"Edena Elric of Resembool, your Excellency." A Major introduced her. Ed just cocked a brow.
"Good evening, Miss Elric. I hope your presentation is as exciting as the last one." The Fuhrer gave her a kind smile, but Ed wasn't buying one second of it. "When you're ready."
Ed frowned before kneeling and taking a deep breath. She focused on the array she wanted before putting her gloved hands together in a resounding clap and placing her palms on the floor. She pulled only on the energy in the earth to power this transmutation as blue sparks lit up around her and she slowly pulled an ornate looking spear out of the floor that was taller than herself. The men around her gasped at her lack of transmutation circle. When the weapon was done forming, Ed twirled it around in her right hand before lobbing it with great force towards the Fuhrer, the blade lodging itself in the wall between him and the Major that was standing next to him. Ed scoffed at the weapons that were pulled on her before raising her hands in a surrendering motion.
"Do you always observe these exhibitions, Fuhrer Bradley? If someone were brave enough they would use it as an opportunity for an assassination. You might want to rethink this part of the examination." She stared the Fuhrer down, gaze unwavering.
The Fuhrer waved a dismissive hand at the soldiers who had their weapons drawn. "You sure have a lot of spunk, young lady." Ed narrowed her eyes and was quite a bit surprised when her spear fell into pieces and Bradley sheathed his sword that she hadn't even seen him draw. "But you do not understand the size of the world." Ed tilted her head to the side in confusion and the Fuhrer walked right past her to exit the room. "I can't wait to see the results of your exam, Miss Elric. I'm positive you will be an excellent addition to the state alchemist program as well. Have a good night."
"As your superior officer, I'm ordering you to never do anything that stupid ever again! My heart can't take it, Edena!" Lieutenant Colonel Hughes hadn't stopped his ranting since the four of them had exited Central Command right after Ed's exam. It started off as whisper yelling until they got to the car and turned into full blown yelling and hisses that had Ed wishing to turn her ears off.
"You're not my superior officer yet, Lieutenant Colonel. The Fuhrer could change his mind and decide he doesn't need an 'insubordinate child' like me in his military." She glared at him through the rear view mirror.
Hughes sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have called you that. But I damn near had a heart attack when I saw you throw that spear. What on God's green earth were you thinking?"
Ed just turned her head to look out the window, reaching over to grab Alphonse's hand that was resting on the seat between them. "I don't think I was thinking." She mumbled to herself. The Fuhrer put off an aura that her dragon could not ignore. Her instincts screamed at her to eliminate the threat and it was only the human half of her that stopped that blade from moving directly towards the man's head. She squeezed Al's hand and he gave hers a small squeeze back.
Mustang turned his head to catch a glimpse of the two of them before leaning against the car window and rubbing his eyes. "Just let it go for now, Maes. Bradley didn't have her executed on the spot, so let's call that a plus." He was groaning internally though. He knew he was going to have his hands full with these two.
Ed and Al really liked Gracia Hughes. She was a very kind and patient woman and she reminded them of their mother. Al had actually started tearing up a bit when they finally got to see her in person instead of just the photos that Hughes had been showing them at lunch. And then Al's tears turned into Ed's tears when the young woman explained why her brother was crying and Gracia had given him a hug to make him feel better. Hughes started crying as well, talking about how his wife was the absolute best and about how she was going to be a great mother. Mustang had just rolled his eyes at it all, but was secretly pleased inside.
Dinner had been great even though Al was dead tired through the whole ordeal. When they were done eating, Ed made him excuse himself to go shower and get in the bed. Hughes chuckled and led the boy away when he wanted to protest. Gracia had shooed Mustang away to the living room where he was to set up for the night. She couldn't get Ed to head off though. The younger woman had pretended she didn't hear Gracia say that she didn't have to worry about cleaning up.
Ed made quick work of collecting and cleaning dishes as Gracia just sighed and started putting leftover food away.
"I can pack this all up for you and your brother's lunch tomorrow if you'd like, Edena." Gracia started reaching for togo bowls even before Ed confirmed if she wanted the food or not.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes. That would be appreciated. The food was great." Ed started to dry all of the dishes she had just cleaned.
"You can call me Gracia, dear. And I told you that you don't have to do any of that. I can handle it just fine." Gracia watched as her husband slipped back into the kitchen to help and was surprised to see most of the work done.
"You ladies did quick work! Gracia, darling, you could have left this cleanup for me to do. You're doing so much already." He walked over to his wife to give her a kiss and then leaned forward in a bow to give her belly a kiss.
