Six-Year-Olds Are Handfuls

Finally, I'm back! Eheheh... *Dodges rotten fruit* I'm sorry! I have... a mood. At least I'm back in my FMA mood again! And (If we're all lucky...) Mock Crash should be updated soon... no promises though...!

Special thanks to: awesomenaruto (as usual), TheNinjaAlchemist95, iNatix (x3, apparently), MysticMarmalade, bronze andromeda shun (well, we do WANT Riza to be good with Roy, don't we? ;p Ahh, Royai, how much I love you! XD), and Hatake Kai (They'll find her soon... maybe.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, unless it's Scott Mustang and his brother, both of whom are assholes. One chapter soon, you will all meet the asshole himself, little Roy-boy's abusive uncle. :'(

Also, much of this and next chapter will be using the assumption that Winry knows that Mustang killed her parents in the war. And, next chapter will be focused almost entirely on Roy spending time around Winry, if not entirely. Who cares about the mission, anyway? X3

Ed's eyes of molten gold watched Roy, who was seated in Mustang's seat at his desk in the office, swinging around in it and apparently comfortable. The kid spun around in the seat, kicking his feet, clutching the arms tightly. "This chair is very fun, brother! Come play!" Roy reported excitedly, glancing at Ed.

Ed shook his head and hunched back over the paper in his lap. "I've got to work, Roy, I told you. Maybe go see if Havoc can play."

"Miss Hawkeye already said that I couldn't, though, because everyone else has to work too…" Roy pouted.

"Then just wait for one of us to finish." Ed scolded.

Roy crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine. I will." He set his head on the chair back and whined unhappily.

Ed just rolled his eyes. He scribbled something down on the paper and flipped the page, continuing to write with a scrawl of messy handwriting.

He could hear some noises from the other room. He knew that someone else had come because he could hear greetings.

Roy screamed when the door slammed open against the back with a cheerful, "Hiya, Roy!"

Ed first glanced at Roy, and then at the door, and then at the chair that Roy had been in… yet no raven-haired boy was there. He blinked in surprise. He could still hear the boy's whimpers so he knew that he was in the room… but where?

Maes Hughes stood in the doorway, surprised. "Um… where's the Colonel?" he asked, blushing a little.

Ed stood and wandered over to the desk to see where he'd gone. "Um… he had a little accident a few weeks ago. He's different." He explained, crouching behind the desk. He peered into the nook where the chair fit and sighed softly.

Roy was on his knees in the dark, clutching his hair with his tiny fists, sleeves falling slightly. He looked up at Ed with wet eyes, bursting into a dry sob. He crawled out and curled up comfortably in his Ed's arms when the teen held them out for him.

"An… accident? Like what?"

"Like…" Ed sighed and stood, showing the Lieutenant Colonel the six-year-old. "This? Um, Hughes, this is Roy. Roy, c'mon, he won't hurt you…" Ed sighed.

Roy clutched Ed's shirt, turning wet black eyes up to the Major. "Don't know that."

"Yeah I do. This guy has his own kid, maybe you could play sometimes. You're gonna have to meet him…" Ed said.

Roy glanced back at the still surprised man, who was staring wide-eyed at Roy's back. He clutched Ed's jacket tightly and pressed his forehead to it. "…I trust you, brother. Okay." He said. He fought to escape the older boy's grasp, but he didn't leave his side. "lo."

Maes stared at him, mouth dropped open. He looked at Ed for an answer.

Ed dropped to Roy's side. "Roy, this is Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. He's gonna be coming with on our mission, so he's gonna be with us to drop you off at Winry's."

Roy turned around and tugged on Ed's jacket. "How do you know that Mister Hughes is okay? He's so big!"

"I know him. You'll be fine. Maes, this is Roy. And before you ask, yes, Mustang, yes the Colonel, no, I still don't know what happened, and no, we haven't found a way to reverse it. But the military's searching." He said.

Roy cocked his head to the side. "Reverse what?"

