Housework

Note: There will be a short lag while I start writing the next chapter, not even jot notes are done. My "break" lasted about an hour, I think I'm addcited to this one. *L* Thanks again to everyone who wrote, I appreciate your ideas and encouragement! Here's the chapter.

Punishment begins and fails

In the morning, breakfast and two silent boys greeted Roy. Nervous glances were sent his way and they watched him carefully. He ignored it all, opting to pretend nothing had happened. He made small talk, encouraging them to relax. Ed was especially nervous about spending time with so many new people, but Roy waved him off.

“Nothing will happen to you. You'll be in a group with a bunch of new recruits, most of them are even less used to work than you are. You'll be fine. Even if you can't keep up, just try and that'll be good enough. I'll talk to Rose and let him know you don't talk. You have to be respectful though and do as you're told. He has charge over you and will punish you if he needs to, and I won't interfere. Just be good and you'll both be fine.”

He was a bit nervous himself, not sure if this was the best thing, but he'd said it and now he had to go through with it. 'Rose is a good commander and used to young men. They'll be fine with him. And out of trouble.' They left early, not wanting to be late. With only five minutes to spare, Roy shooed them in and called Rose over. After a brief discussion, he left, waving at them, ignoring the lost looks they sent after him.

Once he was at the office, Roy wandered around the room until he found the best desk for watching the training grounds and kicked Havoc out. He settled himself and began working diligently so he wouldn't be sent back to his own office. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the group go through basic exercises; stretches, push-ups, laps, nothing hard or special. 'This is alright, they'll be fine. It's good for them.' He congratulated himself on being such a great guardian. Then, a familiar voice boomed out, clear even inside.

“And THIS technique has been handed down for generations in the Armstrong family.” No, it couldn't be. Where did HE come from? And what the hell was he doing here today, of all days?

He didn't realize he had spoken out loud until Fuery answered him. “He arrived this morning, sir. He's here to help train one of the squads. Didn't you read the notice?” Obviously not, but there it was, on the board, with his signature on it. Damn it. Now what? He couldn't just leave them out there. Roy started for the door, only to be frozen under the glare aimed at him. He swallowed. Or maybe he could. He watched anxiously as Armstrong postured and animatedly moved the recruits around.

Edward's turn came up eventually, just like everyone else's and Roy held his breath. Suddenly, Al was in the way, standing in front of his brother. Major Armstrong tried to go around him, but he was too fast. Roy could see Armstrong talking, and assumed Al was talking as well while they danced around each other. Finally, Armstrong began moving Al and Edward copied him carefully, staying well out of reach. Roy relaxed and moved away from the window, certain everything was under control.

Ten minutes later, a hoarse scream drifted up to him and he bolted from his chair. Armstrong was on the ground, staring at a wall in front of him. Edward was surrounded by a thick wall and was sitting in the middle, huddled into himself. Al was waving his arms and yelling something, Roy couldn't hear him. He took off, followed closely by his Fuery and Havoc. By the time he got to the field, Rose had things back under control. Armstrong was leading the squad in running laps, all except Al and Ed, who was still locked away. Al was begging his brother to come out, getting no reply. The tears in his voice tore Roy to pieces as he came up beside him. He put a hand on his shoulder and motioned for him to go to Fuery and Havoc.

“Go tell them what happened. It's alright, Al. I'll look after Edward.” Al let himself be pulled away by Havoc's arm around his waist. He started talking to the two men, letting them lead him away, but not inside. He wasn't going to just leave Ed there. “Edward.” There was no reply, but Roy didn't really expect one. “Are you ok?” There was a clink of metal hitting the stone. “I'll assume that means yes. Can you come out please? I'd like to see you.” Two clinks that time. Alright. “You can't stay there. Now, drop the wall or I will.” A faint clap and the walls burst into dust, flying in Roy's face. He didn't flinch, he couldn't afford to lose even a small power struggle like this.

