The third chapter for this story. Hope you like it :)
A visit from chimeras and the strong arm alchemist
"EDWARD ELRIC!" cried the Major loudly as soon as Edward opened the door, his arms extended and ready to pull the shorter man into a hug.
With a nervous smile Edward greeted him. "Major Armstrong, uh, what a lovely surprise" he said, backing away slowly from the large man lest he managed to grab a hold of him. However, there was no escaping the Major, as he rushed forward and wrapped his burly arms around the younger man's chest, lifting him off his feet effortlessly as if he weighed no more than a feather. He squeezed his arms into an excruciatingly tight hug, making Edward wheeze.
"M-major! Please put me-"
"IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, EDWARD ELRIC!" the Major exclaimed, tears pouring profusely from his eyes. He refused to let go of the shorter man as he struggled to free himself from his unyielding grasp.
Every time Alex Louis Armstrong visited them, Edward was forced to go through the same routine. One wouldn't guess by just looking at the large, muscular man, but the Major was actually one of the most emotional people in the military. Or anywhere else for that matter. And apparently the man had no qualms whatsoever about physically expressing his exaggeratedly enthusiastic feelings.
Quite the same way he was doing right now, in fact.
No amount of thrashing about on Edward's part was successful in making the Major pull away, and the now thoroughly exhausted man was almost ready to give up, gasping severely for breath, when he finally felt his feet touching the floor again.
Rubbing the sore muscles on his arms and chest, he smiled weakly at the large man who was beaming down at him, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Good to see you too Major. Please, come in. Winry's at work right now, so it's just me and the-"
CRASH!
Edward whipped his head around at the loud noise that had come from inside the house.
"Oh no," he whispered fearfully. "Not again."
As the Major glanced at him questioningly, Edward ran inside, stopping short at the doorway to their bedroom, to find his two year old son jumping up and down on their queen-sized bed, the remains of their bedside lamp lying smashed on the hardwood floor.
"How did you manage to get out again? I was careful to secure you in that high-chair this time!" Edward cried, as his son started pulling at the duvet, bunching it in his tiny little fists.
"Ho ho ho" laughed Alex Armstrong from behind, having followed Edward inside their room at the commotion. "The little tyke is strong, just like his father!" he said with a satisfied grin, gazing lovingly at the boy who had now grabbed the pillows.
"No no, don't do it!" Edward exclaimed, lurching forward to seize the pillows from the toddler's hands, but it was already too late. With a loud rip, the pillows were torn apart and its soft goose-down went flying in the air, scattering around all of them in a shower of white feathers.
"Yaaaaaaay!" cheered the boy, clutching a handful of the falling feathers and throwing them at his father.
Edward caught them square in the face.
"Bleargh!" he cried, spitting out the feathers that had landed inside his mouth. Wiping his tongue to get rid of the remaining bits sticking inside, he launched himself on the bed, trying to grab his son by the arm.
"Play daddy! Play, play!" the little guy sang and scooted away, out of his father's reach. He was about to jump off the edge when the Major suddenly reached out from behind and caught him, lifting him up by his left ankle which he held in a tight grip.
"Wheeeee!" the boy screamed in glee as he dangled up-side-down, his arms waving joyously below his head. Armstrong laughed, slowly swinging the kid back and forth as Edward got up from where he had landed on the bed, and let out a loud sigh.
"Come here you little terror" he said, pulling the kid by his shirt. The Major righted the little boy and placed him in his father's outstretched arms.
"I can't even leave you for a second can I?" Edward huffed while his son started playing with his long pony-tail. "OUCH!" he exclaimed, at a particularly strong yank and the boy laughed delightedly at his daddy's pained expression.
Grabbing his son's pudgy little hands in his own, Edward tried to reason with the child. "Stop that, kiddo! Your little sister is asleep in the next room. If she wakes up and starts crying, it will take me ages to quiet her down!"
At that moment, the doorbell chimed suddenly, announcing someone's arrival.
"I'll get that" Armstrong offered as Edward tried shushing the over-excited boy. Leaving the father and son to their antics, the Major left the bedroom and marched up to the front door, crying, "Coming, coming" in his loud, booming voice.
Cracking the door open just a little, he peeked at the new visitors from behind it.
"Hello! Didn't think we'd be seeing you here as well, Major."
Darius and Heinkel, the two ex-soldiers of the Amestrian State Military, greeted the tall man from outside. They were both grinning, dressed in brightly colored shirts and khaki shorts, sunglasses resting on top of their heads.
"Hm? Have the two of you just returned from your latest tour across the country?" Major Armstrong asked, opening the door wide for the chimeras as they entered.
After the events of the promised day, the two of them had decided to throw away their past lives and start over. Having been transformed into chimeras a long time ago, they couldn't return to the normality that everyone else around them had been fortunate enough to get back to. So instead, they had made use of their special form and abilities as chimeras in doing something completely different from their former profession.
