Welcome Home

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA….*cries like a baby*
Title: Welcome Home
Pair: RizaxEd (hints of RoyxEd)
Summary: Ed’s gone for three years and when he finally returns, what will happen when an unexpected surprise is awaiting him?
***Okay, this plays around after/during the movie occurred so (spoilers some) but I changed some facts about the movie and the after events. So be aware that there are changes but some facts are still here. Sorry if the ranks I give people are their true ranks, I am not sure what everyone is after/during the movie.
Warning: hints Yaoi, M/F, language

Welcome Home
By: Kumiko


In a taxi heading toward Central a young blond man looked out the window at the passing buildings. His hair was pulled back into a simple pony-tail with his golden eyes full of mixed emotions. For one, he was happy to be home with all of his friends but there was also a feeling of fear in his eyes. He wasn’t sure whether everything would be the same or not when he finally saw all of his friends. Would they even recognize him? He had been gone longer than he had hoped; yet, it wasn’t his fault that his absence was extended far longer than wished. Before he had been separated by his world, he had traded his body for his brothers, hoping to return Alphonse back to his original state. This event sent him into a world he didn’t recognize, one where it would take him years until he found a way to return. But he did it; he was able to find a way home with help from Alphons Heiderich.

A faint smile appeared on his face as the taxi approached Central’s main military office. He paid the driver before stepping out to look at the building he had nearly forgotten. Memories of past events seem to flood his memory as he approached the doors. The guards at the door looked at him skeptically but when they saw the glimpse of his pocket watch (he never stopped wearing it) in his hand they let him through. Pushing the doors open, he stepped inside to be welcomed by an empty room.

He made his way down the halls, noticing the extreme silence and lack of decoration that never covered the walls in the first place. Military officials passed by him without a second thought in the world as to who he was, not that he cared. Ed only wanted one thing, to see all of his old friends and see how many he could surprise. Though some of the officials did stare at him, his clothing wasn’t like any that they would wear in their time.

As he neared the door that lead into the office where his old friends worked, he saw Riza Hawkeye exit. For a moment, she seemed not to notice him in the hallway but when he purposely put himself in front of her she knew that someone was there.

“Excuse me,” she said without looking up from the papers she was carrying.

“Three years and that’s the greeting I get? Sheesh,” he joked, watching he look up in surprise.

“Fullmetal, sir?” She said, saluting out of constant practice.

“Good afternoon, Hawkeye,” he replied, smiling. “It’s good to see that someone still does their work around here.”

Hawkeye grinned at him. “And it’s good to see that you’ve grown a few inches.”

Ed’s eyebrow quirked but he let it slide. It was true that now at the age of 21; he stood at 5’ 10”. He was proud that he now could no longer be called short, though he has yet to see his brother to see how tall he was.

“Is everyone inside?” He asked, glancing at the door.

She nodded. “Yes, sir, working hard as usual.”

Ed laughed at that last statement. “I’m going in,” he said like he was going to sacrifice his life. “See ya when you get back, Lieutenant.”

Hawkeye continued down the way to where she was originally headed, smiling all the way.

Ed stood outside the door, looking in the window at those sitting at their desks. Like any other time Hawkeye had left the room, everyone was sitting back in their chairs talking away. Chuckling, he pulled the door open and heard everyone scrambling to look like they were always working.

“Relax, people, it’s just me,” he said, grinning as he leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets.

At first, everyone just relaxed until they finally noticed who it was standing in the door. Smiles lit the room as he moved further into the room.

“When’d you get back?” Breda asked.

“Ed!” Falman and Havoc said in unison.

A flurry of questions and comments filled Ed’s ears as he just smiled at everyone, trying to answer everyone. It wasn’t until the far door opened that he really got a reaction out of someone, and one he wasn’t expecting.

“Well, if it isn’t the Fullmetal brat,” Mustang said, smiling. “Grew a few feet didn’t you?”

Ed’s eyebrow quirked he was trying not to react too quickly to the statements. “It’s good to see you too, Colonel.”

“General.” Mustang corrected, showing his trademark smirk. “I’ve been promoted, Fullmetal.”

“That’s a surprise,” he laughed, walking passed everyone. “I wouldn’t have thought that a pervert like you could actually go up in ranks.”

Mustang led Ed into his office, while the others returned to work rather reluctantly. Ed slouched down on one of the couches in his office while Mustang moved to sit back behind his desk. For a good while, the two sat in silence, enjoying one another’s company.

“It’s been too long, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, leaning against his desk. “It hasn’t been the same since you left us.” Me, Fullmetal, he thought to himself, my life hasn’t been the same.

“I didn’t think I would ever return, to tell the truth,” he said, looking down. “I thought I was stuck there until I died. You don’t know how good it feels to finally be where I want to be.”

Mustang looked at Ed and saw the smile on the young man’s face. “Well, I do know that it’s good that you returned to us and I hope you will consider staying part of the military.”

“Somehow I knew that you would bring that up, General,” Ed sighed, leaning back on the couch. “If I stay, what’s in it for me?”

“You know that you won’t be bored at least,” was the reply. “We also need a competent young man in our army.” Mustang smirked.

Ed laughed at the last statement. “Right, like there aren’t any other young men to join your fucking army.”

“I already have one other,” Mustang said, “your brother joined not too long after you disappeared, thinking that we may have clues on your whereabouts.”

“Al?”

Mustang nodded. “He’s in Central now, just returned from a mission. In fact, he is supposed to report in this afternoon to brief me on the mission.”

Ed smiled. I will finally get to see my brother in his normal body, he thought to himself, forgetting that Mustang was talking to him.

“..metal, are you listening?”

“Sorry, General,” he replied, grinning and rubbing the back of his head.

Mustang sighed. “I asked you if you were going to stay and wait for your brother here.”

