A/N: Hi! :)

Well now that we have Ed in the mix… time for some parental Roy/Ed! We hope that you enjoy this chapter and we'd love to read about your opinions in the reviews' section :D

See you in two weeks!

Golden and Flame

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist characters don't belong to us. We are just having fun with them.

Chapter 8. An awkward conversation

Roy hated Mondays. He always struggled to get out of bed and when he did, his movements were sluggish and slow so he tended to be late for work and thus earned a little reprimand from his lieutenant. Also, for some strange reason, the paperwork seemed to multiply at the beginning of the week, so he usually had to stay overtime on Mondays to try to catch up. That was preferable to leaving it until Friday and losing his valuable weekend hours.

That's how Roy started his week. Sighing continuously, reading and signing papers without paying proper attention to them. His team had left a couple of hours ago except for Riza, who was arranging her belongings in her bag.

"Sir, if instead of sighing you spent that time filling out paperwork, you would have finished long ago." Riza said calmly.

Roy let out a grunt of frustration. "I just don't get it, Lieutenant, why does it take so much paperwork to..." He picked up a random piece of paper and read the first few lines. "restitute the damage sustained by a building after a routine inspection?" something clicked in Roy's mind. "Wait a minute." The colonel quickly searched the document until he found what he was looking for. "Howard Warehouses...isn't that the section Fullmetal was supposed to check at noon?"

Riza grabbed the clipboard on which she recorded her unit's missions and quickly reviewed it. "Indeed, sir. He'll probably turn in his mission report tomorrow."

Roy grunted again and ran a hand over his face. "That brat. He's getting to be an expert at generating extra paperwork." Defeated he placed his face on the desk. "Because of him I have to spend this fine evening cooped up in this office."

Riza returned the clipboard to its place to subsequently sling her purse over her shoulder. "That's funny, sir. It seems to me that your desk has always been cluttered with papers. Even before Edward joined the unit."

The colonel opted not to comment on that so he settled back in and continued with his paperwork.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?"

Roy raised his gaze to her. Riza always stayed extra time when he had to (which he had to admit was quite often). But on the occasions when Roy stayed past 9 p.m., Riza would retire before he did. He himself had instructed her to do so long ago. Roy didn't doubt Riza's abilities, but he preferred not to expose her to walking alone at night, as she always refused time and again to let him escort her to her apartment, claiming it would be inappropriate, which Roy didn't mind in the least. He already had too many people after him but Riza was always trying to keep him from making any more enemies or from them finding any excuse to harm him.

Roy couldn't help but crack a small smile. Riza always asked him the same question. "Don't worry, Lieutenant. Go home and get some rest."

"Yes, sir." Riza headed for the door. Before opening it she turned and performed the military salute. "Good night, Colonel."

"Good night, Lieutenant."

Some time later the colonel had finally finished the day's paperwork. He rose from his chair and stretched his arms above his head trying to unwind his muscles. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was surely past 10. He could check by pulling out his pocket watch, but he was more interested in grabbing his things to finally go rest in his apartment.

Roy's happy thoughts were interrupted when the office phone rang. A call? Roy debated with himself for a moment. It didn't make sense for someone to call at this hour. He was slightly tempted to ignore the call and be on his way but the thought that it might be something important stopped him. Sighing he walked over to the desk and picked up the receiver. "Colonel Mustang."

"Colonel." A young, friendly but slightly metallic echoing voice answered. "How good that I find you!"

"Alphonse?" Roy was surprised. Throughout Ed's year with the unit he had had several opportunities to interact with the younger Elric but had never received a call from him. Occasionally Ed would call him but that always happened after constantly reiterating to him that he needed to know of his progress.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late. It's about my brother."

The concerned tone with which Al spoke, ignited his alert levels. "What's wrong, Alphonse?"

"Don't worry, everything is fine." Al's tone did not convince Roy. "Well, if I'm to be honest with you we had some difficulties but the doctor says the wounds will heal quickly."

"Alphonse, I'm not understanding you. What wounds? What happened to your brother?"

Al made a sound like a sigh. "My brother is in the hospital. When we went to carry out the inspection in the warehouses we encountered a gang of criminals. We managed to catch them but a part of the warehouse collapsed on my brother. He has some minor injuries but his left leg was fractured and the automail of his leg was damaged."

Something stirred inside Roy. Edward in the hospital? He knew the kid was pretty reckless and foolhardy but he almost always managed to come out of the missions he sent him on unscathed. A few times he had gotten slightly injured but nothing that a little alcohol and band-aids couldn't fix.

"Why didn't you call me sooner? The inspection was supposed to take place at noon."

"I'm sorry, sir. I forgot at first but then when I told my brother I would call you he flatly refused."

This time it was Roy's turn to sigh. "Don't worry, Alphonse. I know how stubborn Fullmetal can be. I'll be out there in a moment."

"Wait, Sir..."

"Hm?"

"Uh... my brother finally agreed to let me call you, or rather he insisted that I do so because he already wants to get out of the hospital and it turns out that, since you are his legal guardian, they need your signature for him to be discharged."

"Speaking of stubbornness..." Roy ran a hand over his face trying to control his stress. "Are the doctors okay with him leaving the hospital?"

"Actually they want to keep him a couple more days for observation to verify that his leg is starting to heal properly." Al replied, with a concerned tone.

The concern in Al's voice did not go unnoticed by the colonel. "I'll go over there and talk to him okay?"

"Thank you, Colonel."

Roy hung up the phone and quickly grabbed his things and subsequently left the quarters. The thought of a good night's rest had completely disappeared from his mind. From what Al had told him, Ed was relatively well but he couldn't be completely reassured until he saw him with his own eyes. I'm not worried about him. It's just the surprise of knowing he's hospitalized. That's all.

A few minutes later Roy was walking through the hospital doors, finding Alphonse sitting on one of the benches in the lobby.

Seeing him, Al quickly stood up and walked over to greet him. "Colonel."

"Hello, Alphonse, in which room is he?"

"Twenty-six, Colonel." Roy nodded and prepared to head for Ed's room, when Al added. "Sorry to disturb you at this hour."

Roy was about to give him a quick reply and be on his way but something in the younger Elric's tone of voice made him stop in place. Roy looked at the armor for a few seconds until a realization came to his mind and made him want to slap himself on the head for such carelessness. Walking over to him he placed a hand on the armor's arm (though he was aware that the boy couldn't feel it) and said. "How are you feeling, Alphonse?"

Al, who was fiddling with the cloth covering the bottom of his armor, gave a jerk in surprise. "Me? But my brother..."

