The Long Road to Manhood (AU RP)

[fullsize_al]

Nicolas was very proud of himself on this particular morning as he sauntered down the stairs and into the kitchen for breakfast. He'd finally gotten the cologne he ordered in the mail- Honestly, how could they send cologne in such small bottles? He'd already used up nearly a quarter of it!- and, having detected the tiniest bit of stubble on his

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[no_girlsallowed]

Something along the lines of 'oh dear god, what the hell do I do?' passed through Winry's mind when she caught sight of Nicolas, but somehow she managed to smile sweetly at him. "Good morning, honey," she said. "You look... ah, different, today."

Madeline immediately reached under the table to grab Ling's knee, silently telling him to keep quiet.

[flamel_hawk]

Nicolas grinned proudly as he sat down at the breakfast table, the fog of cologne making poor little Alphonse gag.

Rosaline bit her lip in barely contained mirth and nudged Maes repeatedly under the table.

Ed didn't even look up from his paper, the stench of cologne not having hit him yet.

[no_girlsallowed]

Winry patted Alphonse's back as she tried to think of something to say, then smiled at him again. "Did you decide to try something new?"

Maes was looking down at his breakfast intently, knowing that if he looked over at the boy he would lose it and most likely not be able to stop laughing.

[flamel_hawk]

The cologne finally wafted over to Ed's nose, prompting him to fold the paper down suddenly and glare pointedly across the table at Ling and Maes.

"I started shaving," Nicolas said proudly. Rosaline bit back a laugh. "It was about time," he continued, "I was getting pretty shaggy."

[no_girlsallowed]

"He apparently thinks he does, and it's your job as his father to talk to him about boy things. You think I had a picnic talking to the girls about their periods?" Winry shot back.

Maes paused in the middle of a bite of his food and looked up at Rosaline. "What?"

[flamel_hawk]

Ed groaned and buried his nose back in the paper. "Nick," he said, not willing to look him in the eye, "You and I are going to have to have a talk."

Nick echoed his father's groan and slumped down in his chair. "It's fine, Dad, really."

Rosaline leaned over and whispered in Maes' ear, "You should show him how to use cologne and so we can breath at breakfast, yeah?"

[no_girlsallowed]

Maes was about to protest when Viola's crying got louder, and he sighed. "Alright, alright. Hey, Nick," he said, and stood up to walk over to the boy. "Come on, let me give you a quick lesson about that stuff."

Winry beamed at Maes thankfully, then glared at Ed. "I'm glad to see someone is going to be a good influence for our son."

[flamel_hawk]

Nick frowned up at Maes. "What's there to know about it?," he asked defensively.

"You know I've never worn cologne in my life," Ed grumbled to his wife.

[no_girlsallowed]

"You think you'll be alright on your own?" Winry asked, smiling over at him. "If you need anything, you know your grandparents won't hesitate to help. And of course you can have Julian over all you want."

[flamel_hawk]

Nicolas beamed at that. "No, I'll definitely be okay!"

[no_girlsallowed]

Winry sighed happily and finally, leaned up against Ed. "Are you looking forward to getting away for awhile?" She murmured, leaning up to kiss his jaw.

"C'mon, Nick," Maes said, reaching down to sling his arm over Nicolas' shoulders. "I'll show you exactly where you wanna put your cologne."

[flamel_hawk]

Ed nodded and turned to catch her lips. "We haven't had a vacation to ourselves since our tenth anniversary," he murmured softly.

Nick nodded and followed after Maes nervously.

[no_girlsallowed]

"Right. But, uh, don't worry about that. It looks like your mom reminded him to keep an eye out for you." Maes said, and lifted his hand to rub the back of his head. "Is there anything else you want to ask, since I'm right here anyway?"

[flamel_hawk]

"Uh, um, about the shaving thing. How do I do it without cutting myself all to hell?"

[no_girlsallowed]

"Ah, that one actually takes practice," Maes said. "It helps, when you're first starting out, if you use a whole lot of shaving cream, so you can see exactly where you've need to shave. My dad told me this little trick," he said, and grabbed a comb from the counter. "If you use the back of the comb, you can practice without getting dirty or cutting yourself, and get the hang of it before you bring sharp objects into the picture."

[flamel_hawk]

Nicolas nodded quickly, drinking all of that in.

[no_girlsallowed]

Maes shook his head, still grinning as he left the bathroom. Really, that wasn't too hard. Maybe he really could handle this whole 'father' thing.

[flamel_hawk]

Rosaline slipped up behind Maes and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey sweetie," she murmured, "I heard all that."

[no_girlsallowed]

Maes' grin spread wider as he laid his hands over Rosaline's, trapping them on his stomach. "Oh yeah?"

[flamel_hawk]

"Yeah... You make a good daddy, you know," she whispered.