What's this? A timely update? Don't be absurd...

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

Roy knocked on the dark wood door of the apartment, the sound echoing down the corridor as his hand dropped back to his side. He heard the clink of a teacup and some footsteps before the door opened and Gracia was inviting him in. A pair of pale blue sandals and a pair of bulky black boots were already on the welcome mat. Roy kicked his own boots off and followed Gracia through into the lounge, where he saw Edward and Winry sitting on the couch. Edward had his left leg pulled up onto the couch and was curled over it; Winry was leaning against him with both of her knees pulled tight to her chest. They both looked up as he came in, but neither met Roy's gaze. He settled in the armchair opposite and frowned as he noticed Edward chewing on his lower lip again.

"These two need your opinion on something, and they need you to be honest," Gracia said. "Don't pull any punches." She headed into the kitchen and pulled cups out from the cupboards to begin making tea.

"We just don't know if we can do it," Edward murmured, shifting further back on the couch.

"It might help if I actually knew what this was about," Roy said. He was uneasy at how nervous they both seemed – it felt like there were eels in his gut, and his hands were getting twitchy. He flexed his fingers as he watched Edward try to speak several times.

"Something happened, and… We…"

"I'm pregnant," Winry whispered. Roy stared at her. "I'm pregnant, and we don't know if we're up to it."

The kettle began to rumble quietly as it built to a boil. Roy took a deep breath before he spoke. "I assume from your reactions that it wasn't on purpose. Would I be correct in thinking that?" He watched as they nodded and shifted around again. "Why don't you think you can do it?"

"Look at us." Winry glanced up at him with a bitter smile. "We're only twenty. We've both got big distractions with work, and neither of us had parents for very long so we've got nothing to go on there. It'll be a disaster…"

Edward moved slightly so his hand was pressing against Winry's leg. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, clearing her throat at the same time. Roy sat back and watched them for a minute while he processed everything and considered what Winry had said. He listened to Gracia bustling about in the kitchen, opening and closing the fridge as she put milk in the teas, and the soft clink of the spoon as she stirred them.

"Does Alphonse know?" he asked.

"Yeah," Edward said. "But 'You can do it, Brother!' really isn't as helpful as you'd think. And we know you're not one to sugar-coat stuff, so…"

"If you're worried about messing up in the first couple of months, of course you will." He paused as Edward and Winry glanced at each other and then over to Roy. "Everyone does. The amount of times Maes called me after a screw-up when Elysia was really little was unbelievable."

"And you didn't even hear about half of them," Gracia added as she set fresh cups of tea in front of everyone. She managed to get them all on the table without spilling any of them. There was a colouring book on the arm of the spare chair; she picked it up and tucked it away on the small shelf beneath the table.

"True. It won't go smoothly at all, but both of you seem to cope fine when things go wrong normally."

"Not when there's a kid involved." Edward sank down lower on the sofa. "We don't have any experience with anything like this."

"Most people don't before the kids start arriving," Gracia smiled as she sat on the other armchair. "Winry, do you remember when you were looking after Elysia and she broke her arm?" She paused and Winry nodded with a cringe. "You made sure it was supported, took her straight to the hospital and kept her distracted from the pain until we arrived. You reacted perfectly, it's why we kept asking you to watch her whenever you were in Central."

"That was just the one time, though," Winry said. "This is going to be all day, every day, and it's all going to be on us."

"Edward, you spent four years looking after your brother through an insane amount of danger. And Al's told me before how you took care of him after Hohenheim left." Roy sipped his tea before wincing and putting it back down. His lips tingled from the heat.

"He's only a year younger than me, though," Edward said.

"So? That didn't stop you doing your damnedest to protect him. Hell, even the homunculi knew you'd go nuts if they touched him."

"It's not the same thing."

"How isn't it? You've both proven yourselves to be responsible and resourceful on multiple occasions, and you're both more than capable of keeping calm when everything goes to hell. To be honest, out of all my subordinates, I think you're the best equipped to handle having a child."

Edward froze then looked slowly over to Roy. The General met his gaze and held it until the blonde spoke. "What about Hawkeye?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Are you nuts? She'd shoot the kid the first time it drew on a wall."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Edward's face as he reached for his tea and blew on it before taking a sip. Winry had relaxed her grip on her legs and was gazing down at her own cup. Edward passed it to her as he leant back and took another sip from his tea.

"How the hell did you get him so well trained?" Roy asked. "He won't even listen to me when I tell him to not slam doors."

"It's a skill," Winry said, ignoring the offended look on Edward's face. "So you really think we'll be alright?"

"Of course. You'll have to give up a lot of things, but if there's anything you're struggling with you have plenty of people nearby who would be more than willing to help."

"I'd have to hire someone to work in the automail shop. And Ed would have to switch jobs."

"I'd be more than happy to make a desk job available." He turned to Edward. "There would still be some travel involved, but nothing like what you have been doing. Just let me know what you decide."

Edward nodded as Roy gulped down his tea in one go. He could feel the warm liquid sliding down to his stomach, and nodded his thanks to Gracia.

"Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have an appointment in fifteen minutes I need to prepare for."

"Date with Hawkeye?" Edward asked. Roy gaped at him.

"Don't act so surprised, Roy, you're about as subtle as these two were," Gracia said.

"Hey!"

"What? Literally everyone else could see it. The only difference is you two didn't have to wait for that stupid fraternisation rule to be abolished."

Roy cleared his throat. "With that in mind, I'll be leaving. Let me know what you decide."

"Will do," Edward said. Next to him, Winry gave a joking salute.

After Roy had shoved his boots back on and left the apartment, he could hear discussion start back up inside. As he headed down the corridor, he heard Gracia mention that she had said almost the exact same things Roy had. He reached the stairs and the voices became too muffled for him to understand.

(-)

When he arrived back at his house, Riza was waiting outside for him. He bounded up the steps, handed her the rose he had bought on the way and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're very cheerful this evening," she said as he unlocked the door. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," he said, smiling. "I just know who won the bet."

Oooooh, mystery... Do you think this chapter worked? Do you reckon they stayed in character enough, or did they go a bit out?

I'll be aiming for updates at least every other week, every week if I can manage it. It won't be a huge fic, at any rate, so I shouldn't get bored and abandon it like I have some others. And if anyone has any ideas for parental!RoyEd situations I could use for Got Your Back, I'd love to hear them.

- Puddy