I'm back! Sorry I didn't update for, like, 2 days but I was taking a break. Anyways, I'm back with a suggestion from Guest (Nov. 1), so enjoy!
Summary: Edward has come back from a dead end in a lead for the Philosopher's Stone and isn't happy about it. Without realizing, he snaps at Roy, calling him a war criminal for what he did in Ishval, not realizing the affect it takes on Roy.
Idea came from: Guest (Nov. 1) who suggested it
Timeline: Edward is 14 and Roy is still in Eastern Command (is that right? Before he got transferred to Central?)
Warnings: None
Rated: K+ for language
Note: Review replies at the end of chapter
Story 7: Dead Ends and War Criminals
Edward doesn't even bother to knock on the door this time. He uses his automail foot to kick the door open, leaving a dent in the wood as the door hits the wall, handle breaking through the weak material.
"Ah, Fullmetal, nice to see that you can reach the door okay, seeing as you're so short." Roy teases calmly, watching as the young fourteen year old storms into the room.
"Not in the mood." He snaps as he stops in front of Roy's desk, slamming down his report with his flesh hand. He is almost tempted to use his automail hand to create another dent that someone would have to fix later.
"Oh? Did someone step on you? I mean, since you're practically a bean sprouts it was inevitable-"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!?" Ed shouts, his glare reading death as he stomps his foot against the floor. As if throwing a mini tantrum.
"No one said that chief," Breda says from his desk, looking up from the paper. The others pretend to write as they eavesdrop, while Hawkeye stands beside Roy's desk, looking through a file.
"Could you just get on with it? I wanna go home." Ed snaps, crossing his arms. He taps his flesh index finger against his upper right arm, tapping his left foot as he does so.
"Someone's impatient," Roy comments as he reads through Ed's lazy writing. "And, of course, it is nearly impossible to read your handwriting."
"Well, maybe I would be in a better mood if you hadn't sent us on a fake lead for the Philosopher's Stone!" Ed shouts, throwing his hands up into the air. "I mean, seriously! That's the third one of two months! I'm starting to think you're sending me to these places on purpose."
"Well, you got that right." Mustang says, setting the paper down onto his desk as he looks back up to Edward. "Now what's this about having to blow up an old lady's house?"
"Don't judge me, okay? I didn't mean to. Now shut up and let me go home! I'm tired and Alphonse is probably wondering where I am about now."
"Don't talk to me that way, Fullmetal." Roy says, his tone strict. The tension I the room seems to raise. "I would rather not take orders from short pipsqueaks like you."
"And I would rather not take orders from murderers like you!"
The whole room goes silent. The quiet conversing between the team is instantly cut short, writing utensils dropping onto the desks with clacks. Hawkeye raises an eyebrow while Roy narrows his eyes, almost as if he is daring Edward to say more. To cross completely over the line of no return.
"What was that?" Roy asks, his voice sounding strained. As if he's trying to not burn the kid alive.
"You heard me!" Ed snaps, crossing his arms again. "I called you a murderer! You're a war criminal for what you did in Ishval."
"Where did hear-" Riza stays, only to stop when Roy raises a hand.
"It's okay, Lieutenant, it really isn't a big deal." Roy says, leaning back as his face lightens. "It seems that Fullmetal has a strong opinion of who his commanding officer is."
"Damn right!"
"Well, how about I transfer you? I'm sure that if any other commanding officer heard your past they'd send Alphonse off to a lab while they have you serve as their personal weapon. Or, how about this? I court martial you?" Roy suggests, smirking. His tone is innocent and all, but his meaning is harsh and angry. Something Hawkeye quickly picks up on.
"I hate you." Ed hisses, hands curling into fists. "No wonder you were able to kill all those people in the war, you could care less about them!"
"Here we go again, back to the war." Roy replies, sounding cocky. "You don't see me going back to your height."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE HASN'T GROWN SINCE HE WAS BORN!?"
"That will be all, Fullmetal." Roy says, cutting Edward off before he can throw another insult. "You are dismissed."
"Finally!" Ed snaps as he turns and leaves, slamming the door behind him. The others I the room suck in their breaths as they turn to Roy, watching him as he silently gets back to his paperwork. One sharp glare from Riza gets them all working again.
"Sir," Riza says at their lunch break. Roy had opted to stay in his office, saying he has to "catch up" on paperwork while the rest of the team had all headed down to the cafeteria to get lunch. "Are you okay? You've been working diligently on paperwork all day."
"What, now I can't work once I a while?" Roy asks playfully, but Riza doesn't miss the haunted look in his onyx eyes. The memories of the war had been pulled back to the surface, like an anchor being pulled back up from the ocean floor.
"Not you, sir. At least, not without complaining." She answers calmly. "Is it what Edward said?"
"Of course not! Why would anything he says get to me?" Roy asks with a scoff and a wave of the hand. Riza doesn't miss the way his voice slightly cracks.
"Don't lie to me, sir."
Roy only sighs, his whole charade breaking. His shoulders slump and he shakes his head. "It's just-what he said. I can't help but think about all the things I did-all the people I killed. I guess, I-I really am a war criminal."
"Sir, what he said isn't true. You are a good person, we were all affected by it." Hawkeye states calmly, a soft smile gracing her lips, her eyes gentle. "He's just angry because he failed to find any other leads in getting his brother's body back. I'm sure Edward really doesn't think that."
Roy doesn't reply. He just turns around in his chair and stares out the window, sighing heavily.
Edward pouts as he sits alone at the end of one of the cafeteria tables, an empty tray pushed off to the side with an open book in front of him. On normal days he can usually block out all the noise and melt into his reading, but today is different. He blames it on all the stress, but the tug in the back of his mind tells him otherwise.
