Prompt 11, Gamble, Unpleasantries of War
Unpleasantries of War
Author - Cornerofmadness
Disclaimer- Not mine in the least
Rating - PG-13
Characters - Roy, Al
Timeline/Spoilers - none really, set post series
Series - manga
Summary - Sometimes he has to do things he hates.
Warning - none
Word Count - 500
Author’s Note - Of all the bunnies that were whirling in my head the first time I saw this prompt, THIS story wasn’t even among them. Go figure. Also cutting out only a handful of words seems so much harder than having to hack off 100 to make the limit. Thanks to evil_little_dog for the first reading.
XXX
He didn’t know why he thought it would be easy for the new regime to simply take over Amestris; granted, he hadn’t really considered those implications at all. Bradley made war with the world. Roy expected trouble from Creata and Drachma. It was the internal resistance he hadn’t counted on. As they tried to build something to replace Bradley’s regime, Roy’s own bid for power had been met with ugly slurs from many fronts; those not trusting an alchemist; those who thought he was a war criminal; those who called him a ‘halfer’ or ‘squint.’
The last person he thought would have been there when he withdrew into himself was Olivia Armstrong but she had offered support. He didn’t think she understood how it felt to have people hate literally everything that made him who he was but he liked her solution. He backed her for president. So far, it was working well. She kept him, her brother and Fullmetal busy putting out the fires that Bradley supporters started. The homunculus might be dead but his influence remained and alchemists were best suited for dealing with it.
To that end, Ed was somewhere in the desert with Scar dealing with a literal nest of surprises left by Bradley’s men, when the intelligence came in that Alphonse, along with the Rockbells, had been targeted. Roy and Riza had rounded up the Rockbells and a weak, emaciated Alphonse, not that they were happy about a surprise trip north. It took a break-in at the house to convince the women of the danger. Winry spent the journey there complaining to Riza that she was tired of not being able to protect the things that mattered to her. Roy spoke to his lover later, both of them understanding that sentiment well.
While Riza settled the Rockbells into the safe-house, Roy helped Alphonse in. “There’s a room downstairs for you, drafty I’m afraid, but I can build you a fire.”
Al grinned. “Where did you find this big old place?”
“Riza’s homestead. I bought it and had it looked after just in case, all these years,” Roy said, easing Al down onto the recently uncovered couch before starting on the fireplace.
Trembling, Al pulled his coat tighter. “I heard you tell Winry that you’d teach her how to protect herself.”
Roy nodded. “I’ve heard Ed bitch enough about how unerring she is with a wrench. When Falman met us at the last stop, I had him bring me Hughes’ throwing knives. I kept them for sentimental reasons but I think he’d approve of me teaching her to use them to keep herself alive.”
“Sir, do you know how much Brother will hate that?”
“I know I’m taking a gamble with my life as far as Fullmetal is concerned.” Roy laughed.
“I wasn’t joking,” Al replied quietly.
Roy sighed. “Alphonse, I’m letting another young woman learn how to kill so she can protect the people she loves. There is nothing funny about it.”
“No, there isn’t.”
Author - Cornerofmadness
Disclaimer- Not mine in the least
Rating - PG-13
Characters - Roy, Al
Timeline/Spoilers - none really, set post series
Series - manga
Summary - Sometimes he has to do things he hates.
Warning - none
Word Count - 500
Author’s Note - Of all the bunnies that were whirling in my head the first time I saw this prompt, THIS story wasn’t even among them. Go figure. Also cutting out only a handful of words seems so much harder than having to hack off 100 to make the limit. Thanks to evil_little_dog for the first reading.
XXX
He didn’t know why he thought it would be easy for the new regime to simply take over Amestris; granted, he hadn’t really considered those implications at all. Bradley made war with the world. Roy expected trouble from Creata and Drachma. It was the internal resistance he hadn’t counted on. As they tried to build something to replace Bradley’s regime, Roy’s own bid for power had been met with ugly slurs from many fronts; those not trusting an alchemist; those who thought he was a war criminal; those who called him a ‘halfer’ or ‘squint.’
The last person he thought would have been there when he withdrew into himself was Olivia Armstrong but she had offered support. He didn’t think she understood how it felt to have people hate literally everything that made him who he was but he liked her solution. He backed her for president. So far, it was working well. She kept him, her brother and Fullmetal busy putting out the fires that Bradley supporters started. The homunculus might be dead but his influence remained and alchemists were best suited for dealing with it.
To that end, Ed was somewhere in the desert with Scar dealing with a literal nest of surprises left by Bradley’s men, when the intelligence came in that Alphonse, along with the Rockbells, had been targeted. Roy and Riza had rounded up the Rockbells and a weak, emaciated Alphonse, not that they were happy about a surprise trip north. It took a break-in at the house to convince the women of the danger. Winry spent the journey there complaining to Riza that she was tired of not being able to protect the things that mattered to her. Roy spoke to his lover later, both of them understanding that sentiment well.
While Riza settled the Rockbells into the safe-house, Roy helped Alphonse in. “There’s a room downstairs for you, drafty I’m afraid, but I can build you a fire.”
Al grinned. “Where did you find this big old place?”
“Riza’s homestead. I bought it and had it looked after just in case, all these years,” Roy said, easing Al down onto the recently uncovered couch before starting on the fireplace.
Trembling, Al pulled his coat tighter. “I heard you tell Winry that you’d teach her how to protect herself.”
Roy nodded. “I’ve heard Ed bitch enough about how unerring she is with a wrench. When Falman met us at the last stop, I had him bring me Hughes’ throwing knives. I kept them for sentimental reasons but I think he’d approve of me teaching her to use them to keep herself alive.”
“Sir, do you know how much Brother will hate that?”
“I know I’m taking a gamble with my life as far as Fullmetal is concerned.” Roy laughed.
“I wasn’t joking,” Al replied quietly.
Roy sighed. “Alphonse, I’m letting another young woman learn how to kill so she can protect the people she loves. There is nothing funny about it.”
“No, there isn’t.”