Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1.

The first time Hans Everett had met General Mustang was a month and a half before he was formally introduced to the living legend. One could hardly call it a meeting at all, Hans just so happened to be at the scene when the General saved his ass. 

It had been a prison break after an electrical generator from within Central Prison fused. A series of unfortunate events when a momentary city wide power outage lead the prison to rely on a poorly maintained generator that decided to die on Central city the moment it needed it the most. It then led to 20 or so inmates successfully escaping and an emergency lockdown had been announced to recapture the prisoners. Just Hans luck to be caught in the thick of it as a gang of prisoners were diverted down onto the main street by none other than the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang and, given the iconic red coat and blonde braid, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. There were about a dozen inmates seemingly forced onto that street, other alchemist pouring in from above judging from the flashes of light and occasional rumbling not too far away. The inmates seem to realise there was no running until they did beat General Mustang and the Fullmetal Alchemist so they got ready, slowly circling the two.

“Hey Mustang.” Elric spoke up, there was a smirk on his face, those blonde eyes dancing with excitement. “Wanna see which one of us can take down more of these guys.”

“You think this is a game, Fullmetal?” Mustang and Elric stood back to back, both of them readying themselves for combat. 

“Scared old man?” That was definitely a taunt, very few men dared call a General of the State Military names much less the General who people have been whispering about as the next Fuhrer.

“What are you wagering?”

“A favor from the other party. Can be cashed at any time, at any place and at any moment.” 

“You are playing a dangerous game Elric.” Mustang muses.

“And you love playing with fire.” A wicked grin stretched against Fullmetal’s lips.

“Oh yes I do.” With a click of a finger a ring of flames ignited surrounding the prisoners and the tow alchemist like that of a dog fighting ring. The flames so hot Hans could feel the heat rolling off his skin from 50 meters away where he had been stuck rooted on the ground unable to move for the past 20 minutes, he had no clue how the two alchemist were fully dressed and how the General wore his woolen blue uniform and a black coat over. The scenes after were a blur, punches and kicks spun into a whirlwind of brilliant blue lighting and untamable orange flames. An inmate even came flying near Hans, the poor man’s body got flung into a street lamp by Elric denting the pole from the impact. The Fullmetal alchemist might be small but he did pack a punch. 

When the dust settled all that was left were unconscious bodies strewn onto the uneven half alchemised and scorched gravel and the smell of burnt fabric.

“5.” Elric plops onto the ground with a huff.

“Professorship getting you too cushy Elric?” Mustang smirked despite his own heavy panting, “6.” 

“Ah fuck.” Elric collapses onto the ground, hands folded defiantly as he had to concede defeat to the General.

2.

As Hans mentioned, the first time he officially meets the General was a month and a half later. This time Hans was nowhere near a battlefield, instead he stood in an office with a dozen desks and another room attached at the end. The General’s office department. 

Riza Hawkeye, the right hand woman of the General, was the one that brought Hans around for his first day of work. 

“General, Everett is here.” Hawkeye knocks against the rich mahogany doors.

“Let him in.” The General’s voice could be heard through the door.

Hawkeye pushes open the door to reveal a large office, both walls of the office were lined neatly with book shelves of books and files and there was even a couch set and coffee table as a guest sitting area. 

“Sir.” Hawkeye stood at attention in front of the general, saluting him in typical military fashion. Hans did the same. “Hans Everett, your new secretary.” 

The General looks up from the stack papers he was studying.

“I am honored to join your team General.” Hans bows.

“Glad to have you onboard Everett.” General Mustang spoke his voice confident and firm, “My official engagements are quite a mess right now so I am sure you would be a great help getting everything in order. Hawkeye will brief you on the rest of your job scope and day to day processes in our department. That is all.”

The General gave him a polite smile and with that Hawkeye and Hans bowed and took their leave. 

“This is your desk.” Hawkeye points to the one nearest to the General’s room, right opposite her’s. “As the General mentioned, your job scope mainly comprises of sorting and scheduling meetings and engagements for the General. Trust me there are quite a bit.”

Hawkeye retrieves a stack of papers that was at least torso height and the stack plops onto Hans’s new desk unceremoniously. 

“You will be tasked with more administrative tasks and meeting reports as we go along. Also last thing, we only have one unspoken house rule in the department. Do not let anyone barge into the General’s office without a prior appointment. If there are guests asking to speak to the General on short notice, always knock first and get a confirmation from the General. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Lieutenant colonel Hawkeye turns to leave.

“Oh the rule doesn’t apply to the Fullmetal Alchemist.” She adds as an afterthought. 

Things go by uneventfully for the next two weeks. Hans mills away at his pile of paperwork which he makes through half everyday but the stack multiplies by two fold by the end of the day and he is back to square one. Why did everyone want to have an audience with the General? Half of them were not even worth the General's time which he turns down and files a justification report for each rejection. 

The General is horribly busy as well. Hans is usually the first to the office, sometimes he is even half an hour early for work but that wildly depended on how hellbent the morning bus driver on making him feel motion sick as the bus literally flew through the streets. Today had been one of those days and unsurprisingly Hans was the first in the office. Hans was about to take his seat when he watched the General enter the office. The most shocking thing was not just the fact Hans has never watched the General walk in the door for work, despite often being the first to work in the department Hans has never seen the General walk into the office in the morning as that man was in the office at insane hours of 5 or 6 when work started at 9, it was rather that the General walked in with his hair wet, a towel around his neck and in a supposedly new button down and slacks considering the General was holding onto some soiled clothes. The General looked like a wreck with how visibly exhausted the man looked as he dragged himself through the room.

“Ergh Sir, do you need me to get you anything? Some breakfast perhaps?” Hans offered considering how the General probably stayed overnight in his office.

“It’s fine. Hawkeye-“ General Mustang lets out a yawn, “is already on it. Could you do me a favor Everett? Could you reschedule any meeting today to tomorrow or a couple days from now and not let anyone into my office until the late afternoon?”

“Sure Sir.” 

“Thanks.” General Mustang put up a hand in regard as he entered his office.

Hawkeye enters about ten minutes later, three coffees in hand and a bag of pastries from the really nice bakery two streets from the office. She knocks politely before entering and leaves the office with a single cup of coffee which was for herself.

Work went on as per normal for a couple of hours that was until 5 minutes before lunch when the department door was literally kicked down. Hans would think that when the door flew open so wildly it would be startling to most individuals much less high ranking military officials. It could have been a siege on the building or a terror attempt and it should military officials having a hand to their guns and barking orders. Instead not a single person batted an eye as a short man with long blonde hair and ever so iconic red coat stormed into the department. 

“Is that bastard in?!” The Fullmetal Alchemist rudely shouted, definitely loud enough for the General to hear him through the office door.

