Reunited
Reunited
Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence
3:00pm
Roy and Edward finished with the prisoners, and instead of returning to their offices, headed home instead. The whole thing had been emotionally draining for them both. Roy hated his powers, hated using them on another human being, even if the other person had been in no actual danger, it made him feel terrible.
They had gotten some of the answers they needed at least. They had enough to start tracing it at least, because it was highly unlikely that Frank Archer, a Colonel, was acting alone. He was likely following orders from someone higher than him. Tomorrow, Mustang would look into he was currently answering to, though if he remembered correctly Archer was still under Hakuro's command.
Winry, Rose, and Mei were in the kitchen when they arrived. They were loudly debating what they should make for dinner, Winry wanting to make stew which she knew was Ed's 'comfort food', while Mei wanted to make a stir fry, and Rose was determined to make a casserole. Each of them was convinced iit would be the best thing for the men's hungover stomachs. Al had suggested earlier they make all three but the resulting glare lead him to escape with the children.
Alphonse was in the living room with Hannah, Daniel, Yuery, and William. Hannah was helping Daniel read a picture book, while Yuery was stacking blocks and William was attempting to knock over Yuery's blocks. Al was overseeing this game to ensure it didn't become mean. William had recently became very good at crawling, and was using his newfound skill to torment Yuery wherever he got the chance.
"Ugh! 'Liam NOOOO." Yuery yelled as the baby knocked over his tower once again. William giggled in response before hitting the blocks again.
"William, stop tormenting Yuery." Alphonse said calmly as he pulled the younger child away and handed him a rattle to distract him. William shook it loudly before throwing it, hitting Yuery in the forehead.
Before Al could react, Yuery plopped down and threw his head back in a loud wail. Ed had entered the room just as Yuery screamed, and Roy walked in just behind him. Ed scooped up Yuery to calm him down and look at the red mark, while Roy asked what had happened. Al explained the boys fight, but before anything else could be said there was a knock at the door.
Al jumped at the chance to answer the door and get away from the crying children. He hobbled quickly down the hall and pulled the door open before they had a chance to knock a second time. On the other side stood Scar, Miles, Sham, and a woman Al didn't recognize. Al frowned in confusion but invited them in.
Edward appeared in the hallway, Yuery still on his hip, and ignored the way Scar nearly winced at the sight of his uniform. Instead he asked if he could help them as Al took Yuery and disappeared into the living room.
"Who was that?" Miles asked curiously.
"That was Alphonse, and my elder son Yuery." Ed replied.
"Elder son?" Sham asked, confused.
"Yes, Yuery recently turned two. William is nine months old." Ed said. "Look I know there isn't a lot out there about my boys, that's the way I prefer it. Yuery's birthday was covered in the papers though. "
"I'm afraid we avoid the papers generally." Scar responded. Before he could continue Mei squealed and launched herself into a hug wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He hesitantly patted her head, "I was also unaware that Mei had returned."
"Yes, she agreed to come trade alchemy forms with us." Ed said with a frown. So far the woman with them hadn't said anything, though she looked anxious. "Who is this?"
"Hello, my name is Ruth. I was told this is where Rose brought my children. Hannah and Daniel?"
Rose appeared next, and smiled when she saw the woman. "Ruth! Thank goodness, I feared you had died."
"Hello, Rose, it has been difficult, but it's getting better. We are told the Flame Alchemist is responsible for the recovery. We are grateful. I have come for my children."
"They are right through here, along with Roy Mustang and Alphonse Elric." Rose said, finally leading everyone out of the hallway. Winry had yet to appear, mostly because she had used the other's distraction to clear up everything else and begin the stew, effectively winning by default.
Scar visibly stiffened upon seeing Roy, who was still in uniform as well without the boots, though also holding William to his chest and swaying back and forth, leading to a less intimidating appearance. Miles and Sham were both unaffected outwardly by the man, and Ruth smiled at him.