Along with Yoki—another ex military officer who had long been stripped of his ranks due to his fraudulent activities in the city of Youswell—they had made up their minds to join one of the city's largest circus groups.
It had been difficult in the beginning, having to leave everything behind, only to do something they weren't even sure was the right thing for them. Who would have thought they would be reduced to becoming circus freaks, after their years of military service? It was good that their families had no idea that they were still alive, since they would not have been able to wrap their heads around all this.
But as time passed, they began to enjoy their new lives as performers. Being part of a circus had its fair share of risk, but compared to what they had already been through, it seemed like cake-walk. Plus they got to show their true selves to the spectators, without worrying about not being accepted. In fact, after the first few shows, it had come to everyone's notice that these two were now the most popular performers in the circus, and their act gathered a larger crowd, wherever they went. They felt free in front of the thousands of people watching and cheering for them and the crowd especially loved it when Yoki entered the stage, right in the middle of their act, to provide some comic relief.
For the past few months, the circus crew had been busy touring the nation. Ever since their popularity increased with the introduction of the chimeras' act, they had had an overwhelming response from people all over.
Now with their latest trip having come to an end, they were finally back in Central for a much required vacation and Darius and Heinkel had taken the opportunity to visit their friends.
"Yes, we have a couple of weeks off, so we thought we'd take the train and come here to meet Edward and his family." Heinkel said in response to the Major's question, looking around the house curiously as he spoke. "So, where is the little pipsqueak anyway?"
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING SO SMALL THAT YOU CAN BURN HIM WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS LIKE AN ANT!?"
The outraged bellow made all three of them look up instantly.
Edward stood at the doorway, fuming, his son sitting on his shoulders and banging away on his head like a drum.
Darius and Heinkel backed away.
"Oh, come on now, he didn't even say that." Darius spoke quickly, trying to calm down the now enraged former alchemist. "Besides, you don't have to be so sensitive about it anymore. You've grown so much taller!"
Edward narrowed his eyes at his visitors. "Old habits are hard to break! Also, that is NOT a good excuse for calling me a PIPSQUEAK!"
WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
A loud wail erupted from the smaller bedroom inside, making Edward groan in dismay.
The ruckus had woken up the baby.
"Now look what you did!" Edward cried, quickly letting his son down from his shoulders. "It takes me hours to get her to sleep! You two had better know how to handle a baby because THAT'S what you're going to be doing now!"
The two chimeras looked at each other and let out a big sigh.
So much for their vacation.
However, they had barely taken a few steps towards the bedroom when Major Armstrong—who had been quietly watching the three men arguing all the while—stretched his arm in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.
"What- ?"
The strong arm alchemist, his eyes suddenly sparkling like diamonds, stood up straight. Before the other men could shout at him to stop, he was tearing off his shirt to reveal his large, sculpted physique. He struck a pose, with one arm raised straight ahead of him, as he flexed the muscles on the other. His remarkably bulging biceps almost quivered as he spoke loudly.
"EDWARD ELRIC! I shall take care of the baby! It will be as easy as walking in a park for a man with a body like mine!"
The men stared at the large man as he turned around to display his back muscles, which were just as impressive.
His eyes glued on Armstrong's body, Darius whispered, "What has his body got to do with taking care of a baby?" In return, the other two just shook their heads as the Major, not having heard the comment, continued to show off his muscles.
Edward finally spoke up, distracting the large man enough to stop him from flexing anymore. "Uh, okay Major. She's in the next room. I'll leave her in your care then."
Armstrong turned around and bowed formally before leaving the room to go in to check on the baby.
"He's really something, isn't he?" Heinkel said, settling down on the couch with a sigh. "I wonder if he realizes how awkward it is for the rest of us when he randomly takes his shirt off like that."
Edward nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, he can be pretty stra- W-wait a minute." He turned his head around everywhere, as if looking for something. "Where's my son?" he gasped, as his eyes darted all around the room. "He was right here. I put him down for just a minute…"
Darius made a sound, taking a seat beside his friend, as he admonished the younger man. "Wow, Edward. Some father you are. Can't even keep an eye on your own kid."
Edward came over to where the two of them were leaning back on the couch and slapped Darius around his head.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
"Just shut up and help me look for him, will ya?"
The two chimeras got up reluctantly and started pacing around the room, grumbling, "What are you getting so worked up about? He can't have gone outside, the door is locked still. As tiny as he is, he wouldn't have been able to reach the handle anyway."
Edward knelt down to peek under the coffee table. "He may be tiny, but when my son is up to his tricks he is more than just a handful." He said solemnly.
"Oh, sort of like his father then" Darius muttered under his breath, loud enough only for Heinkel to hear it.
After a minute of looking around the room and not finding the kid anywhere, Heinkel declared, "Well, he probably ran inside while we were still talking. Let's check the other rooms."