Captain Havoc gestured to the General’s door indicating to the alchemist that the General was in the office, “All the best Elric.” 

Without another word Fullmetal let out a groan of frustration as he stomped past the rest of the team, two takeout bags in hand and a mouth full of colorful curses muttering them. The team left Edward Elric be as they slowly rose from their seats to grab their coats and wallets proceeding on with lunch. 

“Everett, let’s get going!” Havoc holds the door for him, not even giving Hans a second to remind the team of what the General told him this morning about visitors.

When the department came back from lunch, they found that the General’s door had been left open. General Mustang sat by his desk looking through some papers with a smile on small his face, how disconcerting. Elric was nowhere in sight but there was a soft scent of Irises that did linger in the air. 

Strange, did someone spray perfume?

3.

The General usually had lunch outside on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

Hans had not a clue where the General Mustang would go considering he never once spotted the General at any restaurants or shops near the office building on the odd occasion the department chose to treat themselves and not eat at the cafeteria. But whenever the General was about to leave the office Havoc would shoot the man's finger guns and Hawkeye would roll her eyes so far back Hans worried if it would get stuck at the back of her skull. 

However this Wednesday had been special, the General joined the department for lunch in the cafeteria, something he left exclusively for Monday, Tuesdays and sometimes Fridays. 

“Oh got a little special something General?” Havoc teased pointing to the neatly wrapped bento the General set down on the table as the man took a seat.

“Yes. And I will be enjoying it.” Mustang eyes glimmered with a threat though a polite smile remained on his face.

“Someone packed you lunch, Sir?” Hans cocked his head in question. A family member, girlfriend or mate perhaps.

“It’s a loving wife bento box!” Havoc grins and Hawkeye snorts. 

“No. I packed myself lunch.” The General’s cheeks started to pink slightly at the attention. 

“I am sure you did~” Havoc singsonged, “Your mate sure is lucky to have The General Roy Mustang pack lunch for him. With cute octopus sausages and panda rice balls in tow!”

“Major Havoc, do you treasure the next three evenings with your wife?” Mustang calmly raised a brow as he stabbed a sausage octopus. 

“Duly noted, Sir.” A blinding smile remained on Havoc’s face as the Captain dug into his lunch. Hans would have shrunk at the dirty look the General threw Havoc but Havoc seemed unperturbed. After that conversation the topic of the General’s personal life was dropped. 

Everything took a turn for the worst after that incident.

4.

The General who had been pretty neutral and at times even casually started to grow strict even edging on the side of irritability. Do not get Hans wrong, General Mustang was definitely still polite, treated the whole department with respect and his judgment when it came to executive decisions remained impartial and strategic, however, it was growing obvious that the man was not in the best of moods. 

‘Moppy Mustang’ was what Captain Havoc called it. The rest of the department did not seem surprised at all by the change in behavior. 

“You will get used to it.” Havoc said, “And if you are lucky you might even figure out the hack to get on his good side when he is Moppy Mustang, just like Riza. He quite likes you anyways.” 

“There are tricks to this?” Hans asks quizzically.

“A cup of filtered coffee at about 70 degrees, preferably with Columbian beans but notes of chocolate, nuts and caramel must be present. The coffee must smell like a biscuit. Mustang cannot tell the difference in the beans but he pretends to.” Hawkeye says without looking up from her report.

“That’s awfully specific….”

“It’s the blend he has back home but refuses to buy it for his office since he claims the office already has a coffee machine,” Hawkeye says without looking up from the report she was writing.

“Speaking of the General… he has been gone an awfully long time.” Lieutenant Fuery piped. “Does he have any appointments today Everett?”

“None today. The General has a ship naming ceremony tomorrow morning at 9 and a tour of that ship up till about noon. In the afternoon there will be a delegation from-“ Everett was interrupted by the department door swinging open, revealing none other than the General himself, the General was holding a… child?

A toddler no more than 3 or 4 years old with the General’s dark hair but instead of dark eyes had large golden ones, the boy had an arm looped around the General's shoulder as he was carried by their commanding officer.

“Remember what I said, Noah?” The General spoke to the child.

“No pushing.” The child met General Mustang’s gaze. “But mama-“

“And what did I say about what mama says?” The General sets the boy on the ground, the little boy still clutched onto the General’s hand. 

“Not to listen to Mama. That violence is not the answer.” The petulant child mutters but his eyes scanned the office he had just entered. The frown quickly melted into a sunny smile as he noticed the only woman standing in the room.

“Auntie Riza!”The child let go of the General’s hand and ran towards Hawkeye. The woman bent down and welcomed the toddler into her arms. 

“Hi little soldier.” Hawkeye smiles as she hugged the boy who was elated to see her.

“Arghmm.” The General cleared his voice, “Team. This is my son Noah. His nanny was not feeling too well so I picked him up from preschool and he will be in the office for the rest of the day. I trust that he would be in good company.” 

“Of course Sir.’ The team gave the affirmative. It was just a little kid after all and Noah looked like a good kid. 

“Did you promise your papa that you would be a good boy Noah?” Hawkeye let go of the boy to stand up. 

“Yes, I did! I brought a book and my coloring materials too.” The toddler slipped off his bag pack and opened it to show Hawkeye. Hawkeye took out the book for the boy and gestured for the boy to go back to his father. Noah received the book with a smile and ran over to his father, hugging the General’s pant leg. The General ran a hand through the boy’s hair with casual affection.

“Noah, if you need anything you can ask these nice uncles, you have met uncle Havoc, or you could just ask your auntie Riza. Do you want to join me in my office or would you prefer to be out here?” 

“I wanna be with you daddy.” With a nod, the General once more clutches onto his son's hand and leads the boy into his office.

After the door closes behind father and son, Hans could not help but blurt out, “Is that not a beginner's guide to alchemy? Is that not too advanced for the little guy?” 

“It’s the genetics, trust me.” Havoc leans back against his chair.

“His parents are pretty decorated. His father is The Flame Alchemist.” Fuery said thoughtfully. 

Must be nice to have a gifted kid. 

5. 

It was about a month and a half after the Toddler Incident when the General’s dam truly broke.

Hans never thought that it would happen at a tiny bar Havoc frequented and by extension was the designated drinking spot for the department. 

Stressful was an understatement to how the past few weeks had been. There had been three operations where the General’s team had been deployed and while Hans was not combat trained therefore not required to participate the paperwork after was a killer. The General’s mood seemed to sour more as well with there being internal shifts within the military and high stakes operations. Hans watched General Mustang literally kick an officer out of his office last week due to an insubordination incident at the last mission. The man was lucky that he was not sent to military court for imprisonment but instead only suffered a demotion and was given a six month corrective order. A drink was definitely needed.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Hans, Hans has an alcohol allergy. Typically he is good about two drinks before a rash starts to develop so two drinks is the cap for his own sake. On the bright side, it was incredibly enjoyable to watch uptight military officials drink their pants off. Major Hawkeye who was the most disciplined started to get more chatty while Captain Havoc grew rowdier and more affection an arm constantly around a team member. Fuery giggled and laughed while Falman who was polite and formal loosened up with his dry humor and wit cranked at an all-time high. The General’s drinking tendencies on the other hand were a slow evolution. 

