AN: This started off as a Tumblr request for a fic meme: "He'd looked ready to throw at least one of them over the bridge- but she'd never have guessed it would have been himself" and expanded for part of my RoyAi 100, #008: Store lined Streets. A little inspired by a screencap from a PSP game as well.

Warnings: Royai. One Shot. Parental feels.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA

Bridge

Riza rubbed her temple as she leaned against the car and watched civilians gather on the sidewalk to stare with interest at the erupting argument. Traffic was minimal at this time of the day so cars weren't backed up from her stopping on the bridge, but that did little to help help her embarrassment as her two superior officers bickered like children. The arguing was something she was used to by now, however the two alchemists usually had enough sense to do it behind closed doors.

Al was still sitting in the back seat looking at the information that was now strewn across the floor of the car. Riza watched him glance up occasionally when his older brother yelled something insulting, clearly wanting to chide him for his language. Still, Al was more intrigued by the research the Colonel had handed to the boys than he was in wasting his time trying to break up the display of immaturity. She really wasn't even sure how this started.

When Ed and Roy teased and insulted each other, there was usually a mischievous smirk and compliment wrapped up in the banter somewhere. They respected each other, however both felt some awkwardness in their relationship that they had to cover up with sarcasm and jokes. Something changed today. Something struck a nerve and it lead to a screaming match in the back seat, followed by Ed jumping out of the car at a stop and Roy throwing the documents across the car as he jumped out after him.

Ed must have felt slighted or manipulated, perhaps both. Riza wished in these instances that Roy wasn't so damned stubborn and proud, that maybe he could just cut the teenager some slack. He deserved a mentor and he deserved to know that someone was looking out for him and not just using him. Roy purposely delivered news and orders to him in the worst possible fashion in order to keep his distance and help the boys keep moving. She didn't agree with it, but it wasn't her place to question his motives. He would eventually come to the conclusion that this was not the correct course of action for this engagement, even if he would never admit or apologize for it. He really thought he was protecting them.

Riza shook her head as the argument escalated to the point where they were quietly hissing threats at each other and gesturing menacingly. People started to move on now that they were unable to hear and she was thankful for that. Ed however was turning red now, furious and desperately wanting to turn this into a physical fight. She knew that look, it was what happened immediately following a short joke and immediately preceding a balled fist and promise of bodily harm. Roy Mustang, why must you be such an ass? Ed looked ready to throw at least one of them over the bridge- but she'd never have guessed it would have been himself.

Ed jumped up on the railing and she saw Roy react momentarily, a bit of surprise and panic as the young man teetered on a narrow handrail. She started to move towards him, Al also got out of the car at the same time. Then Ed jumped, right after giving the Colonel the finger and screaming, "I guess I'll return to my natural habitat then with all the other shrimp, better than dealing with a bottom feeder like you up here!"

Riza was already in motion as Ed stepped back and just pushed off the railing and off the bridge without the slightest hesitation. She saw a blur of black and blue as Roy lunged for the kid, trying in vain to grab a hold of anything to stop him from plunging into the filthy waters of the canal below. Another step closer and she saw Roy slam into the guardrail and lean over, then another stride and she saw a crackle of energy from the the other side. One more step and she was almost there, but it was too late. A gloved hand reached up and grabbed a teetering Mustang by the coat and pulled him over the edge.

She and Al hit the side of the bridge at the same time and saw the flutter of a black trench coat as it's owner descended into the Weston Canal. Riza waited for Roy to emerge from the water, sputtering and cursing before looking to the chuckling young man perched upon an alchemically created ledge on the bridge's side. Finally she lost all restraint and gripped the handrail tight before utilizing the parenting tone she only ever used on her dog. "Edward Elric..."

Both Elrics reacted immediately to the voice that could only come from an outraged Mom. Suddenly they were both back to being little boys again, doing something destructive and trying to write it off as science. It had been years since anyone talked to them like that, but it didn't make it any less effective.

Riza leaned over the railing so he didn't miss a word despite her lowering her voice. "I do not care what just transpired between you and the Colonel. I do not care who started it or why you just threw him off a bridge. You are going to get yourself back onto this damned sidewalk and make sure you put this bridge back exactly the way you found it. You may have no problems embarrassing yourself, your brother or the military with this insane display but you will not compromise the integrity of this bridge and make it unsafe for anyone other than you two idiots. Do you understand me?"

Ed could only nod, surprised by her tone and how incredibly good she was at delivering a Mom lecture.

"Then you and the Colonel will walk back to headquarters and discuss your problems like adults. I am done with both of you for the day. Done." Riza stood up and calmed herself as she looked at Al who was somehow able to convey his surprise on that emotionless body of his. She reached out and touched his arm and her tone went back to something soft and warm. "Alphonse, would you like to come with me to the pet store and buy Hayate a new bone? You can pick out some cat treats or a bag of food and we can go to the park and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day without having to babysit."

Al shook off his surprise. He was a little tired of this nonsense as well. "That sounds great Lieutenant."

