Everyday Christmas Spirit (A Study of Cain Fury)

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Mustang never really thought he was suitable for the military.

You're not soldier material, kid.

Heck, his parents never thought he was suitable for the military. They didn't even think he was suitable to be militia. Or anything but a teacher, for that matter. Boy, they really wanted him to be a teacher. The letters they sent… pleading for him to change his mind before it was too late, telling him he was too sweet, too kind, to want to take orders from the mass-murdering heroes that ran Amestris.

But he went anyway, because there were people he needed to help.

You know what you should do, so why aren't you doing it?

Even the people he helps don't always understand why he does. They don't understand why he isn't married with kids, somewhere, with a peaceful job, anything that doesn't include blue starched uniforms and projectile weapons. He bears their perplexity with stoic resignation, eyes calm and slightly soulful behind his thin reading glasses.

It doesn't matter, really.

Do you have something to do?

Riza-chuui fills up his moping time with an endless stream of forms and paperwork, and she does her best, in that brisk no-nonsense way of hers, to make him feel like he belongs, to show him that at least one person in the entire military does think that what he does is good, and useful.

She sent him on covert intelligence training.

Taught him how to aim from afar.

By the time he came out of training, the war was over, but he knew that he had participated as surely as anyone on the front lines, because the orders to kill had passed through his hands.

He tries not to let it get him down, and succeeds, mostly. The gradual acceptance of the rest of East City Unit helps, since they're all paper-pusher-murderers together. He's still low man on the totem pole- nothing will ever change that, running errands keeps him out of the line of fire while Mustang plots countrywide domination- but he's accepted, and they accept him, and they accept what he offers to them.

It is possible to give and give and expect nothing in return.

But still, in a little-boy kind of way, he's awed and honoured when Mustang commandeers his transfer, with the rest of the East City Unit confidantes, to the political jungle of Central City. It's like the Christmas present he's been waiting for forever. Riza-chuui's warm brown gaze rests on him, just briefly, and he beams at her without reservation.

Everyday Christmas spirit, huh?

It's a sign of trust, and it's the best present he's ever had.

Ever.

Even if he has to kill for real… this trust would have been worth it, and he'll prove that he was worthy of it.

Come with me.

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A/N: And Fury gets lurve, too. I always wondered why a sweet young thing like that took up work in the military. Reviews anyone? And suggestions for the next chapter? I think Lust's in the running…

(31/03/2006 Edit: Changed Riza's eye color after a reviewer brought it to my attention (that was a long time ago but I only got round to checking the manga scans recently… ;;) so that's done. Hopefully I got it right this time. See, reviewers are valuable and very very much appreciated… thanks to '…' who told me about it. Although a signed review would have been great…)