It takes three to four drinks for the General to get comfortable enough to remove his overcoat. The General is still very much sober, judging from the slowly unfolding scene in front of Han’s the General and Major Breda seem to have the best alcohol tolerance. The General injects a couple of suave quips into the conversation but remains more of a listener than a talker.

It takes about six drinks for the General to truly let it all go and boy nothing could have prepared Hans for this side of his boss. 

“Ya popping the question soon Heymans?” Havoc took a swing of his whiskey. The table turns to look at Breda who had been the most quiet all night. The major took a long sigh and turned to his overcoat hanging on the backing of the chair. From the coat's inner pocket, he pulls out a small velvet box. 

“I have been meaning to, but it’s been so chaotic at work these few weeks and I've been back so late. The cake shop is doing really really well too and Joanne’s been looking to open a second outlet…” Breda sighs, and runs a tired hand down his face.

“Take next Friday off Major.” The General suddenly spoke up.

The table turns in surprise. 

“You sure Sir?” Breda was taken aback. “The team was already pretty strapped with work, I can-“

The General unbuttons the top button of his white button-down and gestures to the bartender for a refill of his drink.

“Family is more important than work, Heymans. The papers can wait but you should not keep Joanne waiting any longer.” 

“Damn.” Havoc breathes. “Where did the playboy Roy Mustang from all those years ago go?”

“The General was a playboy?” That was something Hans could not quite believe. General Mustang was a hard worker, dedicated to his work, and a highly respected figure of the military. 

“Mustang was the worst.” Riza did not even conceal her disdain, “Prowling on the streets for any woman that caught his fancy. Just as much a narcissistic asshole as he is now but god the number of times he would throw paperwork at us just because he had a hot date…” 

“I am still your commanding officer Hawkeye, watch your words.” The General warned though his eyes were lighthearted and there was no heat to his words.

Hawkeye growled playfully at the other alpha, “I may speak how I wish Sir. Especially if it is with regards to your unsavory behaviors.” 

“This slacking son of a bitch had a penchant for blondes with long hair but could never hold a girl for longer than three months. He dumps them or they dump him or he would just loose interest….” Hawkeye continued to dish dirt on the General who just let her continue to talk smack with a smile. The two of them must be close, Hans could tell the two of them were the closest in the team and the General must trust her the most. Well, she was a blonde with long hair as well… perhaps…

“Then he met his mate.” Havoc proudly told Hans, Hawkeye growled at the fact that she was cut off from her rant but Havoc was too busy slinging an arm around Hans to spill the beans on the General’s love life. 

“That crazy motherfucker put the reigns on this wild Mustang!” The department laughed at the pun but the General looked at his glass with a fond smile. “His mate is one hell of a whirlwind alright. All those other girls were way too vanilla, the General liked them hot. Spitfire. A match made in hell I tell you! When the two of them are together…Mustang?”

The team turned to look over at the General. A tear just silently rolled down his cheek as the man clutched onto his seventh drink of the night. 

“I miss my mate.” The words wobbled out of the General’s lips as more tears started streaming down his face. “I miss them so much.”

There was a loud sniffle and the General wipes at the tears and snot. 

Oh boy. 

“Why did they have to leave? I just want my mate home.” The General starts full-out brawling into his now crumpled shirt sleeve, his neck, and chest somewhat exposed with the top buttons uncovered, flushed with alcohol, and revealing his mating mark over his scent gland. Hans had a horrible sense of smell but it was starting to stink with the General’s smokey scent that smelt more like choking ash as opposed to mild fireplace smoke. 

“Work… love work so much…but not home…” Those were the words Hans could make out from the muffled crying the General was now doing into his shirt sleeve as his head was slumped on the table. 

“That’s our cue to leave.” Hawkeye rises to her feat albeit a little wobbly. “Breda could you settle the bill and charge it to the Mustang’s card? Everett could u grab a cab for Fuery?” 

Lieutenant Fuery was passed out on the counter but seemed to jolt awake upon hearing his name being called. Hawkeye put on her coat and slowly made her way to the General. With the shaky help from Havoc, the two lifted General up from the table and have him between their shoulders as support.  

“I miss *hiccup* so much. I won’t give *hiccup* work anymore. Team, remind me to never do it again.” The General declared through his slurred babble. 

“We will get him home, call Bridagde General Hughes, and have the Best Friend babysit this big baby and Noah.Night everyone.” Hawkeye and Havoc lift the General out of the bar and with a chorus of goodbyes the night ends as such. 

Hans does not know how to look at the man he respects so much to be reduced to such a state, the girl he mated must truly be one hell of a girl for the General to be this head over heels and that deep into marriage.

+1

Work on Monday right after that weekend was like any other. No one spoke of Friday merely because no one seemed fazed about it. The General went back to work, still on edge, shutting himself in the office for long periods of time apart from lunch break and when he needed to leave for external engagements but overall just throwing himself into his work. Breda took that Friday off and came back the week after with news of a successful proposal and the team went out for a nice lunch in celebration. The world seemed momentary and at peace apart from the General’s behavior. 

Then Thursday rolled over. 

Shouting followed by the stomping of footsteps as they drew closer to the office drew the entire team to attention. 

“Roy fucking Mustang!” A booming voice shouted the very moment the hinges went flying as the door was literally kicked down. There is a horrible feeling of deja vu to see none other than Edward Elric standing there with his long red jacket fluttering right behind him. This time Elric did not seem angry, he looked feral almost, golden eyes blown wide, sweat building at his temple and strands of golden hair sticking to his neck, a gloved hand clutching onto a large handheld luggage as if the man had just returned from being away. The moment Elric entered the room the smell of sweet irises exploded into the room. It was overpoweringly sweet exactly as what is described to be the scent of an omega in heat. 

Before any officer could react, the General threw open his office door the door slammed so hard against the wall it sent the walls shaking. A dark possessive growl ripped from General Mustang’s throat as he stalked over to Elric. Elric was rooted in place as if physically unable to move as the blonde’s scent seemed to amplify the very moment he saw the General. 

What long blonde hair? Elric was the General’s mate? 

The General scooped the smaller man into his arms, Elric made a sound that Hans did not want to believe was a whimper and plunged his face into the General’s neck where the other man’s scent gland lay underneath his uniform. The General cradled Elric in his arms, stalking with large strides back into his office not without slamming the office door right behind himself. 

