"Ed, come join us for dinner, you haven't eaten all day,"

"No thanks, I'm right in the middle of this book,"

A Bond of the Heart and Hand

Part 2: Reinforcing Boundaries

This is a slight AU that follows the same plot line as the FMA, but with the alteration that Roy Mustang regularly administers spankings to Edward out of care.

WARNING: If you have issues with the spanking of a child/teenager, then do not read. This has nothing to do with sex, but with the parental administration of discipline that would have been both timely to the era and helpful to the kid. I don't condone spanking as a punishment for children in real life, but I don't really see Ed completely as a child, even if he's twelve. Again, if you have issues with this, do not read it.

"You need to sleep, Ed, you're just going to end up hurting yourself and your learning in the long run,"

"I'm fine, Al, I need to get through this section. I'm humming from it,"

"Lil' big bruthar, you need dinner and bedtime,"

"It's ok, Nina. Little big brother is working,"

"But you have purple under your eyes!"

"Nina, go play with Al, I'm trying to finish this,"

"Edward," Mustang said sternly, staring at the frazzled blond sitting on the floor of the library with papers and books piled around him. Edward didn't look up, his widened and exhausted gold eyes darting from line to line, purple rings contrasting starkly with the bright gold and pale skin. His skin was pale and gaunt and the whites were bloodshot. At least he didn't smell. Mustang raised his voice, "Edward!"

Ed looked up and flinched visibly. The dark haired soldier stared down at him with a stern look on his face. With a tired smile, Ed tried conversation, "What's up, Mustang?"

"We need to have a discussion about your work efforts," Mustang murmured. Ed flinched again.

"Why?" he asked, not wanting any discussions with Mustang, because they probably wouldn't happen with them on equal levels.

"Your lack of eating, of sleeping, and obsessive manner towards your work are harming you. You're worrying your friends and family. We have rules about that type of thing, don't we," Mustang said and held out his hand. Ed balked at the hand at first, but when he wasn't buried in the text, he couldn't find the energy to defy Mustang willfully.

"I just want to pass the exam," Ed explained, "I need to be a State Alchemist."

"This isn't the way to do it, Edward," the soldier murmured softly as he drew the young man under his arm and toward the couch in the corner of the library. He pushed the books and papers out of the way so he could sit. Ed finally showed some more resistance, pulling his arm against the elder's clasp on his wrist.

"Please don't," Ed murmured, "What about Nina and the others?"

"I sent Al and Nina for a walk," Mustang murmured as he pulled Edward closer to him and dragged him over his knee, pinning the two legs beneath his own and gathering the human arm up to pin at the small of Ed's back. Pulling a small pin from his lapel, Mustang clipped it to Ed's shoulder. Ed blinked and tried to move his arm, but found it frozen.

"Did you turn my auto mail off? But it'll hurt when it goes back on!" Ed protested. He didn't think Mustang wanted to put him through that kind of pain.

"Relax, I talked to a mechanic and found that a disrupter won't harm you when put on or removed, because it doesn't disconnect your nerves. It just halts the motion of the machine," Mustang explained, flipping the red coat up and tucking it with the human arm at the small of Ed's back, "I wouldn't do that. I'll spank you, but that's to teach a lesson. I would never harm you in such a way. Now, I believe we have other matters to discuss."

Ed felt his pants and underclothes fall to his knees, a cool breeze kissing his exposed skin. He felt so vulnerable. There was nothing he could do to stop this.

"Now, what are you in this position for," Mustang asked calmly, after biting off his glove. With a growl, Ed felt fire flash in his eyes.

"Don't ask me those questions with me like this, you know why I'm here," Ed bit off angrily, "It doesn't matter what I say here- OW!" he jerked forward as the first of many spanks rained down on his bottom. The others followed shortly after. Ed squirmed under them, trying any way to free himself, but with his legs and arm pinned and his mechanical arm out of service he was helpless. Stuck like a child.

God, it hurt. He didn't know why it hurt so much and how he could survive so much and still feel every part of this; have every second hurt so much. He bit his lip and stiffened. Maybe it would be over before he would cry. It was so humiliating that he cried like a child from being spanked.

"Edward, harming yourself with overwork is no way to help those around you," Mustang chimed in at the moment he had resolved not to cry, as if psychic, "Al hurts more seeing you overexert yourself, not eating and not sleeping. Nina is worried and she's so young. You don't need to work so hard, because you just make everyone else worry about you more than you help by overworking." Ed felt his defenses crumbling as the soft, authoritative voice pierced through his armor, explaining everything simply in childish tones, in a way that made everything so clear. As the burning built up in his bottom over several minutes, Edward loosened up his shoulders and began to sob, tears falling onto the couch and being absorbed.

Mustang spanked the guilt and foolishness out of him, waiting until all of the resistance fell out before slowing.

"Do you have something to say to me?" Mustang prodded. Edward took in a deep breath.

"I'm so stupid," Edward shuddered out. Black eyes flashed and a knee lifted, lifting Edward's hips to expose the sensitive crease between the bottom and thighs. Mustang blistered that crease with hard and fast swats, causing the boy to sob louder and thrash uselessly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Edward sobbed out frantically, twisting his torso around in a desperate attempt to stop the burning.

"No self-depreciation," Mustang said firmly, adding two more swats before lowering his knee to return the spanks to the rosy bottom. Edward pressed his forehead into the couch. Mustang sighed, "Try again."

"I'm sorry I didn't think about my health and overworked and made people worry," Edward sobbed out, all choked up and choppy because of his tears and breathing. Mustang halted his hand and let Edward rest for a second longer over his knee. Edward sobbed into the couch, exhaustion evident in all of his features.

"You are to eat dinner when it is placed on the table. After dinner, you need to find something besides alchemy to do before you go to bed at night. No work before breakfast in the morning. Go for a walk or talk to somebody. Understood?" Mustang asked. Ed nodded his head as he sobbed. Mustang smiled and pulled the boy's pants up before scooping him up into an embrace. Ed cuddled close to finish his crying.

"All is forgiven," Mustang said softly, rubbing his back. The crying tapered off faster than usual and Mustang felt the boy go limp in his arms. Pulling back a little in confusion, Mustang smiled softly at the peaceful slackness of the boy's face. Carefully, he stood up and brought the golden boy to his room, tucking him into bed. On Mustang's way out, he caught a glimpse of Tucker and smiled at him, repressing the warning flag in the back of his mind. It was nothing, he was sure.

Thank you for reading, if you have something positive or constructive to say, please review :)