author: carla, aka cali-chan
rating: PG-13, because of some swearing... Can't be helped,
since there will be people calling Ed "short" once in a while. Rating might
go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.
genre: AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD
canon: manga ONLY!
pairings: EdoWin, RoyAi. Hughes will definitely be gushing about
his wife a lot...
summary: AU, chaptered, high-school themed, but not your usual
sweet-valley high school fanfic. Edward Elric has to become the best track
runner there is, for his mother, for his brother, and for everyone else
in his life. But will triumph come at a high cost?
in this interlude: let's see how things go for roy & liza in good ol' central!
Interlude I: Meeting Mr. President
"...Yes, I just got back two days ago and I'm a little busy, but I'm sure I can manage to spare some time for you... say, tonight around seven?"
Roy Mustang looked down when he heard growling beneath his desk. He curiosly peered, looking for the source of the sound, only half-listening to the giggling girl on the other side of the phone line. He found himself face to face with his assistant's little black and white puppy, who clearly wasn't very happy with him.
Roy extended his hand to pet the little dog, hoping to appease it so he could get some quiet. Hayate wasn't appeased, though, and immediately dodged Roy's hand and proceded to latch onto his pants.
"What the-- hey!" he glared at the dog, picked him up (it took him a while to get the thing to let go-- what a stubborn animal!) and put it on his lap. He was just about to glare at it when it decided to latch onto something else-- the telephone cord. "Dammit, leggo! What's your problem! It's like you're jealous or something-- no, not you Mathilde..."
He was still struggling with the puppy when someone cleared his/her throat. He looked up to see his assistant, holding some folders against her chest and looking down at him with a frown. "Sir, I don't think it's a good idea for you to schedule an outing tonight. Might I remind you that you have a meeting with the President of the ATFF this afternoon?"
Roy looked back at her, pointing at the dog, with his eyebrows arched high in a "can't you see the rabid BEAST that's currently sitting on my lap?" expression. It seemed that Hawkeye didn't see it, though, as she went on with her business without a second glance. She left the folders on his desk, making sure they were aligned properly. "The official records just arrived. Remember you have to read them and sign them before the meeting. And I know you wouldn't dream of playing hooky with something so important as this."
The dog finally stopped squirming and just sat there, with what Mustang swore would be a glare if it was human etched on its face. "I'll call you later, is that alright?" he told the girl on the other end of the line, curiously noticing that she sounded a little frantic. He ended the call and ran a hand over his face. The puppy seemed to be perfectly happy now that he'd put the phone down, but still he felt a headache coming, if only for the sheer amount of paperwork he just learned he had to do. And what's with the abuse? He usually got along just fine with Black Hayate. And Hawkeye frowned a lot but she'd been his assistant for such a long time that he could recognize when she was frowning because something was bothering her.
"Is everything ok?" he asked her, grabbing a pen from a drawer before digging into the pile of documents.
She ignored his question. "Come now, Buraha. You've played enough for today with Mr. Mustang." She nonchalantly picked up the dog, who was just ecstatic to be back in its master's arms again, and raised an eyebrow when she heard her boss sigh. "I wouldn't complain, sir. You'll be dealing with much more paperwork when you become President." And with that she left the room, feeling somewhat vindicated; the only date Mustang had scheduled for the following five hours was with a mountain of papers to sign.
--
They were all business as they entered the conference room.
President Bradley was already waiting for them. It seemed he had forgo the presence of his assistant; it was rare to see him by himself, he always seemed to have a lot of people around: assistant, secretaries, bodyguards... Truly a sign that he was a very important man.
He got up from the head of the table as he saw the two come in. He greeted them both with a smile, which Roy found incredibly ironic because the man obviously knew Roy wanted his job. But it wasn't the time or the place to think about overthrowing Bradley, so they both simply replied in kind and sat down, ready to get the show on the road.
"So I hear you have discovered our future medallist, Mustang."
