The Bet: Part 2 of 2 (Babysitting!Mustang)
Title: The Bet (Part Two)
Author: SeaweedOtter
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G to PG for light stuff.
Pairing: Babysitting!Roy vs. Elysia!
Spoilers: None, really. Slightly AU. In my world he can have a wife and a boyfriend!!! The characters are not mine.
Quote: "And if I ever find out that you did that again, I will not hesitate to use my knives and make sure that you never have children yourself."
Read both parts of the story HERE!
Roy was pretty sure that this was the only time that he had ever wanted to stay after work. As it was, though, Maes had made it well known that Roy had lost a bet (although he had to thank some deity that he hadn't explained to them *how* he lost the bet), and that because of that, he had to get out of work on time Wednesday so he could make it over to the Hughes' household by 1830 hours.
"Are you sure that there are no more papers for me to sign, Hawkeye?" Roy pleaded with his eyes, like a puppy in the rain. She shook her head and tried to hide her smile. "No, sir. Now get going. It is already 1800 hours. You need to head out, sir." Roy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was pretty sure that after this fiasco, there wouldn't be enough alcohol in the world to forget it. He sulkenly gathered his coat and stalked out, grunting to Havoc, who took this as his sign to follow.
A few minutes later, Havoc brought the car around and Roy hopped in. "Where to, Boss?" Havoc smiled, his cigarette hung loosely out of his mouth at an odd angle. He looked over his shoulder in that lazy, half lidded look that he usually wore. Anyone who didnt know Havoc would swear that he was either on drugs, or just consistantly sleepy, but his friends knew it was just Havoc being Havoc.
"To Hughes, Jean." Roy said curtly, curling his coat around his lap, trying to get some semblance of warmth to his cold limbs.
Havoc snorted a little and turned back around, starting off. "Hmm.. Dont have to bite my head, Sir. I just figured you would want to change first..." he grumbled, gradually becoming silent. The car ride was awkward and quiet, and both felt quite a bit better once it was over. Havoc idled the car for a moment, draping his arm over the front seat and looking back again. "Will you need me to pick you up when this is done?" he asked as more of a courtesy than really wanting to have to wait on Mustang. He was was on call, that meant having to tell his first date in almost a month that he had to break it off early because his boss needed a chaufer.
"No, thanks. I am sure Maes will drive me home. He OWES me." Havoc visibly relaxed, smiling softly. Roy caught that and smiled a bit. "But stay on your toes, just in case I need to get in touch with you." Havoc's shoulders drooped, and he nearly lost his cigarette.
"Yes, boss." Havoc muttered, more than a little dissapointed that Roy had felt the need to ruin his night as well. Wasn't one person's ruined night enough for him, Havoc wondered? He guessed not. Roy got out and closed the door, and Havoc sped away, having relegated himself to spend yet another night alone, probably nursing a cigarette and a tired right hand.
Roy took a deep breath, adjusting his coat, and slowly walked up to the front door, knocking slightly. Somewhere deep in his brain, maybe he thought that if they didn't hear him knock he could just leave. His heart sank just a little when a widely smiling Maes opened the door a few seconds later.
"Heya, Roy! We were talking bets on whether you would bother to show up!" He grabbed Roy's jacket and practically pulled Roy in and shut the door behind him. He wasted no time in planting a quick kiss on Roy's lips, causing the colonel to blush.
"Watch it, we dont want Elysia to see! Gracia was hard enough to talk to about this, but she is just too young... She won't understand."
Maes put a finger to his lover's lips. "It is okay. You are early, so Gracia is giving her a bath. We figured that was something that you wouldn't have any clue what to do." Roy just nodded, sighing audibly.
"And you will be able to give me a ride home tonight, Maes?" Roy quickly tried to change the subject.
Maes shrugged, and smiled. "Yeah, I guess. Or you could just sleep here. I see that you didn't even bother to change out of your dress blues. I sure hope she doesn't spill anything on them!" He giggled a litte and held out his arm in a silent offer to take his coat. Roy smiled back and shrugged his outer black longcoat off, then unbuttoned his blue dress jacket, and handed them to Maes.
"Mmm.. A shame I can't keep undressing you!" Maes nonchalanly said, as he hung the coats up in the hallway.