"I know Fullmetal is the one who's hurt but this situation is getting to you, am I wrong?"

Al stopped the movement of his hands and lowered his head slightly. "I've been trying to pretend in front of my brother so he doesn't have to worry about more things but... when I saw him motionless and blood stained..." He shook his helmet trying to push the image from his mind. "I was really scared. Plus my brother had never been in the hospital before."

Roy stared at him as he spoke. He knew the armor couldn't denote emotions but Al's tone and movements were more than enough to understand his feelings. The bond of the Elric brothers was very strong, plus for years now they had been the only family they had left. Just the thought of the possibility that he could have lost his brother had left Al very disturbed. He was only 12 years old and could have been left all alone.

Roy walked over and lightly positioned himself underneath the helmet of the armor to catch Al's gaze. "Easy, Alphonse. Everything is all right now. I understand that this situation was very stressful and worrisome for you but I'm sure with how stubborn Fullmetal is he's never going to let himself be defeated so easily. Besides, knowing your brother, in a couple of days he'll already be making the same fuss as usual." He said smiling at the end.

Al made a sighing sound, but his tone of voice was more relaxed. "You're right. In fact he's already making his fuss. As I told him on the phone, my brother already wants to get out of the hospital. I suggested to him to stay for a few days so he could rest but it didn't work out. He insists he's not going to spend another day here."

"You know, if he wasn't behaving like that, there I'd be sure there was something wrong with him."

Al looked up and let out a small chuckle. "Thank you, Colonel."

Roy smiled reassuringly at him and pulled his hand away. "Why don't you go for a walk around the hospital grounds? I'm sure a change of scenery would do you good."

"But I have to take care of my brother."

"I'll take care of him. You go out and take all the time you need, okay? After all, I think he and I have a talk to have."

Al seemed to be a little hesitant. Finally, he took a step toward the exit but quickly turned around to look back at the colonel. "Are you going to authorize his discharge from the hospital?"

"Of course not. A brat like him can't influence the doctor's orders. If the doctor says he must stay more days so be it."

That seemed to be the reason for Al's hesitation, for at the colonel's words his posture relaxed. "Thank you, Colonel!...and good luck."

Roy smiled at him and they each walked to their destinations.

Roy walked through the halls of the hospital until he found his destination. Heaving a sigh to prepare himself for the discussion he was sure to start, he opened the door.

It was a single room. The lights were on and the small window was open letting the moon's glow fall on the room's occupant. Cautiously, Roy entered the room and stared at the patient. Edward was asleep sitting up in bed, surely in a stubborn attempt to stay awake until he was allowed to leave the hospital. His face bore several cut marks but none seemed deep. Most striking without a doubt was the leg in a cast that was elevated on a couple of pillows.

Noting that the window was open and Edward was uncovered, Roy closed the door very carefully to avoid waking him and walked over to the cabinet that rested next to the window. He closed the window, grabbed a blanket, and approached the bed. Being so close to him she could notice a bruise peeking through the collar of his hospital gown, most likely from the impact of the fall.

Despite how slowly and carefully he was doing his job, when Ed felt the movement of the blanket his eyes began to tighten slightly only to open seconds later. Noticing this, Roy pulled the chair next to the bed closer and sat in it waiting for Edward to finish waking up.

Ed blinked a couple of times and ran one of his hands over his face. After a yawn he seemed to remember what had happened and became aware of Roy's presence. "Colonel!"

"Good evening, Fullmetal."

"Great! That means I can get out of here now right?" Ed made an attempt to get out of bed but Roy stopped him with his arm causing a confused expression on Ed's face.

" Hold on there, Fullmetal. You're not leaving this hospital until the doctor says so."

"Why do you think I told Al to call you? You can sign the discharge authorization and that's it. Issue handled." Ed replied, crossing his arms.

Undeterred, Roy asked him. "Can you at least stand up?"

The question took Ed by surprise but he quickly pulled himself together and his eyes filled with determination. "Of course." Ed pushed the blanket aside and carefully picked up his cast leg with both hands. A small grimace crossed his face so before he could lift his leg Roy placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Don't. You need rest."

Ed pushed Roy's hand away then leaned his back against the headboard again. "Then why are you asking me those kind of questions, you bastard?"

Roy sighed. "You need to know your limits." He gestured with his head toward his cast leg. "I bet with that little move you gave it, it's bothering you now."

Ed frowned and looked away from where the colonel stood. "I'm fine, okay? This is just an inconvenience."

"An inconvenience? Fullmetal, a building collapsed on top of you!"

"And? I'm alive and ready to get out of here to continue searching for the philosopher's stone."

"You don't even have a single functional leg. Al told me that your automail is also damaged."

"I'm fully aware of my injuries." Ed returned his gaze to the colonel. "Can you sign the medical release?"

"Sure I can." A small smile appeared on Ed's face. "But I won't." And just as it appeared, the smile was gone.

"Don't be lazy, it's just a damn signature!"

Roy ran a hand over his face trying to control his frustration. "It's not about whether it's work for me or not. It's about your health and well-being."

His words puzzled Ed, who averted his gaze to his own legs.

"Tell me, why are you so desperate to get out of here? I know hospitals aren't much fun to begin with but I'm sure you can survive a couple of days here."

With both hands Ed squeezed the messy blanket that had been left on him and muttered. "It's a waste of time."

"Come on, don't overdo it. It'll only be a couple of days."

Ed ducked his head slightly so the strands of his hair could cover his expression and replied in a sad tone. "Every day I spend here is one more day Al has to spend in that armor."

For a moment the room was completely silent. The sincere concern and guilt that denoted Ed's tone of voice had left Roy bewildered. Since Ed had joined his unit he had always maintained his brave, supportive, loud and somewhat arrogant personality. He hadn't seen him vulnerable again since that time he had lifted him out of his wheelchair.

Coughing a little to clear his throat Roy resumed the conversation. "In order for you to continue your search for the philosopher's stone, you need to recover first, Fullmetal."

Ed tightened his grip on the blanket. "I don't have time for this. I'm just slowing Al down."

"You're not slowing him down. Besides I know Al is more than willing to wait for you to recover."

Ed let go of the blanket and turned to look at Roy with a distressed look. "Al is very good and will wait, but I don't want to make him wait any longer. It's my fault he's in that body that can't feel anything. Because of me he can't even enjoy having dreams or taste the flavor of a meal." Ed kept his head in Roy's direction but looked down. "I don't deserve to waste my time here when I should be finding a way to fix my mistake."

