Edward was, not surprisingly, the last one back to headquarters. It was getting on toward early evening when he returned, pushing the door open wearily. He had tucked several books under his arm, and while his search had been unsuccessful, he had this odd feeling that there might just be an answer in one of the books he had with him.
Edana was seated on Breda's desk this time, cross-legged. Her red coat had been thrown haphazardly on the coat rack, and she had at least eight books open around her. A half-eaten sandwich from a local deli was balanced on her knee. She didn't look up when he shut the door behind him, but did reach for her drink.
One of the armors … Edward realized he had no clue which unless they spoke … was seated, leaning against Hawkeye's desk and was scribbling in a notebook.
Hawkeye was seated at her desk, typing up some of Mustang's reports, no doubt. As Edward shrugged off his own coat, he realized another of the armors was seated at Falman's desk and was also reading quietly.
The door to Mustang's office was propped open, so Edward stuck his head in. Roy was seated behind his desk, leaning back in the chair and reading something on a clipboard, twirling a pen between his fingers. His boots were up on his desk.
Alphonse was lying on the couch, a book held open over his head as if that angle would help him make sense of the page. The third armor was in here as well, seated in the armchair.
It was oddly quiet, save for the rustling of pages and mechanical clacks of typewriter keys. Mustang glanced up then, and saw Edward in the doorway.
"Ah, Fullmetal," he said, dropping his feet to the floor. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd been perhaps sucked back into one of their homes." He waved distractedly at Alphonse and the suit of armor.
"No such luck," Edward said, entering the room. Alphonse drew his legs up so Edward could seat himself on the couch, but didn't get up.
Edward dropped his books on the floor and took the offered space, relaxing into the soft couch cushions. "Augh," he muttered, feeling stiff. "They could at least pad some of the chairs."
"Agreed," Alphonse said, dropping the book heavily on his face. "Wake me tomorrow?"
Edward smacked Alphonse's knee. "No napping," he snorted.
"Says who?" Alphonse snorted from under his book.
"Says your older brother," Edward retorted, picking the book up off of Alphonse's face. His eyes traveled over the title and he shook his head, a grin playing across his features.
"What is it?" Roy asked from his desk. He had stopped reading to watch their interaction.
"Nothing," Edward shook his head again, then leaned forward. He plucked the fourth book he had dragged with him out of the pile and compared the two. "My copy's prettier," he decided, dropping the other book on Alphonse's stomach.
"No luck then, I take it," Roy said.
Edward shook his head. "Nothing. I don't understand it, this couldn't be the first time something like this has ever happened.""
"What if it is?" The armor finally spoke, and Edward was surprised to hear it was his Alphonse. "The first time something like this has happened, I mean."
"Then, we're royally boned," Edward announced, sitting back in the couch. "But we'll figure something out. Between the six of us, we have to think of something."
"Which reminds me," Roy finally put down his clipboard. "Hawkeye procured some lodgings for you."
"What, the barracks aren't good - we can't stay in the barracks," Edward cut himself off. "Too many unanswerable questions."
"Exactly," Roy nodded. "So, Hawke—"
Edana squawked.
Alphonse sat up as Edana tore into the room and vaulted behind the couch that Alphonse and Edward were seated on. "What the HELL?" Edward said, half-turning around.
"GREETINGS, multiple Alphonses!"
Edward stopped mid-turn and directed a glare toward Roy.
"Trustworthy," Roy started ticking off on his fingers. "Close to base. Plenty of room. Don't glare at me like that, Edward, it's Hawkeye's fault."
As Roy spoke, Alex Louis Armstrong made his grand entrance into Roy's office. "Greetings, multiple Elrics," he boomed, as if they hadn't heard his greeting to the "Alphonses.""I am –"
"They all know who you are," Roy interrupted Armstrong. Edana peeked over the back of the couch, scowling in his direction.
"Very good, then," Armstrong said, not missing a beat. "They must make haste, then! The cooks have almost finished preparing dinner!"
"Food?" Edana's head and shoulders appeared this time. "I could do with a proper meal."
Edward's stomach rumbled right then, and he scowled, then sighed. Looks like their evening wouldn't be dull.