"Maes, damnit! Be good! Especially with your family around!" Roy's cheeks flushed deep red. Maes managed one more quick kiss on his cheek, then he went thru the hallway and up the stairs. Roy followed a few steps behind.
By the time he had gotten up he stairs, Elysia was already dried off and mostly dressed. Roy stopped in the doorway, watching with a smile as Gracia doted on her daughter.
"Hey there, Gracia." he bent down. "Heya, kiddo!" he smiled widely at Elysia. She made a little "eep" noise and hid behind her mother, waving shyly. Gracia turned around. There was, for a second, a look in her eyes. Roy wasn't sure if it was anger, or sadness, or something else. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone again, and she smiled warmly at Roy.
"Hello, Roy. I really appreciate you babysitting Elysia tonight. This is the first time since she was born that we have been able to go out on our anniversary. Maes won't tell me how he got you to do it.. " she glared at the man that Roy just realized had snuck up behind him. 'This guy should be in Infantry, not Investigations if he is that quiet' Roy thought. "..but just believe me when I say that we really do owe you for this." Roy looked back over his shoulder and flashed a very 'cat that ate the canary' grin to Maes, whose heart sunk. He knew that neither Gracia nor Roy were going to let this go until Roy got repayment.
Gracia turned back around, picked up Elysia, and walked to the door. Roy and Maes cleared the path out of doorway, and fell in step behind her. They went downstairs, where Maes and Roy entertained Elysia while Gracia went back upstairs and got dressed. when she came down a short time later, even Roy couldn't help but stare a bit. She had a long, dark green dress, slit part of the way up the side, with spaghetti straps, and cut low over her breasts.
"W-w-wow, Gracia!" Maes stammered, and Roy muttered the same under his breath. She blushed a little and finished down the stairs and walked into the room. Elysia quikly put down her crayons and ran to her mother's side.
"Mommy! You are so pwetty!" She giggled.
Gracia kneeled down and gave her daughter a kiss and a hug. "Thank you, honey!" she stood back up. "Now it is time for us to go." Gracia turned to Roy and flashed a little smile. "Now we should only be gone a few hours. She should be in bed by 8:00. She can have a snack if she wants one, no radio, and I would suggest putting her to bed closer to 7:45 so you can read her a story."
Gracia walked over to Maes, giving him a little kiss. Maes tried not to smile when both Elysia and Roy scrunched up thier faces a little bit.
"Now Elysia, you be a good girl for Uncle Roy."
He leaned down and gave her a big kiss, and she scrunched her face again. "Daddeee!" she protested.
He giggled and stood back up and walked towards the door, his wife in hand. "Have fun, Roy!" He smiled and waved, looking over his shoulder. The door shut, and they were alone.
Roy looked down at Elysia, who just smiled up at him with her small toothy grin. She really looked alot more like her mother, but the goofy smile that so easily came to her face was all Maes. He couldn't help but smile back at her. He was pretty sure that poor Maes was going to be very busy in the future, throwing knives at many potential boyfriends. She was going to be a heartbreaker like her mom, he could tell.
"So, Unca Roy, whadda ya wanna do?" She looked up with her huge blue/green eyes and blinked. His heart melted just a little.
"Well, your mom said you could have a snack if you want. Are you hungry, kiddo?" he kneeled down, talking to her level.
"Yeah! I wanted popcorn earlier, but the poppy thingy is broken." She said sadly. He smiled, guessing that they had one of those brand new popcorn popping machines that were becoming popular. He had heard of them, and he had even tried popcorn before, and he enjoyed it. But he hadn't liked it enough to spend the money that it was selling for. He had read about it and knew the general concept of how it worked, and it gave him an idea.
"Hey, kiddo, what if I told you that I could make you some popcorn? But you have to promise.. cross your heart.. not to tell your mommy and daddy, because they won't like me showing you."
Elysia clapped her hand and giggled loudly. "Okie Unca Roy!!!" He stood up and offered her his hand, which she eagerly grabbed. They walked into the kitchen, and Roy put her in her high chair, then searched the kitchen for the popcorn.