Roy stared at Ed. His expression and look denoted how much guilt still plagued him. He had experienced that feeling first hand and now it was sad to him that a child/teenager as young as 13 should carry so much weight on his shoulders. Although at times Ed could be childish, he hated being treated like a child and Roy tended to forget that at the end of the day Ed was at best a teenager, but seeing him lying there in a hospital bed and in such a vulnerable state, triggered a desire in Roy to help and protect him.

Gently Roy placed one of his hands on Ed's shoulder eliciting a small jolt from the boy. "Fullmetal." Ed lifted his gaze. " For a genius alchemist, you're too dumb sometimes."

Ed glared at him. "You're a bastard." He shook his shoulder trying to break contact with Roy, but the colonel kept a careful but firm grip on his shoulder.

"Listen, I know you feel guilt about what happened but the path of self punishment isn't going to get you anywhere. Believe me, I'm telling you from personal experience." The colonel's eyes darkened for a second, which Ed noticed. "I fully understand what you have to do to get back what you and your brother lost but to do that you have to take care of yourself first. You do a good job procuring Al, now do the same for yourself. What good is it going to do for you to go out in this condition? You can't defend yourself properly. You could end up even more hurt or you could even die."

Ed swallowed hard at Roy's last words. He understood the message the colonel wanted to give him but he still wasn't willing to give in. "But Al-"

Roy interrupted him. "You two are quite a case." He smiled. "You always care more about each other than yourselves. Just before I went into your room I ran into Alphonse and he told me he completely disagreed with your wishes to leave here. In fact, as I understand it, he told you so himself."

A small blush appeared on Ed's cheeks. "Yes, he did. I had a hard time convincing him to call you."

"See, I know Alphonse wants their bodies back as much as you do, but he's not willing to sacrifice your health or your own life for it. So take it easy." Roy noticed that Ed already had a calmer expression but he didn't look entirely convinced. "Fullmetal, seeking to reach a goal doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself of the good things in life. Rest is important too. What's more, you should give yourselves time to explore the city without being chasing a clue to the philosopher's stone. You could even take a vacation in Resembool. I'm sure Al would appreciate it."

Memories of his childhood in Resembool with Al and Winry made Ed smile. "So you're not going to sign my discharge?"

Roy's expression froze for a moment and Ed could see the annoyance slowly change his expression. Pulling his hand away from Ed's shoulder so he could point at him, Roy exclaimed "You...!"

"Just kidding" Ed began to laugh and his laughter was more than enough to appease Roy's annoyance. At last Ed's expression had relaxed and his laugh sounded so cheerful and natural that Roy couldn't help but smile.

Just then metallic footsteps could be heard in the hallway and shortly thereafter the door opened to make way for Al.

"Hey, Alphonse. I managed to convince your stubborn brother to listen to the doctors."

"Great, thanks a lot, Colonel!"

Ed looked at both of them and then exclaimed. "I think you both teamed up to conspire against me."

Roy rolled his eyes and Al ignored him changing the subject. " Brother, look what I found." Al walked over to his bed and both Ed and Roy could see that in his gloves he was carrying a few dandelions.

Ed picked one up, excited. "Wow, I haven't seen one of these around."

Al's tone also denoted his excitement. "Neither had I, at most I'd seen daisies. Hey, brother could you blow one? It's been a while since we've done that."

"Sure, Al."

Al took one of the dandelions from his hands and held it up to his brother's mouth. "On the count of 3, okay?" Ed nodded. "1...2..." and at that moment, taking advantage of Ed's open mouth, Al inserted the flower into his brother's mouth. "That's for being so stubborn." And he began to laugh.

"Traitor." Ed was spitting but at the same time couldn't control his laughter.

Roy watched the scene before his eyes with a smile. He was glad that the Elrics were laughing and enjoying that moment forgetting their worries. Sensing that was his cue to leave, Roy stood up and began to adjust his uniform. "Well, I think it's time for me to go."

"I'm really sorry to have you come at this hour, Colonel." Al said respectfully.

"That's all right, Al. I'm glad to hear you guys are okay and that I was able to get some sense in here." Roy finished speaking by adding a few light taps to Edward's head.

Quickly Ed moved out of the way of his hand. " How funny, Colonel." He said sarcastically. "At least I hope when the doctor hands you my discharge, you're not going to lose it among all your paperwork and leave me here for all eternity."

With a smile Roy replied. "If the sheet is as small as you are I'm almost certainly going to lose sight of it."

" I am not small, Colonel Bastard!"

Roy laughed lightly and headed for the door ready to leave. He had barely put a hand on the knob when Ed called out to him.

"Colonel." Roy turned and could see Ed smiling. "Thank you."

Roy smiled back. "Anytime, Fullmetal." And with that said he left the room.

It was already past midnight when Roy arrived at his apartment as before leaving the hospital he had to talk to the receptionist to ask her to keep him updated on Edward's condition. Exhausted from the long day he didn't bother to change and just plopped down on his bed. Sleep overcame him almost immediately, but that did not wipe the smile off his face.

The next day, as expected, Roy was late for work but as soon as he began to explain to Riza the reason for his delay the scolding stopped immediately and was replaced first by questions and then by a genuine smile after hearing about some parts of the conversation they had had.

That afternoon the doctor who was treating Edward called to tell him that his recovery had started satisfactorily so he could return to the dormitories tomorrow. So the next day Roy got up earlier than usual and went to the hospital to sign his release.

Ed was discharged on Wednesday at noon. With Al's help and a pair of crutches they were able to leave the building and take a cab. Fortunately his leg automail provided support for walking (Ed refused to use a wheelchair) but he really didn't have much range of motion, so he had to call Winry and ask her to come to East City to fix his automail, as a trip to Resembool was a bit of a hassle in his condition.

Winry arrived the next morning and Al went to pick her up while Ed stayed on the couch in the small living room of his bedroom reading a book on alchemy. Ed was so immersed in his reading that time passed without him noticing, so he had no chance to brace himself for the wrench that shot out towards his head.

At the impact Ed brought both hands to his head to rub his head, dropping the book to the floor. "Ouch!"

"That's what you get for not taking good care of my automail."

Ed turned to look towards the door and could see that there stood Winry with her toolbox and slightly behind her was Al, slightly startled.

"Damn, Winry! What a way to say hello."

Winry walked over to him to get her wrench and at that moment she could see the condition of his leg. "Ed...you hadn't told me about this." She said quietly pointing to his cast leg.

"Ah, this? Don't worry, it's no big deal." Said Ed waving his hand downplaying the matter.

"What happened to you?" said Winry as she sat down on her knees on the floor next to Ed.

"Uh...well..."