"Well, I hope he will be, Sir," Roy replied with a nod.
"What can you tell me about him?"
Roy extended his hand towards Liza and she handed him the respective folder. He in turn handed it to President Bradley as he started to explain Edward's situation. "He's a boy, eighteen, was born and has lived all his life in Leizenburgh."
"Leizenburgh, hmm? It's been a while since we've had someone from there in the Championship. It's a rather small, forgotten town."
"Don't I know it!" Roy muttered under his breath, remembering how bored he'd been all through his stay in that town. "Well, this boy is an orphan. Mother died when he was 10, father left without a trace even before that. His only living relative is his younger brother, who is seventeen. Since their mother died, they've been living with those that used to be their next-door neighbors."
"Yes, yes. But is he really good?" Bradley hadn't looked at the documents yet. He valued Mustang's opinion when it came to scouting-- he had a very keen eye for talent. And that's why he'd climbed the ladder so fast in the ATFF.
Roy supported his elbows on the table. "Well, to be honest, Sir, he doesn't have the most brilliant numbers. He's not even the best in his school's team. But from what I've seen and heard, I believe he has the right attitude. He seems determined enough. Perhaps with the proper coaching and medical care we might get him to shine."
His last phrase surprised President Bradley, he knew. Medicine wasn't something that usually came up during these sessions. "Medical care? What do you mean?"
Roy's eyes narrowed, and he looked down at the table. He knew Bradley would have his doubts after he heard this. "He and his brother were involved in a car accident shortly after their mother died; his knee is still somewhat fragile from it. Miss Hawkeye?"
Liza promptly opened another folder in front of her. "Broken left tibia, dislocated left knee and fractured right arm, along with various other superficial lacerations and bruises," she recited the injuries Ed had sustained out loud.
Roy turned back to the President with a grim expression. "His brother now has to use a crutch to walk."
"He has problems in his knee and you still think he can compare to the other runners in the competitions?" the President asked with a frown. He tought Mustang had more sense than to recommend someone that would bring so many inconveniences to the organization.
"It is precisely because of that that I think so, Sir," Roy explained, his expression serious and contemplative. His mouth remained hidden behind his hands. "He and his brother have been running since they learned to walk. From what I hear, after what happened to his mother, and after the accident, his resolve to go as far as possible has only strenghtened. He wants to be big, for himself, and because his brother can't be." He let out a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Wanting to be at the top because of others... that's an attitude I can relate to. I think he can do it."
The President stayed silent for a few minutes. He understood what Mustang meant with that, but he chose not to comment. Strength of character was something that they valued a lot among the ATFF ranks; an ATFF-sponsored athlete didn't just have to be good, but he also had to be strong enought to withstand the enormous pressure that came with the title. Perhaps Mustang had hit the nail with this one.
"I see. Well, I don't think there's any trouble with running his profile down with the Board. We may just have a winner." He finally opened the folder and started reading the file. Mustang nodded and Hawkeye continued jotting down notes.
After a while, though, the President started to frown and Roy grew anxious. "Is there anything wrong, Sir?" He was sure he'd read and signed all the papers and at the moment everything seemed to be in order. Hawkeye frowned too, as she had also gone over them (she always went over the papers when he was finished-- it wouldn't be the first time he'd only finished half of them so he could go out) and they all seemed to be correct.
President Bradley closed the folder and cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it's not going to happen, Mustang."
Roy rose from his seat, looking dumbfounded at the man. "What? Why? Sir--"
"I can't discuss it with you," the President cut him off, signaling with a hand. He stood up from his chair and piled up the folders, arranging them in the correct order. "It would be better if you just left it alone. There's no use in presenting Edward Elric to the Board, I can assure you he is only going to be rejected. Do not go on with this." And with those words, he walked out of the conference room, leaving two stunned people in his wake.
--
They were still sporting grim expressions when Roy's car pulled up to Liza's apartment complex.