"Ah, here we go!" Roy said. On the counter, he put down a length of aluminum foil, then spread some of the poporn kernels on it. He sprinkled a little salt, then closed the foil up, making a little pocket, with a small hole in the top for steam. "Okay, Elysia, now this is a little dangerous, so just stay still, okay?" She nodded and smiled. He put the foil on the stove, and put on his white glove with the red salamander array that he always kept in his pants pocket.
"Wha is that, Unca Roy?"
Roy smiled. "You will see, kiddo." He snapped his fingers, making the flame as small as he could, directing it to the underside of the foil and making sure that it didn't burn too hot.
Any fears that he had that the fire would scare a three year old went away as she laughed and clapped at the fire show. "Yah! Unca Roy makes fire!!" Roy smiled and turned back to the foil to make sure it was still under control. It only took about a minute, and they were rewarded with the first 'pop' of the kernels turning inside out. Roy had a satisfied smile on his face. He hadn't been 100% sure that it was going to work, but he was glad that it did, and he didn't have to dissapoint Elysia.
A couple of minutes later, the popping had stopped. Roy took off his glove and put on an oven mitt, carefully opening the foil and venting out the rest of the steam. He put some of the kernels on a plastic plate after it cooled down, and gave the plate to Elysia. "Fanks Unca Roy!" She started to devour the popcorn, spilling as much around her as what she got into her mouth. Roy couldn't help but smile softly.
The popcorn distraction didn't last long, and soon she was wiggling in her chair, wanting to do something else. He took her out of the chair, and she dashed back to the living room, a panicy Roy chasing after her. He got in there just in time to see her open her toy chest in the living room and start to throw her toys out onto the floor, apparantly searching intently for something.
"Aha!" She exclaimed, getting out some paper and crayons and starting to draw, leaving the rest of the toys strewn about the living room. Roy watched her for a few minutes. She was working intently on the picture, concentrating so hard that her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth. He tried to be annoyed that he was obviously going to have to clean up after her, but she was so cute that he found it hard to stay mad at her. He sighed softly and started to clean up.
When he was done, he looked at the clock. It was close to 7:30 already. He smiled a little. It wouldn't be much longer, and then he could start planning his revenge on his best friend. He gently sat down close to her, being sure not to startle Elysia, and watched her with a warm smile. There was a tiny part of him who was jealous of his friend. Even though he had had plenty of lovers, he had never had any woman who he really wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was approaching 30, and the Wild Mustang showed no signs of broken and settling down. He wondered for a moment if this was what he was missing in his life.
He only got a moment to think about it before Elysia broke him out of his thoughts. "Unca Roy! Unca Roy!! Lookee!!" she held up a picture of a blueish blob with orange skin and black hair that he guessed was himself, fire coming out of his hand, with little yellow dabs that he guessed was popcorn everywhere. He inwardly groaned. He knew Maes, being in investigations, would be able to figure it out, and he certainly wasn't going to destroy the art that this little girl spent so much time and effort on. With a groan, he figured that he was busted either way, and pasted on a little smile, taking the picture from her.
"That is very nice, Elysia! Let's go put in the kitchen where they will see it!" she jummped up and ran to the kitchen, pointing to the small icebox where some of her other work was already hanging. It was hard to find a plce to put it, whatever spot wasn't taken up by her art had pictures of her, taken by her doting father.
"Yah, Unca Roy! That is pwetty!" She clapped her hands and giggled loudly. Any feelings of impending doom that Roy had felt about using fire to pop popcorn melted at that smile, that laugh. It was just so hard to feel bad when she was around. He started to understand quite a bit more about why his best friend was so happy all the time.
He looked at his watch. It was already almost 10 untill 8. "Oh, it is late! Let's go upstairs, it is time for you to head to bed!" Roy leaned down, arms outstretched, ready to pick her up and carry her upstairs.
"No! I don' wanna!" Like a lighting bolt, she took off back towards he living room. He sighed.
"Oh, great, this is going to be fun." Roy rolled his eyes.
10 minutes later, Roy finally had her cornered, and she was already pretty tired. She didnt fight much as he carefully picked her up, his lack of experience with children painfully obvious, and put her down in her bed and pulled up the covers. He reached down and gently pusher her bangs away from her face. She yawned, and smiled up at Roy.
"Unca Roy?"
"Yes, kiddo?"
"I had fun." she yawned.
