Chapter 4: Central
Al followed the two adults into the kitchen.
"Lt. Colonel, please do take a seat while I get the tea ready." Trisha said and walked over to one of the cupboards, as Al climbed into a chair.
"Sure, but you can just call me Roy, you know that." Roy said, smiling at her as he took a seat.
"Wait till you taste this tea. It's the best." Alphonse said, directing his words to Roy. Roy looked over at him.
"I bet it will." Roy said, "Your mom is a much better cook then me, and the chefs at the military." Al's eyes lit up at the chance for a conversation.
"Really? What's it like in the military? I've heard lots of bad things about it, but if you're in it, it couldn't be that bad, could it?" Al asked.
Roy thought a moment before answering.
"Well, the military helps lots of people," Roy explained, "but when wars strike, the military has no choice but to accept and fight."
"Why do you guys fight? Can't you all just talk it out in a civilized manor?" Al inquired.
"Well…it's a bit hard to explain, but let's just say the military can do bad things that upset the people just like wars," Roy said, trying to find the words to say. "Wars upset everyone in earshot of it. But no, the military isn't all bad. But…I can't say the same for myself, with what happened in the Ishabal war."
He looked away from Al as he said that. Before Al could ask anymore questions, the tea kettle went off.
"Oh, that was fast…tea's done though!" Trisha exclaimed, reaching for the cups. She pulled two down but couldn't reach the third. It had been pushed back too far. Roy took notice of this and jumped up.
"Don't worry, I got it." Roy said and walked over, grabbing the cup with little difficulty.
"O-oh…why thank you, Roy." Trisha stuttered a bit, smiling as she took the cup. She didn't know why she stuttered, nor did she know why she felt a small amount of heat creep up into her cheeks, but she filled the cups with tea anyways, not thinking too much about it. She handed a cup to Roy first.
"Be careful, it's hot." Trisha said and handed a cup to Al. Roy took a sip and turned to Trisha to congratulate her.
"This tea is the best I've had and I've never liked tea before." Roy said giving a smirk. "Shoot, this could be my morning tea, instead of coffee."
Again Trisha smiled.
"Edward! Come get some tea!" Trisha called to Ed.
"Do you want a cup too mom?" Al asked.
"What? Oh, no, I'm fine." Trisha said, shaking her head.
"But mom, you love this too!" Al pressed it. Trisha sighed.
"Okay Al. I'll have a little." Trisha said and grabbed a cup that Roy had pushed forwards from when he was trying to get the other cup.
Trisha went to pour herself a cup as she suddenly remembered that it was Edward's birthday in a week. The realization caused her to accidentally burn herself.
She cried out in pain, dropping the kettle and backing away, putting the burnt thumb in her mouth. Al and Roy had both jumped at Trisha's scream of pain.
"MOM! Are you all right?!" Al asked, running up to her. Roy did the same, but picked the kettle up first.
"Let me see that." Roy said, grabbing Trisha's hand, pulling the thumb out of her mouth gently. He stared at it then let it go and went into to freezer drawer and pulled an ice cube out.
"Here, put this on your thumb. It'll help. The burn is not that bad, trust me, I've burned things before, and myself, so I know a bad burn when I see one." Roy said, handing the ice cube to Trisha who took it gratefully and pressed it on her thumb as Al went to get a washcloth for the mess on the counter that was quickly pouring onto the floor.
"Hey! Mom, what happened?!" Everyone looked to see a concerned Edward. Trisha gave him a reassuring smile as she spoke.
"I'm okay Ed. Don't worry. Instead, come have a cup of tea. Roy here says it's really good." Trisha said. Ed frowned.
"Brother, come help me over here." Al said, looking towards his brother. As Ed walked closer, Trisha saw Ed's eyes were red and puffy, from crying.
"Hey Ed, come with mommy for a minute, Kay?" Trisha said, grabbing his small wrist and started to guide him into the living room. She didn't want to embarrass Ed by asking him if he had been crying while Roy was around because she could already sense Ed hated him.
"Mom, where're you taking brother?" Al asked.
"I'll only be gone a minute," Trisha said, "I just need to have a talk with him. That's all."
"Am I in trouble?" Ed asked worriedly. Trisha shook her head as she sat Ed on the couch; she took a seat next to him.
"Ed…what's wrong?" Trisha said, sounding worried, "Ever since Roy came here, you've not been acting yourself at all." Ed shrugged, trying to avoid the question.
"Please Ed, you can tell me when something's bothering you. Is it just that you don't like Roy?" Trisha asked.
Ed nodded, not being able to look at his mom right now. Trisha frowned to herself, it's just as she thought.
"Why do you not like him?" Trisha asked, "There has to be a reason."
"I don't want him to hurt you." Ed said.
"Hurt me? He's done no such thing. He's a very nice man, and it's easy to talk to him." Trisha said, trying to get Ed to not hate Roy, "He's very smart too. Maybe you should talk to him once in awhile like Al does?"
"But…didn't you think that way of Dad? Isn't that why you married him?" Ed asked, now looking at her.
Trisha gasped, not being able to talk. What Ed said had shocked her. She wasn't expecting that. Finally, she spoke.