"A building collapsed on top of him." Al added from the doorway.

"Al!" Ed protested.

Winry's expression became worried and a little sad. "You could have died."

Ed was silent for a few seconds. He had never liked to see Winry sad, let alone see her cry. Letting out a sigh, Ed sat up to move closer to where Winry was sitting and placed his hand on her head. "Don't worry, Winry. I'm all right. You know I'm not going to let myself be defeated that easily."

Winry turned her gaze to Ed and could see that there was a small smile on his face. That smile and his gesture reassured her. At some point during their childhood together, Ed had begun to place a hand on her head trying to comfort her when she was sad. She couldn't always avoid tears but, for some reason unknown to her, that simple gesture gave her peace and reassurance.

Although she was still worried about the life Ed and Al were now leading, Winry couldn't help but smile. "Okay, that's fine. I believe you." She bent down slightly to grab her wrench and the book Ed had dropped. "But you have to be more careful from now on okay?"

Ed swallowed as he saw the menacing way Winry held the wrench. "I'll try."

A little later Winry examined the damage to Ed's leg and, to Ed's chagrin, decided that it needed to be removed for repair as there were several loose wires. Using the desk in the boys' room as a work table, Winry spent a couple of hours working on the automail while Ed and Al discussed some alchemy theories in the living room. When she was finished, Winry walked happily into the living room holding the leg in her hands. " It''s ready."

Ed grimaced a little. He longed to have the mobility of his automail leg again but that meant he had to go through the pain of the nerve connection again.

"Come on, don't make that face. At least this time it'll only be a single limb connection."

Ed sighed. "Okay, let's do it. Al, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure, brother." Al got up from the couch helping Ed prop himself up enough to sit in a chair. Then Al reached behind him placing his gloves on his brother's shoulders.

Winry walked over and set the automail on the table for a moment while she picked up the necessary wrench. Once she had it in her hands, she reached down and settled the automail into the port on Ed's leg. "Ready?" Ed nodded as Winry moved the wrench closer to the connection point. "On the count of 3. 1...2...3." With a flick of her hand, Winry secured Ed's leg as he gave a small hop and a groan of pain from the jolt of energy that coursed through his nerves.

Ed took a couple of deep breaths before he began to move his leg to check his movements. Verifying that he had regained his mobility from before, Ed smiled. "Perfect. Thanks, Winry."

Winry smiled back. "You're welcome. But if you damage it again before the maintenance session I'm going to charge you double."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Ed replied without paying much attention to Winry's little threat as he continued to swing his leg.

"Are you paying attention to me, alchemy freak?"

"Did you say something, gearhead?" Ed said jokingly.

Seeing that this could end in an argument, Al stepped in. " Brother, do you want me to help you back to the couch?"

"What are you talking about, Al? Better hand me my crutches and let's go explore the city."

"I don't think that's a good idea, brother. The doctor said to restrict your movements for at least this week."

"Then there's nothing more to say. Alchemy freak, you're staying here." Winry added in an authoritative tone.

"But I want to go out." Said Ed in a tantrum tone. "I hate sitting around doing nothing. I don't have any more books to read."

"Don't worry, brother. I'll go get some more from the library. Plus I can take the opportunity to buy you guys some food." Said Al

Before Ed could refuse, Winry interjected, excited. "Are there any books on automail in the library?"

"I think so. But if I can't find one there I can go to a bookstore and buy it for you."

Winry jumped with excitement and went over to give Al a hug. "Thanks, Al. You're the best."

"Well, then I'll leave for a moment. Please don't kill yourselves while I'm gone." Al said with a half joking half concerned tone.

"No promises." They both replied in unison.

Once Al left the bedroom, Winry put her tools away and then headed for the bathroom. While she was out of the room, Ed got up from his chair and then settled into the couch, almost falling over in the process. Usually the automail connection made him feel exhausted by the end of the day but because of his current conditions fatigue began to visit him early.

When Winry returned to the living room she found Ed lying on the couch. His legs were resting on the armrest of the furniture while Ed's head lay on top of a thin pillow that he was futilely trying to fluff up.

"Damn! I hate having my leg in a cast."

Winry stared at him for a few seconds until an idea crossed her mind.

"Let me help you."

Ed remained still waiting for Winry to bring him another pillow or help him rearrange the one he already had. To his surprise, Winry sat down next to him and then placed his head on her own lap.

A little embarrassed but trying to control the blush that threatened to paint his cheeks, Ed said to her. "Uh...Winry? What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing, silly? I'm helping you get some rest. I bet you're exhausted."

"Oh... thanks..."

Ed glanced at Winry and felt he couldn't control his blush so he preferred to cover his eyes with his arm. They were both quiet for a few minutes until Winry broke the silence. "Ed?"

"Hmm?"

"How have you been doing?"

Ed sighed. "We've followed a couple of leads on the stone but they've all turned out to be false. Whenever he can the Colonel sends me out on a few missions but from then on Al and I can fill the time to keep researching and traveling."

"So you usually have several missions like this?"

The tone used by Winry caused Ed to pull his arm away and look at her, finding a worried expression on her face. The day Ed had decided he would join the military, Winry had expressed her concern about it, but had been more than willing to support him in any way she could. However, Ed knew that within her usual enthusiasm was the fear that something might happen to him and Al, as had happened to her parents years ago.

Since from his position he couldn't reach his head, Ed opted to reach for one of Winry's hands and give it a little squeeze. "It's going to be all right, Winry. I was careless and that's why I ended up like this. I'll be more careful next time okay?"

Winry replied with a little squeeze. "Either way I think I'll have to reinforce your automail more."

"What are you implying? Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you but I don't trust your self-preservation of life." Winry replied with a small smile and gave him a few small taps on the head. "Sometimes I wonder if there's any room for common sense here."

Ed frowned. "I hope you're not implying something else with that."

"About how small it is? Don't worry, it's normal for your size." Winry said with a smirk.

"I'm not small! I'm still growing!" Ed started to fidget trying to sit up but Winry placed a hand on his forehead and forced him to lie still. At this Ed folded his arms. "You take advantage of the wounded, you automail freak."

"Shut up, you fool. I'm looking out for you." Noticing how Ed's locks had become disarranged by his movements, Winry began to run her fingers through his hair. "I don't understand how your hair is so soft."

Ed relaxed at her touch and lowered his arms slightly. "Are you envious?" Ed asked teasingly.

"You wish." Winry continued to run her fingers through Ed's hair, causing the blond to close his eyes. After a few minutes had passed Winry thought Ed had fallen asleep and was about to stop her movement when the blond spoke.

