For Her. For Him. Ch. 4 Teacher
Title: For Her. For Him.
Pairing: Eventual Roy/Ed
Summary: After Riza Hawkeey is killed, Ed takes on new responsibilities for her memory and for the life of his commanding officer. (My attempt at an MPreg that isn't just he slept with him, now there's a baby on the way.)
Chapter 4
Teacher
Things had been tense at Mustang’s house in the days since the funeral, but never had Ed heard the raised voices that brought him out of his sleep that afternoon. The Colonel and his brother were actually fighting this time. Mustang hadn’t been of much use for the last few days, and Ed seemed to be ever-present, so there had been no chance for Al to corner the colonel before. Ed slid out of the warm bed, poking his head outside, not certain if he should intervene at first, since both Al and Mustang seemed to have needed to duke this one out for quite a while.
“Are you going to just keep him here against his will?” Al asked.
Ed stepped from the doorway, trying to make his uneven gait as quiet as possible, though the distinctive “thud, clank” was still there. He supposed the “He” in question was himself and thought perhaps this was a conversation he needed to be in on.
“I won’t have him risk his health or that of the babies. It is as simple as that.”
“And you think Brother will just go along with this?”
“Go along with what?” Ed asked as he came down the stairs. Both Al and Mustang looked at him as though he was a kid who had just interrupted an “adult conversation.” Ed folded his arms across his chest. “If you didn’t want me to be here for this, then don’t do it in the hallway. I could hear you from my bedroom, and I was sound asleep.”
Ed moved between his commander and brother and looked from one to the other. “Go along with what?”
“With letting Major Armstrong look for the Philosopher’s Stone instead of you,” Al said.
Ed’s gold eyes darkened as he turned on Mustang. “What is he talking about?”
“You have an uncanny habit of getting yourself hurt, Edo.”
“Don’t call me that, Colonel Bastard.”
“The simple fact is, I don’t want you getting hurt.” The colonel put his left hand in his pocket, a relaxed stance Ed was familiar with from repeated meetings concerning reports and damaged property, but it seemed a move done now to give the impression of being relaxed. “I approached Major Armstrong about seeking out possible leads on the stone while you are indisposed. I asked him about approaching Al to help him and told him that any information he found would be returned to Central, where you would read over it to determine its worth.”
“Why do you think I would agree to that?”
“Because it is your only option.” Mustang looked over at the armor. “And Al already agreed to Armstrong that he would go.”
Ed looked over at his brother, a little hurt that he was willing to abandon him. “You agreed to this, Al?”
“I figured at least one Elric needed to still be looking for the stone,” Al answered coldly.
Ed was about to say something, anything when a rather loud knock was heard at the front door. Roy moved to answer it, but before he reached the door, it was no longer there. Roy now stood facing Winry, a rather large dark-haired man, and a woman with braided hair who looked like she was ready to kill. And though his commanding officer didn't know them, Ed's eyes widened in a rare show of fear.
Ed immediately recognized the Curtises.
“Shit.”
“You will replace that,” the colonel said, pointing to the door, sounding as calm and collected as ever, though he might have been more threatening had Winry not been there.
“Edward and Alphonse Elric,” Izumi said, walking by the colonel.
“Shit!” Ed repeated as he began backing against the wall.
“Teacher,” Al said, pleading.
“The rumors are true, then.” She walked up to Edward and punched him in the face. Before Ed could think to react, to answer, Roy had pulled on his glove and snapped his fingers, not really hurting Ed or Izumi, but it did appear he had singed her a bit. With that distraction, Ed was surprised to find himself now standing behind Mustang.
“Keep your hands off of him!” Roy clasped Ed to his back and stared down the angry woman, defiantly.
“This is between my pupil and me,” Izumi said.
“And your pupil is one of my state alchemists, so I’m afraid it involves me as well.”
Standing behind the colonel, Ed was surprised by how protective the older man had become, even daring to face down the one woman who terrified Ed the most.
“Edward, do you need this dog of the military to speak for you?”
“You are standing in this ‘dog’s’ house, threatening his guest, and damaging his property.”
Izumi held her hand inches apart, ready to user her alchemy on Ed’s commanding officer. “I only mean to teach the boy a lesson.”
Mustang's right hand protectively clutched onto Ed, bringing their bodies together and making Ed damned grateful the colonel could not see the faint blush coming to his cheeks. “If it involves striking him, then you will have to do it through me.”
