I wish I could do alchemy, that'd be so neat.

Roy Mustang sat at his desk, grinning so wide he thought his face would split open. There was no one in his office for him to impress so he felt he was justified to allow his merriment on this glorious day, a day he had been eagerly awaiting. Today, twelve year old Fullmetal and his younger brother would be coming in to give a report on their second mission and he expected it to be quite a spectacle. If possible, his grin spread even wider. The memory of the first report given, complete with wild reenactments, loud complaints in a squeaky voice and an explosive reaction to all of Roy's jibes, had been enough to keep Roy grinning for days afterward. He wiped away some tears gathering in his eyes at the memory of such amusement. Fullmetal's crazy and entertaining antics almost made up for the massive amount of paperwork he had to fill out to justify the boy's reckless actions. Almost.

"Colonel," Hawkeye said poking her head in the door. "The Elrics are here to give their report." She said, giving him a disapproving look. He had schooled his features into something more impassive the moment he'd heard her but evidently he hadn't been fast enough. But even if she hadn't see the grin herself, she knew him well enough to know that it had been there. She sighed as she made to close to the door. "Please try not to rile Edward up too much Sir, he looks exhausted." She said quietly.

Roy pouted a little bit but tried to put himself into a more professional state of mind. Tired, sheesh, what did a twelve year old know about being tired? If the kid had the energy to give such flamboyant reports then Roy wasn't going to hear any complaints from him about being tired. Speak of the devil, he didn't have a moment to lose before Edward and Alphonse Elric walked calmly into his office. He blinked suspiciously, last time Edward had literally kicked the door off his hinges prompting Roy to grudgingly fix it after Ed had stormed off. Maybe there was some credence to Hawkeye's observation after all.

"Fullmetal," He said with a slight head nod which Ed met with a vicious glare. Roy felt more at ease; at least Ed's sparkling personality hadn't changed since he'd been away. "It's hot enough to fry an egg outside and you're still tromping around in that long coat. I guess you're not as affected by the heat since your body is so small." The pits of hell burned in Edward Elric's eyes and he stepped forward with rage emanating off his tiny form as he began to wave his arms and shout.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULD-" but Edward cut himself off with a noticeable wince, ceasing his movements and letting the last of his screams echoing limply in the office. Mustang leaned forward in alarm, now he definitely knew that something was wrong. Edward hardly ever missed an opportunity to fight back at his insults and the kid never, ever willingly stopped mid-rant. Mustang could only come up with a handful of reasons for such out of character action and seeing as Alphonse was behind him and not in any danger, he could only think of one other option.

"Fullmetal, are you injured?" He said sharply watching the boy wince again causing Mustang's eyebrows to furrow in frustration. He hoped to God Fullmetal was never kidnapped and interrogated; the kid was an absolutely atrocious liar. Behind Ed, Al shifted slightly and shook his head.

"No Colonel, don't worry, I gave him a look over last night after we got back and he's fine. He was just being a baby and not letting me help him. He's probably just tired 'cause he didn't sleep much on the train ride back." Al chirped and some of Mustang's worry leaked out of him. No one cared for Edward more than his brother and if Al said he was okay…

"Well you can't expect him to act like an adult, Alphonse, he's just too short-sighted to see that you're only trying to help." Edward grounded his teeth and clenched his fist but otherwise did not move and started describing the mission details in a loud, annoyed voice as if to distract Mustang from further inquiry.

But the longer the report went on, the more doubtful Mustang became. Sure Ed was rolling his eyes and swearing and talking just like he had expected but the kid hardly ever moved and when he did, it was coupled with a flash of pain across his face. Obviously Edward was hurt and was trying to pretend otherwise. But every time he opened his mouth to interrupt Ed during his droning report the kid would angrily give him a curt shake of his head and roll his eyes over to Al who was innocently sitting on the couch behind him. Mustang moaned under his breath, he wasn't sure what he found more irritating: the fact that Edward was behaving so recklessly or the fact that he expected Roy to just go along with it.

As the report was drawing to a close, Roy had nearly had it with the kid. Dammit he was the adult here and he would not let Edward's childish tendencies get in the way if he was actually injured. Who knows what was wrong? Maybe Al had missed something in his inspection since apparently Ed had been resisting. Or perhaps Ed had some sickness, possibly a brain tumor or something, that Al hadn't picked up on. Either way, Mustang was going to get to the bottom of it.