"Hey, Winry." Ed opened his eyes and sought her gaze. "Thanks for coming."

Ed's sincere smile infected Winry, who returned it. "You're welcome, Ed... You know. I was reading the other day about a new alloy being implemented in automails. Maybe next time you guys go to Resembool we can try it out."

Ed averted his gaze and Winry felt a little sad. Ever since they left town Ed had refused to go to Resembool unless he required an automail repair, so they didn't usually let her know when they were going. That he had averted his gaze surely meant that he had no plans to go any time soon.

Ed snapped her out of her thoughts with his words. "Sounds good." Winry looked at him in surprise and Ed continued. "It's not long until the festival is it? I was thinking we could take a vacation. It's been years since we've gone together."

"Are you serious?" Winry asked as she stopped her fingers movement.

Ed looked at her again. "Yes... Although maybe it'll be a hassle with the crutches."

Quickly the smile returned to Winry's lips, but she couldn't help but tease Edward a little more. "That won't be a problem. I can carry you and it's settled."

"Definitely not."

"Oh, come on, don't be proud. It'll be fun. Besides it'll be a piece of cake for me with how small you are."

Ed frowned and mumbled. "Stop calling me little!" Winry started laughing. "Damn it. Forget what I said. I'm not going."

"Don't throw a tantrum, Ed. Besides it's too late for you to take it back. I can disconnect your leg while you sleep and take it with me. So you decide if you want it to be the easy way or the hard way." Winry concluded with a smile.

"You're an extortionist." Ed said with some annoyance but actually inside he felt happy. It had been years since he had enjoyed the festivals and green meadows of Resembool and to tell the truth he missed them very much.

Winry laughed again and began again to run her fingers through Ed's hair. This time Ed relaxed completely and let the dream world reclaim him quickly. Winry, for her part, continued her movement until Ed's arm slid across his abdomen until it lifted his shirt slightly exposing a part of it, being a more than clear sign that the blond was completely asleep.

"You haven't changed, Ed." Winry murmured fondly as she noticed Ed's old habit. Winry arranged the blond's bangs one last time and stared at the smile that remained on the boy's face. Infected by his smile, Winry settled her back against the back of the couch, trying not to move Edward in the process, and decided to let her eyes rest for a few minutes.

That same Thursday Roy had plans to go visit Edward. He wanted to do it the day before but thought it was too soon. Besides he was confident that Alphonse would do a good job taking care of him. It wasn't that he was worried about how Ed was feeling, he just wanted to look like a responsible commanding officer. Just that.

Trying to make his quick little visit go unnoticed, Roy intentionally declined to go out to lunch with the members of his unit claiming he had a lot of paperwork to fill out. He wanted to avoid his teammates noticing where he was going so, two hours after lunch when his team was engrossed in reviewing the report of the latest mission from Havoc and Breda, Roy got up from his desk to head to the front door of his office.

Riza, as expected, quickly noticed his movements and glanced at him over the documents she was reviewing while the others were still immersed in their talk.

"I'm going to get something to eat, Lieutenant. Take care of everything while I'm gone." Roy told her as he passed her.

"Yes, sir." Roy smiled. His plan had worked. He was only a few steps from the door when Riza added. "Give our regards and good wishes to Edward. Also to Alphonse, Sir."

Roy froze in place and turned to look at Riza. She had a smile on her lips and, when he dared to scan the office with his gaze he found the same smiles on all the members of his team. At what point did they fall silent?. Giving a sigh at his failed plan, Roy said. "All right. Keep working. I won't be long."

Riza nodded keeping the same smile. She was glad Roy was visiting Edward. In her time with the unit, Riza had grown fond of the Elrics and she was sure the same could be said for the colonel, even if he didn't want to say it out loud.

Because of the workload they'd had, Riza hadn't had a chance to go visit Edward since by the time she got off work the visiting hours at the hospital were over. But, since learning of the accident, she had called the hospital every morning to see how Edward was doing and even that day she had called the front desk of the military dorms, discreetly asking for reports on Edward since she didn't want Ed and Al to feel pressured by office business being called from there. She knew that if she had asked, Roy, as her superior, would have given her authorization to take a couple of hours off work but she didn't want that to lend itself to misinterpretations of favoritism or anything else so she had to resign herself to keeping herself informed through calls. The good thing was that she would now have direct reports from the Colonel on Edward's condition and she could ask for no better reliable source than Roy's own words.

The dorms were a bit far from Eastern Command, so Roy decided to take his car to get there faster. When he got there and was near the front door, he could appreciate a suit of armor, with a few paper bags in his arms, approaching from the opposite street he had come from.

"Good afternoon, Alphonse."

Hearing the greeting, the armor quickly walked over to stand beside him. "Good afternoon, Colonel, what brings you here?"

"I'm just here to do a little routine inspection of the area." Roy said deftly. "How's your brother doing?"

"He's doing better. Several of his cuts are about to heal completely. But with his leg in a cast, you can imagine. He gets desperate and bored easily because he can't move around like usual."

"Which means he's feeling fine." Roy said with a small smile.

"Exactly. In fact he's even fought with Winry already as usual."

"Winry?"

"Oh, right. Maybe you didn't meet her that time. She's a childhood friend of ours and Ed's personal mechanic. She along with Granny Pinako built my brother's automail."

"Wow, Resembool seems to be full of prodigies. So I assume Ed's automail is now under repair right?"

"Actually they're done now. I went out to buy a few things while my brother got some rest. The reconnections are painful and tend to leave him somewhat exhausted." A thought crossed Al's mind. "Well he's probably awake and almost certainly arguing with Winry. Since you're around wouldn't you like to see him, Colonel?"

Feigning some hesitation, Roy pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "Sounds good to me. I still have some time. Besides I was thinking of giving him a call to tell him not to worry about his report."

Al nodded and started walking, leading Roy to his bedroom. On the way Roy asked him pointing to the bags Al was carrying, "Don't you want me to help you with something?"

"No thanks, Colonel. It's a short stretch. Although if you could help me open the door when we get there I'd appreciate it."

At that moment Al stopped in front of the door that Roy assumed was his bedroom door. "Sure, where's the key?"

Al pulled one of the bags he was carrying closer so that it was within Roy's field of vision. The colonel peeked out and could see that on top of the book that contained the bag rested the key to the dorm room. After taking it, Roy approached the door and inserted the key and then entered the bedroom to find a peculiar sight.

