Author's Note: I wasn't intending this fic to turn into a Parental!RoyEl fic, but it kind of seems like it's becoming one ^^' What can I say? It's one of my favorite relationships to write about! But I also slipped in some sisterly goodness too. I think this chapter took me three tries before I figured out how I wanted to write it, so hopefully this way works. This was one of the first thoughts I worked through when I initially came up with the idea for this fic. At first, I didn't think there was enough to really turn it into a story, but I hope I managed to flesh it out enough to make it enjoyable for someone, at least. Please feel free to send along any ideas you might have for something that might be interesting to see with these genderbent characters!
Roy usually thought Monday was the worst day of the week, but he was beginning to think Tuesday could give it a run for its money. As if it weren't enough that he'd sat through two meetings already and it was only ten o'clock, the stack of paperwork he was supposed to get through today was so high he had to sit up perfectly straight to see over the top of it.
Normally, he would shuffle some of the work off on his men, but that wasn't an option today. The seasonal flu was going around, and both Falman and Breda had come down with it. Worst of all, Hawkeye had caught it as well. She'd tried to come in to work the day before, but had collapsed while trying to get out of bed. When she'd called in to apologize, Roy had flatly ordered her to not even think about work until she was better.
Unfortunately, this meant that his three best paper-pushers were missing in action. That wasn't to say that Havoc and Fury weren't doing their jobs; for once, there was no slacking off in the office. They simply weren't as efficient as the others, and the sheer volume of work was drowning them all.
To top it all off, Full Metal was due in his office fifteen minutes ago. Where was the brat? He didn't have time for any nonsense today. If her handwriting weren't so sloppy, he'd try to foist some of this paperwork on her...
Oh, joy—now the phone was ringing. With a sigh, he reached over and picked up the receiver, continuing to sign his name. "Roy Mustang speaking."
"Um...hi, Colonel..." The way the words echoed hollowly told him immediately who it was.
"Good morning, Addie," he said tersely. "Would you mind telling me why your sister isn't in my office?"
"Oh! I-I'm sorry, Colonel, but she's...going to be late...with her report..."
Roy let out a long-suffering sigh as he put down his pen and transferred the completed form to the stack on the other side of his desk. "So I gathered. And what is her excuse this time?"
"Um...she's not...feeling well..."
"Is it the flu?" Well, at least he wouldn't have to take time away to hear her sarcastically-worded report for a few days.
"N-No..." Though suits of armor couldn't cry, Addie sounded close to tears. He could hear the anxiety trembling in her voice, and could easily imagine her wringing her enormous gauntlets as she fretted over her sister. "I just...oh, I just don't know what to do!" She sounded like the only reason she wasn't bursting into tears was that it was physically impossible for her.
Roy reminded himself that, even though she was enormous on the outside, Adelaide Elric was actually only twelve years old. She was mature beyond her years and as capable of taking care of herself as El was...but she was just a child. No twelve-year-old should have to bear the entire responsibility of taking care of her sister when she was sick. Especially not when her sister was definitely not an ideal patient.
Softening his voice as much as he could, Roy said, "Do you need someone to come by and help? I could have Havoc or Fury stop by the pharmacy on their way—"
"No!" Addie yelled, suddenly sounding frantic. "No, not them!" She sounded like she was trying to rein in her inexplicable terror. "Um...I-I just called to see if I could talk to Lieutenant Hawkeye about...about something..."
One by one, the clues finally clicked into place. Not feeling well...not wanting the men to come by...needing to talk to Hawkeye specifically...and El is thirteen...
Glancing over to make sure the door to his inner office was shut and no one could listen in, Roy lowered his voice. "Addie...has El started...bleeding a lot...from...?"
A loud squeak from Addie, accompanied by the clatter of her armor as she started with surprise, answered his question eloquently enough.
"It's all right," he said, though he could feel his own heart rate accelerating. He wasn't prepared for this. He'd never thought he would need to be prepared for this. "I'm afraid Hawkeye is home sick right now, so we'll have to figure this out together."
"Okay..." Addie said reluctantly.
