Surprise
"Who do you think?" the question was loaded with possibilities, but there was only one answer that anyone wanted to know was the one they didn't know. Havoc was the one posing it this time, as he sat in the mess hall with four others.
"Well?" Jean demanded, his voice cracking as he asked the question. A momentary silence echoed across the mess hall as every man and woman present stopped speaking momentarily, looking over at the gathering men, all of whom were a different rank, the highest being a Colonel.
"It's up to them, not us. And you know how the Major will react if we demanded an answer," Fuery commented, ignoring the rolling eyes, "I mean, it's not like we can force them to choose!"
"Perhaps, but it is still unfair of them to keep all present guessing and waiting," Armstrong sounded on the verge of tears as he said this, causing his companions to scoot away from him.
"It's just like the General though, he's probably getting some sadistic joy from this," Breda spat, tapping the edge of his tray with his fork.
Seated at the end of the table, Falman gauged his companions' emotions, wondering what he should say. It was no secret, the pool he'd set up the day that Riza had announced her pregnancy, but it was still a touchy topic. All of the men seated with him had demanded to know who was winning at one time or another. He'd managed not to reveal the stats before, but now he wondered if it wouldn't be a good idea to tell them.
"Vato, who's winning in the pool?" Havoc asked suddenly as though he'd read Falman's thoughts.
"Yeah, come on and tell us already! Maybe it'll give us a hint," Breda piped up, looking at Falman pointedly.
All of them were looking at Falman now. He considered his next move carefully, regardless of their reaction to the answer, he'd still have to watch out for the General's response.
"…45 percent say Edward Elric," Falman began, but was instantly interrupted.
"What?" all four men shouted, causing the mess hall to silence once more. There had never been a though for the former Fullmetal. Since he'd left the military and lost his alchemic ability, he'd been considered out of the running for this coveted role.
"20 percent say Colonel Armstrong," Falman continued, unfazed by the interruption, he'd been expecting it, "15 percent say Fuery, 13 percent say myself, 5 percent say Breda, and 2 percent say Havoc."
The latter drew himself up and glared at Falman, his mouth agape, the cigarette dangling dangerously from his lower lip. That was when Breda guffawed and was soon joined by all the others, except for Falman, who began eating his less than appetizing lunch.
"Shut it Heymans! You're only 3 percent higher than me!" Havoc barked, standing up with vehemence and stalking away from the table.
Breda promptly sobered, glanced around the table and stood to follow his comrade. After a moment of looking from one another, all the other joined them, including Falman.
"All right, enough is enough!" the shout echoed through the plush office as the door was thrown open, leaving a dent in the wall behind it.
Roy glanced up from the file he had been perusing to see a, rather, angry 1st Lieutenant Jean Havoc marching into his office. Before responding to the man, he returned to looking through the mission file before him.
"Something wrong 1st Lieutenant?" Roy queried with little interest. Years of dealing with Edward had taught him much when it came to such bursts of anger.
"You bet there's something wrong!" this response made Roy look up once more, startled by the voice. Behind Havoc stood an equally angered Heymans Breda.
Looking beyond the larger man, Roy's eyes widened at the sight of Armstrong, Falman, and, a very nervous looking, Fuery. Sighing, Roy leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together, setting them into his lap and considering his subordinates for a moment.
"What is this all about?" Roy demanded, his voice even and cool as he gazed at the men gathered in his office.
"You know what it's about! You've been dragging it out for the last four months you sadistic…" Havoc growled, stopping as Roy held up a hand to forestall the name calling.
"Obviously I don't, if I have to ask you," Roy stated calmly, watching as Riza walked into the office, the newest stack of paperwork held protectively in her arms. She looked at the gathering curiously before glancing at him with one eyebrow raised questioningly.
Roy shook his head slightly, hoping the others hadn't noticed the movement before turning his attention back to the group of irate men. Gauging their emotional standing, he decided to ask the least emotional of them the question, avoiding Havoc's tirade for the moment.
"Falman, what is going on here?" Roy looked at the older man calmly, pointedly ignoring the shocked look on Havoc's face.
"Sir, it would seem that the men wish to know who will be Mae's godfather," Falman responded emotionlessly, as though reciting a fact from a book.
A smirk graced Roy's lips as he regarded his men. This had been an ongoing battle ever since Riza's announcement, three months into her pregnancy. She'd informed them of the fact that she was pregnant so that there wouldn't be any uncomfortable questions later on, but hadn't considered the fact that every man they knew would be clamoring for the open position of godfather. At least there hadn't been any drawn out fights over godmother; Gracia Hughes had been the obvious choice for that particular honor. However, with Maes gone, godfather wasn't so easy.