Without a word, the rest of the team flew into action. Everyone started to throw their belongings into their bags and reached for their coats. 

“Secretary Everett, I suggest you start packing up. The General would be out of commission until next Thursday at the very least and I do not think you want to be able to hear-” Hawkeye was cut off by the loud sound of a body slamming against the door of the General’s office, a muffled moan followed right after. “That. You do not want to hear that.” 

Hans got the message and hurriedly packed up as well. 

From that day on Hans Everett no longer questioned the frequency of the Fullmetal Alchemist showing up at random times of the day demanding to know of the General’s whereabouts nor did Hans question why was Fullmetal given special privileges. Most importantly after hearing the horror stories from the rest of the department, Hans also learnt of the reason for the rule to always knock at the General’s door and ask for permission before entering. 

No one needs to know too much about the General’s love life after all.

Chapter Text

1.
Popular to contrary belief, Maya Rogers was a fan of Workout Wednesdays. Sure, being mandated by your job to be stuck in a room with mainly alpha and mainly male individuals plus tasked to exercise and train was not very pleasant. The smell of testosterone and alpha gets incredibly choking after half an hour, Maya cannot even defend her own smell as an alpha, but there was this sense of camaraderie and communal strive that made Workout Wednesdays pretty enjoyable. Today was particularly special. Quarterly, HQ would hold tournaments between soldiers, regardless of rank, to compete during these workout session. Sometimes it might be an obstacle course, at times capture the flag, others combat alchemy or even dodgeball, today, however, was hand to hand combat, a state military favourite.

Maya leaned against the second floor railing, looking down below at the final match of the day - the most anticipated fight yet. General Roy Mustang, the Hero of Ishval, the Flame Alchemist and easily one of the most respected figures in the entire military who was recognised not just in title but in capability, leadership, alchemy and character, was going to be participating in the final match of the day. A crowd had formed on the first floor, soldiers all gathering around the fighting arena and on the second floor too, where Maya was shoulder to shoulder with her platoonmates and many others. Up against the General was a long haired, blonde soldier who Maya had overheard others whisper around her that was the Fullmetal Alchemist. It should have been a dead give away with the automail arm that the alchemist had not bothered to hide given that he was dressed in a black sleeveless tank top. Maya thought Fullmetal would be taller from rare newspaper clips, the Fullmetal Alchemist often requested to not be photographed but it did little to reduce his fame. Edward Elric, the People’s Alchemist, that’s what the media called him and Elric does not deserve anything less. From what Maya heard, the guy was a genius, youngest ever state alchemist, leading in his field of advance alchemic theory, he was one of the handful of state alchemist that took on state missions despite not joining the military itself and most starkly this man was the only omega in the army, much less a rare male omega. While there has never been a strict rule in Amestris about omegas joining the army, it was virtually unheard of before the military took on Fullmetal as some sort of mascot. It was some unspoken social understanding that omegas had little place in the military, the military often promised a short life expectancy, strict regimes, an overbearing and overwhelming number of alphas in spite of the sizable number of betas and discrimination given secondary gender. Elric was able to break through the glass ceiling simply by being so unbelievably outstanding in every field, he proved that merit triumphed over secondary gender. And now Maya could witness it for herself. 

At a ring of a bell the match between Elric and General Mustang began. The two men did not wait another beat, immediately leaping at each other in an attempt to land the first punch on the other. The very moment their fists made contact, the rhythm of the fight had been decided. Fullmetal took the lead as the aggressor, throwing jabs and kicks in rapid succession at the General, Fullmetal had no clear fighting style, it was a mercenary mishmash of ju-jitsu, akido, karate and much more but it was undeniable that he was excellent combatant. Elric knew how to make use of his much smaller stature against taller and larger opponents, in this case the General, alternating between light and fast kicks to create distance and a series of close contact jabs that seemed to go for key junctures of the human anatomy; the ribs, the knees, the jaw and the head. Elric was an annoying opponent, a slippery bastard without a consistent fighting style and an even worst, Elric had a brilliant, sharp mind that fought to create opportunities during combat. There were many feints and shadow steps that could have quickly ended the fight but Fullmetal was not against an amateur after all, far from it. General Mustang parried and countered each and every move Elric threw, where Elric created opportunities, the General waited for an opening and worked around whatever attack the blonde threw. General Mustang seemed to have the ability to read Fullmetal like a book, somehow able to predict the blonde's next move in spite of how erratic the others' movement was. The older man was clearly trained in boxing and ju-jitsu, on top of the typical hand to hand combat techniques everyone had learnt as a military trainee, he kept his stance and posture balanced, aiming to grab and hold down Fullmetal as much as possible. While the General was considered a righteous man, he was not above fighting dirty as exemplified by the nasty hair grab at Fullmetal’s long locks. Fullmetal grunts in pain but counters with a hard side kick at the General’s groin which forces the dark haired man to let go to prevent that attack. 

“Low blow Roy-boy.” Elric mocks between pants.

Maya would never dare to call her superintendent by their first name much less tease them in a fight, Fullmetal must have a death wish. 

“Says the squirt who went for The low blow.” The General did not seem offended the least rather he wore a smile on his face despite his heavy breathing, those dark eyes burning with challenge. “That desperate to end my blood line, Fullmetal?”

“It will be the end of me alright. Who you calling squi-“ General Mustang throws a solid right hook right at Elric before the other could finish his sentence, Elric narrowly blocks it in time with his arm and that seemed to anger the blonde even more than the comment on his height. Elric is pushed a distance away and his torso was left with an opening which the General did not miss and throws a punch to the left of Elric aiming for his side which Elric fails to block. Fullmetal is sent stumbling back from the impact, it must have been a hard swing as Elric crumpled to the ground, clutching his side with a loud gasp. 

“Ed?” The General seemed alarmed at the reaction shown by Elric, quickly crossing over the blonde.

“Are you alright?” General Mustang goes crouch over Elric to check on him but right before he could do so in a single sweep of the leg, Elric knocks the General right off his feet. Mustang, with his guard completely let down, goes down hard, his body slamming against the floor of the fighting rink with a thud. Fullmetal wastes no time and throws himself onto the General’s body. Mustang tries to push Elric off, an arm under Elric's body in the classic jiu jitsu technique but Elric is faster, twisting the General’s body into a lock. Elric has an arm around the General’s neck and head, his legs wrapping around the General’s torso. Making use of his body weight, Elric leans back putting General Mustang into a chokehold which leaves the General red faced and squirming before the dark haired man quickly taps out acknowledging his loss. 