Ed had been watching the face-off between his teacher and C.O. so intently that he had failed to notice that Al and Winry seemed desperate to stop this fight and were making quite a commotion.
“Then answer me this: Did you and Al try to do a human transmutation?” Izumi asked of Ed.
“Yes.” Ed answered, his face buried in Mustang's coat.
“You performed forbidden alchemy and paid for it with your bodies. How much of Al is even left?”
“Just my soul, Teacher,” Al answered as the colonel continued to grab onto the back of Ed’s shirt, still holding the teen close.
“Tell me,” Mustang asked, “do you think there’s a lesson you can teach these two that would be any more effective than what they’ve already suffered?”
Izumi’s eyes narrowed, but Roy stood his ground.
“Colonel,” Ed said from behind, “you can let go of me.” The older man released Ed, but stayed in his spot. Some of the tension gone from the room, Winry came over to Ed and inspected the swelling on his jaw from Izumi’s blow before proceeding to smack him, berating him for not telling her he had been sick or that Hawkeye had been shot.
“Will you all stop hitting him?” Roy said, pulling Ed away from his mechanic. “He couldn’t tell you about Riza because he was sick, and couldn’t tell you he was sick because,” Roy swallowed. “of Riza.”
“You are his colonel?” Izumi asked, glancing over the uniform Roy wore, then met the colonel again in the eyes. “Do you pamper all of your subordinates this way?”
“If they haven’t been well and are being attacked by two women who’ve broken into my home? Yes.”
Mustang did not seem to flinch even the least as Izumi continued to scowl at him. Ed had to admit he was impressed, even though something about his commanding officer’s protection of him felt instinctual, just as cowering behind him had felt quite natural. Then again, when Izumi Curtis looks at you like she might kill you, you don’t argue if someone is willing to step between you and certain death.
“If you wish to speak to Ed and Al,” Roy said, “I suggest you come to the kitchen. I can make coffee and see if Ed has left any food in the cupboards.”
Ed wanted to get angry at the colonel until he noticed that for the first time in casual conversation, Roy had not called him Fullmetal or the more irritating Edo. The group walked out of the hall and toward the kitchen, Roy keeping his left hand defensively on Ed’s automail shoulder.
********
Once in the kitchen, Roy found himself trying not to go after Fullmetal's teacher for punching the blonde. Roy kept reminding himself that no one knew that Ed was pregnant and that they were trying to keep it that way. Ed sat at the kitchen table, looking nervously up at Mustang, then over at the three intruders.
“Fullmetal, do you need anything?”
“Hmm?” Ed asked as though being jerked from sleep. “Oh, I’m kinda hungry.”
“What else is new?” Roy asked with a smile, so kind it almost shocked even him. “What would you like?”
“No milk, obviously, and I don’t think I could stomach fish.”
Roy looked in his cupboards, finding some rice and canned chicken--Roy never knew how long he would need food to last and usually bought canned unless specifically preparing a dinner. There were enough spices in the cabinets that he felt he could turn this into an actual meal. “Rice and chicken?”
Ed nodded.
“The rest of you can eat whatever the bottomless pit leaves behind.” He got a glare from Ed for that, but it was true. Ed simply hadn‘t stopped eating since he had arrived at Roy's house, making the excuse for his lightheadedness more than a small white lie. “I’m not a short order cook.” Ed seemed to be looking up at Roy, anticipating a short joke that the colonel just wasn’t in the mood to deliver. “However, I would appreciate it if someone could repair my front door.”
The teacher disappeared for a moment, and Roy could hear as she reformed the property she had damaged.
When she returned, Roy had the rice boiling and was stirring the chicken in the pan, desperately trying not to make it look like dog food, which he suddenly remembered he was going to need to buy. Havoc had agreed to take on Black Hayate while Roy nursed Ed back to health, and with over a week since Riza’s death, Roy wasn’t sure how much longer he could convince his lieutenant he was not yet capable of caring for a dog.
“Mustang?” Ed asked from the table. “I think I need to introduce you to the people who barged into your house. You already know Winry, and this is Sig and Izumi Curtis.”
“She was your teacher?”
“She taught us about alchemy, Colonel,” Al’s voice echoed coldly. He and Roy still hadn’t resolved their argument.
“I wish I hadn’t," the woman said.
Roy returned to cooking, listening in on the argument between teacher and ashamed students, but figuring as long as it didn’t end in physical violence, Fullmetal could defend himself.
