Disclaimer: I'm still no closer to owning Hagane no Renkinjutsushi than I am to owning a bat for a pet. ...and it's illegal to have bats for pets. vv;

So here we are, at the fourth theme of 45. A little over eleven percent finished, then. xx; This might take me a while. Bear with me, the fifth theme has been giving me some trouble. It might be a bit of time before it's posted. Until then, enjoy the fourth. My beta really seemed to like this one.

Again, it's a little longer than drabble length, at seven hundred fifty some odd words. Oh well. I suppose they're no longer drabbles, but less than 1000 word ficlets::shrug: they're still short. And I hope you'll all still enjoy them and review.

45 Roy/Edward Themes

Theme 04. "Library"

It had been another boring day in the office, and frankly, Roy Mustang was more than ready to head home. He hadn't gotten much of his paperwork done, much to Hawkeye's dismay. She'd let him leave, begrudgingly, simply because this was taisa, and that's just how he worked. He only filled out his paperwork when he wanted to, and there was hardly any getting around it.

He took to whistling a jazzy tune, walking down the halls of headquarters. He waved shortly to the few remaining military members, stuffing his hands in his pockets after he'd exited the building. Continuing to whistle as he made his way down the street, he idly pondered what he would do for dinner. Surely, he couldn't cook. He didn't want FullMetal to die, after all, and the world knew that Roy Mustang's cooking was no more edible than battery acid.

So when he returned home to find the lights off, and nothing but a slip of paper tacked to the corkboard, he couldn't help but feel a mite jilted. He thought maybe he'd take the boys out to dinner -- even if poor Alphonse couldn't eat anything. It was the thought that counted anyway, and Alphonse always seemed grateful of Mustang's hospitality.

…if only he could expect so much from Edward.

He wandered to the corkboard and plucked the note from it, taking a moment to decipher Edward's child-like scrawling written across the page. The words slanted downward slightly, as if the boy had been in a hurry when writing it.

"Checking some stuff out, be back later. I got you a cheeseburger, it's in the fridge."

Roy's eyes flattened.

That was Edward for you. No nonsense about his writing, unless it was his reports. The alchemist eyed the refridgerator.

Well, eating what Edward had left for him wouldn't hurt…

Ten minutes, some inhaling of processed meat and cheese and a tall glass of water later, Roy Mustang walked briskly back to the bedroom he and Edward shared to change out of his uniform. Stepping into a pair of black loafers, he folded the collar of his shirt properly and made his way back to the door.

Knowing Edward, he would be out "checking stuff out" until Roy came to get him, or he fell asleep and Alphonse carted him back home at some odd hour of the morning.

Making his way up the stairs to the Central Library, Roy stuffed his hands into his pockets again. Nodding in acknowledgement to the librarian, he headed straight back for the reference section, where he knew he would find Edward.

Sure enough, as he rounded a corner, there was Edward and his younger brother, poring over a stack of thick reference encyclopedias, Edward hunched far over the book, chin held between his thumb and forefinger. Roy winced. He'd have a crick in his back by the time he was done with that book.

Stopping and leaning on a nearby bookshelf, Roy crossed his ankles and folded his arms over his chest, watching the brothers with a bemused grin. Alphonse looked up, noticing him.

"Ah, tais--"

"Shh." Roy held one finger to his lips. Alphonse tilted his head in silent confusion, and Roy just smiled again, nodding to Edward. Alphonse looked over at his brother, and Roy could see the grin form on his face, despite its immobile metal frame.

After a few moments of watching Edward scan the pages, absorbing the information with a childish smile, Roy pushed off the bookshelf and knelt behind him, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders. Edward started.

"What the-- taisa!" For a moment he looked surprised, then his shock melted into an ear-to-ear grin, and he smacked his fingertips against the page he was reading. "Taisa, taisa you've got to read this! It's amazing, I've never seen anything like it!" He turned back to beam at the Colonel, who was smiling as well.

Squeezing his shoulders, Roy nodded.

"You can come back tomorrow, Edward. It's time to come home."

With a slight slump of his shoulders, Edward nodded.

"All right," he succumbed, and turned to Al, who had already started putting the books they'd grabbed back on their shelves.

Roy kept his arm around Edward's shoulders as they exited the library, Edward chattering about this that and the other he'd read. Roy just smiled and nodded, making comments every so often.

It was amazing how bubbly the boy could get when talking about alchemy. It made Roy proud to look at him and know one day he'd make an awesome Colonel.

Author's Notes: Okay, so this one showed a bit more affection between Edward and Roy than the other three have. I hope to get farther with the affection. ...some people may claim it slightly out of character, I don't really know if Roy would be so careless as to actually show affection to Edward publically. It could cost the both their titles if they were found out... but anyway. Ignore that detail and review, please? thanks. You guys' reviews are what keeps me going, it makes me happy to know that my ficlets are enjoyed.

-Hitsuji