The referee blows the whistle and the match was over, Elric releases General Mustang and the older man rolls onto his stomach gasping for air. Elric is out of breath as well, slowly rising to his feat, a triumphant smile on his face, eye bright with victory, his tank top slips off his shoulder exposing a mating mark even his golden hair that was plastered onto his skin with sweat could not hide. 

Damn. What an omega. 

Maya watched Elric help General Mustang up with a smile, the General did not even look angry or embarrassed at his defeat, not the slightest, even if he was defeated by an omega. Rather the General sighed and returned a smile, shaking his head as he let Elric pull him up to stand. 

At the end Maya had only one thought: Who was the lucky bastard that bagged such a beauty? 

2.

“Give it back!” Noah jumps to swipe the book back but fails as the book is pulled away once again. 

“Only if you can get it, Mustang.” Jakob Nesler dangled the book in front of Noah. Noah moves to grab the book once more but Jakob tosses it off to one of Gwaine, one of Jakob’s friends. Gwaine runs with the book which Noah runs after. Jakob and Gwaine both laugh as they run circles around Noah tossing the book to each other while Noah is always at their heels, unable to keep up with them with his smaller strides. It leaves Noah panting heavily while Jakob and Gwaine almost twice his size despite being the same age laughing at him as they continue to run circles around Noah. While half bent panting his lungs out, almost did not catch the small quick flash of blue light coming from behind the large tree just a couple of meters away.

“Little Mustang tired?” Gwaine teases. 

“I thought horses were good at running-“Jakob runs once more around Noah to prove a point but one moment he was running and the next the boy was on the floor with an audible smack. Right at Jakob's foot where the cement had been even, had a single square piece that had been irregularly elevated which Jakob had the misfortune to trip over. The elevated piece had not been there before hand.

“Jakob are you okay?” Gwaine bends to help his friend, who was now spotting bloody scrapes on his elbows and knees, Jakob tried hard to bite back the tears as Gwaine helped him up. 

“Oh no your friend is injured, Noah.” A familiar voice drawled. 

Noah whips his head to the direction of the voice, from behind the big shady tree stepped out a man dressed in a large red coat and dark uniform set. 

“Mama!” Noah picks up the book that had now been dropped by Jakob and runs over to Ed. 

“Hello, Noah.” Ed bends down to his son’s height and brings the boy into a tight hug. “How was school today?”

“Jakob?” One of the kindergarten teachers spotted Gwaine and Jakob and hurried over to the injured boy. 

“How did this happen?” The young teacher checks on the bleeding boy. 

“It was Noah’s fault!” Jakob points an accusatory finger at Noah who has now been scooped up in his mama’s arms. “He did something and made me trip on the ground!”

“The ground didn’t not have that before. Noah did some witch magic.” Gwaine points at the single elevated block of cement on the ground.

“Noah is a witch. It’s his fault!”

The comment has Noah’s mama snorting at the sheer ridiculousness of what these children were spewing. 

“Jakob, let's get you cleaned up. Can you stand?” Mr Smith helps the child up, mindful of his bloodied limbs. “Also, Sir, who might you be? Did you witness what happened?”

The kindergarten teacher looks to Ed. 

“I witnessed it alright. Those boys were teasing my kid.” Ed says unimpressed, “Shouldn’t a teacher be more vigilant about these things?” 

“I thought-“ Ed was prepared to roll his eyes but the kindergarten teacher surprisingly straightened up, “No. It was my oversight. Noah is usually attached at the hip with Jamie, who is down with a really bad cold this week. Jamie would fend off Jakob and Gwaine’s antics but I failed to realize that Noah would be picked on in his absence.” 

“Mr Smith but the ground!” Jakob protested.

“That’s enough Jakob. Let’s get you patched up before your father comes to pick you.” Mr Smith tugs the child away with Gwaine following along.

They don’t talk about it when they get home. By this time, Roy  had gotten home as well and dinner was about done. Ed sat by the dinner table with a sizable stack of papers that he was engrossed in, simultaneously flipping through them and scribbling notes in his own research journal. Noah had been trying to peer at what his mama was working on but he was nowhere tall enough to see, after a bit, his mama noticed his efforts and picked him up to have him seated in Ed's lap, namely on the metal leg. 

“Roy. In flame alchemy, you isolate the hydrogen from the oxygen atoms in water molecules in the air. Through the utilization of friction to create a spark, you create an ignition that allows you to create enough energy to manipulate these bonds. Am I right?” Ed reads from his notes, an old and only official paper penned by Brethold Hawkeye. Ed knows Roy has Hawkeye senior’s handwritten notes kept in a trunk and if they lost that they had Riza’s back to study but that was for really drastic measures. Hawkeye would first try to put a bullet through Ed if he attempted to ask her that. 

“Spot on, honey.” Roy plates the roasted vegetables with the pork chop.

“Let’s say I want to create lightning alchemy from this basic understanding of flame alchemy. I have been studying eels and stingrays, most of them have a specialized organ to charge themselves with negative ions from within atoms. If I can somehow manipulate individual atoms and harness negative charged ions in large quantities in the air, in theory I could organically produce electricity as a medium of alchemy. I mean I can but that’s because of the Gate, I cannot quite test and explain much less recreate it with someone who has not been through the -'' Roy captures Ed’s lips before setting down Ed’s dinner in front of him, Ed kisses back with ease despite being startled initially. 

“You sound so hot when you talk about science.” Roy pulls back and sets Noah’s plate next to Ed’s. 

“Ew! Mama and Papa stop being gross!” Noah slips off Ed’s lap and climbs into his boosted chair at the dinner table. 

“Oh, we are gross are we?” Ed pulls his husband down for another long kiss to elicit another sound of disgust from his son that has the couple snickering as they once more pull apart. 

Ed organizes his papers into a neat pile and sets them aside while Roy takes his regular seat opposite across the dinner table and the family digs into their meal.

“Papa? Mama?” Noah asks as Ed helps him cut the pork chop into smaller pieces.

“Yes son?” Roy answers.

“‘Bring your parents to school’ is next Monday.” Noah began slowly, “Most kids were talking about how both their parents were coming…”

“You know we can’t do that Noah.” Ed takes a sip from his glass. “We don’t want to attract unnecessary attention to you and to our family especially given the nature of your Papa’s job.”

Roy nods staunchly, “Your mama is right.” 

“But Mama you are going away on a mission on Sunday then both of you won’t…” Noah frowns into his broccoli.

“Hmmm I am not so sure about that.” Roy takes a bite of his pork chop. 

Noah’s brows knit in confusion, not quite understanding Roy.

“Turns out my commanding officer gave the mission away to someone else.” Ed smiles cheekily. 

“Really?” Noah traded looks between his parents.

“Oh what a coincidence.” The fake surprise in Roy’s tone fooled no one.

“Thank you so much, Papa!” 