Gracia laughed and swatted at him. "Cut it out, Maes. I can do the work. Besides, I didn't even have to this time. Edena did most of it."
"You can just call me Ed, Miss Gracia. Everyone else does." Ed finished drying the last dish and actually did leave the work of putting them away for Hughes. She turned back to see Hughes rubbing Gracia's lower back and smiling at her.
"You have a very beautiful name and I'm going to call you by it, Edena." Gracia scolded.
Ed blushed and lowered her head, actually feeling nonplussed. It was an awkward bit of silence before Ed finally thought of something to talk to them about.
"I-I used to be a masseuse in a neighboring town to my home town. If you'd like, I can show you the best way to relieve stress off of your lower back while pregnant. Well, I mean, I can show Mr. Hughes. But that's only if you'd like me to!" Ed offered, but then held up her hands in embarrassment. She wasn't good with new people who weren't just clients she could pretend with.
Hughes tilted his head to the side. "Oh, I'd love to learn anything that would help my Gracia out!"
Gracia chuckled and nodded. "Yes. Anything you'd like to show my husband to help me out in the future would be great."
Ed smiled and took the woman's hand and maneuvered her so that her back was to Ed's front. "Well, it's all about taking weight off of your person and giving you the opportunity to just relax. It works better when the person is taller than you, but I'm plenty strong so I can still do it." Ed pressed up against the woman's back and moved slowly as she showed Hughes where to hold his hands by doing it herself. "You want to cup right underneath where the baby is resting and put a bit of strength into it, but also be gentle about it, and lift the weight and just hold it for her. It should be quite the relief, right Miss Gracia?" Ed smiled as the woman all but melted back against the girl with the weight of the baby no longer being held by just her.
"Maes, can we keep her?" Gracia moaned out, head lolled back.
Ed and Hughes chuckled at the woman. Hughes worried a little bit though.
"And this is okay to do? Truly? Are you sure you've got a hold of her, Ed? I can do it." He started to fret a bit.
"It really is safe, Mr. Hughes. Obviously you can't do this all the time for your wife, but when she's really feeling the pressure you can do this to help her out for a bit. And I told you I'm plenty strong. I'll stay here as long as Miss Gracia likes for the moment." Ed gave him a big smile. "I used to do this all the time for the pregnant women in town once they learned that I knew how to help them."
Gracia groaned and reached over to slap her husband's arm. "If you make this girl stop any time soon I will be divorcing you." Hughes laughed at his wife's antics.
"Well, you can't keep her forever, Honey. She's gotta get at least a little bit of sleep tonight." He rubbed her shoulder.
Gracia whined about it, but finally let Ed drop the weight. Ed did so slowly and moved her hands around to rub out some muscles in the woman's lower back with stronger hands that her husband was willing to use on her. She laughed at the groan the pregnant woman let out at that.
"Your wife is not made of glass, Mr. Hughes. You can press harder when it comes to massages. I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Ed moved her hands up to do the woman's shoulders as well and Gracia nodded in agreement.
"I'd appreciate it very much. Are you sure we can't keep her, Maes?" Gracia couldn't believe her luck that Maes brought this wonderful young lady home.
Hughes pursed his lips. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to steal my wife, Elric."
Ed outright laughed at the man and gave Gracia's neck a quick rub before stepping away, holding up her hands in surrender. "I'd never steal anyone's woman, Mr. Hughes. I'm only here to teach you how to keep the one you have." She smiled up at him innocently.
Gracia melted into her husband's side. "Ignore him, Edena. I'm very grateful for you giving him this bit of wisdom. Now that he knows it, he has no excuse to not do it properly when I ask."
Hughes bent down to give her a kiss. "Of course, my beloved. Now let's show Ed where the bathroom is so that she can get ready for bed like her brother." He ushered the two ladies through the living room. "Goodnight, Roy!"
Said man grumbled out a goodnight to them in return. He had opened up his bag to pull out his night clothes to change into and ended up finding a stack of files that his Lieutenant slipped in there before he left. Now he had a lot more paperwork to do than he thought. He wanted to snap his fingers so badly to incinerate it all, but knew Hawkeye would put a bullet in him if he tried that again. So he was forced to do paperwork right now instead of sleeping like he really wanted to.
Stupid bureaucracy.
The trip to East City was uneventful.
Ed and Al had woken up extra early to go find and raid a bookstore. They were currently absorbed in their acquisitions. Mustang was a bit surprised by how focused they were on their new texts, but didn't even try to stop them from reading. He wasn't too sure how to do small talk with the two of them. Especially after how well the last train ride with them had gone. So he focused himself on his dreaded paperwork.
