I got a lot of great responses to this story, so I'm really excited to keep continuing it! It's okay if you haven't seen the movie-I'm just borrowing ideas and scenes from it and mixing them into the FMA universe. Also, if you're looking for more RoyAi action, check out my other story, The Burning Queen. Thanks again! Enjoy!
Edward thought that the classroom was too bright. The big window was open to let in the late summer air, which also let in the sunlight, and the sunlight crashed against the painted yellow walls. Arts and crafts littered the room, and there were almost no blank spaces. And, the young boy thought, the art really wasn't very good. Of course, he wasn't exactly artistically gifted so he couldn't do much better, but he also figured he'd never want it displayed like that.
The room was a typical elementary classroom, with the desks pushed together in five groups of four, and a large plush, rainbow rug underneath. There was a chalkboard that covered the wall by the teacher's desk, a reading corner with two bookshelves full of books, and posters with things like the table of elements and classroom rules on them around the room.
The other kids milled around and talked to each other, as they'd known each other for nearly their whole lives. Most of the kids lived close to the center of town and had also been going to the school for a few years. Edward and Alphonse sat in the back of the room, flipping through some children's books they picked up in the reading corner.
"Look, brother," Alphonse smiled as he picked up a thin square book with a colorful picture of a young girl on it. "The Little Alchemist. We haven't read this one."
"Finally, a decent book!" Edward snatched it out of his brother's hands and started to flip through it. With every passed page, his frown grew deeper. "Ugh, Al, this is shit. Look, this kid makes a puppy out of thin air. That's not even how Alchemy works! Who wrote this? I'm going to write a letter and complain!"
"It might just be a children's book, Edward," Alphonse said shyly, not wanting his brother to get all worked up.
"It's still irresponsible to teach kids you can create puppies out of nowhere. Where are the laws? The theories? The basic principles?" Edward threw the book onto the ground. "Besides, this is all kid's stuff anyway. Where's a real library?"
"We get our books from the library in town. I apologize if they're not to your liking."
The boys jumped and turned around to see Miss Hawkeye standing over them. She'd likely been there for a while, watching the boys go back and forth with an amused look on her face. She knew the minute she walked in and saw them sitting in the dark corner by themselves, they'd be her biggest handful.
"Is there anything other than children's books around here?" Edward asked, raising his eyebrow. He tried to present himself as being much more mature than he was, as though children's books were absolutely beneath him. Then again, at home, he and Al were reading texts that even some college students wouldn't be able to touch.
"Seeing as this is a children's school and you two are children yourselves, no, we usually just borrow from the children's section." Riza smiled back, attempting to not show her annoyance. "What kinds of books are you looking for?"
"Alch-" Edward started, but Alphonse elbowed him in the ribs. "Uh, anything else," he corrected himself. "We stopped reading kids books a long time ago."
Riza was suspicious of what Edward was originally going to say but decided not to press it. "I'll see if I can find anything for you two, then," she said. She was used to advanced readers. She'd never had many in her classes, as she tended to travel around to poorer areas to teach, but the few she'd had made her realize the need for more challenging materials. Perhaps there were some high school books she could grab for them. She made a note to talk to their uncle later, so she would have a better understanding of what might interest them and keep their attention. Besides, she figured, a child was better off reading ahead than being entirely bored with school. "For now, class is starting. Come on."
The boys slunk over to their table which they shared with two girls, one with blonde hair and one with black hair. The blonde haired girl, Winry, the name tag said, was obviously from town, but the black haired girl, Mei looked to be an immigrant from a different country. They smiled at the boys and said hi, and Alphonse reciprocated the greeting, but Edward remained silent. Winry opened her mouth to ask why Edward wasn't being friendly because it was clearly written on the classroom rules poster that being friendly was mandatory, but the Miss Hawkeye was starting class.
For the boys, the day was boring. The kids went around the room and introduced themselves, which Edward thought was stupid. Then, they did arts and crafts, which was also stupid, and they did story time which, again, was stupid. Edward wanted nothing more than to go home and bury himself in some real books and learn more about Alchemy. But here he was, stuck reading some book about a girl who gets eaten by a wolf. Yawn.
And then, finally, science class. It wasn't quite alchemy, but they were learning about chemical compounds and make-ups. When they received a sheet explaining the chemical makeup water, though, the boys exchanged a glance. Water? Really? And apparently, they were going to spend a whole week on just this one property! Miss Hawkeye wanted to go through everything so slowly, and Edward didn't think he could stand it.