"Wait for me in the car while I check on the Colonel and let him know about the change of plans." Riza said and made a curt, parade ground crisp turn and marched down the sidewalk to the road that ran parallel to the waterway where Roy was just now climbing a ladder out of the canal. She arrived just as he set foot on street level again, water pouring off him and trash sticking to his trench coat. She watched him look up at Ed who was quickly trying to mend the bridge as well as remove graffiti for bonus points. Before he could open his mouth she snapped, "Colonel, I am taking Al and leaving you and Ed to clean up this mess you both created."

Roy stared at her and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when he saw the look on her face. He blinked away water as it dripped out of his hair and into his eyelashes. She was pissed and he knew better than to say anything.

"You can both find another way home. Perhaps you would like to play the part of an adult now and go up there and do some damage control with your audience before you end up damaging your image more with this immature display than that bridge." Riza saw his eyebrows raise and he wisely remained quiet. "Then, on the walk back to headquarters to change you might try to figure out a way to talk to that young man who, for some reason, actually admires you. Perhaps you can find some part of you that won't respond to everything he says or does with condescending ridicule or dismissive and insensitive words. You hurt him when you tease him, he looks for the slightest recognition of his achievements and you give him the worst back handed compliments. You don't even realize you're doing it, but I see it plain as day every time you two are together."

Roy opened his mouth to protest, but she continued before he could make a sound.

"He just wants to be treated like an equal and you make sure to hold anything you can over him to show him that he isn't. There was no point in keeping that information from them until after their mission, you sent him in there blind. You put him at a disadvantage and that wasn't so he could see the situation unbiased. He was right to call you out on that and you know it."

"Riza..." Roy said, an apologetic whisper that was met with a raised finger as she used a simple gesture to quiet his protests.

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to keep your distance and every time you two get along or connect on some level you just wound him to chase him away. He's not an adult, he doesn't have that thick skin you're used to everyone around you having, and quite honestly your own team isn't as immune as you think they are to your snide remarks. You think you're teaching him to not rely on you, you think you're keeping him from getting too comfortable here, but all you're doing is acting like an asshole. I'm sick of it. You escalate this all so quickly that every playful discussion turns into a screaming match or physical fight. Figure it out. I'm done making excuses for you. Find your way home, find your own way out of this mess and find the words 'I'm sorry' in your vast vocabulary."

She whipped around before he could say anything and marched away. She, Al and Hayate had a date in the park and she was going to enjoy the sounds of real children playing instead of the two fools she had to babysit today.

Roy took off his trench coat and began the slow, squishy walk back to the bridge apex. Each uncomfortable step reminded him that he was taking a walk of shame and there was very little his confident posture could do to salvage that. His boots were water logged, pants clung to his legs and his uniform jacket was heavy like lead from being drenched. To top it all off, he smelled of dead fish and petroleum run off from the street. He knew his gloves were wet without even having to check, but was curious to see the state of his little black book and pocket watch after the plunge into the canal. The book looked like he accidentally washed it with his laundry again and thankfully the watch still ticked on and no moisture could be seen in the encased glass portion. He put it away and tried to ruffle up his hair but it only got grime and oily residue on his hand. So by the time he made it to the high point of the bridge he was chilly, felt disgusting and was completely miserable. "Well, Fullmetal..."

Ed looked up at him and waited. He wasn't going to throw him in the canal again, he wasn't going to disappoint Hawkeye like that. Unfortunately it was so tempting, but he knew the Hawk's Eyes were watching in the rear view mirror as she drove away.

Roy looked down at those wide golden eyes and saw in them that Ed had been the subject of Riza's lecture as well. He took a deep breath and got another whiff of fish and algae with a touch of sewage. The temptation was great to shove the kid in the water and give him a taste of it himself, but he knew Riza was watching. "What can I help with?"

Ed rubbed his hands on his coat and shrugged. He could tell from body language alone that Mustang got the same disappointed talking to he had. At least they were finally on the same page on something. "I think I'm done. Should be better than new. I added a little carving of a dog though, but it's classy."

Roy held out his hand to help Ed over the railing and water poured out of his sleeve and down his hand until it dropped off his fingertips. He figured Ed would laugh and say no thanks and just make some acrobatic show of flipping over the railing, but the kid grabbed on without a word and allowed him to pull him back onto the road. "Did the Lieutenant say where she was going?"

"Pet store." Ed replied. He was still feeling the effects of Hawkeye's lecture and was really struggling with the fact that he disappointed her. Then he sniffed his own glove and almost gagged. He leaned over and confirmed the smell came off Mustang.

"Really?" Roy wasn't expecting that. Riza was pissed, why would she go shopping?

"She's taking Al so he can feed the stray cats and Hayate so he could get a bone. Good boys, I guess." Ed took his glove off and looked for trash can. He put his hand in his pocket and looked at the puddle around Mustang's feet. He really didn't want to go anywhere with him if he smelled that bad.