Roy wished fervently that Hawkeye had picked a different week to get sick, or that he had another woman on his team. If they were in Central, he would ask Gracia Hughes to drop by and get them sorted...but there was no use for wishful thinking. He would just have to do this himself.
Marshalling his thoughts, Roy slowly said, "Now, the first thing you need to know is that this is perfectly normal and not life-threatening."
"I know," Addie hastily interrupted. "I mean...we read a lot of biology books for...you know, for our mom. So...So we already knew it was going to start sometime, but...but now it has, and..." Once again, she sounded like she was about to cry, though of course there would be no tears. "She's in so much pain, Colonel, and-and-and I don't know what to do and I'm scared—"
"Easy, easy," Roy said, glancing up at the clock. "Tell you what. I'll take an early lunch and come over right now. And we'll get this sorted out. Okay?"
"O-Okay."
"You don't need to worry about a thing, Addie. I'll be there in ten minutes."
Addie's voice sounded shaky, but slightly more stable. "Yes, sir."
Roy stopped outside the door to the Elric sisters' dorm room and took a deep breath. Why am I doing this?
Because they don't have a mother to teach them what to do, said a patient voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Hawkeye.
But I'm not even their father! he whined silently. Why is this my job?
Because you're the only one they can turn to.
What about their...granny, or whatever? Mrs. Rockbell?
Mrs. Rockbell isn't here. There's only so much you can do from the other end of a phone line. You're here. Now man up and do your job.
Roy made a face at the voice. Hawkeye wouldn't say that.
Maybe not, but you would.
Rolling his eyes, Roy put an end to this pointless inner debate and knocked on the door. Before he could even lower his arm again, the door opened so violently it was almost ripped from the hinges. Addie stood on the other side, looking as nervous as an empty suit of armor possibly could.
"Colonel!" she said, her voice sounding even higher than usual. "Thank goodness you're here!"
Roy stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. He'd made sure the Elric sisters got one of the smaller dorm rooms, to give them more privacy, so his eyes were immediately drawn to the bed where El lay curled on her side. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top rather than her usual heavy layers and bright red coat, and her blonde hair lay straggled and unkempt on the pillow, her bangs stuck to her face with sweat. Both hands were clutching her stomach, so hard that Roy was pretty sure that at least the right hand would leave bruises. But she wasn't lying in a puddle of her own blood, so at least there was that.
El raised her head just enough to glare up at him. Her golden eyes sparked with even more ire than usual, if that was even possible. "What are you doing here?" she snarled. "Addie, why'd you bring a man here?"
Addie hung her head. "I told you, Sister. Hawkeye's sick, and there's no one else..."
El turned her sour expression back to Roy. "Go away. This is girl stuff. You'll just be grossed out. We're fine on our own."
Roy quirked an eyebrow at her, unimpressed. "Relax. I grew up with nothing but sisters, okay? I may not know what it's like to have 'girl stuff,' but I do know some things my sisters did each month."
El just scowled, but Addie inched a little closer. Roy couldn't be sure, but he thought she looked slightly less anxious. "I didn't know you had sisters, Colonel."
Roy nodded. "Six, actually. Adopted."
"Hello!" El griped loudly. "I'm only bleeding out of every orifice here!"
"Don't exaggerate, Full Metal. Now, what are you using to absorb the blood?"
El only responded with a string of profanity that would have been shocking to hear from a cute little thirteen-year-old girl, had Roy not already heard worse from her many times. Addie spoke up, her shoulders hunched nervously again. "Um...we got some bandages and transmuted them...uh, to her underwear?"
Well, that was certainly not something his sisters had done. "Not a bad idea. Just make sure to switch them out regularly, to avoid infection. It's just like any other wound."
"Okay." Addie had a little notebook out and was scribbling down everything he said.
Roy didn't feel like he should be considered any sort of authority on the subject, but maybe taking notes was like a defense mechanism for Addie. Something to keep her busy. Roy made a mental note of his own to get Hawkeye to go over everything with them once she was well enough. Just to make sure he wasn't forgetting some minor detail.
Like cramps. El grunted, curling up even tighter around the source of her pain. Her whole face screwed up in agony, and Roy was startled to see tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. In the year she'd been under his command, El had suffered some pretty serious wounds. She'd been in and out of the hospital multiple times, and Roy had heard just how excruciating automail surgery was, let alone reconnecting the limbs.
