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"2nd Lt. Jean Havoc, 2nd Lt. Heymans Breda, Major FullMetal Edward Elric. Please take a seat." Roy instructed the three in his office. They all did as told, tension already building.
"I've called you all here today to discuss something which has recently come to my attention." he sighed.
"Listen. I know you two have been picking on Edward. Care to tell me why?" Roy spoke more casually. Breda's eye twitched and Havoc lit a cigarette. Roy raised his eyebrow.
"No?"
"You're too soft on him, Boss. He's a brat." Havoc grunted.
"Thank you, Lt. Any specific examples?"
"For one thing, we know your house got flooded and that he had something to do with it." Havoc nodded his head at Ed who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Alright..." Roy sighed. "Breda? You're the one I caught smacking him upside the head."
"Well...Just because he's a kid doesn't mean he can just sulk and scream every time he doesn't like an order given to him by a superior officer." Breda growled lightly. Ed looked embarrassed, keeping his head down.
"Anything to say for yourself, FullMetal?" Roy asked.
"Just because he outranks me doesn't mean he's allowed to insult me when I report..." Ed mumbled. He knew what Breda was talking about.
"Give me a break. We've all been called names twenty times worse than anything the colonel's ever called you. All he ever does is call you short, and half the time it's by accident, Pipsqueak." Breda snapped. Ed's eye twitched and he shot to his feet.
"EDWARD! HEYMANS!" Roy barked, halting Ed's threatening advance. "No fighting! Sit down!"
Ed slumped back down.
"See, Sir? He's a violent brat." Havoc commented.
"He called me short." Ed growled.
"Deal with it." Breda retorted. Roy saw an evil glint come into Ed's eye.
"Hey, wait a minute. I outrank you. So I can order you never to call me short or any of its synonyms ever again, got it?"
Breda's eye twitched and he looked at Roy.
"Colonel--" It was a warning that if Roy didn't do smething, it was going to get violent.
"Ed-...OK-..." Roy sighed.
"Ed go hang out in the library for a bit, alright? I'll come and get you."
Ed snorted and left.
"OK you two. Let's hear the truth. You're angrier that I let him get away wtih crap that the fact that he's a brat, is that right?"
They nodded.
"Well, even if it's not a great one, I do have a reason. I'm not sure you realized this, but I've been pretending to have adopted Ed so the higher-ups wouldn't worry about him too much. Bu the thing is-" Roy blushed a bit. "I'm really getting a lot closer to him. He's a real idiot sometimes, but he can also be very...I'm not sure. But even if I am getting close to him, I'm not going to let him get away with everything OK? And yes, he did flood my house when we came back from Rush Valley, but he was so guilty later he cried. He's not nearly as thick as he acts."
Havoc and Breda were staring at eachother, mild surprise showing on their faces.
"So I would ask that you either try to understand he's not as bad as he seems, or ignore him. Just stop smacking him upside the head because believe me, he gets upset about it."
"Can you prove it?" Havoc asked openly.
"Prove that he gets upset easily?" Roy was surprised at the question.
"Something like that. It's not that I don't believe you, but...Well I guess I just can't see him getting upset over a whack on the head."
"Well..." Roy thought for a moment. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" Roy's tone told Havoc thiat his suggestion was really an order. Jean stood.
"I'll give it a try, Boss." He strode out of the room.
Ed heard the clomp of military boots enter the library, and hastily reshelved the book he was holding.
"Roy?" He went toward the sound, surprised to find Havoc at its source.
"Boss said I should come talk to you myself. He said to ask whether you really care when I give you a whack."
Ed froze in midstep, caught off-guard by such a direct inquiry.
"It's a yes or no question." Jean reminded him.
"Y-yeah. I-...don't like it when you guys are made at me." He choked out before trying to retreat back into the maze of books behind him.
"Hey, hey. Don't run away." Said in a comforting tone, the words effectively halted the young alchemist.
"Here I thought there was no getting through that thick skull of yours, and then the colonel tells me you get upset about stuff like that."
Ed barely nodded.
"S-sorry." he choked out.
"What for?" Havoc inquired. Ed's voice regained its hard edge as he replied.
"Don't know. You're always mad at me."
Havoc shook his head. "No. You can just be a real brat sometimes, you know?"
Ed nodded his head. "Sorry."
"Ah, forget about it. To be honest, I was more confused about why the colonel didn't seem to mind you being a brat."
Ed looked up, meeting Jean's eyes.
"So." The taller man ploppled down into one of the library chairs.
"Does Roy make a good father?" He asked. Ed grinned.
"I guess so."
Havoc noticed the playfulness dancing across Ed's face and responded wtih a jest.
"What's your bedtime now?"
Ed took a playful swipe at him and Jean surprised him by catching it and turning his fist aside.
"I don't have one." Ed grinned, backing up to kick at the lieutenant. Jean grabbed his foot, holding him in his precariously balanced position.
"I thought I said no fighting." Roy and Breda stepped in the doorway, watching Ed flail to keep from falling over.
"He started it." Havoc whined playfully. Ed hopped backward and Havoc let go of his foot.
"I did not." he whined back.
"Did too." Jean was asking for it.
"Did not!"
"Enough, enough. No yelling in the library." Roy scolded, equally as playful as the two blonds.
"Tell it to the brat." Jean grabbed the back of Ed's head, his hand covering most of it. Ed stumbled forward at the rouch contact, grinning with wide golden eyes.
"If you're going to roughouse, you three can take it outside." Roy told them.
Breda shrugged, demonstrating willingness. Ed looked up, Havoc's hand still pushing his head down.
"C'mon. I'll take you both on." Jean grinned and the mischevious trio marched off down the hallway as Roy watched.
"He really isn't thick at all..."
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