Caricature of Intimacy
by Midori Bond

Chapter 2

Roy sat behind his desk going over his report. The few higher-ups that were left still wanted his own account of what happened during the attack. They were all too aware of what happened during the attack. And he was all too aware of their own ideas about the world on the other side of the Gate. With a smirk, he made to note that Fullmetal destroyed it. That wiped his hands clean. Place the blame on the one that was best at causing it.

A sigh left the Major as he thought of the boy... no, it wasn't fair to call him that. If his math was correct, Edward was about to turn nineteen. He was a man now. A muse left him as he remember their brief encounter. Ed still only stood up to his nose. A frown crossed his face as his thoughts took a depressing turn.

Rose had been staying in one of the spare dorms... the one the Elrics shared. Alex had gone to retrieve some of her clothes, only to discover that her home had also been destroyed in the battle. Then later, when Hawkeye mentioned finding the other children, Rose broke down. She sealed herself in her room and wouldn't speak to anyone for days. Even now, she only spoke to Hawkeye and Ross.

A sigh escaped him as he leaned back. She wouldn't be able to stay in the dorms for too much longer. And he knew she didn't have anyplace to go. There weren't too many options open for him. Not too many places would take in a young woman that was as far introverted as Rose was now. He didn't know what to do.

Hawkeye entered the office with a number of files under her arm. "This is the paperwork for the collateral damage during the attack," she said placing the pile on his desk.

Roy rubbed his temples. He didn't know how he used to do all of this. "Can't I write it off to Fullmetal?" he asked with a frown. "Let it wait for him."

She smiled. "No Sir." She looked into his dark eye, her own shining with amusement. "Until Hakuro promotes you, Edward officially outranks you."

He had to be hearing things. "What?"

"Fullmetal is a Lt. Colonel." Hawkeye ignored his glare with practiced ease. "You know it's procedure Roy. Besides, at least he's not here to gloat."

She did have a point. He would be too tempted to fry the blonde the second he pulled rank. "Do you know how much longer I'll have to wait?" he asked curiously.

The smile she wore wouldn't fade. She knew he hated paperwork. Just like he knew she hated being left behind. This was his punishment for punishing her, and she would relish it. "He'll sign your promotion after he's gone over your reports, and these files."

As her hand patted the papers in front of him, his eye narrowed. "You're evil," he muttered.

"I learned it from you," she responded with ease. When he didn't reply, she looked him over. His shoulders sagged as he turned to look out of his window. "Roy?"

He kept his gaze focused at where they were beginning construction on the school. "Rose isn't getting any better," he said lowly. "I think that losing her son was her breaking point."

She slowly nodded as she followed his gaze. "It's understandable. She lived for all of the children for the past few years."

Roy frowned as he continued to gaze at the streets. "Now she has nothing," he said lowly. He steepled his fingers as he looked at the paperwork in front of him. "Since she lived for the boy, we should start trying to find something else for her to live for."

"Possibly," Hawkeye said lowly. "I was thinking about asking her to come on here. As a civilian staff member."

His frown deepened. With her past experiences, he doubted Rose wanted anything to do with the military. "Is there anything you have in mind?" he asked his former second.

"Actually, yes," she answered before walking to the door. "But I'll keep that to myself for right now. You have work to do."

Roy couldn't fight the growls coming from his throat. Hawkeye had a way of getting under his skin in a way that only two others had managed before. "Good bye, Sir," he said in a cold tone.

She looked over her shoulder with a smile. "I know that I'm wasting my breath, but try to get your work done."

Rose sat in the window of her room gazing out into the sunset. In her arms, she held a worn leather journal. The pages opened to a list of ingredients that she remembered from so long ago.

"Water: 35 liters. Carbon: 20kg. Ammonia: 4 liters. Lime: 1.5kg. Phosphorus: 800g. Salt: 250g. Saltpeter: 100g. Sulfur: 80g. Fluorine 7.5g. Iron: 5g. Silicon: 3g. And 15 other elements in small quantities."

This was the list of ingredients used to create a human. She knew that she couldn't bring the dead back to life, but the book reminded her of Edward. In a twisted way, it was a comfort.

A knock sounded on the door, making her look away from his scribbled handwriting. "Rose," Riza's voice called.