"Miss Hawkeye!" Edward raised his hand and stood up. The woman stopped mid sentence and looked at him.
"Edward, you know you must raise your hand quietly and wait to be called on," she scolded lightly. It was still the first day, after all, and didn't want the kids to become afraid of her, so she wasn't going to just punish immediately. But, she also wanted to have some order in her classroom.
"I'm sorry Miss Hawkeye, but there has to be a mistake. We're not really spending a whole week on water, are we? Everyone knows about water! Two hydrogens and an oxygen. There. Done."
Riza looked surprised. "Well, we are going to go through each element one by one and discuss its atomic symbol, number, mass, melting and boiling points, and-"
Edward cut her off with a sigh. "Hydrogen, atomic number one, symbol is H."
"Yes, but there's more to learn about it." Riza was getting irritated.
"Atomic mass is 1.00794. Melting point is negative 259.14 degrees Celsius. The boiling point is negative 252.87 degrees Celsius. It was one Proton and no Neutrons. It's also the lightest element. Can we move on now?"
"Brother, you forgot that it's a colorless non-metal," Alphonse chimed in. "You always forget that." Edward just rolled his eyes and looked over at Riza, who was staring at him with shock. She then regrouped herself and narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, well not everyone knows this. And then we'll learn more about chemical makeups and how different elements form chemicals. Do you know all of that?" The class looked at Edward and the teacher in awe. "What about the chemical makeup of Acetylene?"
"Two carbons and two hydrogens," Edward responded immediately.
"Okay, what about acetonitrile?"
"Two carbons, three hydrogens, and a nitrogen." Alphonse chimed in.
That's it, she had to get control of the class back. "How about amoxicillin?"
The boys paused for a moment and after a beat, she turned to her desk. "See? We don't all know everything." She turned back to the class and pointed to the worksheet. "Anyway, as you can see on your sheet, the chemical makeup of water is-"
"Sixteen carbon, nineteen hydrogens, three nitrogen, five oxygen, and…" Edward closed his eyes, then opened them again. "A sulfur."
"And it's average mass is 365.404," Alphonse added.
Miss Hawkeye looked at the boys, her eyes wide with shock. No, that couldn't be right, they were just daring her not to look it up. She set her sheet on her desk and grabbed another chart. She flipped through two pages and landed on the part about Amoxicillin.
"That's… correct." She whispered to herself and then looked back at the boys. When their uncle said they'd be a handful, she never imagined like this. She'd never met children so young who knew so much about science, or anything really.
Edward looked smug and the kids gazed at him with awe. But, Alphonse, much more intuitive than his brother, tugged on his sleeve to sit down. "Come on, brother, let's just pay attention. We might learn something new." Edward muttered something like 'doubt it,' but sat and started working on his worksheet. Riza stared for a moment longer and then decided to let it go, but filed it away so she would remember to discuss this with their uncle.
Finally, after a whole day of being stuck in the school, class was let out for the day. The kids stormed the front of the building and then spread out into the front yard. Some ran straight to their parents while others played tag, waiting for theirs to come by. Edward and Alphonse, however, spotted their uncle and immediately ran over to him.
"Alright, we did a day of school. Are we good now?" Edward asked, looking up at him with big eyes. He was hoping they would just go for a day and then Roy would change his mind.
"Did the military say whether or not we could join?" Alphonse asked immediately after.
Roy blinked in surprise at the questions and shook his head in amusement. "First, no, they're not taking anyone under ten," Roy said with a smirk, as though he'd actually asked. "And school is a whole nine-month commitment. There are breaks in there too, of course, but you guys are still going to go."
They pouted. "Come on, Uncle Roy." Edward frowned. "It's so boring. We already know everything. The books are stupid, and the kids don't know anything, and we're spending a whole week learning about water. Water, Uncle Roy. We learned about water five years ago."
Roy just sighed and placed a hand on the boy's head. "Can't you two just try to be normal for a few hours a day? Come on. What did you do at recess?"
"We read books," Alphonse smiled.
"But there's nothing good," Edward pouted. "It's all baby books."
"Well, I'm sure there's something you'll learn that you didn't know before and that I can't teach you myself. Anyway, let's head home. Do you guys have homework?"