On the couch in the small living room was Edward sound asleep with one hand slightly lifting his shirt and with his head in the lap of a young blonde girl. The girl had one hand on Ed's head as she appeared to be equally asleep with a small smile on her lips. What surprised Roy the most was the expression on Edward's face. His features were completely relaxed and a smile completed the picture. Not that he had never seen Fullmetal sleep before (his subordinate had a bad habit of occasionally taking a nap in his office chair while awaiting orders) but the expression he wore puzzled him. On previous occasions he had noticed that when he slept Ed looked too young, but he had never seen him with such a noticeable smile.

My, my. What an interesting discovery. At that moment Al entered the bedroom as well so Roy said to him. "That doesn't look like an argument to me."

I knew it! Al wanted to voice his thoughts out loud but he knew his brother wouldn't be too happy about the Colonel being on the receiving end of those ideas. "Well, I'm glad my brother doesn't have any new bumps on his head." Roy gave him a confused look but Al preferred not to elaborate. He was sure that at some point the colonel would understand what he was referring to. "Would you like me to wake my brother up so you can talk to him?"

Roy looked back at the scene and smiled. He'd rather let his subordinate enjoy himself a little longer. "No, that's fine. Either way I think I'd better get going. Just tell your brother to rest up for the rest of this and next week. Also it doesn't hurt to tell him that if I see him in the quarters before that time I'm going to burn his eyebrows off okay?"

Al laughed softly and said. "All right. Thank you, Colonel."

Roy patted him lightly on the shoulder in farewell but as he set foot in the hallway he remembered something. "By the way, Al." The armor turned to look at him. "Everyone in the unit sends their regards."

"Thank you very much, Colonel. Send them our regards as well, please."

Roy nodded and continued on his way as Al watched him until he disappeared from sight. At that moment a thought came to his mind. How did the others send their regards to us if the Colonel was in the middle of an inspection?

Roy returned to his office feeling satisfied. He was afraid that Edward would end up forgetting his advice and would not be getting the proper rest. But with the little glimpse he got of his wounds and his relaxed expression, he knew everything would be fine. Seeing the tender scene between Ed and her friend, made him smile slightly as he remembered his teenage years by the side of a beautiful blonde girl, memories that, despite everything that had happened, he still kept them as relics in his mind.

As soon as the Colonel walked through the door of his office he could immediately feel all eyes on him, so it didn't take long for Riza to ask the question that was on the tip of everyone's tongue. "How is Edward, sir?"

"I would say very well. At least he looked very comfortable sleeping with his head in a lady's lap."

They all gaped for a few seconds until Havoc interjected. "Does that mean the Fullmetal Chief has a girlfriend?"

"The evidence seems to indicate that he does."

Breda started laughing and walked over to Havoc to pat him. "Wow, the kid came out smarter than you, Havoc."

Realization quickly reached Havoc and he began to whine. "Nooo, why is he more successful with girls than me? I'm blond, that should attract girls."

"Edward is blond too." Fuery interjected.

"But I have blue eyes."

"Although blue is an attractive color to women, Edward's golden eye color could be considered exotic and, by extension, attract more attention." Falman added.

"Why is life so unfair?" complained Havoc as all the men in the unit laughed.

Roy laughed good-naturedly at the situation but suddenly noticed something. Riza was not laughing with them. Certainly Riza wasn't usually very open with her emotions but in this kind of situation at least she usually had a smile. But on this occasion she was completely impassive and when Roy looked at her she gave him a very serious look back.

"Is something wrong, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, if I may I'd like to tell you something."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"While I'm fine with Edward having a girlfriend, I think it's appropriate that, as soon as he reports back to work, you have a talk with him."

Roy's blood ran cold fearing what that 'talk' might mean. "Are you suggesting that I give him suggestions of perfect places for a date?" joked Roy trying to deflect the conversation.

By this time the laughter had stopped and everyone was looking intently at Roy and Riza.

"No, sir. I mean you should give 'that talk' to Edward. I know you know what I mean."

Roy let the words slowly enter his brain hoping there was another meaning to the one he feared. Not finding it he began to retort. "Oh no, not that!"

Roy's expression was more than enough for the men on his team to laugh again but this time trying to be more discreet by covering his mouth with a hand or a document.

Undeterred, Riza replied. "Sir, may I remind you that Edward and Alphonse's father left them when they were very young. Also shortly after that their mother died. As young as they were it is completely unlikely that they would have received 'that talk' from their parents. Now that Edward is 13 and has a girlfriend it would be careless of us not to talk to him about that important subject."

Roy grimaced. "I understand that, Lieutenant, but why do I have to do it? There are 4 other men here perfectly capable of taking care of that." Roy replied pointing an arm at the members of his unit, causing them to freeze momentarily.

Riza sighed and turned to look at his teammates. "Are there any volunteers?"

They all shook their heads quickly and Riza returned her attention to Roy, to which the Colonel replied. "Why do they have a choice and I don't?"

"As his commanding officer it more than stands to reason that you would be the most appropriate person to do so. That's not to mention that you are officially his legal guardian."

"Besides we have little experience in the matter." Fuery interjected timidly from his desk.

"And the Colonel has considerable fame to back it up." Havoc added with a somewhat mocking smile.

Roy gave them both a murderous look before Riza concluded the matter. "Very well, then it is settled. Thank you for your cooperation, Sir." And without giving him time to complain, Riza turned away and headed back to her desk to continue working, an action the others mimicked.

Resigned, Roy shuffled into his private office and sat down in his desk chair. Once there he could see that there was a tray with food on it. Surely Riza figured he wouldn't have time to eat when he went to visit Edward so she tried to bring him something from the cafeteria. Roy was grateful for the gesture but with the situation he had just found himself in he lost his appetite. Pushing the tray aside so he could place his head on the desk in a defeated gesture, Roy began to lament the choices he had made in his life that had led him to this moment. Why did I have to recruit that Fullmetal shorty?

A week and a half later, Edward and Alphonse were walking the halls of Eastern Command. They were going at a slower pace than usual because of the crutches Ed had to use, but both were chatting happily until they reached their destination. As soon as they opened the door to their destination, they were greeted by smiles.

"Hey, Chief, Alphonse. Good to have you back here." Havoc greeted as he approached them.

The others approached them and greeted them cheerfully.

"So what's it like taking care of the Chief, Al?" Breda asked.

"Hey! I'm the big brother." Ed grumbled.

"Yeah, Chief. But we all know who's the more level-headed of the two." Breda said somewhat amused.

Al laughed. "You know how fidgety my brother is." Ed scowled at him. "But I must admit he's been taking good care of himself this time. Although the complaints about his restricted mobility have only increased."