Elaine Elric was no stranger to pain. He'd seen her shrug off huge gashes and broken limbs without shedding a tear. So he knew that now, she must be in agony.
"Here," he said, pulling out the bottle of pills he'd picked up at the pharmacy on the way over. "Take two of these every four hours until the cramps stop."
Addie hurried over to help El sit up and take the medicine. Once she had settled back on the pillow, El mumbled, "I'm sorry, Addie."
Roy rummaged around in their kitchenette for the hot water bottle he knew they kept there, for when El's automail ached in cold weather. As he filled the kettle with water and waited for it to heat up, he glanced over at the others.
"What are you sorry for, Sister?" Addie asked softly, sitting on the floor in front of El's bed and brushing the hair out of her face with infinite care. "You didn't do anything wrong."
El grasped Addie's gauntlet and held it against her face. "I'm...I'm sorry I can't...I can't do anything like this... W-We were gonna do some more research...but now I can't even sit up...an' you hafta take care of me..."
Roy realized that El was crying again, quietly sniffling into the leather of Addie's hand. He busied himself with the hot water bottle, feeling awkward and out of place. This was not the El he was used to seeing. Grousing and complaining and blowing things out of proportion? He was far too used to that.
But he was not used to an Elaine Elric that acted exactly like a thirteen-year-old girl with heavy cramps and turbulent hormones would.
"Don't worry about it," Addie said soothingly. "You can't help it. And it won't make that much difference if we have to take a couple days off because you're not feeling well."
"But...that means two more days we're putting off getting your body back..."
"Sister, don't worry about that..."
Roy brought the hot water bottle over, pretending he hadn't heard any of their conversation. El hastily wiped her eyes, returning to her usual scowl. "Here," Roy said, handing her the hot water bottle. "This might help."
El situated it against her abdomen, grudgingly nodding her thanks.
"The worst should be over in a day or two," Roy said, checking his pocket watch. "I need to head back to the office now. Addie, call me if you need any materials from the library, and I can bring them over on my way home."
"Oh!" Addie started, looking up in surprise. They all knew that he lived in the opposite direction from the library, and it would by no means be 'on the way.' "Th-Thank you, Colonel! Um...we'll see."
Roy nodded, turning to leave. "Feel better soon, Full Metal. I expect that report on my desk by Friday."
As Roy stepped through the door, El told him to do something that had Addie exclaiming reproachfully. Roy smirked and closed the door behind himself.
Making his way down the stairs and back outside, Roy realized he'd just potentially made even more work for himself. Where would he find the time to drop by the library and hunt down obscure alchemy texts? Because they would be obscure, knowing those two.
He had so much work left to do, and now he'd probably have to work through dinner as well as lunch. He really was getting soft, wasn't he?
But...El already had it pretty hard. And there wasn't much he could do about the pain and discomfort her body would put her through each month now. But he would do what he could.
Addie sat under the tree in the Rockbells' front yard, her back against the trunk and her legs stretched out in front of her. Ostensibly, she was reading a book, but really she was just enjoying the shade and the warm spring air. Every few minutes, a breeze would blow her bangs off her forehead, and she would have to close her eyes and tip her head back to feel it on her skin. Or she would get distracted by the shadows of leaves fluttering back and forth across her lap. Or she would catch a whiff of the scents around her: warm dirt, the flowers they'd planted out front, the shepherd's pie Granny Pinako was making for dinner, and the occasional smell of livestock from the neighbor's field.
It was all wonderful. A whole year had passed since Addie had gotten her body back, but she didn't take any of these sensations for granted. She doubted she ever would.
Addie looked down at her arms, still thin but not emaciated like they'd been at first. Her sundress (white with a blue flower print) didn't hang quite so loosely on her anymore either, and her hair curled slightly on her shoulders. They'd chopped off most of the long, brittle length that had grown out while her body had been stuck behind her Door of Truth, and it had grown back much healthier. Everything was much healthier, and Addie knew it had a lot to do with Granny's cooking.