Edward looked at him with tears running down his face, the dust making them more apparent. Roy knelt carefully beside him. “You can put them back up if you want to, but only if I'm in here with you. Do you want Al too?” He shook his head, clapped, and put the walls back up around them. “Are you hurt anywhere?” Shake. “What happened?” Shrug. Roy shifted to sit with his legs crossed. “Something happened. Did Armstrong touch you?” A shaky nod. “Caught you by surprise I bet. I know he's big, and very loud, but he didn't mean anything. He was just trying to help.” Shrug. “Just want to sit for awhile?” Nod. “Alright, shall I keep talking or be quiet?” Shrug. “Well, if it's up to me, then I'm going to talk. This reminds me of a fort. I used to have one when I was young, younger than you two. My sister, Tally, and I used to fight over it all the time. She wanted to be queen and I just wanted to conquer, like all little boys do. I think I learned everything I know about strategy fighting with her. She was really strong, a lot stronger than I was, and I had to be sneaky and fast so she wouldn't catch me. I used to set traps all around the fort, and then I'd forget about them and get caught the next day.” They both smiled.

“She used to chase me everywhere, she was a lot faster too and almost always caught me. Unless I could get to a tree, she was afraid of heights. She used to set traps for me in the lower branches of trees. The worst, or best according to her, was one where she used honey on the branches and I got it everywhere. On my clothes, my skin, my hair, I was so filthy by the time I got home, my mom made me have a bath outside so I didn't get her house dirty. She was pretty mad. I had to wash dishes for a week.” Edward was watching him intently now. “Yeah, my sister was pretty neat, even if I didn't think so then. You're pretty lucky to have your brother.” The blond waved his hand, the question in his eyes. “Ah, what happened to her? She died, in Ishbal. She was a soldier, one of the first to go in. She used to write a lot, we got a lot of letters when she died. There was one for every week she was gone, she carried them around so she could bring them home with her for us. Strange, huh?” He sighed, he really did miss her.

Edward's hand on his arm made him look up. He smiled sadly and reached out his hand, hovering above Edward's head. The blond head moved up a bit to hit his hand and he ran his fingers through the soft hair. A handkerchief came out of his pocket and he handed it to the boy, watching him wipe his face, scrubbing away the last traces of tears. “Feel better?” Nod and a small smile.

“Want to see something?” Nod. Roy pulled a chain out from under his uniform and unclasped it. It was a small, delicate gold chain, with a ring hanging on it. “It was my mom's, she gave it to Tally, for when she got married. Tally sent it to me, it was in her last letter. Someday, I'll give it to whomever I marry. It'll let my partner know exactly how much I love her, just by existing. Neat, isn't it?” He turned it in his fingers, then dangled it in front of Edward. “Would you like to hold it?” The blond held out his hand and felt it drop gently into his palm. He rubbed it gently, taking in the small diamonds and gold detailing around the edges. A shy smile tugged at his lips before he handed it back. Roy clasped it back onto his neck and stood, dusting his pants off.

“Alright, shall we get out of here?” The boy stood, clapping his hands and placing them on the wall. It disintegrated, falling into a soft ring of dirt. Al came running up to hug his brother and was hugged tightly back. “Edward. I'd like you to apologize to Major Armstrong.” He held up a hand. “Listen. He didn't do anything wrong, just like you didn't, but I expect you to be a gentleman and apologize for knocking him over. Come now.”

They made their way over to where Armstrong and Rose were discussing the next day's training schedule. Roy motioned Ed forward a bit, then stepped back. He cleared his throat. Armstrong noticed them and dismissed Rose to come over immediately. He stood and looked the boy over. “That is some talent you have there. It takes a lot to knock me down, even if you did catch me off my guard. I apologize for the distress I have unknowingly caused you. I have been informed of the situation and regret causing you this trouble.”

Edward shuffled his feet and looked over his shoulder at Roy and Al behind him. Al moved to join him, but Roy held him back. “Leave him. He can't depend on you forever.”

The short blond bit his lip and looked at the huge man in front of him. He shuffled some more, then knelt suddenly. He clapped his hands and lifted a small tablet from the ground. Written on it was, “I'm sorry I knocked you down. I hope you weren't hurt.” He handed it to the giant, his face slightly flushed.

“Of course not! This wonderful body has been through the training techniques passed down through generations of Armstrongs and can withstand much greater attacks than that!” He proceeded to posture and show off his rippling muscles, complete with pink sparkles and hearts as he admired himself. Edward stared in shock. Apparently he was forgiven.