The brunette slowly uncurled herself from her seat. She knew Riza wouldn't go anywhere until the door was opened. One of the good, and bad things that she liked about the woman. As she opened the door, she looked into warm brown eyes. "I didn't think you would be by tonight," Rose said stepping to the side.

"I wanted to make sure you ate something." Riza walked into the room and saw that everything had been cleaned up and put away properly. It was different from the chaos she was used to when Ed and Al stayed there. "And I also wanted to ask you something."

Rose looked at her curiously. "Really?" Ross was the one that usually asked her questions. Riza normally brought her food and helped get books from the library. "What is it?"

Riza sat in a chair and took a slow breath. She knew of Rose's past, they all did. That was part of the reason why she wasn't sure about asking this, but knowing that it had to be asked. "The dorms are usually reserved for military personnel," she started. She tried not to notice the way Rose turned her eyes to the floor as she pressed on. "A few of the rooms have been used for a few civilian staff members though."

"So in order to keep staying here, I'd have to work for the military?" Rose asked as she hugged Ed's journal close.

"Yes. I'm afraid that there are only a few strings that I can pull. You can keep your room here, and you would only have to deal with us."

Rose closed her eyes as she tried to block out her fears. "What would I have to do?" she asked in a whisper.

"My office needs a secretary. You would basically be filing and making appointments for myself and the other officers. Most of it is done over the phone, so you wouldn't be..."

"Why are you doing this?" Rose asked looking at the Colonel. "I know that the military normally doesn't go out of their way for others."

"You're special to Edward and Alphonse," Riza said simply. "And what happened to you in Lior should never have happened."

"So you all pity me."

"We're all concerned about a very strong, and special young woman." Riza's eyes locked with Rose's. "As I said, what happened, shouldn't have. Now we all just want the chance to get to know you... not about you from Fullmetal's reports."

"Edward put me in his reports?" Rose asked in a whisper.

"He always put down the people that aided or hindered him."

Rose winced. "Which was I?"

"You and Winry are to received any pensions should he officially be listed as dead." Riza saw the way blue eyes went round, and smirked. "Which do you think?"

Rose walked over to the bed and sat on it. Ed always looked out for her. She held his journal tighter and smiled as she felt tears come to her eyes. "It's time that I stood on my own and learned how to walk," she said softly. Rose wiped her eyes and nodded at Riza. "When do I start?"

A smile crossed the blonde's face. "You can start tomorrow. But I have to warn you, most of the men are lazy when it comes to paperwork. Especially Mustang." Riza stood and motioned for Rose to do the same. "He's an awful flirt, and constantly needs to be reminded to actually work."

Rose felt a smile cross her face. The first one all week. "Is he really that bad?" she asked.

"Before we go to the mess, let's go by the armory."

"What for?" If she was only going to be in the office, she shouldn't be in any danger.

"We're going to get you a whip," Riza smiled as they left the room.

"Are you sure it's here?" Al asked as he looked at the castle in the distance.

Ed carefully jumped out of the tree he had been in. A frown marred his face as he shoved his binoculars in his knapsack. "No, I'm not," he said darkly. "But all of our leads say that he's here."

"And his bomb's with him." Al reached into his own bag and pulled out a sandwich. "What did you see?" he asked offering half.

With a thankful smile he took the sandwich. "Nothing much." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "A lot of security. Nothing we can't get past."

"Without Alchemy?" Al asked. He knew Ed had been in this world longer, but it was still hard to remember that he couldn't fix things with a simple clap of his hands.

Ed nodded. He knew Al was having a hard time adjusting. He did too. But he wouldn't change anything if given the chance. He was a better man for it. "I can take out about four or five of the guards. That leaves another three. Your fighting skills are still on par. You'll be fine."

Al smiled as he also ate. "When do we go in?" he asked.

"Alright you two, freeze," a familiar voice said from behind.

Both Elrics turned around and saw a man with short black hair and piercing onyx eyes watching them with a gun trained on Ed. The blonde inhaled as he stood. "What do you want?" Ed asked Mustang's double.

"I'll ask the questions," he said in an arrogant tone.

Ed felt his eyes narrow. It wasn't fair to hate this poor schmuck, but damn it, did he have to sound exactly like that asshole.