“What are you thanking your old man for, I am the one going down to your school after all.”

“Thank you Mama!” 

There was a beat of silence. 

“Isn’t Papa your boss? So papa was the one who cancelled your mission. So I should be thanking him." Noah said thoughtfully.

“Carried my child for nine months only for him to be a daddy’s boy! Can you believe this shit-"

Noah was vibrating in his seat with anxiety. Mama promised he would be here, he said this morning that it was only going to be a short meeting with Papa at the HQ. The ‘Bring your Parents to School’ had already begun and everyone’s parents were standing at the back of the classroom watching over their kids but Mama still was not even here yet.

“Mustang’s parents must not be coming, what a loser.” 

Noah could hear Jakob whispering to Gwaine behind him, if they could even be called a whisper with how they did not even bother lowering their voices.

“Witch for an omega father…”

“Probably better that they aren’t here…”

“Maybe both his parents are witches…”

“What if they curse us? Or Mustang would curse us…”

“Stop bullying Noah.” Jamie roughly kicks the back of Jakob’s chair. “If he is a witch then you are the loch ness monster, Nessy Nelser.”

“Jakob Nelser and Mr. Nelser.” Mr Smith calls out after another classmate and their mother had finished their presentation.

Jakob scoffs at Jamie, turning rather to check that his father was coming up from the back of the class and with his head held high, made his way to the front of the classroom. Mr Nelser was dressed sharply in full uniform and it definitely did elicit several ‘wow’s from across the class. Noah could see Jakob grow cocky at the attention, proud that his dad part of the military though it was not all that special in reality, Noah had both parents in the military so that’s really not a lot to shout about. 

“Everyone, this my dad, Lieutenant John Nelser. My dad is a police man who catches bad guys to make sure that Central City is safe. He inspires me a ton as catching bad people is a very important job which makes him very cool. When I grow up I don’t know if I want to be a policeman as it can be a very dangerous job but he makes me know that I am safe. I want to be an alpha like him when I grow up.” Jakob finished his presentation and turned to his dad to continue.

“Hello class, my name is John Nelser as Jakob mentioned, I am a police officer, more specifically I am in a department that deals with bad people who try to bring into illegal goods into Ametris, for example illegal guns and medicine. My job is important as it ensures that peace in Armetris is maintained as we cannot have these medicines and guns falling into wrong hands. I usually always have a range of tools with me including a pair of handcuffs, a baton and a taser to shock bad people. Sometimes I do use my gun but that is only in extreme situations that call for it.” Mr Neslser ends with a smile. 

“Do we have any questions for Mr Nelser?” Several hands shot into the air before Me Smith even finished his sentence. 

Mama was still not here even as Mr Nesler’s question and answer session end. Maybe he really was not coming. Noah kicked his dangled legs, staring into his lap, not wanting to meet the eyes of anyone. Mr Smith was going down the row and Noah knew that his name would be called next.

“Noah Elric-Mustang.” Just as he predicted.

“I AM HERE!" The classroom door slams open with a voice that had Noah immediately snap his head up. "I APOLOGIZE! I HAD A MEETING DRAGGED ON UNEXPECTEDLY!”

“Mama!” Noah got off his seat and rushed over to his omega father. His mama was dressed in his full uniform as well, black uniform, leather pants, his white gloves, red coat and was even carrying his handheld luggage.

“That witch!” Jakob shouts.

Mr Nesler seemed startled, immediately straightening himself to salute the short blonde man. “Fullmetal Alchemist, Sir.” 

Ed did not expect to see another military personnel at his son’s kindergarten much less one to recognise him right off the bat.

“Daddy, that man was the one who made me fall. He is a witch. The road was even until he made it uneven. He is a bad man you got-“ Mr Nesler slaps a hand over his son’s mouth. 

“I apologize for my son’s rudeness, Sir. ” Mr Nesler bends into a deep bow, forcing Jakob to do the same. Jokob struggles against his father's hold.

“Eh, it's not a big deal. Kids are just kids.” Ed swats the air in nonchalance with a gloved hand. “But who are you again?” 

“First Lieutenant of the 7th division military police, Lieutenant John Nesler.”

“Wait, you were the dude that tried to arrest me a couple of months back.” Ed says in recognition.

Mr Nesler smiled apologetically, “I apologize once more for my oversight, it even had to get General Mustang involved.” 

“Mama you got arrested again?” Noah looks up to Ed. 

“I…” Ed looks down at his son, ready to deny the fact that Ed had been detained by the very same military he worked for. 

“Mr Elric-Mustang, would you like to have the floor?” Thank goodness for Mr Smith and his great timing. 

“Sure thing. Also Lieutenant before I forget, your son tends to tease Noah. Could you get him to tone it down?” 

Mr Nesler's eyes comically grow wide with horror, “I will, Sir.” 

Mr Nesler drags Jakob away to the back of the class but not without angry whispers and Jakob protesting.

At the center of the class with more than a dozen eyes on him, Noah looks up at Ed with uncertainty. Ed gives him a nod of encouragement to go on, a tender smile on his face. 

“Everyone. This is my mama. Edward Elric.” Noah pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and begins reading from it. “He is a state alchemist. As an alchemist, his job is to study alchemy but since he is a state Alchemist he also works for the army. Alchemy is the science of using energy to change things from one form to another. Most people know him as the Fullmetal Alchemist and the newspapers call him the People’s Alchemist but to me he is just my mama. My mama who sneaks me ice cream after dinner when papa says no, my mama who gets scolded by papa for wanting to sleep with wet hair, my mama who builds the best pillow forts and the one who loves alchemy so much that he inspires me to be an alchemist in the future as well.”

Noah lowers his paper to see everyone in class staring right at him, Noah wanted to hide behind Ed, the boy shot a glance up to his omegan father hoping for him to quickly continue so that the stares will go away.

Ed rests a hand on Noah’s hair, stroking those dark locks, “Good job Noah."

"I am so proud of you.” Ed’s voice soft, it quivered just slightly. “Let me steal the show for you, okay buddy?”

“Hi kiddos as you now know, My name is Edward Elric or Edward Elric-Mustang, Mustang is my mate’s last name and I am Noah’s omegan father. I am a state alchemist.” Ed takes out his pocket watch with the proof of his title. “Which means I am an alchemist for Armetris. Like a regular alchemist I study alchemy where my area of study is alchemic theory, so I write books and papers about new alchemic theories.”

“As an alchemist I can do things like this.” Ed claps his hands together, producing a blow glow from his hands. Ed touches the center of the teacher’s wooden table and from it the originally flat surface was transmuted into a wooden 3D boat. Gasps and sounds of amazement followed, some of the children even jumped up onto their feet to get a better look. 

