The Mustang team liked to believe they knew everything about each other. They knew that Havoc started smoking shortly after his mother died. They new that Brenda liked sweets because his little sister had told him that sweets healed the soul. They even knew that when Riza wanted to relax she'd sit beside her fireplace with a good book and a plate of strawberries. So it was only natural that they thought they knew everything there was to know about the hot headed Edward Elric...oh how wrong they where.

They realized this when, only an hour before he set out for his next mission, Havoc asked a question that the entire room had been wondering. "Hey chief, why don't you like being called sort? I mean i get the dislike but you for to have a reason why you hate it so much." the room was instantly quiet as even Hawkeye looked up from her paperwork. Edward set the last form aside and looked to the older blond in confusion. "It's a reminder. One I don't really need."

The room only free more confused so Ed explained. "In all honestly I wouldn't mind being small but i have to many people standing behind me. The army sees me as a weapon, a dog, but i will always be a shield first and foremost. I will protect the people I care about at all costs and being told I'm small only makes me realize that the more people standing behind me the more i have to stretch and bend to keep them safe. No one wants to stand behind a small shield and what's the point of a shield if there's no one to protect?" with the room stunned Edward Elric, the boy the only now realize they didn't know, walked out the door.

You see they had met Fullmetal, the hot tempered boy who flew of the handle and insulted everything he deemed stupid. They had met Major Elric, the genius boy who could crack any code he put his mind to and planned everything to a T, though to be honest he was fairly seen. They had ever seen Ed, the small child who whimpered as he slept on the sofa or played with the younger children, he was only caught by the slightest corner of the eye.

They thought they new everything about the young blond but they didn't know Edward. The boy who was left alone to care for a little brother when he couldn't care for himself. The boy who have up his leg for happiness that ended up in regret and his arm to hold to all he had left. The boy who desperately moved forward with each struggling step even as the world weighs down on his shoulders. They had never met this man so when he was suddenly there they couldn't help but fear exactly how damaged the shield was beneath all those layers of polish. Mustang turned to his team with a sad smile. "Come on guys, Get back to work. What are we if we let that boy walk out of this office without being there to hold him up and repair the cracks?" he whispered to the quiet group even as he headed back to his office.