Everyone laughed, including Ed after a few seconds. Even if he didn't express it out loud, he was pleased with the atmosphere on that team.

Riza looked at Ed with a mixture of fondness and concern. "Isn't it too tiring walking around on crutches? Wouldn't you rather we get you a wheelchair while you're in the office?"

"Nah, I'm fine that way."

"Which I'm quite happy about because wheelchair requests are a pain in the ass." Interjected Roy, who had just come out of his office noticing the commotion, with a smile.

"You got tired of lounging around your office that now you come to bother me?"

"Come on, Fullmetal. Don't be so rude. What's more, you sure missed me a lot."

"In your dreams, you bastard. I've got more important things to do than go around thinking about your dumb smug face."

"Oh, right." Fuery exclaimed with a small smile.

Breda and Havoc each placed a hand on Edward's shoulders and exclaimed. "Congratulations!"

Ed was confused by that spontaneous congratulations. "Uh... thank you?"

"Don't be shy, Chief. You're in confidence." Havoc said as he ruffled his hair.

"Maybe we could have a little party at the end of our shift." Falman suggested from his desk.

"Perfect, I like your idea, Falman." Havoc said with a smile.

Ed still didn't fully understand what was going on. He thought maybe it had to do with his return to work but he didn't understand why they had to say 'congratulations' to him. "Guys, I appreciate it but I'm really just here to request a few days off."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You, asking for vacation? Was that 'little' the time off you had these days?" Said the colonel with an emphasis Ed could tell.

"Are you calling me small, you fucking bastard?" Ed exclaimed throwing him a murderous glare.

Roy smirked smugly. "Not at all. I just needed to make sure it was you." He turned to Riza. "Lieutenant, can you take over the format?"

"Yes, sir. While I fill out the formatting you can take care of that other business."

Ed couldn't help but notice how Roy's smile disappeared completely and he turned a little pale. Before he could ask what that matter was about he was surrounded by the rest of the unit.

Breda cleared her throat. "Chief, this is an important step in your life."

"That's why it's important that you get all the information you need to be prepared." Falman continued.

"What? What are they talking about?" exclaimed Ed and looked at his brother asking him with his gaze if he understood what was going on but Al shook his head.

"Gosh, they grow up so fast." Havoc exclaimed ruffling Ed's hair again.

"Would someone explain to me what's going on here?" asked Ed again.

"I think it's best not to get ahead of you. We wouldn't want to interfere with what the Colonel must already have prepared." Fuery replied.

"Edward." Riza called to him from her desk. "What they mean is that the Colonel needs to talk to you, so please follow him to his office." At this Roy sighed and walked into his office.

Still confused, Ed shrugged and advanced to the Colonel's office. As he passed Riza's desk, she put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "I'm happy for you, Edward. I hope you're doing very well together."

Thinking that perhaps she was referring to him, to Al and the possibility of a new clue to the philosopher's stone, Ed said. "Thanks...I guess." With that Ed walked into the colonel's office closing the door behind him, leaving an almost equally confused Alphonse as he was.

Turning to look at Breda, Al asked. "What's going on? What does the Colonel want to talk to my brother about?"

Breda gave him a small smile and replied. "Don't be in a hurry Al, your time will come." With that said he went back to his desk to resume his work, leaving Al wondering what he might have meant by those words.

"Alphonse." Riza snapped Al out of his thoughts. "Could you help me with some data to fill out your brother's vacation form?"

Relieved to have something to focus his mind on within that confusion, Al replied. "Sure."

"So, Colonel, what do you want to talk to me about?" Ed said as he settled into the office couch.

Roy sighed trying to work up the courage for the talk he had to give. "Maybe you'd better sit across from me. It's an important matter."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Is this about a new lead?" Roy shook his head. "Fine, then I'll stay here. It's uncomfortable sitting in a chair when you have a leg in a cast."

Roy ran a hand over his face. "What I have to talk to you about is very serious, so even if you stay there, you have to pay close attention to me, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, can we hurry this up?"

Roy sat back in his chair regretfully and began to broach the subject. "Say, Fullmetal do you know what a kiss is?" Great, what a mature and intelligent way to start with the subject. Roy mentally chided himself.

Ed frowned. "Yeah, I'm not a little kid not to know what it is, can we get on topic now?"

"It's part of the topic."

"I don't understand what you're getting at or why 'a kiss' should be part of the topic of this discussion."

"Well, it's just..." Courage, Roy. You can do it. "There are times when a kiss can lead to more... compromising things. Have you had your first kiss yet?"

Unable to help himself, Ed blushed. "I don't plan on answering that question, let alone you, you bastard."

"Look, Fullmetal, I don't want details. I just need you to answer me with a yes or no."

Ed's frown and blush intensified. "No."

I'm still in time. The lieutenant is going to be happy about this. "Well, then there are a few things you should know. The first kiss will probably feel weird but it's going to be attention grabbing and you're going to want to do it again. Also, at your age hormones have a lot of influence on you so there's a chance you might want to explore new options. Preferably I recommend that you control yourself and don't give in to the temptation to explore new regions because you're still so young." Roy was careful not to use the word 'small' so as not to divert Edward's attention. "But either way it's important that you know the implications of 'that business' and how you should take care of yourself." Ed's blush diminished giving way to a confused expression. "Desire and hormones can lead you to take a very important step in a relationship. But..." Roy remarked the word. "This is not a pastime. It should be clear to you that you only have to take that step when you truly love that person. It is an intimate moment that you should only share by mutual agreement when there is love between you and your partner. In fact, I would recommend that you wait until there is a marriage involved but I understand that it doesn't always happen that way. Either way, married or not, before you take that step you should consider all possibilities because 'it' could result in pregnancy..." Roy paused for a moment to settle his thoughts as, for a moment, the photograph of his son popped into his mind. Probably by now or before long I would have to give this talk to my own son if things had been different.

Ed was confused. The colonel had talked non-stop and seemed unwilling to touch on any specific point within his conversation because in about a minute he had gone from the first kiss to pregnancy. What puzzled Edward the most, was that his superior seemed to be beating around the bush and didn't seem to get to the main topic of the conversation. Odd considering the colonel tended to be direct and concrete in his discussions. Also, during the pause Roy had finally taken, his gaze had become... strange. For a thousandth of a second, the boy could perceive something he had never seen in the colonel's smug look. Pain and sadness. Despite his young age, Ed knew those feelings quite well having felt and seen them in other people but, considering this was Mustang, he couldn't believe what he had seen. Nah, maybe I'm imagining it.