"-And then we had to take the train and man did it suck. I mean if I'm a freaking State Alchemist can't we at least get comfier seats? But no, Al and I have to ride in coach on these miserable, hard seats-"

"Fullmetal, stop," Mustang said harshly hoping to finally pry some answers from the boy. Edward gave him a look that he was pretty sure could melt metal before he crossed his arms in frustration. He then turned to his younger brother with a friendly smile. "Hey Al, I'm sorry, could you do me a favor? We were in such a hurry to get here that I had to skip breakfast. Could you run down to the mess and get me a sandwich? Any kind will do thanks." Alphonse happily bounced to his feet heading towards the door; obviously not seeing the dismissal for what it was but, again, most eleven year olds wouldn't.

"Of course Brother! I'm sure you're hungry by now. You would've been able to go to breakfast this morning if you hadn't taken so long to get out of bed." Ed frowned and averted his eyes. "I'll be back soon, would you like anything Colonel?"

"No Alphonse, I'm fine, thank you. Let's just hope your brother can finish his report by the time you get back, I'm going to sleep over here." He replied tersely, not liking to deceive the boy but knowing that things would be worse if he didn't play along with Edward's game. With a slight nod, Alphonse cheerfully left the room, taking a moment to exchange greetings with the rest of the staff. Flame and Fullmetal silently stared each other down, listening to Al answer the inquiries to their health until he finally left the office completely. Mustang slammed his hands on his desk as he stood up, coming around his desk towards Ed.

"Fullmetal, I'm going to wring your little-"

"You really are an annoying jerk," Ed said harshly with a malice that caused Roy to pause. "You almost ruined it and I've been working so hard to hide it." Edward's face became a myriad of pain as he slowly began to pull off that red abomination he called a coat once again riling Mustang's ire.

"Dammit Edward, do you think hiding injuries from your brother is a good thing? Because I can tell you right now that if your injuries are that serious, serious enough that you died, Alphonse would most certainly not be thanking you for your consideration. I swear to God, Edward I thought you knew better than this." He growled watching now as Edward unclipped his top shirt now that the coat was off. "And what do you think you're doing undressing in my office? Thank heavens the blinds are closed or there'd be all sorts of…" He trailed off, losing track of what he was saying as the top shirt also hit the floor revealing a vibrant painting of blue, purple and black bruises covering most of Edward's visible skin.

But what really caught his attention is that all of the bruises were hand shaped, far too big for Edward's tiny child hands but about the size of Alphonse's armored ones. Horrified realization slowly dawned on him and Ed grimaced as he turned his head away, unintentionally showing off more marks on the back of his neck.

"Sometimes Al doesn't know his own strength in this body especially when he's emotional, like when he thinks I've been hurt. After we got back from the investigation, he wanted to look me over. I told him I was fine but he insisted and ended up using a lot of pressure trying to hold me down." He said with a slight shrug though it seems that even that small amount of movement caused pain and Roy could see why. He could barely find any bits of pale skin beneath all the bruises, it made him wonder just how far they spread underneath the rest of boy's clothes. "It was a bitch trying to hide them from him this morning; I had to wait in bed until he left me alone long enough for me to cover them up."

Roy took a calming breath, trying to fight down the sickness he felt at seeing a young child so badly beaten up. He'd not seen so many bruises all at once since-. In the end, he just bent down and picked up Ed's shirt and coat, holding them out peacefully with the intent to help Edward back into them. Edward eyed him suspiciously before accepting the help, confirming Roy's suspicions that the dark marks probably covered most of the boy's flesh body. How was the kid even standing? He had to be killing his sore muscles just to stay upright.

"You really should tell Al," Roy said quietly as he slowly helped Ed get arms into his sleeves. "I understand how you feel but he needs learn to regulate his strength sooner or later. The two of you are going to be travelling around, interacting with other people, you don't want him to accidently hurt someone do you?" Ed lowered his eyes as he set about clipping his shirt.

"I know and I will but this-this would devastate him. You don't remember Al like I do; he was soft and gentle, even when he was mad. The thought that he could cause such bruises, even accidently, is so different from who he is that I don't want him to lose that part of himself to the armor. I want him to remember when he was that sweet little kid so when he gets his body back, he'll still be the same." Roy hummed at the rather mature line of thought all the while telling himself that no twelve year old should be accepting such abuse on his body in order to spare another's feelings. But things involving the Elric boys were always a bit muddled.

"And besides," Ed continued quietly with a cynical smirk, "the way I see it it's equivalent exchange." Roy froze angrily as he held out the coat for Ed.