"Hey Eddy ol' boy!" Hughes suddenly says, seeming to pop out of nowhere.
"Hughes!" Ed shouts as he jumps, almost falling from his seat. "I've told you before, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, I just can't help how excited I am!" Hughes exclaims, his voice dripping will joy as he pulls out a picture of his daughter and wife, both sitting on the living room floor, hands pressed against one another in a frozen game of patty-cake. "Just look at how precious my little Elicia is!"
"Yeah, that's great." Ed groans, looking unimpressed and sounding bored. "Is that all you wanted to say or...?"
"Actually, I came by to talk to you about what you said to Roy today." Hughes says, an aura of seriousness instantly taking over as he slips the picture back into his pocket. Ed finds it mildly creepy how Hughes can go from being the happy go lucky dad who brags about his daughter to the serious crime detective that he is.
"So what? It's true." Ed mumbles, crossing his arms as he glances at Hughes. "And how did you even-"
"Hawkeye called." He replies, sitting down across from Edward. "She told me that you called Colonel Mustang a war criminal."
"So?"
"Ed," Hughes sighs, shaking his head. "You can't say that-"
"He didn't seem to care. And besides, he deserved it!" Ed shouts, glaring at Hughes, angry that he would take the bastard's side. "He sent us on a dead end! Again!"
"He might have acted like he didn't care but he does." Hughes says, shaking his head. "There isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't think about what happened in Ishval. He still has nightmares about it at times."
"I don't care." Ed snaps stubbornly, sticking his nose in the air. "If he didn't want me calling him the truth then he should give us better leads."
"Edward!" Hughes suddenly yells, causing the young teen to jump and the unexpected loudness of Hughes' voice. He watches as Hughes slams his hands on the table, having stood up. "You can't call him that. You don't think he knows? You don't think that he blames himself fir taking the lives of families? Of children? Think about it. It isn't always about you, it isn't always about the satisfaction you get for insulting Roy. When you pull in the war of Ishval... you don't realize how much it affects him."
Ed stares, speechless at Hughes. Finally he sighs, looking down at the forgotten book as Hughes sits back down. "Um, I know I shouldn't have said that. But..I'm just stressed out! I can't take dead end after dead end. It's just...I can't stand seeing the disappointment on Al's face. I'm sorry."
Hughes's face softens. He can't help but feel bad for the teen. After all, he is dealing with things that normal adults couldn't even handle on a daily basis, no to mention having to deal with it for three years straight, and counting. "You should tell that to Roy."
"You mean I need to apologize?" Ed asks, as if horrified by the task.
"Yep!"
"...fine." Ed groans as he closes the book. He grabs it and leaves the cafeteria, waving to Hughes who is already talking to another soldier about his daughter.
A knock at the door pulls Roy from his reading. He looks up from the file on his desk and watches with a guarded expression as Edward slowly opens the door. There is an unsure look on his face as he slowly shuffles into the room, a book held under one arm.
"Fullmetal? I didn't know you could make it up the stairs by yourself, seeing as how you're so small and all." Roy says, masking his hurt by teasing. Riza glares at him from her seat on the couch. She is reading over an older case file.
"I um...I want to, uh..." Ed trails off, glancing sideways as if looking for his answers in the carpet.
"Well? Cat got your tongue? No, scratch that. A cat could squish you if it tried to get your tongue." Roy muses, crossing his arms. He frowns when Ed yet again ignores the comment.
"Hughes told me that, uh...that you blame yourself for what you did in Ishval." Ed finally manages to form a complete sentence. Roy's face immediately darkens as he narrows his eyes
"That idiot! What was he thinking, telling a little brat? I'll burn him alive for this!"
"I wanted to say sorry for what I said." Ed continues, shifting uncomfortably. Roy double takes, running the words over in his mind to make sure that he hadn't heard wrong. "I shouldn't have called you a war criminal and all that...so, uh, I'm-I'm sorry."
"Really?" Roy asks, not knowing what else to say.
"Yeah." Ed mumbles, looking away again. "I just-I've been really stressed out, okay?" Ed snaps, suddenly defensive as his hands curl into fists. "I can't handle dead ends, one after the other, over and over again! The hope each time as we get close, and then only to have it slip from our fingers! I can't...I can't handle seeing the look of disappointment on Al's face each time. That's why I was moody! That's why I said those things without thinking! So I'm sorry, okay?"
Roy is silent for a long time after this. Edward had practically pored his heart and soul into this speech, probably without meaning to, and the more Roy thinks about it, he can't help but forgive him. After all, Ed is only fourteen. He is going through things that no fourteen year old should have to go through. Not to mention all the other problems that tie into everything. In all reality, Edward is just a lost child, struggling to keep his head above the rushing river current when he barely knows how to doggy paddle.
"Don't worry, I won't hold anything against you." Roy says after a moment. He smiles, watching as relief washes over Ed's face. "I don't blame you for what you said. You're just a kid trying to grow up with the world on his shoulders. Keeping him small forever."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THEY COULD RIDE ON THE BACK OF A BEE!?"
Riza can't help but smile as she watches the two from the corner of her eyes. They throw playful teases back and forth, lightening the whole mood of the office. This is their way of showing that they are okay, that everything will be okay. 'Yes,' she thinks with a nod to herself. 'Everything will be okay between them.'
And that's a wrap! Now, for the review replies (only one)
Guest (Nov. 1)- thank you so much for the suggestion! I hope you like it, sorry it took so long for me to upload it. Thank you!
Don't forget to give me reviews and suggestions for what you want me to write in future chapters! Thanks for reading, and have a good day/night!