"So, that's what the newest pool is about," Roy's smirk grew as the men regarded him with open hatred. He could almost hear their thoughts, "I don't know… do we really want any of you as her godfather?"
All five men gaped at this, the silence was thick enough to cut with a knife as they all regarded him with identical expressions. They were a mixture of shock, annoyance, and disbelief. Every one of these men had been his supporters as he sought the removal of their former Fuhrer, his most trusted subordinates. He had fought at the side of these men, grieved with them, defended them, and helped them through various tragedies. And now, he was telling them that he may not trust them enough to be his only child's godfather. While he understood their feelings, he didn't feel particularly sorry for them. In fact, he was having quite a bit of fun at their expense.
"Sir, please stop baiting them and simply tell them our decision," Riza scowled, setting the files down on his desk, nearly toppling the 'NOW' pile, which was already twice as tall as the 'Finished' pile.
"You've already decided? Boss! WHEN?" Havoc was, quite nearly, falling over the back of the couch before Roy's desk.
"A few days ago, but we wanted to tell him when we felt the time was right," Riza responded for Roy, ignoring the smirk and glint in his dark eyes as he regarded the men before him.
"Well, who is it?" Havoc, Breda, and even Armstrong demanded. Fuery looked curious and frightened at the same time while Falman simply stood back, his arms crossed as he regarded the scene before him.
Before Roy could respond, there was a light knocking at the door. Looking beyond the five men before him, Roy smiled and beckoned the newcomer into the room.
Five sets of eyes swiveled to the blonde who walked in, his long brown jacket billowing out behind him as he moved past them. He regarded them curiously before turning his attention to Roy, nodding in Riza's direction.
"You wanted to speak with me, sir?" Alphonse Elric had never stopped being polite and ever respectful.
"Alphonse, welcome back," Roy smiled at the young man, a smile that had the men behind him shaking.
It wasn't good when Roy smiled, a smiling Roy meant trouble. Smirking was much more his standard. Every one of the men shared the same look, Alphonse wasn't military, never was, so what use could Roy have for him?
"Have a seat Alphonse," Riza indicated the couch, sending a silent command to Havoc who quickly stood up straight and allowed the young man to sit.
"We had hoped to speak to you in private, before announcing this to the whole command center, but obviously we're not going to get that chance," Roy glared at the men surrounding the couch before continuing on, "Al, as you know, we've been trying to decide something rather important since before Mae was born."
"Brother told me something about it, he seemed to think it was rather stupid… I don't agree with that assessment, but you know my brother," Al commented, thinking he knew now why Havoc and the others were present.
Smirking Roy considered what that conversation must have been like and doubted Ed had simply said it was 'stupid', he was pretty sure there had been some nasty names involved in the conversation, but Al was far too polite to repeat them, "Yes, well, ignoring your brother's opinion of things, I… that is, we, were hoping you'd consider being Mae's godfather."
At this, Roy took Riza's hand into his own while five groans filled the office. Roy thought he heard a muttered 'bastard' from Havoc's direction while Armstrong looked like he was going to burst into tears or hug Alphonse at any moment, and Breda's face changed shades from white to red back to white. Fuery's mouth merely dropped open and Falman's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Of course I will be!" Al's response was far faster than Roy or Riza had expected it, but, with five men standing behind you, ready to remove your head from your shoulders should you delay their answers, it was most likely wise to respond quickly.
"Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong pulled Al into a tight bear hug and to the horror of all present, the smaller man began to turn red in the face as the air was forced from his lungs and he began gasping for air.
"Col…Colonel! I…can't…breathe!" Al managed to stutter, breathing deeply as Armstrong set him back down and patted his head, as if he was still a child.
Once Havoc and the others had left the office, after a round of back clapping and congratulations (some of which were forced), Roy and Riza turned to Alphonse who was red in the face and trying not to giggle out of embarrassment.
"Sorry about that, Alphonse," Riza apologized, glaring at Roy as he tried not to laugh.
"It's alright Major, but, why me?" Al asked, regaining some of his earlier composure.
Roy shrugged, "No special reason, Al. You just seemed the logical choice, considering what we had to work with."
"You do realize that the pool said that Brother would win," Al smiled at them both, startled.
"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that you knew about that," Roy commented, smiling back, considering how quiet and sneaky Al could be when he wanted to be.
Al simply smirked, looking more like his brother than he had a right to, before standing up and heading for the door. Once at the door, he turned back and waved to Riza, bowed to Roy, and left.
Roy and Riza exchanged looks before grinning at one another and returning to their work.