Roy looked around and decided on his next move. He stepped into the street and stopped a cab, the cabbie was ready to tell him off before he noticed the uniform. "Come on Fullmetal, get in. I'll go back to my apartment and change and then we'll figure out a way to apologize to the Lieutenant."

Ed was about to reach for the handle and then the cab suddenly took off.

"Sorry pal, not smelling like! Try the garbage truck."

Roy glared at the cab as it sped off and then turned as someone swerved around him and honked. He grudgingly got out of the street and stepped on the sidewalk. "I guess we walk."

"Look Colonel, I think the Lieutenant made it pretty clear she's seen enough of both of us for today. I'll just head back to the dorms and wait on Al to come back with that information." Ed said and could see Mustang wasn't really thrilled with that option. Why did he want to push his luck?

"I can't go into headquarters looking like this." Roy said and could see Ed think about saying something, but keep his mouth shut. Whatever Riza had said to him had scared manners back into him. Hell, it could be said of both of them. "Look, Fullmetal, I have known the Lieutenant a long time and apologies and gifts aren't going to make this situation go away. She wants to see that we're sorry, actions speak a lot louder than words in this situation."

"What are you suggesting?" Ed asked.

"I'll help you with whatever you're working on." Roy said and Ed looked at him suspicious. He didn't want to have this conversation in the middle of the bridge while he looked like a drowned cat, but Ed wasn't going to budge if he didn't. There would be no rectifying this situation until he did just as Hawkeye instructed and the only way to do that was to help this kid out. "I left you in the dark on your last mission because I...well you work better when you don't have a lot of intel. Information the military gathers can be biased, it's usually done so to support an already per-conceived need. It's like only experimenting and collecting data to support your theory and ignoring the tests you should be doing to prove it is the right one. You're an alchemist Fullmetal, you use the scientific method to further your research and that is why giving you previously collected data is something I frown upon. You have a unique information gathering skill and I prefer to leave you to do it yourself."

"We walked in on terrorists planning an attack." Ed said and put his hands on his hips. "You didn't think that was worth a mention?"

Roy chose his word's carefully in order to attempt to skirt another argument. "The government's definition of "terrorist" is a lot different than yours. I am sorry that, in this instance, my intelligence was right."

Ed knew that statement was truth, anyone opposing the military was deemed a threat. He also figured Mustang knew Hawkeye a lot better than he did and wouldn't be asking to cooperate if there was another way to get back in her favor. "Alright, but just because I don't have any of the information you threw all over the damned floor."

"Fair enough." Roy said and turned to start walking towards home.

While Mustang showered and changed, Ed lost himself in the man's library of books. Initially he was surprised by how empty the apartment was for a guy who had to be making quite a bit of money due to his military and state alchemist positions, but then he realized the walls were covered in bookshelves and any interest in the furnishings slipped from his mind. There were research logs here from old private collections, some he had only seen referenced in bibliographies, and many in foreign languages. He wished Al was here to see this, but couldn't resist diving in and grabbing an armful of books and sitting at the desk to start reading. He smiled a little as he looked at the picture of a young Mustang and Hughes from their academy days, Hughes smiling and Mustang being a grumpy ass. Some things didn't change.

Roy finished his shower and threw the wet clothes in the bathtub to deal with later. After drying himself off he used the towel to sop up the mess on the floor, then tossed it in the tub with the rest of it. He dressed and shook the water from his hair one last time before exiting the bathroom and checking to make sure Ed was still there since he had been so quiet. Of course the kid was still there, nose buried in a book and oblivious to anything else. He left him to read and went to his bedroom to get another pair of boots and a uniform jacket. Task complete he went back into the main part of the apartment to look at his pile of wet accessories and see what could be done to dry them out.

Ed snapped out of his trance as Mustang jingled keys and moved things around on his coffee table. He found a piece of paper and put it in the book as a bookmark, hoping he could come back later and finish reading. "So what information did you have for me this morning?"

Roy pulled money out of his wallet and laid it on the table to dry, then peeled his library card off the backside of a picture of him and Hughes. "A shipping manifest... "

"I know, asshole, that's all you gave me to go on and what got me in the middle of a terrorist plot to hijack a train and make off with decommissioned rifles and destroy a part of Central."

Roy rolled his eyes. Just once he'd like to complete a statement without being interrupted. "You saved the day, that's going on your record. You can thank me later when you realize how valuable it is for the military to see you as an asset instead of nuisance. Especially as we inch closer and closer to quarterly budget reports."

"Wow, thanks. Thanks so much for making me do your job for you and making you look good." Ed snorted.

"Do you really think that if I knew of a terrorist plot like that, that I would send you in there without backup?" Roy grumbled. He pulled out a mess of other things in his wallet. A few phone numbers got destroyed as they were written on napkins.

"It's what you do. It's what you always do."