Roy slept most of the ride up to Resembool, his head in Ed's lap and his feet on Al's thigh. Neither boy seemed to mind, as they chatted with the group.

Hughes watched Roy strangely, moss colored eyes confused and worried. He glanced at Al, who listened deeply, hunched over Roy's legs almost protectively.

He didn't really understand what was going on. He'd never been an alchemy-kind of person. So this change from 30-year-old Roy back to 6-year-old Roy not only worried him… it frightened him as well. And not just about the physical changes and everything. Was he going to have to relive all of those horrible memories of his father? Or was he a child stuck with the mind of a man?

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Hughes?" asked a hollow voice.

Hughes looked up to find Al watching him. He shrugged good-naturedly and sighed. "I'm just worried about Roy and everything. Do you know…"

"About his father? Yes." Ed said. He rubbed his human hand on Roy's head softly.

"I'm lucky; I never met the bastard. But I do know how controlling he was. Roy never actually told me what happened, but you could see it from the way that he acted." Hughes sighed.

Ed raised an eyebrow. So, they were one step ahead of the Lieutenant Colonel. Hughes didn't know that Roy had been beaten in his youth, it sounded like. It… kind of upset him. That was one person that Roy hadn't told his father's actions to. Five more, including the team.

"Brother," Al said, glancing behind him, toward the front of the train.

"Hmm?" Ed asked nonchalantly, looking down at Roy to make sure that the boy didn't fall, and then twisting to see what Al was looking for.

"Resembool." Al lifted a hand to point out of the window.

Hughes swallowed, and took a heavy breath. He stared at the tiny town as it approached. He'd never been here before. He'd been told of this place before, Mustang had mentioned it before, but he had never visited himself before.

When the train pulled into the station and the doors opened, Ed, Al, and the rest of the team were off first—mostly because they were the only ones on. Roy was still sleeping; he was on Ed's back with his arms thrown casually over his shoulders.

Al led the group into town, and then out of it, to make sure that Ed kept a gentle enough pace that Roy stayed asleep. It felt like forever (but was in reality, only ten minutes) before they arrived at the Rockbell household.

Al waited for a second for Riza to wake Roy and place him on the ground. Roy fell against her and hugged her legs, trying to keep his balance, still so tired yet so interested in this new place. When he was situated, Al glanced at Ed… and knocked.

They only had to wait a few seconds before Den started barking. They heard the voice of an old woman telling the animal to hush—one that Riza, Ed, and Al recognized, and one that Roy would have if he were several years older—and then the door opened.

A tiny woman stood, there, eyeing them. She was holding onto the collar of a dog with an automail front leg. She smiled at Ed and Al. "I see that you boys brought some… friends." She commented. She scratched the back of her head, but moved out of the way and held the door open anyway.

"Yeah. Sorry we didn't call; we're on a mission, and we need a favor." Ed said with a shrug.

"What do you need?"

Ed glanced back, and held out his automail hand to Roy. Roy bit his lip, looked up at Hawkeye, and then stumbled forward and gripped Ed's hand tightly, watching the old woman. "Someone to watch this kid," Ed explained, squeezing Roy's hand firmly.

Pinako watched the boy, both of them looking into the other's eyes. Of course, Roy was the first to look away, turning to Ed and holding his hands up. He wrapped his arms around Ed's neck when the teen picked him up. "Who…" Pinako asked. Sadly, though, she seemed to already know, or at least have an idea.

Hawkeye cleared her throat, causing Pinako to look her way. "Maybe if we could all come in, we can explain better inside." She offered, waiting for the old woman's reply.

Pinako fell silent, and then nodded. "Please, do come in. Den, go fetch Winry. I can imagine that she'll want to see Ed and Al again." She said.

The dog obediently barked and went off to some odd part of the house, to find his blond co-owner.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. I'll put on some tea."

"Thank you," Hawkeye nodded, nodding again at Ed and Al to lead them in.

A loud clang sounded, making Roy freeze against his big brother's chest. Al's armor rattled, and he had to hold his head straight just to see straight.