The front door banged shut and bare heels thudded on the steps. "Hi, Sister," Addie said without looking up, marking her place carefully with a bookmark she'd made with pressed flowers.
She raised her head and watched El striding towards her across the grass. She wore her usual tank top—a red one, rather than the black that had dominated her wardrobe for so long—and jean shorts that came down to the top of her automail leg. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, which probably meant she'd been reading or something, rather than anything physically strenuous.
In a lot of ways, El looked the same as she had for years, but Addie knew better. It wasn't just the scars on her right arm knitting flesh to flesh, where for four years there had been metal. She could see it in the way El carried herself—loose, open, relaxed. Her shoulders weren't hunched with tension. There weren't enormous circles under her eyes as she drove herself into the ground, constantly working towards their goal.
She'd also convinced Winston to help her pierce her ears. Always before, El had claimed she had no patience for jewelry, and would snap at anyone who suggested buying her any. But she'd started singing a different tune when, for her last birthday, Winston had made her earrings shaped like the serpent cross. They dangled from her ears now, as they had every day since then.
No complaints at how 'girly' they made her look. No concerns about them getting ripped out or damaged in a fight. El could wear them now just because they were pretty.
And maybe also because of who made them, Addie thought slyly.
"I knew it!" El announced, sliding down the tree trunk to sit beside her. "I was right!"
"Right about what?"
"I started today."
Addie quirked an eye at El's smug expression. "O...kay?"
El crossed her legs and her arms, leaning back contentedly. "Well, does it look like I'm writhing around in agony because of the cramps?"
It was true, El didn't look like she often did on the first day of her period. Her cycle had gone irregular ever since that horrible wound she'd suffered in Baschool (because of trauma, the doctors said), and even after they'd returned to Risenpool and things had calmed down after the Promised Day, it hadn't been quite the same as the first few years. Addie had assumed that was a result of more sleep and less stress in general.
Addie set her book aside and slowly said, "So...you didn't have cramps at all?"
El waved her hand. "Nah, I had some this morning, but then the painkillers kicked in and it went away."
Addie had only experienced two normal cycles so far (another result of her body almost starving to death for five years), and she couldn't imagine being so casual about the pain of those cramps. The first time she'd felt them, it had finally made sense why El was incapacitated for almost two days every month. But then, any amount of pain tended to be overwhelming to Addie, even after all this time, so she supposed she wasn't the best judge.
Leaning in closer, El grinned eagerly, like she was about to reveal a long-lost alchemic formula. "Addie—you remember how our souls got tangled up in the human transmutation that day? So that I was eating and sleeping your share too?"
"Of course." How could she ever forget that? Even if it had been an unintentional side effect, that was yet another way that El had sacrificed for her sake. Addie could never repay her.
"Well...I think I was bleeding your share too!"
Addie blinked several times. Such a thing had never occurred to her before; she'd been much more concerned with the possibility of getting her body back alive. "Really? You think...that's possible?"
El nodded eagerly, babbling away as if this were just another exciting alchemic theory, rather than a discussion of how horrible her life had been for five years. "I know it doesn't make a whole lot of physical sense, I mean, how could your blood end up in my body, but then, it doesn't make a whole lot of physical sense for food to go from my stomach into yours, or nutrients or whatever, but just think about it, I mean, it's like basically a waste product that needs to come out or it could've poisoned your body, and that's why it always hurt like a—" She cut herself short, suddenly looking concerned. "Addie?"
Addie's eyes filled with tears. "That's why?" she whispered, staring at her sister. "That's why it always hurt so much?"
"Oh...no, Addie, it's okay...it's over now..."
Addie pulled El into a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm sorry I did that to you."
El ran her fingers through Addie's hair, just like she always used to do when they were kids. Just as she continued to do, even when Addie was just a suit of armor with a streamer of horsehair attached to the helmet. "You didn't do it to me," she said softly. "I'm just as much to blame. And if I could spare you for a few years...I'd happily do it all over again."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Addie tightened her grip around the best sister anyone could ask for. "I wouldn't," she whispered. "I never want you to go through that again."
El knocked her head gently against Addie's. "Take your fair share, and I never will again."
Addie found herself smiling through the tears. "I think I can do that."