"Right." Roy said and threw the pile of wet wallet items to the side and pulled his sidearm from it's holster. He began to disassemble his firearm and kicked the cleaning kit out from under the coffee table. Last thing Hawkeye would be amused with is him not taking care of his service weapon after it was submerged in water. He wasn't getting into this with Ed again so he continued the statement he had begin before being accused of negligence. "Like I was saying before you interrupted, something that always seems to get in the way of your receiving information, this shipping manifest showed something different."

"Can we start from the beginning. When you gave me this intel you said there was an exhibit pulled from the National Museum earlier that week that was supposed to be sent to storage, but instead ended up on a transfer list and prepped for shipping out on that train." Ed was curious about this because he didn't bother to ask at first, he just ran with it and left before Mustang could tell him more. He really didn't care to know at the time "What kind of exhibit was it?"

"It was a showcase of artifacts from some dig in the desert." Roy said and continued to break down his gun and lay out all the parts on a mat. "Not very exciting until an alchemist applying for state certification noticed there were some familiar runes on some of the tablets collected. He made some sense of it, saying that it was part necromancy, part human sacrifice, and wanted the certification to research it and the promise it held as a key to understanding the past."

Ed thought about that. "Ok, I don't see how that wouldn't be violating the rules already established by the state. I mean, that's a great way to dress up 'human transmutation' but I'm sure a bunch of top tier military guys are going to see through that bullshit kinda fast."

"He tried to spin it as more of a study of the past than the promise of human transmutation in the future, he was denied and threatened with incarceration if he pursued it. More importantly the exhibit was removed and boxed up for safety reasons." Roy took out an old tooth brush and started to clean springs. "So that's where I sent you. That was the little bureaucratic mistake that just didn't add up. The reports of criminal activity in the area was merely a bonus, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist digging into that once you arrived. You have a way with people, Fullmetal, you can walk into a town and clearly be the outsider but somehow you get people to open up to you. A member of the military would not have been able to find out about that smuggling ring, or the terrorists it funded or been able to walk in on an operation about to happen. People would have scattered to the wind if we rolled into town. Lips would have been sealed. Nothing would have changed."

Ed sat there and thought about it. The citizens of Amestris were wary, if not hostile, toward military interference. He and Al had simply went to this little town on the outskirts of Central and expected to walk into the warehouse using his military credentials and find out what these "alchemy artifacts" were. They naturally talked to people first to get a feel for the town and learn more about this secret warehouse facility that wasn't on any maps. People had stories, many they dismissed for being about aliens, but the general theme was that nobody was allowed near this very private, very secure facility and warehouses actually backed up to the mountains where it was rumored they used the old mines for storage. It seemed made up and the people didn't seem like the best sources for information. There were gift shops with alien merchandise, a tabloid printing house, alien themes hotels and foods. They had almost left because it just seemed like the whole place was filled with paranoid alien hunters, but something struck a cord when he was denied access to the warehouse at the gate. Not even his watch or, he would never admit this to Mustang, pulling rank on the poor corporal, could get him in. That was when they decided to stay and investigate further. Resentment of the military ran high, rumors went unchecked about the abandoned gold mines still being productive and that shipments arrived with evidence to be buried and then left filled with gold for the treasury. So, of course they broke into the place thanks to some old mine maps, a geriatric prospector and alchemy. "So I haven't filed my report yet."

"I noticed." Roy said and set his toothbrush down to pick up a can of oil. "However I figured you might need a little time to conjure up a story that sounded credible enough for official military records. "

"You said I was a hero." Ed reminded him.

"I also said, 'Do you expect people to believe you are so small you can fit through the chain links on the fence in a highly secure military facility?'" Roy repeated the words that has started today's fight.

"Yeah, I remember that too." Ed tapped his fingers on Mustang's desk and looked at the picture again. "Did Hughes give you this information? How did you get it?"

"Disgruntled alchemists throw incredibly loud and dangerous tantrums." Roy said and shook his head. "Hughes was asked to look into this man. That knowledge of Military intelligence being interested in him was enough to keep him silent, but in the process of talking this guy down he got a lot of information about what he was looking into. How I got the information...well lets just say that the gentleman in question was rather loud and disgruntled in the middle of the museum."

Protecting Hughes. Good. Ed respected that about him.

"However I would like to hear the actual details of your mission before I read about it." Roy said and began to reassemble the gun. "Please."

"We followed the manifest to the crate's destination, but found out that that stop was not accessible to passengers. Used to be an old gold mine, the train tracks still ran to it, but the military had bought it out once it shut down to use for this warehouse facility. The last stop was crazy alien town, and teh army checked all the cars to make sure everyone was off before the train went one more stop, through the security fence, and unloaded at a warehouse there. Then it used an old roundjouse to get turned around and left the grounds, stopped back at the passenger depot and turned back into a normal train. It was..weird. So...we went to investigate. I couldn't get into the place with my watch, not high enough clearance so we found another way to get in."

"Imagine that." Roy mumbled.