Pairing: Eventual Roy/Ed
Summary: After Riza Hawkeey is killed, Ed takes on new responsibilities for her memory and for the life of his commanding officer. (My attempt at an MPreg that isn't just he slept with him, now there's a baby on the way.)
Chapter 4
Teacher
Things had been tense at Mustang’s house in the days since the funeral, but never had Ed heard the raised voices that brought him out of his sleep that afternoon. The Colonel and his brother were actually fighting this time. Mustang hadn’t been of much use for the last few days, and Ed seemed to be ever-present, so there had been no chance for Al to corner the colonel before. Ed slid out of the warm bed, poking his head outside, not certain if he should intervene at first, since both Al and Mustang seemed to have needed to duke this one out for quite a while.
“Are you going to just keep him here against his will?” Al asked.
Ed stepped from the doorway, trying to make his uneven gait as quiet as possible, though the distinctive “thud, clank” was still there. He supposed the “He” in question was himself and thought perhaps this was a conversation he needed to be in on.
“I won’t have him risk his health or that of the babies. It is as simple as that.”
“And you think Brother will just go along with this?”
“Go along with what?” Ed asked as he came down the stairs. Both Al and Mustang looked at him as though he was a kid who had just interrupted an “adult conversation.” Ed folded his arms across his chest. “If you didn’t want me to be here for this, then don’t do it in the hallway. I could hear you from my bedroom, and I was sound asleep.”
Ed moved between his commander and brother and looked from one to the other. “Go along with what?”
“With letting Major Armstrong look for the Philosopher’s Stone instead of you,” Al said.
Ed’s gold eyes darkened as he turned on Mustang. “What is he talking about?”
“You have an uncanny habit of getting yourself hurt, Edo.”
“Don’t call me that, Colonel Bastard.”
“The simple fact is, I don’t want you getting hurt.” The colonel put his left hand in his pocket, a relaxed stance Ed was familiar with from repeated meetings concerning reports and damaged property, but it seemed a move done now to give the impression of being relaxed. “I approached Major Armstrong about seeking out possible leads on the stone while you are indisposed. I asked him about approaching Al to help him and told him that any information he found would be returned to Central, where you would read over it to determine its worth.”
“Why do you think I would agree to that?”
“Because it is your only option.” Mustang looked over at the armor. “And Al already agreed to Armstrong that he would go.”
Ed looked over at his brother, a little hurt that he was willing to abandon him. “You agreed to this, Al?”
“I figured at least one Elric needed to still be looking for the stone,” Al answered coldly.
Ed was about to say something, anything when a rather loud knock was heard at the front door. Roy moved to answer it, but before he reached the door, it was no longer there. Roy now stood facing Winry, a rather large dark-haired man, and a woman with braided hair who looked like she was ready to kill. And though his commanding officer didn't know them, Ed's eyes widened in a rare show of fear.
Ed immediately recognized the Curtises.
“Shit.”
“You will replace that,” the colonel said, pointing to the door, sounding as calm and collected as ever, though he might have been more threatening had Winry not been there.
“Edward and Alphonse Elric,” Izumi said, walking by the colonel.
“Shit!” Ed repeated as he began backing against the wall.
“Teacher,” Al said, pleading.
“The rumors are true, then.” She walked up to Edward and punched him in the face. Before Ed could think to react, to answer, Roy had pulled on his glove and snapped his fingers, not really hurting Ed or Izumi, but it did appear he had singed her a bit. With that distraction, Ed was surprised to find himself now standing behind Mustang.
“Keep your hands off of him!” Roy clasped Ed to his back and stared down the angry woman, defiantly.
“This is between my pupil and me,” Izumi said.
“And your pupil is one of my state alchemists, so I’m afraid it involves me as well.”
Standing behind the colonel, Ed was surprised by how protective the older man had become, even daring to face down the one woman who terrified Ed the most.
“Edward, do you need this dog of the military to speak for you?”
“You are standing in this ‘dog’s’ house, threatening his guest, and damaging his property.”
Izumi held her hand inches apart, ready to user her alchemy on Ed’s commanding officer. “I only mean to teach the boy a lesson.”
Mustang's right hand protectively clutched onto Ed, bringing their bodies together and making Ed damned grateful the colonel could not see the faint blush coming to his cheeks. “If it involves striking him, then you will have to do it through me.”