"You came without a call again?!"

A dog barked. Ed groaned, using his free hand to gently rub Roy's back. Al settled, and looked around to find another blond firecracker glaring at them, apparently having just flung her wrench. Al stooped and picked up the offending object.

"Yeah, we did. Sorry, Winry. We have to get going right away, but we need a favor." Ed said. He shifted Roy a little higher and started murmuring gentle words into his ear, humming quietly. After a while, the black-haired boy relaxed, but he clutched his arms tighter around Ed's neck, probably attempting to throttle the teen.

"What kind of a favor? Oh, Ed, you didn't break my precious automail, did you?" Winry narrowed her brilliantly blue eyes, daring the teen to say the wrong thing.

Ed laughed, pulling Roy to the side a little. He rubbed the back of his head, relief that, for once, these words would be true, flooding his entire being. "Break it? No, not at all! It's nothing like that!" he assured. He blushed a little.

Hawkeye chuckled a little and stepped forward, squeezing Ed's flesh shoulder. "Winry, we are terribly sorry for the inconvenience that this may cause. Our entire group has a mission to go on, and with the Colonel gone, we're a man down, so Alphonse will be coming with us as well. Unfortunately, we cannot leave our little charge all on his own, and you're the most trustworthy person that we know." She explained gently.

"Oh? I… I'm flattered. I think. What am I doing?" Winry asked.

Ed stooped and set Roy on the ground. Immediately, the intimidated boy took Ed's hand, waiting for his brother to tell him… whatever he was going to say. Ed looked up, but he didn't stand. "Winry, we really needed a babysitter. Um… well, I thought that you'd be best, since you're practically a doctor and all, and you're good with little kids compared to some of the military people in Central… and since there are no men in the house, we thought it might be better for him, so,"

"Who am I babysitting, Elric?" Winry asked icily.

Roy winced, clutching Ed's hand tighter. Ed was glad that the boy was holding his automail hand.

Ed pushed Roy forward a little. "Him. Roy, introduce yourself to Winry. She's my friend." He told the boy.

Roy gulped, apparently feeling self-conscious in a room with so many people. He looked back at Ed, and then up at Winry, refusing to look into her eyes as usual and so choosing to watch her mouth. He lifted his hand in a wave, and then solemnly dropped it. "Um… hullo. I'm Roy Mustang. Uh…" he looked up at Al. "Ed and Al are m' brothers…" he blushed and tucked his chin to his chest, thoroughly embarrassed.

Ed tugged him back and stood again. "Look, Win, we really don't have anyone that we can trust in Central. You are the very first person that I thought of. We're desperate, we wouldn't come to you otherwise. Please?" he asked.

Winry looked at Ed, Al, and then little Roy. Finally, she looked at Hawkeye, just to see if this was really serious. Hawkeye didn't look at her, but rather watched Roy. Winry heaved a heavy sigh, stormed forward, and grabbed Ed's hand, the one not occupied by Roy's hand. "Can I speak with you?" she demanded.

Roy backed against Al, turning against his kneecap. Al picked him up, handing the wrench back to his blond friend. "Don't worry, Winry. You guys go ahead. I'll make sure the team doesn't break anything." He assured gently.

Winry nodded at him, clutching her wrench. She dragged Ed into the hallway and then her room, slamming the door shut. She turned around and glared at him.

"What? I'm not going to make you, Winry. But we can't just leave him with anybody." Ed frowned.

"Is he yours?" Winry spat at him.

"What?" Ed asked incredulously. Was she getting at what he thought she was getting at?

Winry tapped her wrench in her hand, elaborating further, "Is. He. Your. Son?" she spat again.

"N-no! With the amount of time that I spend running around, do you think I'd have time to hook up with anyone? And, and even if I did, and did have a kid, how much time could I spend with him that he can get… attached to me?" Ed demanded.

"Then why does he keep going to you, and Al? Don't think I didn't notice that. I may not be a genius, Edward, but I'm not exactly stupid either." Winry enquired.