"I did too. You get to sleep now." He rubbed her head affectionatly and smiled, then walked out of the room, turning off the light.
"Unca Roy?" He had almost made it out of the room.
"Yeah?"
"If there are any monsters in my closet, will you pop them like popcorn?"
Roy both cringed and smiled. He wasn't sure if it was terribly cute that she wanted his fire to protect her, or a really bad idea because she would be sure to tell her father about it.
"Um... sure, kiddo. You go to sleep and I will protect you."
"Ni ni Unca Roy. I love you!"
"Night, Elysia." He closed the door, trying to force his eyes to stop watering.
The next couple of hours were pretty eventless. He did go an check on her pretty often. Every time he did, she was sleeping soundly, curled up in a little ball. Roy was almost starting to doze on the couch when he heard Maes and Gracia come back in.
"Hey, you two lovebirds. Did you have a good time?" He hoped he didn't look as sleepy as he felt. Gracia put thier coats up while Maes went into the kitchen to put thier leftovers in the icebox.
"Yes, it was very nice, although I had to almost tie Gracia down to the seat so she wouldn't call you to check in on Elysia! How was she?" Maes called from the kitchen.
"She was fine. It was pretty uneventful."
"You are a terrible liar, Roy Mustang." As usual, Maes could see right through him. Sometimes Roy regreted having a friend who was so damn observant.
"Well, it really wasn't too bad, honestly. She was rambunctious, but as soon as it was time to go to bed, she was out like a light. I didn't even have to read her a story."
Maes walked back in, a bit of a smirk on his face, but he stayed silent for a moment.
"Uh... so.. I can get a ride back to my place, right? It isn't late, but I am tired."
"Sure, buddy. Gracia?" Maes called up to his wife who had already gone upstairs to check on her daughter. "I am going to drive Roy home. I will be back in a few minutes." He turned back to Roy. "Come on Roy, let's go." his voice dropped just a little as they walked out the front door. "And if I ever find out that you used your fire alchemy to pop popcorn around my little girl again, I will not hesitate to use my knives and make sure that you never have children yourself." Maes flashed what could only be described as a dangerous smile.
Somehow, Roy didn't think that he had been kidding.
Author: SeaweedOtter
Genre: Fluff
Rating: G to PG for light stuff.
Pairing: Babysitting!Roy vs. Elysia!
Spoilers: None, really. Slightly AU. In my world he can have a wife and a boyfriend!!! The characters are not mine.
Quote: "And if I ever find out that you did that again, I will not hesitate to use my knives and make sure that you never have children yourself."
Read both parts of the story HERE!
Roy was pretty sure that this was the only time that he had ever wanted to stay after work. As it was, though, Maes had made it well known that Roy had lost a bet (although he had to thank some deity that he hadn't explained to them *how* he lost the bet), and that because of that, he had to get out of work on time Wednesday so he could make it over to the Hughes' household by 1830 hours.
"Are you sure that there are no more papers for me to sign, Hawkeye?" Roy pleaded with his eyes, like a puppy in the rain. She shook her head and tried to hide her smile. "No, sir. Now get going. It is already 1800 hours. You need to head out, sir." Roy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was pretty sure that after this fiasco, there wouldn't be enough alcohol in the world to forget it. He sulkenly gathered his coat and stalked out, grunting to Havoc, who took this as his sign to follow.
A few minutes later, Havoc brought the car around and Roy hopped in. "Where to, Boss?" Havoc smiled, his cigarette hung loosely out of his mouth at an odd angle. He looked over his shoulder in that lazy, half lidded look that he usually wore. Anyone who didnt know Havoc would swear that he was either on drugs, or just consistantly sleepy, but his friends knew it was just Havoc being Havoc.
"To Hughes, Jean." Roy said curtly, curling his coat around his lap, trying to get some semblance of warmth to his cold limbs.
Havoc snorted a little and turned back around, starting off. "Hmm.. Dont have to bite my head, Sir. I just figured you would want to change first..." he grumbled, gradually becoming silent. The car ride was awkward and quiet, and both felt quite a bit better once it was over. Havoc idled the car for a moment, draping his arm over the front seat and looking back again. "Will you need me to pick you up when this is done?" he asked as more of a courtesy than really wanting to have to wait on Mustang. He was was on call, that meant having to tell his first date in almost a month that he had to break it off early because his boss needed a chaufer.