Roy decided it was time for a snack and they went to the cafeteria. He settled in to enjoy a long coffee break and avoid lots of paperwork. The two boys played with their fruit, arguing over different pieces and trading until they were both happy. Al made little pictures with his, moving them around on his plate until he was bored, then gave them to his brother for devouring. They started to fuss, but it's only been half an hour, so Roy dug around and found some paper for them in his pockets and they amused themselves with that, writing little notes to each other until they used it all up. Then they started to really act up, imitating people and fighting. Sigh. Time to go back.

The older man dragged his charges back to the office, setting them in the inner office and closing the door. He could hear them wrestling on the floor, but figured they couldn't hurt anything. Crash. Or maybe they could. He opened the door to tell them to be quiet and watched in amusement as they drew an array and argued over the pattern to use to fix the lamp. Edward wanted to use a more complex design while Al was insisting on a more simple one. They squabbled and ended up wrestling again. Al won easily and completed his design. The older brother tried to stop him but he just pushed him over and fixed the lamp quickly.

The blond was so annoyed he looked like he was about to smash the lamp again just to have a chance to use his array. Roy cleared his throat and both heads turned to him immediately. “What am I going to do with you? Would you like to go back outside? You can if you want. Otherwise, you have to be quiet.” The boys looked at each other, then at the fixed lamp between them. They looked at their guardian then Al spoke up.

“Maybe we should go back out. Drill Sergeant Rose was nice. Is Major Armstrong still here? He doesn't listen very well.”

“Rose can't take you right now, he has a more advanced group in the afternoons and Major Armstrong is with them. Maybe you would like to use the obstacle course? It should be empty this time of day. You can see it from the window.” He motioned to the window and pointed it out to them. Edward's eyes lit up, it was something he was familiar with and would be fun to work on it with Al. He nodded and started dragging Al out the door. “Hold it. You can't just wander around by yourselves.” Roy called out the door, “Fuery! Take these two to the course. You can just drop them off, I'll watch them from here.”

“Yes, sir!” The youngest subordinate leaped to his feet and snapped a quick salute. The boys started out the door, then Al stopped. He turned and bowed.

“Thank you, Colonel sir.” Ed copied him, sloppy, but it was an effort. Roy waved them out, watching them run to Fuery and follow him eagerly outside. He stared after them before his lieutenant came to the door, blocking his view.

“Colonel, sir? Would you like to do some work now, sir?” It was obvious the answer had better not be 'no'.

“I was working earlier, and I was just sitting down to continue doing so.” He proceeded to his desk and sat, waiting expectantly for his work to appear in front of him. It did, a huge pile of papers thumped down on the desk. “This seems like more than the usual amount. Is there something I should be aware of?”

“Well, sir, while you were out of the office, none of the work you were supposed to be doing got done and it has accumulated.”

“I worked this morning. And Edward needed me.” Roy was getting defensive; this wasn't fair! He had worked this morning, not much, but still! And Edward had needed him, he couldn't just ignore him, now could he?

“Of course, sir. But now he doesn't. You can get all this done easily before going home tonight, sir, if you just apply yourself.” She turned and walked out, closing the door behind her. It opened again a minute later, “And don't spend the day staring out the window again, please, sir.”

Roy decided retreat was the best option and sunk into his chair to begin signing. Half an hour later, the temptation to look, just once, was too much. He snuck over to the window and watched the two boys run around, chasing each other over the obstacles. Edward was obviously getting tired, lagging behind his brother. He flopped over, laying on his back. Al came back cautiously,watching for movement. Closer, closer, until he was leaning over his short sibling, then FLASH.

Bright blue light blazed and his feet sunk into the ground. Ed was up and running again, fleeing for the far side of the course, laughing the entire way. Al was yelling at him while he quickly drew an array and freed himself before taking off as well. He caught him at the top of a wall, balancing delicately while whirling his brother over his head. They fell, and Roy held his breath until they popped back up, dirty and laughing. The two climbed backup and sat, swinging their feet, chatting in the sun. 'They really are beautiful.'