"We did, but brother and I finished it during science class," Alphonse replied.
"You do know the point of homework is to do it at home, right?" Roy raised an eyebrow.
"It didn't take too long," Edward said. "It was just a couple math pages."
"Excuse me, Colonel Mustang?" As Roy turned to head down the road back to their home, he heard a voice behind him. Turning back around towards the school, he saw Miss Hawkeye standing there. She wore a brown skirt with a white blouse and her blonde hair reached just past her shoulders. She looked absolutely proper and nodded to him politely.
"Uh, yes. Miss… Hawkeye, was it?" Roy asked. "I hope the boys didn't give you any trouble."
"I actually wanted to talk about Edward and Alphonse, just briefly." She said and glanced at the boys who were looking up at her. "In private." She gestured for Roy to follow her and his face turned just the slightest bit red. He glared over at the boys, and they knew that if the discussion was anything less than outstanding, they'd be getting an earful on the way home.
"Look, Miss Hawkeye I'm so sorry-" Roy started as he stepped out of earshot of the boys. She held up a hand to silence him and gave him a friendly smile.
"You really weren't kidding about them?" She asked and chuckled. "Colonel, where did those boys get such a grasp on… well, everything? They're at a high school reading level, and they know advanced math and science. The only thing they struggle with is art."
Roy awkwardly rubbed his shoulder. He'd really hoped the boys could at least pretend to be typical kids for a day. "They've been studying since they were old enough to walk." He explained. "Their mother was incredibly smart. She was reading the kids math textbooks as bedtime stories. And then they came to live with me and got interested in some of the stuff I do for work." He paused, trying to find his wording. He didn't want to admit to being a State Alchemist, but that would also explain their grasp on science.
"How much do they know?" Riza asked, wanting to be absolutely sure this time that she knew what she was dealing with.
Roy shrugged. "A lot of math and science, especially physics and chemistry," he said. "Their reading comprehension is outstanding too. I taught them what they needed to know for their age while I homeschooled them, but they spent the rest of their time reading textbooks from the library."
"That's amazing," Riza breathed. "They're by far the most advanced students I've ever known."
"I'm sorry if they sort of took over. Edward especially can be a little arrogant. We're working on it."
"Have you ever considered sending them to Central?" Riza asked after a moment. "They might fit in at a gifted school. It would be a little less boring for them. They'd have advanced teachers and peers and-"
"Gifted? No," the Colonel cut her off. "The only thing those boys are gifted at is driving me insane. Listen, I think you're right, they're a little cocky and a little bored, but I'll talk to them about it."
"With all due respect, you really can't talk someone out of boredom," the teacher frowned.
"Well, yes, but I can make them a little less rude about it." Roy shrugged. "Look, I just want them to have a normal life. Going to the city and studying at some big fancy school? That's not normal. I can't say I know what their mother would want, but I really don't think she'd want them being ogled at in some rich kid school. She'd want them to play and run and just be kids."
Riza thought about challenging him for a moment, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw real honesty. He just wanted what was best for the kids, and truly thought this was best. And, she could tell, that the boys were smarter than any kids she'd taught, but they were also very behind socially. Maybe the man was right. The boys needed a normal life, at least for now.
"Well, I just want you to know that I know many people in the city who could help them get into a good school," She said kindly. "But I do think the boys will do well here, if only for a few years. Though, I hope someday you'll consider otherwise."
Roy smiled over at her. He was beyond grateful she understood because not many did. The very few people he'd talked to about the boys all said the same thing-send them to the city. But, he couldn't bring himself to do that. Her validation made him feel very confident in his decisions.
"Thank you, Miss Hawkeye," Roy said, sticking out his hand. "Anyway, if you're ever free on a Saturday night, I know this great place in town that-"
Riza shook his hand and returned a very polite smile. "You're welcome. I look forward to seeing the boys tomorrow." And then she turned and walked back to the school without any response to Roy's thinly veiled offer of a date.
He turned back to the boys, both who looked a little fearful, and grabbed their hands as they began to walk.
"Are we in trouble, Uncle Roy?" Alphonse asked timidly about halfway into their walk.
"No," he said. "But guys, please. Normal tomorrow, got it?"
Edward smirked at Roy. "But we have you for an uncle," he said in a teasing voice, "How could we ever be normal?"