"Al and I got in via the old mine shafts. Well I did. He couldn't fit." Ed said and could see Mustang tilt his head like he was going to say something about being small, but refrained. "The old mines are just being used for cold storage. I got into the warehouse and it was just a ton of crates. I didn't look in any of them, they were all labeled with sequential numbers and obviously cataloged somewhere, and I was looking for that shipment on the manifest. I knew it was a recent arrival, the people in town said trains weren't that regular and that only one train had been there that week. So with the layout of the grounds I made from the church steeple, I went to the warehouse closest to the tracks. There was a lot of security directed towards entrances and the perimeter, it was easy to move around inside without notice."

"Even in a red coat?" Roy asked skeptically. He was hoping there wouldn't be reports of injured guards.

"I gave it to Al, the mine shafts were really tight and I couldn't afford to get snagged or seen once I got out of them." Ed wished he was writing this down, he still had to type it up later and submit it to Mustang all over again. "Anyhow, I got in a truck that was going towards the entrance and got out at the warehouse. Checked for the crate but all that was in it was alien figurines. So I checked other crates that were on the manifest as 'to be destroyed' and they were filled with coal. So I signaled Al to create a distraction and I got out in the back of a military truck when they went to check the perimeter."

"So you followed the tracks back to the last depot it stopped at?" Roy asked, impressed with Ed's ability to study military protocol and routine and use it to his advantage. Pity he didn't want to actually be a solider, he'd be a good one.

"Yeah." Ed sat back in the chair and shook his head. "It was one stop past the town depot, it was a freight and grain stop. I didn't even think about that when we rode that train into town. Anyhow, we got there around dusk and just walked into the warehouse to see if we could find shipping logs that would tell us what crates had been taken off there. Then we found those terrorists that were planning to use those guns on the train back to Central and send the train at high speed into Central Station. A few of them were military contractors. I guess that guy in charge of that depot wasn't thrilled with his military pension and was supplementing it with artifacts and gun sales. He found a lucrative loophole in the way the military did things, since they didn't want anyone knowing what they were transporting they didn't really tell anyone what they were transporting. They just had guards protect the car and anticipated the contents remaining safe because the guards would ensure nobody went in and out of the secure car. Someone in Central knew what was packed, wrote vague shit on the manifest, and a guy in that warehouse just cataloged it. If Central wanted alien figurines preserved, oh well, right? I guess the idea was that it was safer because it wasn't classified as a priority."

"See Fullmetal, you are really good at pointing out the flaws in well established security routines." Roy said and wiped down the now assembled gun with a rag. "If I give you these rumors of terrorist activities in every area you go into, you'd spend so much time chasing ghosts and fairy tails and never seeing the mission with unbiased eyes. I never meant to put you in harms way, all of this was well under everyone's radar."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that." Ed said reluctantly. They walked in on these guys preparing to load everything on the train on it's way back as it was at the end of the line and not going to move until the next morning. They could have been on that train, but more than likely would have stayed to continue hunting for information. "If I found out those guys were in town I would have gone after them and demolished the place in the process."

"Did you find the artifact?" Roy asked.

"Weren't you listening?" Ed snapped. "I told you I was a little busy taking down a dozen dudes who wanted to ram a train right up Central Station's ass."

"Do you want to go find the artifact?" Roy asked and stood up to attach a backup holster to his belt.

"In Central?" Ed asked.

"It's here in East City" Roy said. "That's what was in that folder. The paper trail of train transfers, postal deliveries and manifests. After you altered the military to this terrorist problem, they loaded up your crate and rerouted it pretty quick. It's here in a warehouse in East City, the one that is supposed to be haunted."

"These aliens and ghosts and other ridiculous paranoid stories...are they made up by the government to discredit and scare off people?" Ed asked.

"I wouldn't put it past them." Roy picked up his pocket watch and opened it to make sure it wasn't fogging up from water damage. He snapped it closed once he reassured himself it was fine. He turned to Ed with the watch in hand and sighed. "If alchemists are real, why not everything else? State Alchemists have done their fair share in ensuring the world knows and fears what we are capable of."

Ed stood and grabbed his cloak, obviously the Colonel was ready to go.

"Wait, we need to stop here too."

"What the hell Colonel!?" Ed screamed as they narrowly avoided crashing into a fire hydrant as Mustang parked the front quarter of the car on the sidewalk and the rear quarter in traffic. He now knew why Hawkeye drove everywhere.

"The Lieutenant really loves the cookies they sell here." Roy said in response to the outburst.

"I was talking about your driving." Ed growled and got out of the car as people stared at them.

Roy ignored him and walked into the bakery. What did a kid know about driving? He probably couldn't even reach the peddles. He was proud of himself for not saying that aloud he walked up to the counter and smiled at the girl behind the counter. "Hello, I need a dozen of the shortbread cookies and do you have any of that berry cobbler?"

"Oh Colonel Mustang, good to see you! Yes we do!" The girl said and opened up a box to start putting cookies in.

Roy heard the door open and turned to see Ed ogling the treats in the window. "I'm buying Fullmetal, what do you want?"