"Right" said Edward, after checking to see if the boy was hiding behind the curtains. "I'll go check our bedroom to see if he's there. He had been playing around there before you guys came. Or maybe he went into the baby's room. I'll ask the Major if he has seen him. You guys can go check the storeroom and the kitchen."
The other two nodded as Edward went inside.
"I'll take the kitchen; you look for him in the storage." Darius said to his friend and they both left the room, in search for the boy.
XXX
'Jeez, this place is full of all kinds of crap', Heinkel thought, as he pushed aside an assortment of loose automail parts. The Elrics' storeroom held all of Winry's discarded projects along with other unused household items, mostly piled away in large boxes.
This was unquestionably the kind of place kids would love to treat as their hideout.
"C'mon kid. Stop hiding. Your father's worried about you." Heinkel said out loud, walking over to some shelves and looking behind them.
An abrupt giggle broke out from behind a large box right at the corner of the room, alerting the man to the kid's whereabouts.
The chimera smiled to himself. 'Found you kid!'
"OH! I WONDER where the boy is!" Heinkel suddenly exclaimed—loud enough for the other two men to hear him from the adjacent rooms—as he inched in closer to the box. "I'm so WORRIED about him. What if he's LOST?!"
Another surreptitious giggle was heard.
"Oh well, LOOKS LIKE HE'S NOT HERE! I'll have to look for him SOMEWHERE ELSE!"
Heinkel slowly moved forward on his tiptoes.
Moments later Edward and Darius walked in. Darius seemed to have plundered the contents of the refrigerator while looking for the boy in the kitchen. He was munching on a fried chicken leg with one hand, while the other held on to a huge platter of Winry's delicious apple pie.
Heinkel glanced at them and brought a finger to his lips, gesturing them to stay quiet. Then he turned around and, very slowly, sneaked up to the large box.
"AHA! GOTCHA!" Heinkel cried loudly as he pulled the heavy box out of the way, revealing the boy hiding behind it.
The child let out a shriek of laughter on being caught suddenly and dashed out of his hiding place, clutching onto an old umbrella in his tiny hands. Before the chimera could stop him, he made his escape from under the man's legs that were spaced wide apart.
As he ran, the blunt end of the umbrella that he had been waving in the air, hit the poor man right at his most vulnerable place.
"AHHHH!" The older man screamed, as he sank onto the ground. The boy hollered with laughter —as only a little kid could—at seeing the man comically moaning in pain, and then sprinted away.
Edward rushed in to get a hold of his son.
"What is wrong with this kid? Is he high on sugar or something?!" Darius cried as he too darted forward to catch the boy at the exact same moment. He had fleetingly forgotten about the pie in his hands, and as the two of them leapt towards the child, they crashed into each other midway, the pie splattering all over Edward's shirt as they fell on the floor in a heap.
On seeing this, the child laughed even louder. Their house had never been as entertaining as it was today.
"Don't you just sit there you idiot, get him!" Edward cried angrily, throwing Darius off of him. The chimera struggled to his feet as he called out to the kid. "Come back here!"
Still hooting, the kid made to dart out of the room, but right at that moment a large figure entered the storage, his body looming over the boy.
With the baby cradled in his right arm, Major Armstrong bent down to pick the boy up by the back of his shirt.
"Off causing trouble again, eh little fella?" he chuckled as the boy was left dangling happily from his hand for the second time that day. He surveyed the three men in the storeroom. One, clutching between his legs as he still rolled around in pain, one lying on the ground—his shirt covered in pie—as he sighed in relief on seeing the Major holding on to the kid, and the third standing just a few feet away, looking dumbfounded.
"Ha ha! I knew that Edward Elric's boy would be just as wayward as his father" he said, his eyes twinkling down at the laughing kid.
XXX
When Winry came back from work, she was surprised to find the house so quiet. She called out to Edward, but no sound came.
She immediately went to check on the kids and found the Major sitting quietly in a chair, reading a book as he rocked the baby's cradle. Her husband and the two chimeras were sprawled across the bed, snoring loudly, with their son sleeping on Heinkel's back.
"Major? I didn't know you were coming today. What-What exactly happened here?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the sight before her.
"Oh, not much." Alex Armstrong replied cheerfully. "We had a nice time playing with your kids. Your son took turns, riding on the back of a gorilla and a lion. Then we had a splendid dinner, which I have to thank you for by the way. And now everyone's very tired and they've decided to spend the rest of the night right here."
Winry needed no further explaining. Grinning, she took out some extra blankets and pillows for the visitors while thanking the Major for taking care of her children.
After that she quickly excused herself, murmuring about wanting dinner, in case she burst out laughing right there and woke everyone up.
'If only I had been here today to witness everything that must have happened in the house', she thought as she walked into the kitchen to get something to eat. 'Sure would have made for some very interesting family pictures!'