When they were maybe an hour away from East City, Ed emerged from her text. It was a medical book about the human body that had Mustang wondering if he should be happy she knew the information in order to save lives or if he should be worried because she knew the information and knew how to do the most damage because of it.
He watched as Ed stood and pulled a bag down from the overhead racks and placed it on her seat before walking away to, what he guessed was, the dining car. She was back moments later with tea and coffee for them and a blank sheet of paper. Mustang was once again fascinated as she drew that circle she had created on their last train ride and proceeded to heat up the leftovers that Gracia had given them. He gave her a quiet thank you when she passed him a meal.
Ed had to coerce Al out of his readings by putting the hot food under his book and waiting for him to smell it. Mustang smiled when he saw the boy blink out of his focused daze to look down at the food.
"Oh. Thank you, Sister." He placed his book aside and ate with them.
Mustang decided this was as good of a time to explain the next couple of days to them.
"Once we get back to East City, someone from my team will be there to pick us up from the station and take us to the hotel that Lieutenant Hawkeye booked for the two of you. You'll take your things to your room to drop off before coming back with us to Eastern Command. It will be midday by the time we get there, so your results of your exam should be in my office by then. The rest of today and tomorrow will be getting you both acquainted with my team and filling out paperwork for setting up your accounts and putting down information for personnel to put into your files. After that you will have exactly until Monday to head back home and pack everything you think you may need for moving to East City. There are barracks on the campus of Command that you can be assigned or you could find an apartment in the city. I'm sure the Lieutenant would be willing to help if you wanted to go that route." Mustang watched them as he spoke. They were eating, but at least he had their attention while he was addressing them. Maybe they wouldn't be so bad having on his team after all.
"Aye aye, Colonel." Ed gave him a flimsy salute that made the man give her a flat look.
He changed his mind. He wasn't ready to have this smartass join his team.
Ed and Al followed Mustang off the train and out the station to find a car on the curb with a tall blond man with an undercut who was smoking a cigarette standing outside of it.
"Heya, Boss! How was Central?" The man called out to Mustang, moving to open the trunk for him.
"Central was fine, Lieutenant Havoc. Other than having to deal with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, it's always nice to be in the bigger city." He put his bag in the trunk before stepping aside for the two siblings to lift theirs in as well. He knew better than to try taking their bags from them. He liked his back, thank you very much.
When they were done, Havoc closed the trunk and slid into the driver's seat while Mustang slid into the passenger seat next to him and Ed and Al slid into the back. Only when they were in the privacy of the car did Mustang introduce the two to his friend.
"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, this is Edena Elric and Alphonse Elric. They are the reason I was in Central. They both just got done taking the state alchemist exam." Mustang smiled as he introduced them. He was glad Havoc was the one picking them up. The man was very personable and would be the easiest of the team to introduce them to for that reason.
The man let out a low whistle. "I heard that that test is no joke. How did you both fare? Nice to meet you both, by the way."
Al smiled at the man and answered for both himself and his sister because he knew she would be busy checking out Havoc's aura and paying attention to make sure nothing was amiss around them. "It wasn't too bad. I think Sister and I did well on everything."
Mustang rolled his eyes. "Yeah, they both did well alright. They both finished the written exam in less than three and a half hours. I'm pretty sure Alphonse broke a man's trachea, which his sister had to help with, and I know for a fact that Edena here broke a man's sternum. Not that he didn't deserve it." He looked over his shoulder and the young woman who had a look on her face like she was trying to stop herself from smiling. "What else? Oh yeah! And Edena threw an alchemically made spear at the Fuhrer."
Havoc swerved the car a bit. "What the fuck!? And you're still alive!?"
Ed just shrugged. "I was trying to prove a point. He understood that."
Havoc looked at her in the rear view mirror. "What was the point? That you're crazy?" Ed rolled her eyes and Al laughed. Havoc looked at the both one more time before turning his eyes back to the road. "How old are the both of you, if you don't mind me asking?"
Al reached over to take his sister's hand. "Ed will be eighteen in a few months and I will be thirteen in April."
Havoc only nodded, shooting his CO a look that the man chose to ignore.
They made it to the hotel and the two siblings were in and out quickly. The drive to Eastern Command was filled with Ed and Havoc telling each other stories about being farm hands. It turns out that Havoc was also a country boy and worked on his neighbor's farm and at his family's store before enlisting in the military. Ed listened very raptly to his stories, enjoying having someone who understood farming things like her.