Ed was actually speechless. He wasn't expecting that. "I can buy my own food Colonel."

"Would you stop being a pain in the ass and just order something." Roy said and the girl at the counter finished tying up his box of goodies and then wrote her phone number on the card and slipped it under them.

"Apple turnover?" Ed said and the girl quickly wrapped it up and handed it to him.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"Coffee?" Roy asked and Ed nodded as he sank his teeth into the pastry and half of it disappeared. "And a couple more of those turnovers please."

Ed was going to say that he didn't need more but he realized he had already devoured half of it and was licking icing and apple off his fingers. He finished it off so he could throw away the napkin and make his coffee the way he liked it. Then Mustang handed him the box with Hawkeye's cookies and another one with turnovers to carry and, to his surprise, held the door for him. "I thought you said the Lieutenant won't be won over by gifts and yet you get her cookies, a new hair clip from the jewelry store, a fancy dog bed for Hayate at the pet store and books at the most expensive store in town."

"I said it wouldn't make things right, but it goes a long way to show how much I appreciate her and am sorry for the stress I have caused." Roy said and didn't realize he had actually stopped at every store on this road worth stopping at. He probably should skip the florist.

"Okay, but how do you know about all this stuff that she likes?" Ed asked. He watched Mustang shrug like this was just some ordinary event, that it was something he did every time he upset one of his subordinates. However these were very specific presents and he knew the Colonel and Lieutenant were a lot closer than the rest of the team. He just hoped Hawkeye had better taste in men than this womanizing shithead.

"Well the hair clip is an imported design with a hair pin that goes through the metal band. It's useful for long hair, and also to stab someone with if you are without a weapon." Roy sipped his coffee as he put the car in reverse, gently applied the brake and then slipped into drive and merged into traffic.

Ed clung to the door handle as Mustang's car lunged back and almost hit someone, jerked to a stop with a heavy foot on the brakes and then the lunatic slammed on the gas and sent it forward and shoved his way into traffic as other drivers got out of the way. He was glad he was holding his coffee in his automail arm or he would have been nursing some burns later.

"The cookies, she's always loved shortbread. And these are the best in town." Roy said and sipped his coffee and pressed the accelerator. "She smiles when Hayate is happy, so I got him something to make sure he makes her smile. I love dogs. It's a gift to everyone really. And the books, well she reads at lunch and I know she is reading this series."

"You know how creepy that sounds, right?" Ed said. Mustang's attitude was completely different when he started shopping for Hawkeye, thoughtful and very specific. Not like it was a burden but a labor of something a lot more meaningful. Like when Hughes bought presents for his wife and kid. That kind of...joy. He watched his face as he said, "I mean, she's not your girlfriend so you sound like a stalker."

"Of course she isn't my girlfriend! She's...a friend and subordinate that happens to be a girl." Roy said and looked at Ed as he gave him a look that made him wonder if he was making connections. "Is Winry your girlfriend, you buy her things."

Ed could feel his cheeks heat up and he looked out the window and tried to make light of that. "No...I just like to say thank you for all the work she does for me. I know it's her job but I'm not exactly an easy customer to deal with. You know. Just like the Lieutenant goes out of her way to do things for you and it's above and beyond her job."

"Exactly." Roy said and they drove in silence for a minute, then gave each other somewhat curious looks. Knowing looks. So it was time to make him uncomfortable while also achieving the primary objective which was to compliment the kid. "I know little things about all of you. What brand Havoc smokes and what jars to save for his Mom's jam and moonshine. Fuery's tool bag always needs something replaced because someone uses his things and he doesn't have it for his technical work. Breda writes a food article for the paper under as pseudonym and I make note of where to get lunch from by his ratings. Falman is too tall to fit in standard uniforms and not getting paid enough for tailoring, so I make sure they take his measurements and pay to have it customized so he doesn't feel so awkward. And last but not least, you."

Ed let any questions about a relationship between Mustang and Hawkeye slip from his mind as he realized there was a high probability neither of them would survive this drive and live to do anything about it. Mustang seemed to be more eager to reach his destination now and threw what caution he had to the wind and started driving worse than before. Ed closed his eyes as the upcoming light turned yellow and he knew they were nowhere near close to it to zip through before it turned red. Mustang wasn't letting up on the gas. They were going to die. "You...notice I'm terrified of your driving?"

"You like your autonomy." Roy said and frowned as people slowed down for the yellow. He jerked the wheel and they went into the turn lane to get around them and then zipped across the intersection as the light turned red. "Because this is your journey and you want to make sure you know you are using me and your position to get what you want. Well, I give you that but if you think I don't notice that you're doing a good job...you're wrong. You do a lot of good and you help a lot of people. I give you breadcrumbs because you don't want anyone handing you a loaf of bread when you can make your own way. I respect that."

Ed opened his eyes and wondered if this was what it was like to be dead. Driving along on a road with no other cars, Mustang complimenting him. Pigeons spring up around them. People walking along in peace, with looks of awe on their faces. Then he realized this wasn't the highway to heaven, it was the fucking walkway in the park! "Holy shit Mustang, you can't drive here!"