"Well…yes…but…I had noticed he'd been acting strange the last few days he was here with us. But…Roy is different." Trisha said, trying to find the right words. Ed squeezed his eyes shut in thought, then re-opened them.
"Fine! If you like him so much, go marry him! But when he leaves and hurts us all, expect me to go around saying, 'I told you so!" Ed screamed and ran back to his room, slamming the door shut. He flopped down on his bed and cried. Outside Trisha was even more shocked that Ed yelled at her. Roy and Al came in at that point. They had heard the whole thing.
"Um…look…it seems like I am causing trouble…maybe I should go?" Roy asked, unsure of what to do.
"No…it's okay…I'll talk to him again…later," Trisha said, "When he's not mad at me." She had a sudden feeling like this was all her fault.
"Ugh! Brother!" Al was now officially mad at Ed for hurting their mom and in so he ran after Ed. A few minutes of silence passed quickly.
"So…if it's okay to know, what were you thinking of to make you lose concentration on pouring the kettle?" Roy asked, trying to not sound nosy.
"Huh? Oh…well, it's just that I remembered its Edward's birthday next week and I haven't really got him anything yet." Trisha said.
Roy thought for a moment when a thought struck his mind. He smiled to himself, then turned back to Trisha.
"You know," Roy started, getting an idea, "I could possibly help out."
"What?" Trisha asked, lost for a moment.
"How would you like me to take you guys to Central City for the week or so?" Roy offered. "It's not a bad place, and I could get you all quite a few different things. I do own a mansion like house."
Trisha thought about it a moment.
"Well, I'm sure Al will be delighted, but I just don't know about Ed," Trisha said. "I don't want to go if it'll make him unhappier then he already is."
Roy gave a small smile. "Just think about it okay? If you guys don't like it there, I can always give you a train ticket back. But you should try it. There are lots of shops."
"I'll go talk to them about it, okay?" Trisha said and stood up. Roy watched her walk to the boy's room and knock on the door.
"Boys, I'm coming in." Trisha called as a warning before opening the door. Al had backed up against the wall, nearly missing being hit by a book that Ed had throne.
"Edward! What have I told you about throwing things?" Trisha asked, scolding him.
"Go away!" Ed shouted. "Both of you!"
"Ed, hear me out," Trisha said gently, "Roy has offered us a vacation, and I'd love to take it. So just listen before you object to it, alright?"
"I'm listening, mom." Al said.
"I thought we could all go to Central with him for Ed's birthday," Trisha explained, "He said he would buy us all a few things…but I'd love to see Central. I've always wanted to go there; I heard it was a nice, big city place."
Al's eyes seemed to light up at this.
"What? Really?! Aunt Pinako was there, and she said it was a great place if you could survive the noise and all!" Al said excitedly.
"Yeah, what do you say, Ed? It sounds like a great idea, doesn't it?" Trisha asked Ed, looking towards him with a hope. Al too looked at Ed the same way. Ed opened his eyes and stared back at them.
"Please, brother! This could be our one and only chance!" Al begged.
"Oh fine! Just leave me alone, will you all?" Ed snapped. He was then tackled by both his mom and brother into a big warming hug.
"Thank you, Ed." Trisha said.
"You're the best, brother!" Al yelled happily, and then went to prance around the room in excitement.
"I know that was hard for you," Trisha said, "and it'll be harder to cope around Roy, but please…just try to get along while we're in public, okay?"
"I'll try…" Ed said, narrowing his eyes.
"Thanks." Trisha said, kissing Ed on his forehead before leaving to go tell Roy the news.
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Roy escorted Trisha carefully off the train followed closely by Ed and Al. The boys looked around gaping at the sights and sounds of Central's train station. Like their mother, this was their first time visiting Central, or even a city for that matter.
"It's so… big," said Trisha in amazement.
Roy smiled. "Yes. The city is quite different from the countryside."
"It's loud…" Ed complained while covering his ears.
"It's a city; it's supposed to be loud. Right Roy?" said Al.
"Yes, the city can be loud a lot," said Roy in agreement.
Roy, Trisha, and the boys walked through the train station. Both Ed and Al felt small in comparison with all the adults swarming through the train station. The Lt. Colonel watched as Trisha looked around the grand entrance of Central station. He felt a sense of, gratitude from the smile on her face.
"Lt. Colonel!" shouted a voice from outside the station.
Trisha and the boys turned to see who was calling for Roy and saw a blond haired man wearing military clothing and a cigarette in his mouth running toward them.
Roy looked and his expression changed from happiness to disappointment.
"Lt. Havoc…" was all he said.
The man named Havoc stopped, out of breath, in front of Roy.
"L-Lt. Colonel… where have you been?" he said gasping for breath. "Everyone's wondered where you went. I mean… you haven't reported back ever since you went on that lead you found."
"I was just… visiting the countryside while I was on it" Roy said, trying to make an excuse.
"Roy, who is this man?" asked Trisha.
Havoc looked at Trisha and his eyes lit up. "Oh, let me introduce myself."
He took Trisha's hand and put on his most daring expression.
"My name's Lt. Jean Havoc. Pleased to meet you miss," he said in charming voice.
