Pairings: HughesxGracia. Armstrong and Gracia friendship.
Dedication: The Flaming Bitch Alchemist, a reviewer of my RoyxRiza a while back. I hope you enjoy this, and I'm sorry I had not yet done you a chapter if you were bored of waiting for it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Bishop
"Fou, huh?" Major Alex Louis Armstrong looked at the chess piece in front of him with a look of scrutiny upon his features. He looked at the indents upon the small figurine, wondering about the name that the French had supposedly given it. According to Havoc, anyway. He would not put it past him just to be trying to annoy him by saying he was like it.
He always thought the deep groove had been made to symbolise a mitre of a holy figure, such as an abbot or a bishop like it was said to be. But Havoc had gone and insisted it had different meanings in different continents all over the territory within their boundaries. Then had gone on to say what they had nicknamed the bishop in French. He heard the door click open, and looked up as he was distracted from his thoughts as to why Havoc had said he was like the bishop to begin with. He did not think he was.
"Louis, do you know where the desk of my husband is?" A small brown-haired woman poked her head through the door, a painful-looking smile seeming to be forced upon her features. He recongnised her at once. Grazia Hughes. She must be here to clean out his desk. Frowning in sympathy, he stood up and walked to the door with his footsteps echoing loudly. He had met her a few times before, and she was a kind woman. She did not deserve to have something like this happen to her. But bad things often happened to good people in the military. Infact, usually more than often.
"Mrs Hughes, please follow me." Opening the door for her, he let her step outside before shutting it firmly behind himself and directing her down the corridor. She shivered slightly at the cold as they entered the room, then her eyes seemed to drift upon a chess set in the corner of the room. They seemed to linger longer on certain pieces, but he said nothing.
"Maes never told me he could play chess." She said quietly, looking around the room. He felt a sudden stab of pity for her. He had seen so many widows walk the dark streets at night into this building, only to find some tiny things they felt they should not have missed about either their husbands or their wives. He hardly knew how to console them. It was difficult.
"He sometimes played with Colonel Mustang, but not very often." He said softly, not expecting much of a change in her tired and withdrawn mood. He had seen it so many times before. So many times. But it did not stop the terrible feeling it brought with it. Never.
A bright smile came upon her face, and she looked at him with such joy he could have sworn she really wanted to cry beneath it all. But infact, it truly seemed she did not. Her grin only brightened when he looked perplexed. It was like she had a new found joy, although he could not for the life of him understand why. It was infective, and he found himself grinning back. He just could not help it.
"It's strange how you never ask these little things. I should ask more." She beamed, looking at him. He had the strangest feeling about this woman. Sure, he was the strong arm alchemist. But she was something else.
He understood why Havoc had called the bishop a fou now when he had compared him to it. A fou was a fool in French, and he felt like it suddenly when talking to her. He had the strange feeling that they were going to become good friends as he helped her pack the stuff away, constantly telling jokes to cheer her up and pretty soon they found they had a good amount in common. Yes, Major Alex Louis Armstrong was certain after their conversation. They would become great friends.
Not to mention he was most certainly the bishop.
So...Armstrong. I like his character, so sentimental. I just love it. He deserves more love, much more. Not to mention his sister, although cold, is awesome. All reviews are loved and appriciated. Thank you to those who have reviewed so far, and thank you very much to all those who do in advance.