“If you don’t mind, Mustang, I would like to do just that.”

Mustang nodded and then began to work on his paperwork. Long hours of boredom without Ed there to entertain him left him nothing to do but paperwork. These long hours made him realize that if he did the paper work when it was given to him it was much easier than having to rush everything at the last minute.

? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?

Ed fell asleep on the couch, reading on of the books he had found on the table in the center of Mustang’s private office. This sleeping young man was unaware of the effect he was having on the man sitting behind the desk. For many years, Ed was aware of the effect he had on both men and women but figured that Mustang, the ladies’ man he was, wouldn’t notice anything about him. It was true that before he had disappeared, he harbored a crush on the colonel but never acted upon his feelings. After many years of that feeling without it being realized in reality, he grew to only respect the man he served. He always told himself that it was a stupid crush that many other people get toward their commanding officers, much like a pupil toward their teacher.

Then after he had disappeared, he had met a woman named Noa, though as pretty as she was he never felt anything toward her. It was much like she was his sister rather than anything else. It wasn’t until his final departure from that world that he finally realized what truly loving someone meant. Though he never personally felt it, he witnessed Noa’s tears as he left and felt that in her heart she truly did love him. However, now he could never return to that world or to her, for that matter. He would have to find someone in this world that he could love and share his life with. Maybe it wasn’t meant for him to find someone.

“…metal, wake up,” he heard Mustang’s voice in his ear, jarring him awake.

“What?” Ed asked, groggily, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”

Mustang smiled, standing. “I just got off the phone with your brother, I didn’t tell him that you were here but I told him to get down here pronto.”

This brought a smile to Ed’s face as he sat up. “How long do I have?”

The sudden burst of commotion in the outer office answered Ed. Havoc was yelling because Al had accidentally flipped his chair over with Havoc still in it and burning out his last cigarette. The others’ laughter filled the air as Al apologized and made his way to the General’s door. When the door flew open without Al actually knocking, Ed fell off the couch in sudden surprise.

“Geez, Al, you think you would be quieter without a metal body,” Ed said, rubbing his butt where he landed.

“Nii-san!” Al yelled, not truly believing that Ed was on the floor.

“That’s the entire ‘hello’ I get?” Ed chided, smirking all the while. “Come here.”

Tears filled Al’s eyes as he ran over to his brother to give him a hug. “Oh, nii-san, I looked everywhere for you! I knew you were alive, I just knew it!”

Ed laid his head on his brother’s shoulder, silently thinking, finally I am the taller one. His eyes also watered at this heartfelt reunion.

“You joined the military?”

“Yeah, only to look for you,” Al said after glancing at Mustang, grinning. “And Mustang begged me to join.”

Ed looked back at the general, laughing at Mustang’s face. “I could’ve figured that out, Al.”

The two laughed when Mustang’s face grew increasingly redder.

“Oh, Winry and Aunt Pinako will be happy to see you again!” Al exclaimed before dragging his brother from the office. “I’ll see you later, general.”

Mustang smiled as the two left his office. It will certainly be livelier around here now that those two are finally together, he thought to himself before starting back on his paperwork.

? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?

Ed and Al sat in the middle of a coffee shop down the street from the main Central building. Though neither drank coffee, it was a nice place where they could sit quietly and talk of all the things that they missed with each other.

“I missed you, nii-san,” the younger brother said, holding onto his cup of juice. “I thought that I would never find you even when I refused to give up searching for you.”

“Al, you knew I couldn’t keep myself away from here too long,” he replied, laughing. “I would miss you guys way too much to just up and leave forever.”

Al smiled. “I am so relieved that you are home now,” the younger brother said, sighing. “Now we can live together with Winry and be back the way we used to be when we were kids, right?”

At this, he didn’t reply. It was true that he wanted to see Winry and Pinako but to live with them after not being there for so long. This wasn’t going to be something easy to explain, especially since he was going to rejoin the military as a state alchemist. He slowly tapped his fingers on the table while he thought of what to say to him.

“Al…” He began, not daring to look up at his brother. “I am going to rejoin the military, so we can’t go back to the way we were. You should go live with Winry and Pinako and quit the army.”

“But, nii-san,” Al tried but the look in his brother’s eyes when he finally did look up told him not to question his brother’s decision. “You will come see them, won’t you?”

“Of course, I couldn’t come back and not see them,” he said, smiling. “Winry would leave a wrench-shaped hole in my head if I tried.”

Both brothers laughed at that last statement before continuing on other topics of the night. Though only three years passed without them seeing each other, it seemed to them that they lived a lifetime without the other there with them. Hours they spent talking about everything that they could come up with. The many girl-friends that Havoc had taken away by the infamous Mustang or the many that he was able to keep to himself before finally finding the girl for him. Then came up the fact that despite all of the requests Hawkeye received for dates from men, she would always refuse with the same reason. For Ed, the first thought was that they would interfere with her work schedule and style. However the real reason that she refused them was one that left him shocked.

“Nii-san, do you want to know why Hawkeye never accepted any dates?” Al asked, sipping his juice as the night grew later.

Though, hesitantly, Ed nodded, watching his brother’s facial expressions.

“You,” was all that Al said before paying for their drinks and leaving the table.

Ed sat, confused and shocked, staring at the place where Al used to sit. Me? Why? He stood and quickly chased after his younger brother, wanting answers.

? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?

To be continued….

Author’s Note: I know that many things are going on in this fic but I hope you all like it. Gomen nasai for all of the grammar mistakes and things that I already said in the first warning paragraph. Anyway, Please review!! I would like your comments and flames are welcomes but if I don’t like it you will be banned from commenting on my story. Gomen but I don’t like people giving me flames, okay? ? until next time!! REVIEW!!