“Or things like this.” Ed pulls off right glove, revealing his automail. He claps his hands once more and in a flash of blue lightning he elongates some of the automail into a blade. The class erupts in another round of excitement gasps and amazement. 

“I study how to push the boundaries of what alchemy is and what humans can do with it.” With a final flash of blue Ed reverts his hand and the table. “Alchemy is not magic. It is science and it can only be performed by those who understand what they are even transmuting in the first place. As a state alchemist, I am also part of the military where I am so I have a commanding officer that I unfortunately report to and get missions from. My missions can range from fighting and taking down bad guys, retrieving information or tracking down people. In fact, I was supposed to have a mission over this weekend, but today was my son’s Bring Your Parents to School day, I thought it be pretty nice for my kid to show off his mama, so now here we are. That’s enough of me talking, any questions?”

A dozen hands immediately shot up, some not even waiting before shouting out their question.

“Can you use alchemy on anything?”

“Can you change my pencil into a loli?”

“Do you work with Jakob’s dad?” 

“Why is your hand metal? Is your whole body made out of metal?”

“Why do they call you the Fullmetal alchemist if you are not completely made out of metal?”

By the end of Bring Your Parent to School Day, Noah became the most popular kid in class. 

“Hey Noah, if your omega dad is this cool you gotta bring your alpha dad next time. He is probably equally cool.”

3.

There were whispers when Jann walked into the classroom. For the first time, no one turns to watch her take a seat, much to absorb in the gossip. 

“Yeah he was like super jacked. A washboard abs. Could not tell that he was an omega at all with a body like that but I am sure that’s the professor.” Eugene Dunkin, the leader of their little group spoke, he was loud enough that Jann could hear from her spot two seats away. 

“Are you sure?” Megan Ivanova, his partner in crime, did not seem to believe Eugene’s words.

“He had an automail arm as he ran shirtless on the treadmill, how can it not be him?”

“No, are you sure he is an omega?”

“I was literally there this morning at the university gym too. It was just me and him, I could smell it. The light sweet smell of an omega, shame though, he had a mating mark…”

“Why are you even thinking about it? He is way out of your league.” Megan scoffs at Eugene, “Maybe he likes girls.”

Megan smiles showing her fangs, indicative of her status as an alpha. Much like most of the students enrolled in Ametris’s top alchemic program at Central University, Megan and Eugene were one of the many alphas, who got into the program with an acceptance rate of 100 students out of more than 50,000 applicants yearly. There were only two omegas in their year, Jann and another girl named Melanie,  to say that Jann stood out was an understatement, most of the time the other trainees would excluded her as they underestimate her or get envious when she outperforms them when they underestimate her so they would talk smack about her. This class especially, advanced alchemist theory, with a class size of 12 students, it was literally Jann versus the rest of the students who seemed to orbit around the social network constructed by Megan and Eugene. 

It kinda sucked that Melanie did not make the cut for this module, Jann hoped that she would at least not be alone but she could not quite blame anyone. Advanced Alchemic Theory was a new class that was offered since 3 years ago, it was the only class in the alchemic program that spanned across two semesters and was offered only in the final year of study, right before graduation and the state alchemy examination. On top of that, this was the only class where candidates were screened with a basic test of practical alchemy before selection as Professor Edward Elric refused to take more than 15 students at one time. Of the three batches above Jann who have taken this class, she heard that half of those initially enrolled ended up dropping the class by the sixth-month mark and only half that remained would eventually pass the class. However, everyone who had taken the class she has heard that not a single ex-student regretted taking the class, even if they dropped out, the seniors claimed that their understanding of alchemy had been fundamentally altered by Professor Elric and those of that did pass his class passed the state alchemy exam with flying colours. The valedictorian for the past 3 years have all taken and passed Professor Elric's class. Yet not a single senior would give any notes or explain Elric’s teaching, ‘you have to take it and see for yourself’ was the answer juniors got when they probed. Professor Elric was something of a legend, a prodigy, the youngest state alchemist at the age of 13, the youngest professor in Armetris history, he has penned at least 3 new alchemic theories that expounded on the basic principles of alchemy, the man literally helped save Armetris and took down King Bradley, Jann should be grateful even breathing the same air as the 26-year-old.

Yet, here Jann was, sitting in their first class of advanced alchemic theory where Megan and Eugene are still whispering about the fact Eugene saw Professor Elric exercising in the communal university gym at ass o’clock in the morning while the man of the hour was still nowhere to be seen. Jann looked up at the clock, it was twenty minutes past 9, and the class was supposed to begin at 9. 

Just as Jann began deciding if she should just up and leave, the classroom door swung open and it slammed against the wall with a loud bang. 

“I am sorry I am late! That fucking security bastard. Why did they have to get a new guy?! Bloody hell! I just got the old security dude to recognize me now I gotta start all over again.” A short blonde man stormed into the room, chucking his messenger bag on the professor’s table. “Kid! He called me a kid, does he think I’m like 15 or some shit? The man even had the gall to tell me that the high school was one block away… and he refused to let me that asshole…”

Given the red coat, long blonde hair, and golden eyes, that was unmistakably the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. 

“Hey, you! Do I look like a kid to you?” Professor Elric points to Eugene, who turns around to check if he was pointing to Thomas Shou that seated behind him. 

“I am talking to you, yeah you, you were at the gym this morning, right? Who are you trying to impress? My sister-in-law could bench more than you.” Jann did not hold back her laugh as Eugene turned a shade of red that could rival the Professor’s coat. Professor Elric wore a huge grin after eliciting that response from Eugene. 

Gosh, this man. Jann’s appendix might split in half from laughter if Elric made comments like that all the time.

“Okay, enough of that. Sup kiddos, welcome to advanced alchemic theory. I know I have a reputation of making this class hard, and I will make this class the hardest you will ever take.” Elric stands at the professor's podium, both hands gripping the sides of the stand. 

“Do all of you have your basic alchemic theory textbooks?” 

Everyone in class digs about to produce the textbook, it was a book almost required and referenced in half of their classes after all, most alchemy trainees had it on hand.

“Okay now tear it in half.” Professor Elric instructed.

Everyone stilled, too stunned to react. 

Megan slowly raises a hand, “Sorry, Professor Elric. With all due respect. What?” 

“Tear it. Your textbook on the basics of alchemy.” Elric seems unfazed. 

“But Sir, this is the fundamentals of alchemy, we use this book for half our classes! How could we-“

The sound of ripping paper stopped Megan short as Jann ripped half of the pages right off the spine of the book. 

“Like this Sir?” Jann asked as innocently as possible. If the opening jab at Eugene was anything to go by, Edward Elric was one of the extra odd oddballs of the academic world, a maverick that did not give a flying fuck about rules. Given the growing grin on the blonde’s face, Jann was most definitely right.

