To Be A Child

Chapter 12

"He wears a suit of armour. . . No, this is not a joke. . . Yes, he's a missing child!" Hughes held the phone to his ear and listened to the voice on the other end. "Yes, thank-you officer." Hughes set the phone down as his wonderful wife Gracia came up to him with a cup of coffee.

"Thank-you darling, you're such an angel!" Maes exclaimed as he accepted the much appreciated beverage. He took a sip, and it tasted wonderful, but it did nothing to soothe his worry for Alphonse.

"Keep your head up dear; I'm sure Alphonse is alright, wherever he is." Gracia came to sit beside him, and he forced himself to relax in her presence. "I can't help but worry though."

That was just like his amazing wife, to be so kind and caring to every single person she met!

Maes set his coffee cup down and embraced Gracia. "Don't worry honey; I'll find him."

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Roy looked up from his completed paperwork and rubbed his tired eyes. It was amazing what he could do when he really put his mind to it.

He looked over to his charge and saw that Edward had made some accomplishments of his own as well. His head was tipped to the side – uncomfortably – as he slept, surrounded by alchemy texts. Roy hadn't even known that he had that many books, but Ed had forced him to get up to fetch almost every single one of them. And he knew for a fact that Edward had actually read all of them.

Ed was really something else, wasn't he?

A fond smile found its way to his face, and Roy got up to set Edward into a more comfortable position. Edward woke up a little bit and looked at him through heavily lidded eyes as Roy gently took a hold of his head.

He winced as a crick in his neck was straightened out, and Roy gently rubbed his neck. Edward must've been really tired, for he let his eyes fall shut again and tried to lean his head back.

"Oh no, you don't," Roy said softly. "I'm taking you upstairs."

Edward didn't give a reply, and Roy had to wonder if he had even heard him. Shaking his head, he picked him up bridal style – which he was getting very good at – and carried him upstairs.

He lay Edward on his bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. As an afterthought, he carefully eased the hair tie out of Ed's hair and let his golden locks spill over the pillow.

Edward turned his head slightly but his face remained peaceful. He almost looked like a different person when his face wasn't holding a frown and his brows weren't creased with worry. He wasn't wearing a shit-eating grin to hide his insecurities – Roy was sure he had some – and his face was a picture of open innocence. Roy found himself staring at the boy. No, it wasn't a perverted stare, but more like a gaze full of wonder.

Before him was a child.

But this was a child that had joined the military a year ago, and had made a place for himself in the adult world. He was able to take on dangerous jobs and handle them better than some full grown men could. This was a child who could take down bigger opponents and laugh in the face of danger while feeling truly confident, instead of breaking into hysterics like any other kid would.

Looking at Fullmetal sparked inspiration, but also great sadness.

This was a child who could look at a dead body drenched in blood and not throw up. He could turn his blade on another to simply complete a mission, or even to defend his own life. This was a child who had been forced to harden himself and throw away the title of a child, just so he could have a fighting chance.