"Well… Al and I have been taking care of him. We're his… guardians, for now." Ed frowned at her. "Why?"

Winry set her head in her hand, rubbing her forehead. She dropped her wrench onto her bed, and then laid down beside it. "You, Edward, who knows next to everything about me, are asking me, who had my parents murdered by the very Flame Alchemist that is your commanding officer, to take care of that man's child?!" she demanded, looking very hurt. And very offended, too, as though she thought that Ed just wanted to hurt her, after all that they'd done for each other.

Edward pulled a blank. He had no idea what she meant. In his mind, he pulled up a mental image of the mocking bastard, however old he was normally, and then alongside that, the six-year-old bundle that he was taking care of. There was something about him, now that he thought about it, which would immediately set son before self. The meek attitude of the tiny boy, while Mustang's attitude was rude, mocking, and garish. The way he held himself… yup. If Ed had seen Roy walking on the street, he would never have thought of Mustang. He'd have thought child of Mustang.

"Answer me, dammit!" Winry pulled him from his thoughts. She glared at him from beneath her halo of honey hair.

"I'm not asking you to take care of Mustang's kid… exactly…" Ed attempted.

Winry only glared at him.

Ed gulped, knowing that he was in trouble with her. "Well, you see… that is… well…" he took one deep, and let out all of the words at once, "HeisonehundredpercentRoyMust ang."

It was Winry's turn to pull a blank. She worked through the phrase, attempting to understand him. She rolled her eyes. "What do you mean, did someone clone him?" she asked sarcastically. "I don't like being lied to, Edward. You know that. No secrets!" she commanded.

"No secrets." Edward agreed. "No, no one cloned him. But something happened to him. It's almost a good thing that this happened, though. It's like, someone really wanted us to know about his past."

"What happened to him, Elric?" Winry was getting annoyed that she wasn't getting a straight answer. She sat up and picked up her wrench threateningly.

Ed quickly backed up, putting his hands up. "Um… well, there was a mission that the team went on, all of us. Al, Mustang, Hawkeye, and I went into the warehouse to scout, so Al and I went in one direction and Hawkeye and Mustang another… Hawkeye and Mustang got separated and… well, that happened. Mustang was apparently the victim of some strange human transmutation. So now, he's six." He explained truthfully.

Winry forced herself to her feet and shoved her wrench just inches from Ed's face. "Don't you dare pull that bullshit with me, Edward Elric." She instructed.

"I'm not! Go ask the kid yourself, ask him! He told you his name, didn't he? I know that Mustang is conceited, but so conceited to go junior? I don't think so." He defended.

Winry puffed. "Well, if that's true, that's worse. You're asking me to babysit my parents' murderer? Thanks, ass."

"He's six, Winry, the only thing that he knows is everything that happened when he was six, that's it! He doesn't remember anything after that. He…"

"What? Oh what, Ed, could you possibly try to tell me, that will scream 'Hey, I should take in my parents' killer!'?" Winry demanded.

Ed winced, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I already feel bad enough about all of this. Anyway, I dunno. Al and I think that… well, he may have been abused when he was little, so that's the way he acts now. Hawkeye believes me, Hughes doesn't really… know, but the others… well, they aren't so sure." He tried to explain.

Winry paused, watching him. "How do you know?" she asked.

"He woke up from a nightmare and told me that his dad hit him a lot. Also, the way he acts isn't exactly… normal. It'll only be for a few days, Winry, please. We'll be here to pick him up as soon as the mission is done. I mean, you could just leave him with Den for the day, as long as he's… safe. That's all." Ed pleaded pathetically.

Winry gave him a look, and then her eyes softened. "You really care about this kid, don't you?"

Ed immediately blushed. "I… I do not! I have to, he's my commanding officer, and Hawkeye would kill me if he got hurt!" he defended himself, redder than his jacket.

"Mhmm." Winry agreed, just to humor him. She gained a very serious look, and thought for a few seconds, before nodding. "Alright, fine. But you owe me big time." She spat.

