Title: Dog Sitter's Log
Summary: "Would you like to take care of Black Hayate until I return, Alphonse?"
Characters: Alphonse, Black Hayate, Edward, with bits of Roy and Riza.
Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, then I wouldn't be poor and this wouldn't be a fanfic.
Rating: G/K
Warnings: First Person POV for several chapters, post-series, possible spoilers for the series, pretty vague hints at Ed/Roy/Al, you could really ignore it if you wanted to.

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"How long will you be gone?"

"The Major General and I will return from East City in one week."

"Oh," Alphonse blinked at the older blonde standing guard over the Major General's shoulder as he worked, "You're going with him, Colonel Hawkeye?"

"Of course she is. You don't think they'd actually trust Mustang over there by himself!"

Three pairs of eyes darted to the only other blonde in the room, who'd been silent and crouched over his desk a moment ago.

"Brother," Alphonse chided almost affectionately, rolling his eyes as Edward bent back to his work with a satisfied smirk on his face. "So," the youngest blonde continued, turning back to Mustang and Hawkeye curiously, "If you're both going to be out of town for that long, who's going to be in charge here?"

Roy took in a breath as if about to speak but, not for the first time that afternoon, Riza answered instead, allowing him to (begrudgingly) continue to work.

"Your brother is the next in command and, therefore, will be taking over the Major General's responsibilities in his absence."

"Really? You're leaving Brother in charge of everything?"

Alphonse didn't have to turn around to see the scowl on Edward's face, as if he couldn't imagine where his little brother would get the idea that he wasn't trustworthy enough to take over for Mustang. Nor did he have to be looking at Mustang to see the smirk on his face as he finally got a word in before Hawkeye could cut him off.

"Yes, well, we don't have much other choice, do we? He is the next highest ranking officer under my command. It will only be seven days, after all; FullMetal couldn't possibly get into that much trouble in so short a time." The man's gaze turned abruptly to the eldest brother, dark eyes dancing all the more as he was glared at, "And don't worry, Alphonse, if anything does manage to go wrong, we'll simply dock FullMetal's pay until the damages have been repaired; however long that may take."

Choosing diplomacy, the youngest in the room quickly diverted the topic to something else before his older brother could react to the statement. "So, Colonel Hawkeye," he piped up, cheerfulness obviously forced into his tone and smile, "What about Black Hayate? Have you found someone to take care of him while you're away?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't," the woman replied, keeping an eye on the Major General just in case he decided that smirking at Edward Elric was more important than his paperwork. "The only person willing to watch him was Cain, however he lives in the Military Dormitories which forbid pets, and I am uncomfortable leaving Black Hayate alone."

This news was enough to make Alphonse completely forget about the previous conversation. "But if you can't find anyone," he asked, sliding off of the edge of his brother's desk where he'd been sitting, "What will you do with him? You can't just leave him alone for that long."

"I don't intend to," Riza replied, a bit sharply. "I have no choice but to send him to a kennel until we return."

"A kennel?" The desperation in the younger Elric's voice and the truly pained expression on his face would have anyone believe this was the most terrible thing he'd ever heard. "But, Colonel, you can't! They'll lock him away in a tiny little cage and feed him cheap dog food in small portions and they'll only walk him once a day and never play with him and he'll be miserable with the rest of the puppies and dogs and kittens and cats that get left behind by their owners all barking and meowing and howling to be taken home!"

Riza nearly smiled at the boy but simply replied, "I have visited some of the local kennels. I assure you they will take satisfactory care of Black Hayate while we are away."

"It still doesn't seem right…" Alphonse mumbled, a slight blush on his cheeks as he averted his eyes to the window.

The eldest blonde regarded Alphonse a few long moments, the thoughtful look in her eyes speaking of some sort of plot (though that look was almost always there). She couldn't come up with one good reason why it wouldn't work and so she crossed around Roy's desk, stopping in front of the boy and waiting until those bronze eyes were focused on her to ask, "Would you like to take care of Black Hayate until I return, Alphonse?"

The younger brother's eyes widened and blinked a few times, as if expecting to wake up from a dream at any moment and his lips were parted in a silent "o" until something snapped and he finally was capable of speech. "Y-you mean…me? Take care of Black Hayate while you and the Major General are in East City?"

Riza nodded.

"You mean take him home with me and feed him and walk him and play with him?"

Another nod, accompanied by a faint smile.

At last Alphonse's face broke out into a blinding smile as his whole countenance just seemed to lift and the woman almost thought he might hug her. "Of course I would!" the younger blonde beamed, practically bouncing.

"Very well, then everything's settled," Riza nodded and turned her gaze to Roy and Edward, "As long as the Major General and your brother don't have any objections."

Edward, who had gone back to work somewhere in the middle of the conversation and was thoroughly engrossed in a book that had somehow made it into his paperwork, barely blinked as he heard his name. "Sure, whatever," he mumbled vaguely, waving off whatever question he hadn't heard as he turned a page.

Roy, however, seemed to have actually been paying attention to the conversation, and looked just a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't trust Alphonse -- quite the contrary, in fact -- and he knew that Black Hayate was very well-trained, it was just… Well, he knew from experience that the dog had an unwitting mischievous side; and Edward didn't tend to get along with anything that wasn't his brother. The thought of leaving them alone in his home was enough to make him consider canceling the trip. The look he was getting from the younger brother, however, that look of almost pained hopefulness that had moved even Scar's heart back when Alphonse hadn't even had a face… Well, how could Roy be expected to deny that? Though he was beginning to think that the boy did it on purpose.

"Alright."

Alphonse immediately went into a string of thank you's and promises, clutching Riza's hand as he practically lit up the room with his smile.

Over the next three days, all of the details were worked out: Alphonse and Edward were to pick up Black Hayate at the train station when they saw Roy off and Riza wrote out a schedule for the week, including feeding times, walking times, play times, and grooming times. She provided exactly enough dog food for the entire week, a few dog toys, a leash, and a brush and gave a list of appropriate snacks and games.

Edward persisted that he hadn't been told anything about the arrangement and didn't settle down until Alphonse finally spoke up and told his brother that he "ought to pay attention more to other things than himself if he wants to join everyone else in the world of the living."

Later that night, Alphonse made sure he'd made it up to his brother, even though Edward had been apologizing for the rest of the day.

Three days later, Edward, Alphonse, and Roy met Riza and Black Hayate at the Central train station. Goodbyes were exchanged and Roy pressed a kiss to Alphonse's forehead and winked at Ed; both brothers blushed. When the final call came, Riza finally handed over Black Hayate to Alphonse with a small smile, reminding him to take good care of the puppy and that she would return in a week's time.

The whistle blew again and then the two brothers were left alone on the platform with the other family and friends, watching the train take Riza and Roy away and leave them with a puppy.

Both pairs of golden eyes dropped to the husky, sitting on the platform and watching a bit forlornly as his master rode away.

"Well," Alphonse said, breaking the silence and looking not a bit disappointed as he gave a tug on Hayate's leash to get him moving back down the platform, "Let's get home!"

To be continued…