Dismissing the mystery of what he saw in the colonel's gaze, Ed took advantage of the pause Roy was finally taking so he could interject into the conversation. "Wait, did you just say pregnancy?" A little stunned the colonel nodded. "Do you want to talk to me about human reproduction?"

"You know about it?"

"Ha, please. Al and I studied a lot about the human body and, for that matter, human reproduction. You know, fertilization, fetus, gestation, eggs, sperm and blah blah blah." Ed replied nonchalantly.

Ed's words, relieved Roy immediately. "Very good, Fullmetal. You've saved me a long talk." He ran a hand through his hair in a relieved gesture. " Geez, for a moment there I thought I was going to have to talk to you about the details of sex." To Roy's dismay, Ed blushed intensely and averted his gaze, causing Roy to freeze the hand running through his own hair. "Fullmetal...do you know the details of the sex act?" Ed ignored him. "Fullmetal."

"I don't need to know the details." Ed muttered in embarrassment.

Feeling the relief he had been feeling evaporate, Roy sighed and told him. "Well, it's not about describing the whole act. But there are some points you should know to take care of yourself and the person you're doing it with."

"I just want you to answer something to me. Obviously the books focus on the strictly biological part but they hinted at some things. So...to do 'that'...people have to be completely...naked?" Ed said without turning to look at Roy, but from his position the colonel could see how reddened his ears were from embarrassment.

"Well, technically the part that should be naked and in direct contact is the middle part of the body where the reproductive organs are located." Replied Roy trying to focus on the somewhat scientific terms Ed was familiar with. "But in real life, people tend to get completely naked because-"

"Stop it!" Ed turned to look at him completely flushed. "You already answered my question. I don't want or need to know any more."

Roy growled in frustration. This conversation was not being at all comfortable and Ed wasn't making it easy. "Fullmetal, this is an uncomfortable subject for both you and me. Neither of us wants to have this talk but, as your commanding officer, it's my responsibility to make sure you have the information you need to take care of yourself and make responsible decisions. Especially now that you have a girlfriend."

A few seconds passed as Ed digested those last words. "Girlfriend?! Where the hell do you get that from?!"

"Come on, Fullmetal. We're in confidence. You don't have to hide it."

"I don't know if you're senile, crazy or both anymore." Ed replied, crossing his arms.

Roy snorted. "You shouldn't do that to your girlfriend. She'll sure be upset if she finds out you disown her."

Ed's blush was giving way to a pronounced frown. "I don't have a girlfriend. Do you understand?"

"Then why were you sleeping so happily and comfortably on Miss Winry's lap?"

The blush returned to Ed's face. "She's just my friend and mechanic!"

"Well to me you seemed like a happy couple hanging out together." Roy replied with a smile.

"I was just resting! It's not very easy to sleep on a couch when you have a leg in a cast." At that moment a realization came to Ed's mind. "Wait a minute. When you went to give Al the message, you saw us when I was ONLY resting. So... You told everyone I had a girlfriend! That's why they were acting so weird!" Ed concluded, pointing a finger at Roy.

"You can't blame me. I really thought she was your girlfriend and felt it necessary to share the news. We're a team remember?"

"You fucking bastard!" Roy was about to rise from his chair when Ed dropped to the floor not caring about the twinge of pain he felt in his leg then stretched and initiated an alchemical reaction that caused the wood of Roy's desk to wrap around him leaving the colonel practically glued to what was once a sleek mahogany desk.

"Fullmetal! Undo this immediately!" shouted Roy.

In pain, Ed slowly got up and picked up his crutches and then started walking toward the door. "That and more you deserve."

"Hey! I'm going to deduct this from your funds!"

" Do it. That's what you get for being nosy. You should thank me for being so generous."

"Where do you see any generosity in this?"

"I remembered you visiting me in the hospital." Ed replied with a small smile. "Otherwise I would have destroyed your entire office in a heartbeat. Although I should probably do something else to make us even." He added with a thoughtful expression. "I'll think of something while I'm in Resembool. So see you later, Colonel bastard."

As soon as he finished speaking Ed walked out and slammed the door behind him leaving Roy puzzled. Was that smile and his "controlled" alchemy a way of thanking him? Roy didn't have much time to delve into his thoughts as his subordinate's shouts quickly brought him out of them.

"That I don't have a girlfriend! Leave me alone!" and immediately the colonel could hear a door slam in clear signal that Edward had left the main office. Shortly thereafter a soft knock sounded on his own office door to make way for his lieutenant, who couldn't help a somewhat puzzled expression at the situation she found him in.

"Does this mean the talk went wrong, sir?"

Roy sighed. "Let's just say it was quite a success considering Fullmetal was involved. Lieutenant, if you don't mind, could you pass me a sheet and a pen?

Riza couldn't suppress a slight smile at the situation. "Yes, sir."

It had been almost two weeks since that talk in the colonel's office. Roy hadn't heard from the Elric brothers but he wasn't worried because they knew they were both taking time off in Resembool. Besides Ed was not someone who liked to give reports of where he was despite Roy's insistence on it.

Work in the office had been going on as normal. They were busy with the usual paperwork but no missions had come up that required any Mustang team members. It had also been a long time since any emergency had arisen that would cause Roy to be disturbed at home so, hearing the phone ring insistently on Sunday as he slept, Roy put aside his tiredness to pick up the phone as quickly as possible feeling a sense of worry appear in his body.

"Colonel Mustang." No one answered but Roy could make out a noise indicating that on the other end of the line someone was moving. "Who is it?"

"Colonel."

The low tone in which Ed spoke set off Roy's internal alarms. "Fullmetal? What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I need to talk about something."

"I'm listening."

"Well..." Ed paused for what seemed like forever to Roy. "I fell asleep on the couch in the living room and just woke up. I thought it would be a great opportunity to say hello to the bastard Colonel." Concluded Ed regaining the same casual tone as always although a little low, surely so as not to wake the others.

The change in his tone puzzled Roy. "That's it?"

"Hmm yes, I think that would be all for the moment. Good night Colonel, or maybe I should say good morning?" Ed said with a soft chuckle at the end.

Roy glanced at the clock in his living room and could tell it was 3:05 in the morning. Memories of the time he had given Edward his number and the last time he had seen him made him understand the situation immediately. "Get some rest, shorty." And before he could hear Ed's retort, he dropped the handset into its cradle.

Roy was relieved to have heard Edward's cheerful, lighthearted tone but was none too happy that his much-deserved Sunday rest had been interrupted by a joke from his subordinate as part of his revenge. So, bracing himself against possible insistence from Ed, he unplugged the phone and shuffled back to his bed.

Damn you, you little brat.