She broke the ice, stepping forward to address him directly. "Flame Alchemist, I would thank you on behalf of my people for your help restoring our home."
"A home he burnt to begin with." Scar said angrily.
"Enough." Sham said before Scar could say anything else. "You seek redemption, as does he. Would you deny another their path?"
"He is a murder!" Scar said, not noticing Roy's flinch at the accusation. "He killed without mercy and now he dares to stand there holding an innocent like his hands aren't stained."
"You are a murder." Edward says quietly. "You have murdered in cold blood, over and over again. You have no place to judge him."
"Let go of your anger, only then can you be forgiven." Sham said calmly.
"He-" Scar started.
"He is a soldier." Miles said calmly. "Like myself he has been ordered to kill on occasion and he, like I, had very little say in it. He could have refused, and would now be sitting in a shallow grave, or he could obey and prepare the way for a future where it wouldn't be repeated. He chose the second path."
"He took the coward's path." Scar muttered.
"You know," Ed interrupted. "If the military were to start another war tomorrow, they would send me to the frontline. To kill."
"Edward…" Roy says in a pained voice. He knows it is true but hates to be reminded what could become of his son. Ed raises a hand to stop him.
"You said once, I am a child." Ed said to the Elder, who nodded. "I do not see myself as a kid. I haven't been in a very long time. War stole my childhood. It also stole his." Ed said pointing at Roy.
"It is different." Scar replied.
"No. It isn't you don't see it, but it isn't. He was just a boy when they sent him to kill, not much older than me. He has been eaten alive by the guilt since it ended. Do want to know why it took him so long to adopt my brother and me? Why he never had biological children? Why he's not happily married? Because of that damned war!" Ed said now ignoring everyone else in the room. "He blames himself so much that anytime he feels any happiness he spirals into deep depression. He finally adopted us to protect my son, because he would never allow himself to do so before then. He was a child."
"He was." Sham said calmly. "He has also done more for our people than any other General since then. I know it was you, Mustang, that was arranging the safe havens, and the food stores."
"It was the least I could do. My family did most of the work, I just set it in motion." Roy said quietly, as he held William a little tighter. Scar was right, of course, he had no business staining this innocent child with his presence. He didn't deserve any of these children. He didn't deserve Riza, who followed him into hell. He didn't deserve his sons, or his grandchildren. He selfishly clung to them anyway, because they made his life brighter, reminded him what future he was fighting for. Because he loved them and wouldn't let them go even if he should.
"Yesterday afternoon, I lead a raid." Ed continued. "As it is an ongoing investigation I can't give any details… they were children. The victims were innocent children. Twenty of them, the eldest was no older than eight. You want to look at this man, who was no more than a child when he was forced to kill, and claim he was a monster. I've seen monsters. Roy- Dad- isn't a monster. He was the weapon. Bradley was the trigger. Something not even human was the brain behind it all."
"It doesn't absolve his sins."
"Nothing can. You are not his judge." Ed replied, before returning his attention to Ruth, who had walked over to her children while they were fighting and hugged them to her. "Would you like to stay for dinner? What are your plans now?"
"We have a train out to the Kappa district where I came from originally at seven. I'm sorry we can't stay longer." Ruth said, smiling now that the fighting was over. "I am very happy to meet you General. As your son said, we do not blame you. Not most of us. Human Weapons is what you are called and it's an appropriate name because you were nothing more than weapons. I used to be very angry with you and all of your kind, but then I met my new husband and over time I saw the truth. He had been just a child in the war, and so were you."
"So, you're taking them already?" Rose said calmly.
"I- Yes, we are expected." Ruth said, smiling "Thank you again Rose. I don't know what would have happened to my children had you not watched after them for me."
"I'll go pack their things. Edward, would you mind William?" Rose said.
"You don't have to ask, you know that." Ed said with a frown, concerned. He glanced over at Mei who also looked concerned.