Ed had been watching the face-off between his teacher and C.O. so intently that he had failed to notice that Al and Winry seemed desperate to stop this fight and were making quite a commotion.
“Then answer me this: Did you and Al try to do a human transmutation?” Izumi asked of Ed.
“Yes.” Ed answered, his face buried in Mustang's coat.
“You performed forbidden alchemy and paid for it with your bodies. How much of Al is even left?”
“Just my soul, Teacher,” Al answered as the colonel continued to grab onto the back of Ed’s shirt, still holding the teen close.
“Tell me,” Mustang asked, “do you think there’s a lesson you can teach these two that would be any more effective than what they’ve already suffered?”
Izumi’s eyes narrowed, but Roy stood his ground.
“Colonel,” Ed said from behind, “you can let go of me.” The older man released Ed, but stayed in his spot. Some of the tension gone from the room, Winry came over to Ed and inspected the swelling on his jaw from Izumi’s blow before proceeding to smack him, berating him for not telling her he had been sick or that Hawkeye had been shot.
“Will you all stop hitting him?” Roy said, pulling Ed away from his mechanic. “He couldn’t tell you about Riza because he was sick, and couldn’t tell you he was sick because,” Roy swallowed. “of Riza.”
“You are his colonel?” Izumi asked, glancing over the uniform Roy wore, then met the colonel again in the eyes. “Do you pamper all of your subordinates this way?”
“If they haven’t been well and are being attacked by two women who’ve broken into my home? Yes.”
Mustang did not seem to flinch even the least as Izumi continued to scowl at him. Ed had to admit he was impressed, even though something about his commanding officer’s protection of him felt instinctual, just as cowering behind him had felt quite natural. Then again, when Izumi Curtis looks at you like she might kill you, you don’t argue if someone is willing to step between you and certain death.
“If you wish to speak to Ed and Al,” Roy said, “I suggest you come to the kitchen. I can make coffee and see if Ed has left any food in the cupboards.”
Ed wanted to get angry at the colonel until he noticed that for the first time in casual conversation, Roy had not called him Fullmetal or the more irritating Edo. The group walked out of the hall and toward the kitchen, Roy keeping his left hand defensively on Ed’s automail shoulder.
********
Once in the kitchen, Roy found himself trying not to go after Fullmetal's teacher for punching the blonde. Roy kept reminding himself that no one knew that Ed was pregnant and that they were trying to keep it that way. Ed sat at the kitchen table, looking nervously up at Mustang, then over at the three intruders.
“Fullmetal, do you need anything?”
“Hmm?” Ed asked as though being jerked from sleep. “Oh, I’m kinda hungry.”
“What else is new?” Roy asked with a smile, so kind it almost shocked even him. “What would you like?”
“No milk, obviously, and I don’t think I could stomach fish.”
Roy looked in his cupboards, finding some rice and canned chicken--Roy never knew how long he would need food to last and usually bought canned unless specifically preparing a dinner. There were enough spices in the cabinets that he felt he could turn this into an actual meal. “Rice and chicken?”
Ed nodded.
“The rest of you can eat whatever the bottomless pit leaves behind.” He got a glare from Ed for that, but it was true. Ed simply hadn‘t stopped eating since he had arrived at Roy's house, making the excuse for his lightheadedness more than a small white lie. “I’m not a short order cook.” Ed seemed to be looking up at Roy, anticipating a short joke that the colonel just wasn’t in the mood to deliver. “However, I would appreciate it if someone could repair my front door.”
The teacher disappeared for a moment, and Roy could hear as she reformed the property she had damaged.
When she returned, Roy had the rice boiling and was stirring the chicken in the pan, desperately trying not to make it look like dog food, which he suddenly remembered he was going to need to buy. Havoc had agreed to take on Black Hayate while Roy nursed Ed back to health, and with over a week since Riza’s death, Roy wasn’t sure how much longer he could convince his lieutenant he was not yet capable of caring for a dog.
“Mustang?” Ed asked from the table. “I think I need to introduce you to the people who barged into your house. You already know Winry, and this is Sig and Izumi Curtis.”
“She was your teacher?”
“She taught us about alchemy, Colonel,” Al’s voice echoed coldly. He and Roy still hadn’t resolved their argument.
“I wish I hadn’t," the woman said.
Roy returned to cooking, listening in on the argument between teacher and ashamed students, but figuring as long as it didn’t end in physical violence, Fullmetal could defend himself.