"The one thing I know best about the Lieutenant is that she doesn't want us going into danger without her." Roy said and looked left and right to see if he saw a suit of armor on any of the park benches.

"You are the biggest danger here!" Ed snapped.

"There she is!" Roy said and slowed down and waved. He looked over as Ed opened the door and jumped out. That was becoming a serious problem with this kid, he was going to have to start locking the back door on the car. It made sense why child safety locks were being advertised on new models this year.

"Lieutenant, I am very sorry for what happened this morning." Ed ran over to the bench and said it with absolutely sincerity. "The Colonel and I are working together to figure out this artifact thing and I beg of you to please accompany us and drive."

Riza was amused at the look on poor Ed's face. Then she looked over at Roy and saw him pulling things out of his car that looked like pastry boxes. "Colonel, that is not a road."

"Sure it is, I see the maintenance truck driving on this every night when they pick up trash." Roy said and walked over with the box of cookies. "I am sorry for my behavior this morning, Lieutenant."

She held out her hands and he set the box on them and then produced another bag. Al looked over at the offerings and made a 'huh' sound and went back to throwing some food to the birds. People looked over at them as Roy delivered gifts to her like he was being romantic instead of apologetic. He was clearly so sorry he was forgetting his place. "Sir..."

"I am so very sorry that I caused you any stress and that I behaved so unprofessionally that I embarrassed myself and you." He set the dog bed, with the bag with the books and the hair clip nestled inside of it, down on the bench. Hayate started wagging his tail as he sniffed the bed knowing the scent of the pet store. Riza cracked a smile and he said a little too softly. "I don't plan on disappointing you again."

Ed looked over at his car which was parked on pedestrian thoroughfare. Apparently traffic violations were not on his list of embarrassing events. He looked back at them and there was something different, a look between the two of them that kind lingered as they both communicated silently with their eyes. He could see it in how Mustang worked his jaw and the slightest raise of Hawkeye's chin, that maybe he had been granted forgiveness. God, there really was something going on between them.

"I thought you two were heading back to the office to work on this assignment." Riza said.

"I know how furious you would be if we went into a potential dangerous situation without you." Roy replied.

"Yeah, we're heading to a warehouse to hunt down this artifact." Ed interjected. Al was making soft sighs like he was enjoying this display but it was making him rather uncomfortable. Still, if he made her happy than he wanted to rectify this situation. Like Mustang said, they had cause her embarrassment and stress and that was not what either of them wanted. "The Colonel's offered to help us find it."

"And once you find it, then what?" She asked.

Roy put his hands in his pockets. "I'll help decode it if they want the help."

Al threw some cat food at the pigeons and turned to Mustang. They really hadn't seen much of Mustang the alchemist. What they did see was impressive in display but also in the complex alchemy behind it all. "Really?"

"Ed can even take home some of the books from my library he was trying to speed read when we were at my apartment." Roy said.

Riza raised an eyebrow. He was very possessive about his books. This had to be seen as a monumental move on his part. He was also asking permission because a lot of those books had been her fathers. This was a lot of progress this afternoon. She gave him a nod, approving of his actions and silently endorsing them.

"Oh no, I would never take them home." Ed said and Mustang looked at him surprised. "They're first editions, rare and fragile books. Legendary books. I would never take a chance on something happening to them."

"What books?" Al asked quietly but with excitement evident in his voice.

"You are both welcome to come over and read then." Roy said and was surprised how both of them lit up, excited to be invited into this den of knowledge. He looked to Riza and she gave him a smile for a job well done.

It didn't take much to make them happy, he just needed to be an alchemist with them, she didn't expect him to do more. It would be good for him too, to remember what it was like back in the days before the military, back when he was the one constantly lost in books and too scared to talk to his own master about them. She was proud of him for this. "Well, if you aren't in a rush, maybe you can share some of these cookies with me?"

"I'll go park my car on the street. Then we can get back in the other one and review that file on our way over to the warehouse." Roy said and nudged Ed. "Come get your turnovers."

Ed walked back to the car with him and said, "You think she forgives us?"

"Yeah." Roy said and opened the door to get Ed's pastries and then turned to the kid and said. "I'm sorry I keep you in the dark about things Ed, but to make sure you can still move freely and find your answers, I have no other choice."

"You're still serious about letting us look through your library, right?" Ed asked.

Of course he would be more focused on that. "Yeah."

Ed grinned and took his turnovers back over to the bench, reaching in and helping himself to another one as he walked. He noticed Hawkeye had given Hayate his new bed and the dog was already laying in it and making himself comfortable. She was smiling. He forgot the importance of that, seeing people he cared for him smile, which was a shame considering that was what spurred him and Al to go down this path to begin with. Just one more smile. He offered her one of the turnovers and she offered him one of the shortbread cookies. He understood why Mustang was worried they might want to linger here too long, because this was nice. It was the comfort of something like home and it would be hard to not want to bask in it a while. "Sorry Lieutenant."