She pulled all her papers together and brought the strap of her purse to her shoulder, before opening the door. "I'm sorry things didn't go your way, Sir," she told him as she stepped out of the car.
"That's okay, Hawkeye," he replied, thumbs caressing the steering wheel as he spoke, not looking at her, but up front. Like he was thinking of things beyond her going back to her place. "Have a good night. And remember to start packing; we're going back to Leizenburgh soon."
Years of working with him had conditioned her to take everything he threw at her without loosing her composure. This time, though, he managed to surprise her. "Sir...?" she asked him, eyes wide and curious.
"We're going to bring the Elric kid to Central. With the Federation's permission or not." He smirked, and turned to look at her stunned expression. "You're not backing out on me now, are you?"
He saw her expression change and it was like he could hear what she was thinking. Confusion, at first. Then she was a little offended by his comment. Finally she settled on being serious and determined, like she always was. "Of course not, Sir. You know I'm by your side no matter what. I'm just wondering if you've thought this through..."
"Oh, but of course," he assured her, leaning back on his chair, still smirking, like it had been the easiest decision he'd ever made in his life. "The Federation's hiding something, and it's something big, if Bradley was so adamant on this application not going to the Board of Directors. I want to find out what it is, and this Elric kid is going to be my ticket in. I noticed Bradley was positive up to the point he learned Elric's name. I'm sure you noticed, too."
She had. And yes, Liza could see his point. This could be the weak point of Bradley's regime that they'd been looking for; it could be Roy's big chance. "I understand, Sir. I shall pack."
He looked at her again, and this time he smiled, a real smile. "I'm glad you're backing me up. I'll see you tomorrow."
She nodded, feeling very relieved. Closing the door of the car behind her, she walked into the building. She could hear the sound of her little pet barking happily as she opened the door to her apartment to get a good night's rest.
author's notes--
AAAAAHHHHHH! THE FLUFF! IT KEELS ME DED!11oneone! -dies from too much sugar in her bloodstream-
stupid muse is quiet all week and then pops up right when i need to study for my organic chemistry final. oh, i'm so going to fail this test... -cries-
i wrote this in like one sitting, and it's 3 am so that should tell you something about my state of mind at the moment. so please forgive any typos and stuff.
anyway, i should clear up some things.
first off, once in a while there will be little interludes like this one. you'll notice them because of the lack of a title beginning with "not" :D since my main characters are ed, al and winry, whenever i need to show you guys something that's happening when they're not involved, it will be by way of an interlude.
ATFF means "amestrian track & field federation." in simple terms, it's the organization that controls all track & field competitions in the country. they also endorse certain athletes by way of their talent scouts. what that means is that, usually, you'd have to run through several competitions, like between schools, to go to regionals, then county/district competitions and THEN go to nationals to be able to earn a spot in the team for the world championship. it's incredibly hard to reach the top if that's the case, you have to compete against literally thousands of people, which not only takes a lot of effort, but also a lot of time; years, if not decades to prove your worth. if a scout "discovers you", though, you just get a free, instant ride. you're taken directly to the federation and you're one step away from the championship, it's almost a safe bet to say that you'll make the team. that's why ed, al and winry are so excited that roy will see ed's talent.
i wuv buraha :-) he is so the cutest thing.
i decided on adding a lot of fluff to this because i know what's coming. next chapter will be filled with al angst; and ed and roy finally meet face to face. and the plot thickens, if you didn't notice in this little interlude.
thanks to all of you who have reviewed! i'm glad you guys are liking it so far. you guys always make my day.
brickwall: when did winry say that? well, people probably think so anyway... but i'm sure she'll say it out loud someday... probably soon XD
june: it does seem like they fight less, doesn't it? that's probably because she doesn't carry her wrench around so when they fight it's less violent XD though i agree, they don't fight THAT much as other writers make them out to.
thank you all, and i hope you like this installment too!