This is a oneshot I thought up during school. I was so bored during Literature class, and we were talking about WWII, so my mind starting spinning on the topic of war. TA DA! Edo goes to war! I will probably explore this little plot bunny a little more in a future fic or something, but for now enjoy the oneshot! I based it around that one line Hawkeye says when she and Mustang are at Risembool and they meet a limbless Ed and a suit of armor Al, that she joined the military because there was someone she had to protect. So yup, this oneshot was born!

If you're one of those people out there that look for romance in everything you see (even if its a bloody war) then if you squint really REALLY hard you might see some RizaxRoy, and whoever it is Ed's trying to protect (be it Al or Winry) you could squint and see that too.

So yup, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, although there are many similarities between Ed and I, I am not part of the FMA world either, so really I have no connection with Fullmetal Alchemist except by obsession in the fandom... DON'T SUE ME!

Someone to Protect

The small boy stood there, his panic stricken eyes plastered on the scene before him. He never noticed a taller man approaching, watching with concern as the teen clutched the rifle to himself with trembling hands. His gold hair had been cut to a standard military length, his flamboyant red coat confiscated and replaced with a deep blue uniform with shimmering rainbow badges. It pained the older to see the younger like this, so lacking in spirit and all that he formerly was.

"Edward."

The boy spun around, lofting his rifle into the air and aiming it as his commanding officer before he could process the thought. Roy Mustang immediately placed his hands, palms out, in a motion of surrender as the boy's twitching golden eyes bored holes into his semi-calm black ones.

"Edward, its only me." Mustang said, trying to keep his voice calm. Edward slowly lowered the rifle, his fearful frown melting as his entire form suddenly began to shake. One hand freed itself from the death grip on the weapon, moving upwards to be dragged across the young alchemist's sweat covered face.

"I almost shot you…" Ed whispered in a tortured voice, "I… I'm so screwed up… I almost shot you."

Mustang paused for a moment watching as his subordinate let out a few small whimpers he wished he could banish from his mind. He strode forwards quickly, his black boots making small clicks on the rocks as he suddenly stood to the side of the golden teen. Ed turned his eyes up to him, and it was in that moment that the Colonel noticed something he had not noticed before at such a distance.

There were tears running down Edward's face. Tears were running down the face of the strong boy who had cried less times than you can count with one hand.

Roy Mustang reached out slowly, watching as Ed flinched away from his pale hand slightly. Soon, Mustang's hand had landing on a shoulder, a shoulder as cold and hard as the snow and rocks around them. The Colonel's white hand tightened slightly, though he knew that Edward could not feel it through the cold metal that was his arm, yet the thought was not lost.

"You're on your guard, that's a good thing in a war zone. I could have been an enemy." Roy assured the younger slowly. Gold eyes slid back down to the weapon he held. His mix-matched hands were no longer clutching the thing, but more like hoping back and forth between trying not to touch it and trying not to let it touch the ground.

"This thing… it kills people."

Mustang clicked his tongue, his usually smirk popping onto his face. The Gate knew that Edward Elric could benefit from normalcy at the moment, even if it was the smirk the young teen hated so much.

"Its also used to protect those you love, at least, that's what the Lieutenant told me." Mustang whispered, his mouth twitching in a small fond smile at the thought of his trusted and loyal Lieutenant, where would he be without her?

Suddenly the rifle was being clutched to Edward's chest again, his hands wrapped around it and his pointer finger placed near the trigger as his eyes slid shut for a moment. When they opened, they had a new level in their depths, this level was filled to the brim with determination and it hid just below the panic still present.

"I have people to protect…" Edward whispered, glancing up at Mustang, narrowing his eyes slightly at the short haired man's patented smirk. That was a good sign, not all of his past personality had been lost to the terrors of war. "What are you smirkin' at?" he said in a shaky hiss.

"Nothing, just the fact that in that uniform, you seem smaller than usual." Mustang said, skillfully changing the subject as he simultaneously led Edward away from the battle raging behind them.

Ed's eyes flashed, changing to raging gold coins for but a moment, but before he could retort an explosion rocked the earth beneath them. Edward pitched forwards, Mustang's grip on the boy's shoulder the only thing keeping him from collapsing to the ground. The golden eyes lost their defiance, yet the determination was still there as he spun around to face the battle field. The sounds of the violence were growing steadily closer, blasts from cannons and gun shots filling the air and leaving no room for any other voices.

Mustang removed his hand from Edward's shoulder once the boy was steady. He placed his middle finger against his thumb, striding forwards with a purpose as his black eyes darkened even further.

He had people to protect as well, one of them the trembling boy trailing behind him with a gun held to him like it was a lifeline.

The first snap penetrated the air, a huge wall of fire stretching up into the sky before them. Edward skidded back slightly, his eyes wide as his mouth formed a stretching O.

"Fullmetal, put down your gun. You're hands need to be open for you to clap, don't they?" Mustang asked, darting a glance at his subordinate.

Edward dropped the gun as if it were on fire, his mix-matched hands now free and trembling. The automail his right arm was greatly singed from previous attacked from the enemy, his left hand was burned as well, the flesh red yet he still managed to press his hands to his face despite the pain.

The tears were wiped away, leaving nothing but a red face that could easily be mistaken as rage, thin gold eyebrows tilted down as he stared at the battle. There was still panic in his eyes, the irises trembling as they betrayed his true emotions. However, he was a fourteen year old in war, as a human weapon, anyone in his position who was not terrified was a fool.

"Ready Fullmetal?" Mustang asked quickly, another snap penetrating the air as more dancing flames struck down the enemies around them.

Ed nodded, "Yes, I… I have someone to protect." Ed straightened himself up, "I can't die here, I have someone I love to protect."

A clap echoed through the coldness, seeming to drown out all other sound including the snap that echoed beside him. Huge slabs of earth shot from the ground, darting towards the battling members of the enemy nation as the boy who had shot them trembled for but a moment. Colonel Mustang looked down at Major Elric, an almost unnoticeable nod bobbing his head. He couldn't die either, not here, not now, he had people to protect and a goal to achieve.

"I CAN'T DIE HERE, I HAVE SOMEONE I LOVE TO PROTECT!"

The rifle, the weapon that could kill and save all in one, lay forgotten behind the two alchemists, as the smaller one placed his hands in a prayer for the future.