Mustang held Havoc back for a few seconds after the siblings had gotten out of the car and started to look around Command.
"Don't go falling for my newest subordinate, Jean."
The Second Lieutenant gave his boss a scandalized look. "She's a child!"
Mustang cocked a brow. "Not for long. And she has a five year contract with the military."
Jean rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to fall for her, Roy. I think I can refrain from such trivial things." He got out of the car and slammed the door when his boss started laughing loudly at him. He chose to ignore the man so that he could lead the two siblings into Command, arms draped across their shoulders as he stood between them.
Mustang was right about Havoc being the best to introduce them to first. The Second Lieutenant took command on introducing them to the rest of the team when they made it to the office. They had already met Hawkeye, but Havoc reintroduced them anyway and emphasized on the fact that even if Mustang had the higher rank, Hawkeye was definitely the real boss of the team. Ed was very amused by this.
They met a portly man with red hair by the name of Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda. He was just as friendly as Havoc, but a bit more serious. Then they were introduced to an older, slimmer soldier with salt and pepper hair by the name of Warrant Officer Vato Falman. His aura was calm and kind and he was a bit more serious than Havoc and Breda. The last member of the team they were introduced to was a younger man named Master Sergeant Kain Fuery. He had dark hair, wore glasses and had a bit of a baby face.
Alphonse made quick friends with all of them. Ed, on the other hand, was sociable, but not overly friendly. She was more of an observer while her brother did all the interacting. Which kind of put the team on edge a bit. The way her golden eyes looked at them was almost like she was staring into their souls.
Lieutenant Hawkeye eventually made the team get back to work while ushering the sibling into the inner office, which was apparently Mustang's personal office.
Said man was sitting at his desk looking over some papers that were accumulated there. Or at least he started to when the Lieutenant walked into the room. Ed had caught a glimpse of him with his head down on his desk. And right before Hawkeye had turned the corner into the office, he perked up and grabbed a random stack of papers.
The Lieutenant walked over to Mustang with two large white envelopes in her hand. "The results of their exam, Sir." Mustang nodded his thanks and Hawkeye left the office quickly, shutting the door behind her.
Ed and Al watched the man take his sweet time opening and reading the exam results. Ed was about to snap at him when the Colonel finally let out a chuckle at the last sheet in the stack and handed them each a paper.
"It seems the Fuhrer has a sense of humor."
Al looked down at his paper and read it out loud. "The Swift Alchemist. I guess that's kind of cool."
Ed was glaring down at her paper. It was obvious that someone from the physical exam had told the Fuhrer about her metal limb, but as far as they knew she only had the one. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."
Al's eyes lit up. "Oh Sister! That's so cool! Very badass sounding." Ed rolled her eyes at her brother's antics and folded the letter up just in time for Mustang to hold out two silver pocket watches that had the seal of the Amestrian dragon engraved on the front of it.
"These will serve as your identification for getting into military facilities and give you access to certain classified information if you should need it. Keep it on you at all times and do not lose it. As you read, your title as a state alchemist also gives you authority in the military equivalent to that of a Major." He handed them each a stack of papers. "Go ahead and find an empty desk in the office to fill these out and then give them to Lieutenant Hawkeye to take care of. If you need any help with any of the questions, please ask her as well. Do not interrupt the rest of my team." They took the papers and Al nodded. Ed just gave the man a flat look. "After you return from your week of packing, you will more than likely have your accounts set up and ready to use and you will also be sent out on missions that regular military police or soldiers wouldn't normally handle." He gave them both a hard look. "You will both probably catch a lot of shit for being so young and Majors in the military. Alphonse, you especially. Edena, you will more than likely be questioned in your every move because you are a woman. The military is, unfortunately, a boys club and the state alchemist program more so. Even though it will be hard to bear, please be respectful to your superior officers as much as a situation would allow."
Alphonse gave the Colonel a soft smile. "We know how to behave, Colonel Mustang, if that's what you're asking of us."
Mustang stood from his chair. "I'm sure you do, Alphonse. I just wanted to reiterate it. Especially after how your sister finished off her exhibition." Ed rolled her eyes at the man and he chuckled. "You keep rolling your eyes like that, Edena, they'll get stuck like that. Well, I only have one last thing to say to you two." Mustang saluted them. "Congratulations on becoming state alchemists and welcome to the team, Majors Elric."
Ed and Al surprised the Colonel by giving him back a perfect salute in return.
"Thank you for the opportunity, Sir!"