Fullmetal Alchemist

Clouds

MY TENTH FIC. Ahem. This was totally random. Written in an hour, since I was eating chips and listening to music while writing this. This fic was somewhere when Ed and Al were still looking for the Philosopher's Stone and Ed was still a few months in the state alchemy. I do not own FMA or anything related to it. Enjoy. :)

Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang, and Riza Hawkeye were all looking out from Roy's office window. They all had nothing to do. Ed and Al had no leads to the Philosopher's Stone at the time whatsoever, and Roy and Riza had finished all their work for the day.

Besides, it was a wonderful cloudy afternoon- the perfect time for goofing off.

"Did you know that you can see a lot in clouds?" Riza commented, breaking the silence and scanning the sky.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Well duh. Using your imagination you can."

Roy stared at Ed, disapproving of his rudeness. Al remained silent.

"Before, my father used to tell me that the clouds' shapes and forms represented many different things depending on many different people," she added softly, "It's a sign of a healthy soul if you can relate them back to your life."

Alphonse grinned. "Really? I want to try!"

"Go ahead," Riza said.

"Well, I see a bunch of children playing- like how big brother, Winry, and I would play at the park before. I see a peaceful town, a town bustling with life."

"…Bustling with life…" Ed sniggered to himself.

Everyone ignored him. "But then… There's a boy crying for his mother. He seems alone, but another boy seems to be helping him. Not too far off, over to the right, I see weird shapes- like evil spirits ready to attack."

"…Ready to attack…" Ed snickered. Nobody took notice of him.

"I also see a shape of a person with a bunch of people behind him. It's like he wants to do the best he could to protect them and... That's all I can see."

Ed snorted. Everyone ignored him again except for the Colonel, who threw him a disgusted look. Riza smiled and said gently, "That's great, Alphonse. I can easily tell that you are a carefree, selfless person who has a simple outlook on life. You are also a person who has seen a few truths from life's reality- there's also a great amount of hope in your soul."

There was silence as Al contemplated on this. Roy suddenly said, "Can I go next, Lieutenant?"

"Sure, Colonel. What do you see?"

"Well, I don't really have much of an imagination but…" Roy stared up at the sky, edging closer to his window, "I see rows over there, like the lines of military men. I see a face screwed up in concentration, aiming his rifle. Another person is standing confidently on a… mountain-shaped cloud… preparing for battle."

"That cloud looks more like a rainbow to me…" Ed interrupted, sniggering.

Roy said calmly, "Shut up, Fullmetal. Anyway, I see tears… tears of the fallen. There's a bomb, an explosion. I can also see an airplane speeding across the sky."

Ed laughed out loud. "That's a real plane, you idiot!"

"...Well yes," Roy admitted, glaring at the older Elric, "There's also a person helping his, or her, friend out of a wreckage. I see a soldier shielding an innocent civilian. A mounted cannon is being prepared, and explosions are everywhere… like there's war going on."

Riza tried hard to ignore Ed's silent laughter and said, "That's good, Colonel. I can easily tell that you are very passionate, ambitious, and focused on your job and goals. However, you also seem to care for others a lot- especially when it involves war and battle."

Roy pondered on this, still looking at the sky. Ed was now silent, his back turned on everyone, facing the sky beyond the window. Riza was staring at him, waiting for him to go next.

"Brother, why don't you go next?" Al said, looking at Ed expectantly, "Surely you see many things in the clouds too."

"Yes, Alphonse is right, Ed," Riza added, "What do you see?"

Roy glared at the short, blond alchemist. "Yes, Fullmetal, I insist. Do tell us."

Ed didn't turn around. Everyone stared at him. He finally answered.

"Well, I was going to say I saw a fluffy cat, a crumpled piece of paper, and a marshmallow, but I change my mind."

Yeah, that was really random. I was bored, all right? And I desperately wanted to get on with a tenth fic. :P Anyway, read and review. Please and thank you! :D

-Pasta W 19.