"No, thanks. I am sure Maes will drive me home. He OWES me." Havoc visibly relaxed, smiling softly. Roy caught that and smiled a bit. "But stay on your toes, just in case I need to get in touch with you." Havoc's shoulders drooped, and he nearly lost his cigarette.
"Yes, boss." Havoc muttered, more than a little dissapointed that Roy had felt the need to ruin his night as well. Wasn't one person's ruined night enough for him, Havoc wondered? He guessed not. Roy got out and closed the door, and Havoc sped away, having relegated himself to spend yet another night alone, probably nursing a cigarette and a tired right hand.
Roy took a deep breath, adjusting his coat, and slowly walked up to the front door, knocking slightly. Somewhere deep in his brain, maybe he thought that if they didn't hear him knock he could just leave. His heart sank just a little when a widely smiling Maes opened the door a few seconds later.
"Heya, Roy! We were talking bets on whether you would bother to show up!" He grabbed Roy's jacket and practically pulled Roy in and shut the door behind him. He wasted no time in planting a quick kiss on Roy's lips, causing the colonel to blush.
"Watch it, we dont want Elysia to see! Gracia was hard enough to talk to about this, but she is just too young... She won't understand."
Maes put a finger to his lover's lips. "It is okay. You are early, so Gracia is giving her a bath. We figured that was something that you wouldn't have any clue what to do." Roy just nodded, sighing audibly.
"And you will be able to give me a ride home tonight, Maes?" Roy quickly tried to change the subject.
Maes shrugged, and smiled. "Yeah, I guess. Or you could just sleep here. I see that you didn't even bother to change out of your dress blues. I sure hope she doesn't spill anything on them!" He giggled a litte and held out his arm in a silent offer to take his coat. Roy smiled back and shrugged his outer black longcoat off, then unbuttoned his blue dress jacket, and handed them to Maes.
"Mmm.. A shame I can't keep undressing you!" Maes nonchalanly said, as he hung the coats up in the hallway.
"Maes, damnit! Be good! Especially with your family around!" Roy's cheeks flushed deep red. Maes managed one more quick kiss on his cheek, then he went thru the hallway and up the stairs. Roy followed a few steps behind.
By the time he had gotten up he stairs, Elysia was already dried off and mostly dressed. Roy stopped in the doorway, watching with a smile as Gracia doted on her daughter.
"Hey there, Gracia." he bent down. "Heya, kiddo!" he smiled widely at Elysia. She made a little "eep" noise and hid behind her mother, waving shyly. Gracia turned around. There was, for a second, a look in her eyes. Roy wasn't sure if it was anger, or sadness, or something else. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone again, and she smiled warmly at Roy.
"Hello, Roy. I really appreciate you babysitting Elysia tonight. This is the first time since she was born that we have been able to go out on our anniversary. Maes won't tell me how he got you to do it.. " she glared at the man that Roy just realized had snuck up behind him. 'This guy should be in Infantry, not Investigations if he is that quiet' Roy thought. "..but just believe me when I say that we really do owe you for this." Roy looked back over his shoulder and flashed a very 'cat that ate the canary' grin to Maes, whose heart sunk. He knew that neither Gracia nor Roy were going to let this go until Roy got repayment.
Gracia turned back around, picked up Elysia, and walked to the door. Roy and Maes cleared the path out of doorway, and fell in step behind her. They went downstairs, where Maes and Roy entertained Elysia while Gracia went back upstairs and got dressed. when she came down a short time later, even Roy couldn't help but stare a bit. She had a long, dark green dress, slit part of the way up the side, with spaghetti straps, and cut low over her breasts.
"W-w-wow, Gracia!" Maes stammered, and Roy muttered the same under his breath. She blushed a little and finished down the stairs and walked into the room. Elysia quikly put down her crayons and ran to her mother's side.
"Mommy! You are so pwetty!" She giggled.
Gracia kneeled down and gave her daughter a kiss and a hug. "Thank you, honey!" she stood back up. "Now it is time for us to go." Gracia turned to Roy and flashed a little smile. "Now we should only be gone a few hours. She should be in bed by 8:00. She can have a snack if she wants one, no radio, and I would suggest putting her to bed closer to 7:45 so you can read her a story."