"Hey let go of our mom!" yelled Ed running up to Havoc.
"Ed, please calm down." Trisha said looking down at her son.
"Hey there little boy…" said Havoc kneeling down next to Ed. "I'm not harming your mom or anything, I'm just saying hi."
"Who're calling little?!" yelled Ed.
"Lt. Havoc," said Roy in a stern voice.
Havoc stood up straight. "Yes sir?"
Roy gave a smirk. "You forgot to mention to them that you are my subordinate, meaning you follow my command, Lieutenant."
Havoc gave a weak laugh. "Eh… guess it slipped my mind."
"Anyway Havoc, these are just some… friends of mine. They came with me because they wanted to see Central," explained Roy.
"But isn't that against procedure sir?" said another voice, this time a woman's.
All of them turned to look at the woman, who also had blond hair and wore military clothing. Her hair was tied back and she stood with her arms crossed looking at Roy.
"Oh… Lt. Hawkeye…" said Roy half surprised, half in shock.
The woman named Hawkeye looked at Roy, then over at Trisha and the boys.
"Lt Colonel… you didn't get married while you away on assignment did you?" she asked, the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice.
"No, it's not what it looks like!" yelled Roy in defense.
Trisha blushed at the accusation and Roy did as well, though neither was sure why.
"These are just some friends of mine from the countryside…" Roy said.
"Yes, 'and they came with you to see Central'," replied Hawkeye, quoting Roy. "I heard you and Lt. Havoc talking, sir, but you do realize that violates procedure?"
"Um…" Roy said, trying to find an explanation," Well Lieutenant… I know it violates protocol, but they really wanted to see the city…"
"Um… Miss?" said Trisha towards Hawkeye, "Lt. Hawkeye was it?"
"Please, you can just call me 'Riza' ma'am," she said with a smile.
"Miss Riza, couldn't you please make an exception just this once. You see, it's my son's birthday today, and I just thought it would be nice to visit Central just for a few days," Trisha explained, in the best way she could.
Riza thought then gave a smile. "Well… I'm sure we could find a way to allow this, just this once."
"Thank you Lt. Hawkeye," said Roy.
"You're not out of this just yet Lt. Colonel.," said Riza turning her gaze toward him.
Roy backed down somewhat at the look in her eyes.
"Roy is this woman one of your subordinates as well?" asked Trisha.
He nodded slowly. "Y-Yes… she is…"
Trisha noticed to slight fear in his voice and wondered what the relationship was between Roy and Riza.
Ed and Al just watched the adults and wondered what was going on. Trisha saw their blank expressions and explained for them.
"Miss Hawkeye here has allowed us to stay here in Central for a while," Trisha said.
"I know what she said mom!" argued Ed," I'm not some dumb little kid!"
Trisha just gave a small smile. "Yes, I know Ed."
"Brother, why are you getting so snappy all the time?" asked Al.
Ed didn't answer but instead turned his head away while crossing his arms.
Trisha turned to Roy. "Roy, do you know where we can find a good place to stay at?"
Roy thought, but it was Riza who answered.
"There's a fine hotel not too far from here you can stay at Ma'am," she said.
"Yes, and you can tell them that I authorized an all expenses paid stay there," interjected Roy.
"Oh, why thank you, thank you both," said Trisha quite flattered.
"Havoc!" Roy yelled.
"Yes sir?" Havoc said standing next to his superior officer.
Roy looked at Havoc seriously. "You are to escort Miss Elric and her sons to the State Suite at the Grand Magistrate Hotel, understand?"
Havoc nodded, but Trisha interrupted.
"Excuse me, Roy, aren't you going to come with us?" she said.
"I would love to, but I have important matters to attend to," he said giving a faint-hearted smile. "However, I'll pay you a visit when I'm done, so rest up for now."
Trisha nodded and told Ed and Al to stay close to her as Havoc led them to a nearby car. Roy watched as the car drove away.
"Lt. Colonel," said Riza, breaking the silence.
"Right, let's head back Lieutenant," Roy said quickly, as if it were an expected response.
"That's not what I meant sir," Riza restated,"That woman, exactly what are your intentions with her?"
Roy was taken back by her question and wasn't sure how to answer. True, him and Trisha had become close friends in the short time they had been together, but was there something more?
He always noticed a strange feeling he'd get whenever he was near her, especially within arms reach. Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang wasn't blind, and had noticed that Trisha seemed to act the same way around him.
Could this mean something? And if so what?
"Lt. Colonel? Sir?"
He shook himself from his thoughts and thought up a quick answer with his usual wit.
"I don't have any intentions with her Lieutenant, I just thought it would be nice for her to bring her son here for his birthday," he said. It wasn't a complete lie, but then, why would he need to lie?
"Is that all sir?" said Riza, doubt in the tone of her voice.
"Yes, that's all Hawkeye, now let's go back to headquarters already," said Roy sounding slightly annoyed.
It was bad enough he knew he was going to get a stern reprimand from his superiors, but to be interrogated by one of his own officers… The day didn't seem to be going well for Roy so far.
'Maybe, just maybe the day would get better,' Roy thought.