Al jumped to his feet, remembering that Ed always wore that rather nasty look when he dealt with the former Colonel. "We were just back-packing through the area," he said with a smile. "We thought that it would be a good time to stop and have lunch. I would offer, but I'm afraid that there just isn't enough to share."

"What are your names?"

"Hell if I tell you," Ed snapped.

"Elric," Al said at the same time. When Ed frowned at him, he continued with his eyes trained on the taller man. "I'm Alphonse, and this is my older brother, Ed." His smile only widened when he heard Ed mumbling about turncoat brothers. "Can we ask your name?"

"Mustang. Roy Mustang."

Ed's eyes rolled. They even had the same name. He folded his arms over his chest and moved to sit back down. "Now that we're all properly introduced, can you leave now?" he asked rudely.

Roy was getting the distinct impression that if he wanted to get any information from these two, he would have to talk with the taller of the pair. "Now, now, children should remember to mind the elders," he said to Ed.

Al's eyes widened as Ed's hackles rose. Since they had been in this world, no one had made mention of Ed's height. From what he could remember, Ed was pretty volatile about it.

The tension in Ed's shoulders faded as his trademark smirk crossed his face. He wasn't going to let this copy get to him the same way. "I'm no child. But since you're my elder, you're probably too senile to tell the difference."

Roy frowned. No, he didn't think that he and the blonde would get along at all.

"Uncle Roy," a girl's voice called. All three turned to look behind the dark haired man to see a teenaged girl wearing a frown. When she reached the top of the hill, she narrowed her blue eyes at all three men. "Uncle Roy, you know you shouldn't be harassing tourists. It's bad form," she said in a scolding tone.

Ed felt like someone punched him in his stomach as he looked at the girl. She had long cinnamon colored hair that fell around her shoulders in waves. Her eyes mirrored the color of the ocean. Even though it had been years, he would never forget those eyes, or her voice. She was the only person he didn't yell at for calling him little... because she was just so innocent. Now, here she stood, a young lady that she would never become in his world. "Nina," he whispered before he could stop himself.

Al's eyes widened as he looked at his brother.

She turned to him, even as her guardian pulled her behind him. "Yes, that's my name," she said sweetly. "I am Nina Tucker, and this is my estate."

Al swallowed as he stepped forward, knowing that Ed was too shocked to say anything. "I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother, Edward."

Her eyes were still smiling as she bowed her head. "It's very nice to meet you," she said moving from behind Roy. "Do you boys have a place to stay?" she asked as she moved closer to Al. She couldn't explain why, but for some reason, she felt as if she had to stay close to the brothers.

"Actually, we were going to go find a hotel in a little while," Al confessed.

"Nina," Roy said in a warning tone.

She giggled as she took their hands. "You can stay in the citadel with us," she chimed jumping up and down.

Ed closed his eyes as he moved away from her. "Thanks for the offer, but really, we shouldn't," he said lowly.

Nina's smile faded as she looked at the older blonde. "Do I remind you of your Nina that much?" she asked quietly.

Gold eyes snapped open, and he turned to look at her. Suddenly, she appeared to be older than he first gave her credit for. "What?"

"We've never met, and you called me Nina. Roy would think that you're a danger to me, but I'm really good at reading people. I remind you of a Nina that you knew. Am I so much like her that you don't want to be near me?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Are you okay little big brother?"

Ed shook his head. He couldn't hurt this girl's feelings anymore than he could the other Nina. "No, it's not that," he said in a whisper.

"If they don't want to stay Nina, they don't have to." Roy was frowning as he looked at the pair of blondes. He also took note of the fact that Alphonse hadn't let go of Nina's hand.

"You're just saying that because you think they'll annoy you," Nina said in a teasing tone. She then looked between the two brothers. "Please stay. It wouldn't be a bother. Really."

Ed sighed and lifted his bag over his shoulder. He found that he couldn't deny this Nina anything either. "Alright, we'll stay." His eyes went round as she laughed and jumped into his arms in an enthusiastic hug. He slowly smiled as he warped his arms around her waist. He'd deal with Roy in his own time. But for right now, he was content to know that at least in one world, she was still alive and happy.

TBC...