She was surprised to find an armful of Ed, only for a few seconds, but was still touched by the gesture. "Of course, anything! Thanks, Winry. This makes this whole thing a thousand times easier."

Winry waved her hand at him as he opened the door and left. "Yeah, yeah," she sighed.

They found the group in the living room, sitting on the ground and chairs. Roy was kicking his feet, sitting in Al's lap where Al sat on the floor, legs crossed. Ed stepped out to them and gave them two thumbs up. "It's good." he said.

"Good!" Al said, sounding a little relieved.

Hawkeye nodded. She thanked Pinako and stood. "We should probably be going then: the conductor said that he'd wait, but he won't wait forever." she said.

The others slowly climbed to their feet. Al handed Roy to Ed and stood himself, stretching his arms if only for his own sake.

Ed set Roy on the ground and crouched in front of him. "Roy, we have to get going now, but you're staying here with Winry. Be good for her, okay? I promise you, she will not hurt you. And, don't go cleaning unless she asks you to, okay? You might scare her or Granny. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

Roy gulped, but nodded. "When will you come back?" he pouted.

"A few days, then we'll go back to Central. Maybe then we can set up a playdate with Hughes' daughter, or maybe with Selim. You wanna do that?" Ed asked softly. He glanced to his right, to make sure that it was alright with Hughes, but the man only nodded gently.

Roy shrugged. "Okay. Hug?" The beaten boy held his arms out to Ed, but not up. He snuggled against Ed when the teen picked him up and hugged him tightly. He happily snuggled in Al's arms when the powerful suit of armor took him and held him. He, at least, seemed to enjoy being passed around and cared for by so many people. Hawkeye even took him and hugged him, while all of the others just patted his head or waved goodbye.

"We'll talk to you later, Winry. Thanks again. I promise that I'll pay you back for this." Ed swore, holding up a fist for Winry.

Winry fist-bumped him. "You'd better." she said.

Ed only nodded. He pushed Al out of the front door, turning to wave at Roy before shutting it behind him.

Roy immediately fell silent, frowning. He looked up when Winry stepped to him. "H-hello..." he stammered. His brother may have claimed that she wouldn't hurt him, but Roy wasn't entirely sure himself.

Winry crouched beside him, forcing herself to ignore the fact that she was facing the murderer of her parents. "Hi, Roy. I'm Winry Rockbell. I guess that I'm going to be watching over you. Have you had supper yet?" she asked.

Roy shook his head, murmuring, "No, but I'm not hungry. All of them took me out for lunch and I had a lot!"

"Where did you eat?"

"I dunno. A yummy Xingese place." Roy shrugged.

Winry nodded at him, forcing a smile when he yawned. "Are you tired, Roy? Do you want to go to bed? It is a long train ride." she said.

"Mmm... kinda." Roy scrubbed at an eye. He pushed down another yawn, watching her.

Winry put her hands on her hips and peered around her. "Well... since Ed didn't call, we don't have anything prepared. You could always take the recovery room, but that'd probably be weird..." she bit her lip, "The guest room hasn't been used in such a long time it's mostly a storage room, now..."

"I can sleep on the floor, if you need." Roy offered innocently.

Winry glanced his way, frowned, and sighed. "For tonight, at least. Or the couch would be better." with a nod, the blond girl set about fixing up the couch with a blanket and pillow, so the boy could sleep on it. When it was finished, she looked it over, and sighed. "Well, there you go, kid. My room's down the hall, second door on your right. Come and get me if you need anything. Bathroom's in the hall, second door on your left."

"Thank you!" Roy chirped.

Winry rolled her eyes. She waited for him to clamber onto the couch and tuck himself in, before waving. "See you in the morning, Roy." she frowned.

"Good night, Miss Winry." Roy said softly. He waited for a reply, but when he didn't get one, he tucked into the couch and soon fell into a fitful sleep.

Hmm... I feel like it should be longer... oh well! Next chapter will, again, focus on Roy and Winry, rather than the team. Good luck, Winry! XD

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Until next time,

~~YAJJ