Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter Thirty-Two - A Gift From Kaori

It had been a couple of weeks since Nick had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and after the fuss that Nick had made over wearing the military uniform Kaori had decided to make something for him. It took her the better part of a week to finish the gift and once she had, she made her way to the Hughes' residence. Once she arrived at the large house that Nick occasionally called home she knocked lightly on the door.

A few moments passed and then the door slowly opened. "Hello Kaori," Elicia said cheerfully.

"Hi Elicia," Kaori said, in the same cheerful tone. "Is Nick here by any chance?" She held up the box that she was carrying. "I have something that I'd like to give him."

Elicia nodded. "Yea. He's up in his room, doing research, I think. You can go up and see him if you like."

"Thank you Elicia," Kaori said, stepping into the foyer of the Hughes' house.

"You're welcome," Elicia said as she closed the door.

Kaori made her way up the stairs and down the hall to the room that she knew belonged to Nick. Once there she knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," a soft voice called out.

Kaori opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Hey," Nick called out as he glanced up and saw Kaori walking into the room. "What are you up to?"

Kaori walked across the room and sat down on the edge of Nick's bed. "Well I felt bad about the way things were for you at your promotion ceremony because I made you wear that uniform so I made you a present to make up for it."

"A present?" Nick said, casting a curious glance at the box that Kaori had placed on the bed beside her. "For me?"

"Yes," Kaori said, with a smile. She picked up the box and offered it to Nick.

Nick took the box from her and slowly untied the red ribbon that she had tied around the box. Once the ribbon had been removed Nick lifted the lid of the box and pulled out a jacket. It was made in exactly the same style as the military's everyday uniform but instead of the royal blue with silver trim that the military uniforms came in this jacket was red, trimmed in black. And when Nick turned it around to look at it he saw that it had his sensei's symbol embroidered on the back, in black.

A smirk appeared on Nick's face.

"That's not all," Kaori said.

Nick glanced back down at the box and saw that something else made of red fabric had been under the jacket. He picked it up and found a pair of red pants and a set of red tails trimmed in black. Kaori had made him a new uniform, this one much more suited to his style.

"Thanks Kaori," Nick said. "Now this uniform I might actually wear."

"I thought you'd like it," Kaori said, with a smile. "It goes great with your rebellious streak."

Nick nodded. "I can't wait to wear it and see the looks on their faces."

And as he spoke a smile spread across Nick's face as he imagined the reactions of the military officers when they saw the uniform that Kaori had made for him. Yea, it would be great.

"Well then," Kaori said. "Why don't you put it on and the two of us can pay a visit to Central."

"You know, that's not actually a bad idea. Can you give me a minute?"

Nodding, Kaori stood up and walked out of the room.

A few minutes later Nick emerged, now dressed in his one of a kind uniform. Kaori smiled at the picture he made standing in the hall in the red and black uniform that she had made for him. It really did suit him better than the blue.

"Come on Nick," Kaori said with a smile. "Let's go and have some fun."

Nick nodded and, acting completely out of character, he offered his arm to Kaori. She placed her hand upon his proffered arm, a soft smile lighting up her face, and with that the two of them descended the stairs.

Elicia was in the den and Nick and Kaori went in to tell her goodbye before they left.

"Elicia, I'm leaving," Nick said, as he and Kaori entered the room.

"Okay," Elicia said, turning to face the two kids. "Be care. . ."

Elicia stopped mid sentence as her gaze fell upon Nick. "What in the world are you wearing?"

Nick grinned. "Do you like my new uniform?"

"Fuhrer Mustang's gonna flip when he sees you in that," Elicia said. Then she thought about what she'd just said, and who she'd just said it to. "But that's probably your goal isn't it?"

"More or less," Nick said, still grinning. "But I didn't come up with this ingenious plan to annoy Mustang. It was all Kaori's doing."

Elicia's gaze moved from Nick over to the Fuhrer's daughter. "What brought that on?"

"What?" Kaori said, feigning innocence. "It suits him."

Elicia shook her head. "You two really are a pair of trouble makers."

Nick nodded, not even bothering to deny the accusation. "I'll be back sometime later tonight."

"Okay," Elicia said, thinking to herself that his return would depend on whether or not he managed to get himself court-martialed while he and Kaori were out.

Nick and Kaori soon arrived in Central, still arm in arm, and it wasn't long before they ran into someone they knew. The two teens were walking down the hall when they bumped into Nick's occasional bodyguard, Lt. Griffon.

Lt. Griffon started to offer a greeting to the two teens but stopped short when he got close enough to notice what Nick was wearing. "Nicholas, what the hell is up with that outfit?"

"I'm thinking of starting my own army," Nick said with a smirk. "Wanna join?"

Lt. Griffon shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the boy. "I'm pretty sure that would be considered treason if Fuhrer Mustang heard you."

"I'm pretty sure I don't care," Nick said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Of course you don't," Lt. Griffon said. "I don't know what on earth made me think that you would. You'd think after all the time I've spent with you that I'd know better."

"You'd think that," Nick said. "But you never seem to learn."

"I'll work on that," Lt. Griffon said good naturedly. "Well good luck building your private army Fullmetal. I'm going to leave now before I become an accessory to the fact.

"Aww," Nick said as the lieutenant continued down the hall. "You're no fun."

"I know," Lt. Griffon called out over his shoulder, continuing down the hall. "For some strange reason people tell me that all the time."

"I can't believe he didn't want to join my army," Nick said. "Oh well," he said with a shrug as he watched Lt. Griffon's hasty retreat. "His loss. Let's go and see if we can recruit anyone."

Kaori smiled.

Nick led the way down the hall and then came to a stop in front of Col. Havoc's office.

"Nick," Kaori said, a note of warning in her voice.

"Oh come on," Nick said with a smirk. "It'll be fun."

"Fine," Kaori said, shaking her head. "If you must."

Nick's grin widened and he knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Nick quickly opened the door and he and Kaori walked into the office.

Col. Havoc was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork, when the two teens entered the room and he stopped and looked up as they approached. His eyes widened as his gaze fell upon Nick. "What the hell are you wearing Fullmetal?"

"It's my new uniform," Nick said. "I'm fed up with the State Military so I've decided to start my own. You wanna join?"

Nick had fully expected the colonel to immediately refuse his offer, just as the lieutenant had, however Havoc surprised him when he paused, a serious expression on his face as though he was seriously considering the boy's offer.

"Maybe," Col. Havoc said finally.

"COLONEL!" Kaori exclaimed.

"What?" Col. Havoc said, an innocent expression on his face. "I've grown attached to my life of luxury and if the kid's hell bent on overturning society then I may as well go along with it. If I don't then I might have to actually do some work."

"This is great," Nick said. "Now I've got support."

Kaori shook her head as her gaze moved from Nick to the colonel. The two of them were impossible and it seemed to her that they both wanted to be court-martialed. And Nick was well on his way toward meeting that goal.

A/N - it's a filler chapter but I enjoyed writing it. I really like Kaori. And as for the red and black military uniform I actually did it as a cosplay and shockingly enough people really seemed to like it. They seemed to like the thoughts of Fullmetal having his own army. Anyway, hope that you enjoyed.