Disclaimer: FMA © Hiromu Arakawa

I only created Mae.

Parenthood

A crisp, clear day dawned, throwing the world into fresh relief as the sun climbed into the sky and moon sank beneath the horizon. Birds began to sing, calling forth all of the early risers, welcoming the new day with frightening cheerfulness. Dogs barked as the squirrels began their daily routine of searching for food and hiding it. It was this sound that awoke Major Riza Hawkeye-Mustang; not the barking of neighborhood dogs, but the barking of one Black Hayate.

Running her hands through her sleep-tussled, blond locks, Riza glared at the offending canine. It was still an hour before she would normally rise and wasn't very thrilled with the early wake-up call. Black Hayate, for his part, whined and slinked beneath the bed she shared with her husband. Speaking of which…

Riza glanced over at the form of her husband, he hadn't even flinched at the din the dog had been making. For a moment, she considered slapping him for his audacity, but sighed in resignation when she considered his mood when he was woken up too early. Growling about annoying animals and men, Riza slid her feet over the edge of the bed and slid them into her slippers. Might as well take advantage of the day, even if it was her day off.

Stealthily, she padded through the house, stopping for a brief moment at the ajar door of her baby's room. She gaze in at the infant. Every time she took in her daughter's chubby form, a flair of love, happiness, and pride swelled within her. It seemed her very soul was on fire. She ran her eyes from the mass of black hair to the tips of the ten perfect toes. There was no child as perfect, as sweet, as Mae Mustang, and there never would be; in her humble opinion.

After checking on the baby, Riza continued on her way to ready herself for the day.

Within an hour, Riza had prepared a quick breakfast, set out her husband's uniform, and picked up what little mess there was in the family room. Toys were set back where they should be, magazines restacked on the coffee table's smooth surface, and mail filed away by type and due date. Sometimes, Roy accused her of being obsessive compulsive, due to her neatness, but she simply reminded him that if she was this neat, none of his paperwork would get done and he'd still be a lowly Major instead of a General. At that, he generally got quiet.

Checking the time, Riza growled at the fact that Roy was still sleeping. He had to be work in a hour and a half and had yet to rise. Going up the stairs, she did not bother with being quiet this time. Cranky or not, Roy Mustang was getting out of bed.

As she moved to push open the bedroom door, she heard a low sound that could almost be the wind in the eaves. However, being a new mother had quickly taught her how to discern the sound of her baby from those of nature. Mae was awake and had just given her mother a brilliant idea.

Lifting her tiny daughter, Riza lost all composure and began to coo at her, refusing to use 'baby words', she and Roy and decided that they were allowed to repeat the noises the child made on her own. It helped that the little girl's brown eyes lit up the moment she heard her parent's repeating the sounds. With that, Mae was currently grinning a toothless grin at her mother, her slightly slanted eyes dancing with love and happiness. She wasn't even crying to be fed, which was slightly unusual for the two month old girl, normally she'd be cranky from hunger after sleeping, just like her father.

Riza decided that, if Mae wasn't hungry yet, then it was time for the child to help her mother out a little bit. Laughing lightly to herself, the normally stoic and dispassionate woman carried her infant daughter into the room she shared with her husband. Who was still dead to the world, though his left hand lay on top of the alarm clock from shutting it off.

Sighing and shaking her head, she looked down at Mae and smiled mischievously; Mae smiled back, waving her small hands in the air, "Ready to help Mom out?"

If she did this right, Roy would get woken up by something far more pleasant than the barrel of a gun. Situating the infant on the bed, she made sure that Mae would not fall off before kneeling down to make sure Mae was close enough to her father to reach him. The girl was a long way from being able to move herself about, but she had a grip like iron all the same. Riza watched merrily as Mae lifted her head, realizing that Dad was no more than two inches away from her.

It didn't take any prodding from Riza for the baby to do what came naturally as she reached out one chubby hand and grabbed her father's nose. Roy jerked, but not with enough force to dislodge Mae who started giggling like crazy. Cracking one eye open, he focused in on the small, chubby form laying beside his face, the hand wrapped around his nose, and the woman who kneeled beside the bed, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Riza, that's not funny," Roy growled, his voice coming out sounding like he had a cold.

"Believe me, it's far funnier than what I would have done to you," Riza hauled herself up, lifting Mae as she went, "Breakfast is ready."

Riza heard the sigh and mutter as though she were still standing beside the bed, and, after a moment, a short bark of laughter as the bed creaked. Smiling, she made her way downstairs to feed the increasingly fussy Mae and allow her husband to get ready in peace.