"Goddammit Edward that's not how-"

"And I don't just mean for the transmutation," Ed announced talking over him. "I mean, yeah, a little I guess but mostly for the bruises I leave on Al that you can't see. I mean, he's my little brother, we fight all the time, but I'm always stupid enough to say mean things to him. I've lost track of the times over the past year when I've said things that have caused him to run off, or worse, go stand in a corner and get real quiet." Ed pulled away from him as the coat settled on his shoulders and he took a moment to adjust it so it sat more comfortably.

"You wouldn't understand but sometimes when you love someone a whole lot, no matter how hard you try, you always end up hurting them. That's the price of being close to someone; you end up giving them everything they need to hurt you. And…I think that that's okay in a way because if the relationship is strong enough, then the love you feel for them is going to be more powerful than the pain it causes you." Roy's heart clenched and he could help but glance over towards the door to where Riza was, and more specifically, where the burned tattoo on her back lay like a permanent reminder of love and its consequences. A few heartbeats of silence passed before Roy found the courage to speak again.

"Alright, I won't tell Al about this if that's what you want but you do need to have him work on controlling his grip." Ed just nodded, seeming all at once far too old and tired as he stared out the window.

Roy's chest tightened again, this wasn't how today was supposed to go. The kid was supposed to come in and explode in anger and stomp around and take Roy's thoughts away from all the horrible realities of his own life for a little bit. Ed and his brother were weren't supposed to have their own problems and they certainly weren't supposed to be as broken as he was. He felt absolutely wretched, these boys weren't prizes or entertainment, they were goddamn kids who had to embrace this hard life because of one mistake made out of love. Here he was teasing over trivial things while Ed was doing his best to take on all the responsibilities of an adult for the sake of his brother. Somehow, Mustang managed to curve his lips up into the smirk he knew Ed hated as he ruffled the kid's hair. Ed's eyes snapped up to his in astonishment.

"I guess I can understand and all. You're so tiny it makes sense that you'd bruise so easily, just like a little peach." Ed's cheeks turned the color of a tomato as he slapped Mustang's hand away.

"You bastard! I am not tiny, I am completely normal and what do you even know about being tall? You're not even 6 feet! I hate you you stupid jerk, I don't know why I even tell you anything! You're such an ass, I hope you get struck by lightening!" Ed raged, doing his best not to upset his damaged skin while Mustang sat back and enjoyed the show. And when Al showed up a few minutes later with a sandwich and a bag of chips, Ed was nearly blue in the face with his ranting while Mustang observed his pocket watch with interest at how long Ed had gone without breathing. The two brothers cheerfully bickered as they left, Ed popping chips into his mouth complaining about Bastard Colonels seven ways to Sunday. Roy smiled lightly as he watched them leave leaning up against his doorframe.

He couldn't stop that old look from appearing in Ed's eyes just as Al couldn't stop his gentle hands from hurting and Ed's fierce temper from offending. They all had their crosses to bear for the sins they had committed and they would continue to carry on if only for the sake of their loved ones. He exchanged a quick, meaningful look with Hawkeye before retreating back into his office. But even if he couldn't stop Edward from having to grow up far too soon he could see to it that, at least while he was here at the office, the kid could still act like a kid. Because when Ed was screaming about his height or complaining about everything under the sun, he didn't quite look so wearied, so burdened.

Roy Mustang sat as his desk for a long time after that, thinking about those kids and what they would have to do. It would be a long, hard road for them; they'd very quickly lose that last bit of innocence they still retained if they even got out alive. He smiled, but they were strong, and he believed that they could turn equivalent exchange on its head and turn that love of theirs into redemption instead of a burden. He continued to smile even as he filled out the rest of the paperwork regarding Ed's latest public damage bill. He'd gotten a lot more than he bargained for taking on those kids, but he had a feeling that Edward and Alphonse Elric would be teaching him a thing or two as long as they were under his command. Always keeping him on his toes, what an entertaining kid.

This started out so innocent, the sad little thought that maybe Al would accidently bruise his brother with his nerveless fingers and it snowballed into... whatever this is. I think this ended up being a very interesting look at the Ed/Al/Mustang interaction in the very early days. Back when Ed was still nervous about his new position, Alphonse happily unaware of his older brother's deceptions on his behalf and Mustang believing his charges to be entertainment rather than people. I touched on some interesting ideas but I thought going much deeper into them might take away the simplicity of the love that inspired the actions. Ok so yeah, I think this and Titles are the two best things I've put out in the FMA universe.