"It all worked out." She said and looked over at Al. "While you two were getting cleaned up, Al and I looked over the documents and made a few stops. We've narrowed down which warehouse the crates were delivered to."

"That's great news!" Ed said and sat down on the bench as Al got up to try and lure a pigeon over with food in his hand. They watched Mustang drive off and scare off all Al's pigeons.

"So what books does he have?" Al asked, dying to know but not wanting to get in the middle of the mess Ed had created.

"He has stuff we were beginning to think didn't exist." Ed said and munched on the cookie. "You won't believe it until you see them with your own eyes!"

Riza smiled. Yeah, Roy really did need to show them he had a lot they didn't know existed. Even if the gifts were a bit much, it showed how much he cared about his people. How he wasn't above listening to a mere lieutenant. How he did care even if he couldn't show them how worried he had been when the last mission turned out to be a huge underestimation on his part. How much he valued all of them. Curiosity got the better of her and she looked in the bag to see what else he got her. Books, that were always checked out of the library and too pricey to fit in her budget, and a hair clip that was was too personal of an item to brush off as a gift for a subordinate. Yeah he showed Ed a bit took much it seemed.

Ed saw her looking at the hair clip and washed down the cookie with some coffee. "He said, it was pointy so you could stab someone if you were in danger and out of options."

"That's..." Riza didn't know what to say but Al spoke up.

"Sounds like an excuse you'd give Winry when you buy her something you know she's been eyeing." Al said.

"Well, I guess I understand what it feels like to want to show someone how much you appreciate their support even though it's kind of their job." Ed said and reached in and grabbed a turnover. "It's just harder with some people than others."

Roy walked back and returned to a much more relaxed atmosphere than the one he left. Riza was smiling, Hayate was snuggled in his bed and chewing on his new bone and Ed was finishing off another turnover as he told Al about all the book he had taken from the shelves and was anxious to read. Al, somehow, had a pigeon eating out of his hand. When he arrived at the bench, Riza handed him a cookie and gave him a smile. He was a good boy. He gave her a look that said everything, said he was sorry and he saw the error of his ways, and more importantly that he loved her for forgiving him.

Riza gave him an admonishing look, one that said he needed to be more careful and that he was being way too obvious, but that she appreciated it. "Well, are we ready to get back to work?"

Ed tossed the pastry crumbs from his turnovers at the birds and stood up. The Colonel and Lieutenant were back to having their professional faces on even if he had seen a little too much of their personal sides. However he found himself wanting to protect them more now, saw that there was a bit of vulnerability that Mustang had allowed him to see, and didn't know if that was a mark of respect or not. Sure he would vehemently deny it if questioned, but the Colonel had trusted him with this as well as with the collection of his prized possession in his own home. He wasn't sure what to do with that, even if he was a little excited to talk theories and alchemy history when they did get back to the books or find this artifact. "Yeah, let's get to it!"

Riza picked up Hayate's new toys and Roy grabbed the bag to carry for her as the boys sprinted back to the military vehicle. "You were a little obvious with all this, don't you think?"

"Maybe." He said and started walking to the car. "I think Ed will figure out the message and keep it secret to protect you."

"He tells almost everyone he meets he did human transmutation." She reminded him and Hayate trotted along beside them.

"It's a mistake he wears, he's never going to keep that secret anymore than I will hide from the mistakes of my past." Roy said. "I'll deny anything he accuses me of. However I didn't think today was the day to hide how valuable your opinion is to me. It wasn't the day you hid how disappointed you were in us. I did exactly what whore mongering Mustang should do, try to bribe you back into my favor."

"This isn't what won me over." She said and he grinned.

"Well I supposed that's where the real Mustang knew better." He said and put his hand in his pockets. "Maybe the gifts are the cover. Maybe they are just so Ed could see I care about my people and what they think. Maybe it's why I've been chasing the little shit off so much, because he and Al see what the rest of the team sees between us."

"You mean professionalism and teamwork?" Riza said and he smiled.

"Yeah, that." Roy said and smiled as he got in the back seat with the boys and they were already showing him the work that Al and Hawkeye had done in their absence.

Riza shook her head. He was a soft-hearted fool and that wasn't what she wanted him to show to Ed, but in hindsight they weren't much different. Ed probably saw that and understood why Mustang was so hard to deal with now, why he was allowed to operate freely and follow his heart while Roy stayed cold and unmoving where he was. He saw the reasons, and could appreciate them; you protected the people you cared for, that was the bottom line every time. She opened the passenger door for Hayate and then went to the driver's side so they could be on to their next adventure. Roy also knew they had too much respect for her to ever make anything out of whatever it was they saw between them, so it was a safe play on his part. It wasn't like one more person teasing him about his Lieutenant would matter. It was something they could meet in the middle on, something both could understand yet still move on to their own destinations. She, was proud of both of them.