By: Mabis
For the past two years, Roy had a fair amount of dread for Father's Day. He had no use for the day to begin with, since his own father had died long ago. The main reason for his dread was a certain obsessed family man who was intent on making sure the world knew all about his daughter's exploits on that day.
It was just after lunch when the cause of Roy's trepidation came to him, in the form of a phone call.
"This is Roy Mustang," he said answering the phone.
"Guess what!" It was Maes Hughes, and he was sounding way too cheerful.
Roy cringed. This is why he hated Father's Day. "Elysia got you something wonderful for Father's day," he replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
"That's right! She even made the card all by herself, and it's the cutest thing she's ever done! It has lots of hearts she drew all by herself, and she colored them in so well! She's definitely going to grow up to become the best artist ever! Then she was wearing the new pink dress I got her and she was so adorable! It even had a matching hat with pink flowers..."
Roy stopped paying attention and started doodling on some paper. Hughes would go on for at least fifteen minutes if he wasn't stopped, and Roy figured listening to every single detail of Elysia's day was better than doing his own work, although not by much.
"So when are you going to get married and have kids? I know you'd make a great dad."
Roy snapped back to attention when he heard the familiar taunt. "Shut up!" He was about to slam down the phone when Hughes continued.
"Oh, that's right, I hear you're already doing that job. Who would've guessed you were the overprotective sort."
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Oops! I better go! Bye!" Hughes quickly replied, and with a click, he was gone.
Roy growled before hanging up the phone. When Hughes suddenly hung up after being questioned, that usually meant he was up to something, and that almost always involved him being a pain in the ass.
The answer came just a few minutes later, when he received the day's mail. There was the usual official correspondence, but at the bottom of the pile was a plain white envelope, with no return address. Curious, Roy opened it first, and was bewildered by the contents.
"Who the hell sent me a Father's Day card?" he mumbled to himself. There wasn't even a chance that he had some unknown child, so what the hell was all this about?
He opened up the card decorated with a fireplace of all things, and was shocked at what he found. Written inside the card was a note in very familiar handwriting.
Roy,
You deserve a reward for taking on all the responsibilities of being a parent, and only getting complaints and hostility in return. I know you're trying your best to guide and protect them, and isn't that the definition of being a father? Ed and Al will grow up to be fine men, and they'll have you to thank for it. Trust me, I'll make sure they thank you for it.
Maes
Roy stared at that message for a long time. Maes was calling him a father. A good, caring father. He couldn't believe it.
"I'm going for a walk," he announced as he got up out of his chair. He put the card in his pocket and quickly walked out of the office, not even noticing if Hawkeye started to raise any objections or not.
Once he was alone in a fairly secluded section of the courtyard, he took out the card and read it over again.
"No, Maes, if I was a father, I wouldn't be giving Ed such a hard time, encouraging his tantrums and acting like a smug bastard around him. I'd pay more attention to Al, instead of just letting his brother take care of him." He closed the card and put it back in his pocket. "If I was their father, I certainly wouldn't let them become State Alchemists. All I'm trying to do is make sure they don't lose what little they have left."
Roy went straight home after work. The rest of the day had gone by without further incident, despite that card weighing heavily on his mind. He was thankful that Ed and Al were still gone on their latest assignment; he really wasn't up to playing the role of smug bastard as was expected of him.
Once he got home, he took off his military jacket and headed straight to the bottle of brandy he kept in the kitchen cabinet. Getting a little drunk sounded very appealing.
The phone rang before he could get there, however. Sighing, Roy went to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Roy!" It was Hughes. "I heard you got a card in the mail today."
Roy collapsed on a nearby chair. He wasn't sure if talking to Hughes was better or worse than getting drunk. "I'm not a father, Maes."
"Well, true, you don't have any biological children. That would certainly be a neat trick in your position."
"Shut up."
There was a small laugh at the other end. "Being a father is more than just having your own children, you know."
"If you're going to put it that way, fine. I'm not a father figure either."
"Well, do you protect them?"
"As best I can."
"Do you make sure they do the right things?"
"I try."
"Do you care about their well being?"
"Of course."
"Well then, I'm sorry Roy, but that makes you a father figure. I know you're not as nice to them as you might want to be, but that's beside the point. You look after them, and that's what really counts."
Roy sighed into the phone. "I don't know..."
Hughes continued before he could say any more. "You've always been too hard on yourself, Roy. Trust me, you're the best thing that could have happened to those brothers."
"You honestly think so?"
"I do."
Roy finally smiled. "Well, at least someone appreciates what I do for those two. You know those two won't."
"You're very welcome. Also, there was another reason I called."
"What?"
"I haven't told you all about Elysia's wonderful afternoon!"
Roy managed to slump even further in his chair. Hughes did manage to cheer him up, so the least he could do in return was listen to him go on about his favorite subject. Thus, as much as he didn't want to, Roy sat and listened to every single detail of the afternoon in the Hughes household, complete with commentary.
When Hughes finally managed to run out of ways to describe how cute Elysia was, Roy hung up and went to his room. He took the card out of his pocket and opened it, reading the message from Hughes once again.
"I suppose you have a point, Maes. Who else do they have?"
He opened up the drawer of his nightstand and carefully put the card in with the rest of the personal letters he kept. As he closed the drawer, Roy broke into a smile.
"Next year I should order Ed and Al to give me a Father's Day card."