Gracia walked over to Maes, giving him a little kiss. Maes tried not to smile when both Elysia and Roy scrunched up thier faces a little bit.
"Now Elysia, you be a good girl for Uncle Roy."
He leaned down and gave her a big kiss, and she scrunched her face again. "Daddeee!" she protested.
He giggled and stood back up and walked towards the door, his wife in hand. "Have fun, Roy!" He smiled and waved, looking over his shoulder. The door shut, and they were alone.
Roy looked down at Elysia, who just smiled up at him with her small toothy grin. She really looked alot more like her mother, but the goofy smile that so easily came to her face was all Maes. He couldn't help but smile back at her. He was pretty sure that poor Maes was going to be very busy in the future, throwing knives at many potential boyfriends. She was going to be a heartbreaker like her mom, he could tell.
"So, Unca Roy, whadda ya wanna do?" She looked up with her huge blue/green eyes and blinked. His heart melted just a little.
"Well, your mom said you could have a snack if you want. Are you hungry, kiddo?" he kneeled down, talking to her level.
"Yeah! I wanted popcorn earlier, but the poppy thingy is broken." She said sadly. He smiled, guessing that they had one of those brand new popcorn popping machines that were becoming popular. He had heard of them, and he had even tried popcorn before, and he enjoyed it. But he hadn't liked it enough to spend the money that it was selling for. He had read about it and knew the general concept of how it worked, and it gave him an idea.
"Hey, kiddo, what if I told you that I could make you some popcorn? But you have to promise.. cross your heart.. not to tell your mommy and daddy, because they won't like me showing you."
Elysia clapped her hand and giggled loudly. "Okie Unca Roy!!!" He stood up and offered her his hand, which she eagerly grabbed. They walked into the kitchen, and Roy put her in her high chair, then searched the kitchen for the popcorn.
"Ah, here we go!" Roy said. On the counter, he put down a length of aluminum foil, then spread some of the poporn kernels on it. He sprinkled a little salt, then closed the foil up, making a little pocket, with a small hole in the top for steam. "Okay, Elysia, now this is a little dangerous, so just stay still, okay?" She nodded and smiled. He put the foil on the stove, and put on his white glove with the red salamander array that he always kept in his pants pocket.
"Wha is that, Unca Roy?"
Roy smiled. "You will see, kiddo." He snapped his fingers, making the flame as small as he could, directing it to the underside of the foil and making sure that it didn't burn too hot.
Any fears that he had that the fire would scare a three year old went away as she laughed and clapped at the fire show. "Yah! Unca Roy makes fire!!" Roy smiled and turned back to the foil to make sure it was still under control. It only took about a minute, and they were rewarded with the first 'pop' of the kernels turning inside out. Roy had a satisfied smile on his face. He hadn't been 100% sure that it was going to work, but he was glad that it did, and he didn't have to dissapoint Elysia.
A couple of minutes later, the popping had stopped. Roy took off his glove and put on an oven mitt, carefully opening the foil and venting out the rest of the steam. He put some of the kernels on a plastic plate after it cooled down, and gave the plate to Elysia. "Fanks Unca Roy!" She started to devour the popcorn, spilling as much around her as what she got into her mouth. Roy couldn't help but smile softly.
The popcorn distraction didn't last long, and soon she was wiggling in her chair, wanting to do something else. He took her out of the chair, and she dashed back to the living room, a panicy Roy chasing after her. He got in there just in time to see her open her toy chest in the living room and start to throw her toys out onto the floor, apparantly searching intently for something.
"Aha!" She exclaimed, getting out some paper and crayons and starting to draw, leaving the rest of the toys strewn about the living room. Roy watched her for a few minutes. She was working intently on the picture, concentrating so hard that her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth. He tried to be annoyed that he was obviously going to have to clean up after her, but she was so cute that he found it hard to stay mad at her. He sighed softly and started to clean up.
When he was done, he looked at the clock. It was close to 7:30 already. He smiled a little. It wouldn't be much longer, and then he could start planning his revenge on his best friend. He gently sat down close to her, being sure not to startle Elysia, and watched her with a warm smile. There was a tiny part of him who was jealous of his friend. Even though he had had plenty of lovers, he had never had any woman who he really wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was approaching 30, and the Wild Mustang showed no signs of broken and settling down. He wondered for a moment if this was what he was missing in his life.