Hannah jumped up to go help Rose, and Scar and Miles excused themselves to wait in the car. Elder Sham stayed to talk to Roy further about his plans to restore their lands. Al went to go lay down, tired out from the afternoon of playing with four children. Yuery and William had both drifted to sleep while held, Yuery in Ed's arms, William in Roy's.
"Are you alright?" Ed asked quietly, now that Scar was out of the room.
"It was kind of you to defend me Edward, however-"
"Excuse us please ma'am." Ed said to Elder Sham before walking toward the study with Roy following behind. As soon as he closed the door, Ed turned back to his father. "I committed the ultimate taboo. Repeatedly. If it came down to it, I would do it again without a second thought. I often wonder if that means I am not fit to be a parent. Yet everyone says I am. It's the same for you Dad. You keep saying you shouldn't have us, everyone keeps saying you should, so I understand. I just need to know if you're okay."
"I'm not going anywhere Ed. I won't leave you. I don't deserve you, but I need you…and you need me." Roy said, and Ed relaxed visibly. He blamed this largely on the raid. It had left them emotional and drained. It dug up wounds that had never properly healed for them both, and they couldn't tell anyone else what it was that happened, but it made it all so much harder. Having Scar arrive now was not ideal.
"I don't need you to deserve me. No one ever deserves their children. Ask any parent. I know Maes felt that way, he told me so when I told him I was making a huge mistake keeping Yuery. Unless you just randomly walk out on your kids, or you actively are hurting your kids, then you keep them. Even though you're a fuck up. That's how it works." Ed said. "So no, I don't need you to feel you deserve us, I just need you to keep us…I don't know that I can make it through this case without you Dad."
"A good parent wouldn't let their kid anywhere near this case."
"A good General recognizes when the best person for the job is available."
"The war that fights in my mind every day. Father versus General. Who will win this time?" Roy said in an attempt at humor. Ed snorted so it worked somewhat.
"He explained in the end, That Man. I understood, but I couldn't forgive him. No matter his reasons, we were still all alone. We should head back to the living room it was rude to leave the Elder all alone like that."
When they arrived back in the living room, Winry had taken over with their guests. Ed sat on the couch, and placed Yuery next to him, then reached his arms up for William. Roy wasted no time placing the baby in his arms. With in a few minutes Ed had joined the boys' nap. Roy smiled at the sight and Winry sighed. Sham seemed to think it was amusing.
"He's doing better than yesterday. He needed a night away from them, though I was surprised he admitted it himself, now though I think he needs them close." Roy said quietly.
"What happened?" Elder Sham asked with concern.
"Difficult case, unfortunately he can't talk about it to anyone not already involved. It would make it easier if he could." Roy said as he quietly sat on the other side of Ed, across from Yuery, and carded his fingers through Ed's bangs. "You're right madam, what he said you said before? He is still so young. Far too young to be an expert. Unfortunately, he is the best expert we have. After everything that happened a few months ago, he's the only expert we have. I hated having to send him out to deal with it. I offered to send someone else to do the fieldwork, but he insisted that it needed to be him."
Before the conversation could continue, Rose slipped back downstairs with Ruth, Hannah and Daniel. Elder Sham stood, ready to leave, but Roy gently shook Ed awake to say his goodbyes. Ed handed the baby to Winry and knelt to hug the children good-bye, followed by Roy who had grown very fond of them very quickly.
Winry hugged them as well, as did Al and Mei, before they were lead outside with promises to call and write. Rose seemed to be alright, if a little sad, as she waved goodbye. She then said she needed a nap, and went upstairs, Ed frowned briefly, concerned about her wellbeing, but returned to the couch to finish his nap wedged between his two boys, using his Dad as a pillow.
Al and Mei disappeared toward the study to continue studying together. Winry returned to the kitchen to finish dinner, though she took a moment to take a photo of the four sleeping on the couch. After a few minutes considering it, Winry called Hawkeye and asked her to join them for dinner. She pointed out that both men had had a hard day and that Roy seemed to need the company. Hawkeye agreed to come, and bring Black Hayate, so she didn't have to worry about when/if she returned to her apartment.