He only got a moment to think about it before Elysia broke him out of his thoughts. "Unca Roy! Unca Roy!! Lookee!!" she held up a picture of a blueish blob with orange skin and black hair that he guessed was himself, fire coming out of his hand, with little yellow dabs that he guessed was popcorn everywhere. He inwardly groaned. He knew Maes, being in investigations, would be able to figure it out, and he certainly wasn't going to destroy the art that this little girl spent so much time and effort on. With a groan, he figured that he was busted either way, and pasted on a little smile, taking the picture from her.
"That is very nice, Elysia! Let's go put in the kitchen where they will see it!" she jummped up and ran to the kitchen, pointing to the small icebox where some of her other work was already hanging. It was hard to find a plce to put it, whatever spot wasn't taken up by her art had pictures of her, taken by her doting father.
"Yah, Unca Roy! That is pwetty!" She clapped her hands and giggled loudly. Any feelings of impending doom that Roy had felt about using fire to pop popcorn melted at that smile, that laugh. It was just so hard to feel bad when she was around. He started to understand quite a bit more about why his best friend was so happy all the time.
He looked at his watch. It was already almost 10 untill 8. "Oh, it is late! Let's go upstairs, it is time for you to head to bed!" Roy leaned down, arms outstretched, ready to pick her up and carry her upstairs.
"No! I don' wanna!" Like a lighting bolt, she took off back towards he living room. He sighed.
"Oh, great, this is going to be fun." Roy rolled his eyes.
10 minutes later, Roy finally had her cornered, and she was already pretty tired. She didnt fight much as he carefully picked her up, his lack of experience with children painfully obvious, and put her down in her bed and pulled up the covers. He reached down and gently pusher her bangs away from her face. She yawned, and smiled up at Roy.
"Unca Roy?"
"Yes, kiddo?"
"I had fun." she yawned.
"I did too. You get to sleep now." He rubbed her head affectionatly and smiled, then walked out of the room, turning off the light.
"Unca Roy?" He had almost made it out of the room.
"Yeah?"
"If there are any monsters in my closet, will you pop them like popcorn?"
Roy both cringed and smiled. He wasn't sure if it was terribly cute that she wanted his fire to protect her, or a really bad idea because she would be sure to tell her father about it.
"Um... sure, kiddo. You go to sleep and I will protect you."
"Ni ni Unca Roy. I love you!"
"Night, Elysia." He closed the door, trying to force his eyes to stop watering.
The next couple of hours were pretty eventless. He did go an check on her pretty often. Every time he did, she was sleeping soundly, curled up in a little ball. Roy was almost starting to doze on the couch when he heard Maes and Gracia come back in.
"Hey, you two lovebirds. Did you have a good time?" He hoped he didn't look as sleepy as he felt. Gracia put thier coats up while Maes went into the kitchen to put thier leftovers in the icebox.
"Yes, it was very nice, although I had to almost tie Gracia down to the seat so she wouldn't call you to check in on Elysia! How was she?" Maes called from the kitchen.
"She was fine. It was pretty uneventful."
"You are a terrible liar, Roy Mustang." As usual, Maes could see right through him. Sometimes Roy regreted having a friend who was so damn observant.
"Well, it really wasn't too bad, honestly. She was rambunctious, but as soon as it was time to go to bed, she was out like a light. I didn't even have to read her a story."
Maes walked back in, a bit of a smirk on his face, but he stayed silent for a moment.
"Uh... so.. I can get a ride back to my place, right? It isn't late, but I am tired."
"Sure, buddy. Gracia?" Maes called up to his wife who had already gone upstairs to check on her daughter. "I am going to drive Roy home. I will be back in a few minutes." He turned back to Roy. "Come on Roy, let's go." his voice dropped just a little as they walked out the front door. "And if I ever find out that you used your fire alchemy to pop popcorn around my little girl again, I will not hesitate to use my knives and make sure that you never have children yourself." Maes flashed what could only be described as a dangerous smile.
Somehow, Roy didn't think that he had been kidding.