9:00pm
It was bedtime, and they had yet to hear from Rose, aside from her telling she wasn't hungry. After a brief attempt to inform her, Ed and Winry just decided to keep William for the night. Riza ended up staying over as well, when she began to protest the idea Roy pointed out that they were engaged and she would be officially moving in in a few months…and that his sons could hardly be scandalized by her being here considering Winry and Mei both lived with them.
William slept on Ed's chest, with Yuery next to him and Winry on the other side of Yuery, her arm thrown across to touch the baby with Yuery's head nestled in on her chest. Roy, who had opened the door to peek and ensure they didn't need anything, smiled at the sight before checking on Mei down the hall.
Mei, as it turned out, was not yet in bed, so with a shrug he checked in on Rose, who was sleeping with her back to the door and didn't stir when he looked in. Roy then made his way downstairs to check on Al and presumably Mei since she hadn't been in bed. He found them asleep on the couch in the library surrounded by books. He briefly debated waking them to have them go sleep in their rooms, but was worried once he got them up, they would just return to studying.
He then let out the dogs for a few minutes while he wiped down the kitchen one last time before bringing them back inside and checking all the locks and traps. Once his nightly routine was completed, he returned to his room, where Riza waited, her hair still wet, in a pair of borrowed flannel pajamas, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Everything's locked up tight, the dogs are settled, and all the children are asleep."
"Do you really check on them every night?" Riza asked, it was so sweet of him, but she wasn't sure if it was a regular occurrence or if he had been trying to give her privacy.
"I check on them all every night." Roy said. "I am careful not to wake them, and should they still be awake, I talk to them for a few minutes, but generally by the time I do my rounds they are all sleeping. They don't always stay that way."
"How did Edward do last night, after you came home?" Riza asked as they laid down and Roy turned out the light.
"He spent the night clinging to me. I expected it. His handling of the interrogations today was where I was surprised. He was very calm. You could feel his anger radiating off of him but he remained very calm through the interviews, never raising his voice or making a threat." Roy said with a proud smile. "Of course, he had already known that threats were coming from me. It worked perfectly, he ended up telling us far more than we suspected."
"That's good. I'm glad Edward did well, do you think he will be alright tonight?"
"He should be fine, with the babies and Winry with him. Worse case scenario he comes and sits with me when the nightmares get bad enough that being with Winry doesn't help… I hope that won't be a problem for you that he has these nightmares?"
"Roy … I knew when we got together you had children. Children I already know and love. I don't care if he needs you, that's what fathers are supposed to do. Now lets try to sleep before we end up suffering at work tomorrow."
"Okay. Thank you Riza. I love you." Roy said, pulling her into a hug.
"I love you too. GO to sleep so I don't have to shoot you tomorrow…I already paid a deposit on the banquet hall. Nonrefundable."
"We can't have you loosing money like that. It would be a terrible shame."
"Exactly. And I gave them your account."
Roy groaned. He imagined the damage a wedding was going to do to his savings, let alone two in the same year. After buying two houses too. He was going to need a promotion. Al had better not intend to get married this year or Roy's bank account would cry. He groaned again at the idea. Once he answered Riza with his reason though, she laughed at him, and reminded him that neither AL nor Mei were legally old enough to marry yet, and it wouldn't be an issue for awhile. She then told him she had just been joking about the deposit.
"I don't mind paying for our wedding, I'm just worried about finances long term." Roy assured her.
"Well, don't worry about our wedding overly much. My father left a tidy sum that was stipulated to only be used for my wedding, so that's what it's paying for. I will make sure to spend it all, because that would annoy him." Riza said. "If I can figure out a way to pay for part of Ed's wedding with it I will as well." With that the couple finally joined the rest of the house in restless sleep.