“What’s your name kid? You're the fastest of the lot to catch on, the fastest of all the kids I have taught.” Elric eyes seem to glimmer with excitement as if Jann was a lucky penny on the ground that caught his attention. 

“Jann Meier, Sir.” Jann answered like a good student, tearing more pages out of her book to prove his point. From the corner of her eye, she could see Eugene and Megan throw her a dirty look which she fakes ignorance. Jann could tell Professor Elric saw those glares from the other students as well and it only made his smile grow downright wicked.

“Well, everyone. We should all learn from Meier’s example. In this class, we aren’t here to just learn and replicate whatever crap I spew. I am here to teach you the proper way to approach alchemy and you will then show me that alchemy has no limits and proves my hypothesis that the only limits of alchemy are the alchemist." Professor Elric gestured to the rest of the class. "At the rate we are going, Meier you are the top candidate for valedictorian.” With that, the sound of paper ripping filled the textbook, and Professor Elric’s grin would have been insufferably smug if not for Jann loving every bit of this interaction. 

Professor Elric picks up a piece of chalk and heads to the blackboard, “This is one of the rare handful of classes that will be in this classroom, alchemy is a living breathing animal that would be handled at the training ground. Today I will be cramming and reteaching you the basic alchemic principles yall learned as a wee lad and blow your fucking minds with it.” 

“You! Glasses and brown curls name the 3 fundamental principles!” Elric squiggles down numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the board. 

Jann watches Thomas stutter out the right answer and this cold calling went on for the rest of the lesson with Elric getting more creative with the nicknames as he went. The next two hours went by in a blur, a whirlwind of deconstructing everything Jann knew about alchemy, mind-boggling reconceptualizations of basic alchemic theories, and Professor Elric swearing his pants off that all wrapped up in a class that had Jann craving for more. The profound understanding Professor Elric had about alchemy along with his enthusiasm for imparting his knowledge was infectious, it made Jann itch to dive deep into new areas of research and attempt to establish her own brand of alchemy all together just as Edward Elric had done so. Jann almost did not even notice the lesson was coming to an end until Professor Elric started wiping away his breakdown of a simple transmutation circle that had been drawn on the chalkboard. 

“Next class is tomorrow and I will see you at the training ground. Just bring some paper for notes and the rest will be hands-on application so we won’t need any books but I already had yall tear your textbooks anyway!” Professor Elric scoops up his notes that had been spread out against the teacher's table in what could only be considered politely as organized chaos, “Just a heads up before y’all kids leave.” 

“Sir you are not that much older than us.” Thomas quips in teasing.

A couple of people snicker, Jann sorts and Professor Elric’s brow was definitely twitching in annoyance. “As I was saying…”

“In about five months, four if we are unlucky, I will not be around to hold classes for about two months. In that time you will be tasked to begin research, preparation, and preliminary testing for your thesis paper that as mandated by my course outline you are required to produce by the end of this course. I will try my best to wiggle out of the 2-month ban that some stupid bastard General has me on but no promises, military-mandated maternity leave. Oh My God, Just thinking about that fucking bastard idiot pisses me off! It was his fault in the first place, the asshole got all excited-” Professor Elric went off on another rant. 

“Y- You're expecting Sir?” Eugene could not hold back his disbelief. 

“Yeah, I am four months along. You got a problem with that?” Professor Elric dared Eugene to make another comment. 

“Nope! Congratulations Sir to you and your wife-”

“Husband. Not wife.” Elric was actually getting irritated this time as he slung his messenger bag onto his shoulder. Eugene backed down like a kicked puppy.  

“Fucking alphas.” Professor Elric muttered under his breath as he left the classroom.

Professor Elric might just be Jann’s new favorite professor and all-time role model. 

+1

“Which do you think is better, Roy.” Ed holds up two boxes of cookies. “Marshmallow dream or minty choco?”

“Are you sure you want to ask me that question?” Roy pushes the cart up to his mate. 

“Are you trying to insinuate that I am fat, Mustang?” Ed throws both boxes into the cart. 

“You do realise this was caused by you.” Ed points at his belly for added emphasis.

“What? No.” Roy genuinely looked offended. “You aren’t fat. Have you seen yourself Edward? You look stunning.”

At 7 months, Ed was positively glowing, his face just slightly fuller and his baby bump prominent. Pregnancy suited Ed, it might be Roy’s alpha talking but Roy loved pregnant Ed. It gave Roy more excuses to pamper his mate, which was incredibly hard to come by given that Ed was welll... Ed. 

“What I meant was that you would have made a choice regardless of what I say since you will go by what you are craving the most, which you should, of course. Decide based on your cravings I mean, anything for our next bundle of joy. Second, you know that I don’t believe that mint chocolate is a real favor so the question you asked wasn’t even a real question because marshmallow wins by default.” 

“With that mouth of yours you should be a lawyer and not a military dog.” Ed says dryly. Ed walks next to Roy who pushes the cart to the check out counter. 

“But you love this mouth of mine.” Roy makes kissy faces at his mate, leaning closer in attempts to land a sloppy kiss much to Ed’s disgust. 

“Get those puckers out of my face Mustang.” Ed pushes his mate’s cheek away with a gloved hand. Roy attempts to land a sloppy kiss on Ed and Ed tries to hold his mate's face at a distance. 

A cough interrupts the couple’s antics, “Sirs that will be a 1,540 cenz.” 

The cashier had already bagged and checked out all their groceries. She stared at the couple, incredibly unimpressed. Ed clears his throat and awkwardly goes to pick up one bag of groceries while Roy abashedly fished out two bills to pay for their items. The couple made hast, quickly exited the grocery store from their moment of embarrassment but that was not without Roy insisting that he should carry all the groceries and Ed fighting back in hushed whispers.

“Pregnancy is not a disability, I can carry a paper bag just fine and speaking of disability, that is incredibly ironic that it is coming from me, a disabled person.” Ed’s grip tightening on paper bag in his hand. 

“Really? You are pulling the disability card now?” Roy successfully snags the paper bag from Ed, the General’s face just inches away from Ed’s. “I just want be a gentleman for my mate, is that a bad thing?” 

Roy meets his mate’s gold eyes, his eyes earnest in intention. Roy watches a pretty dust of pink bloom on Ed’s cheeks and before Ed could break eye contact and curse at Roy in fluster, Roy surges forward to press his lips against his mate’s own, Ed lets his eyes flutter close to savour the moment. Gosh what a sappy alpha he married. A flash of light goes off with the sound of a camera shutter. 

Ed’s eyes snap open and the couple were caught startled like a dear caught in headlights, in this case, camera lights. 

Across the road stood an equally stunned photographer who had chosen just the best moment to snap a photo. Before the couple could react, the photographer bolted. 

“That fucker!” Ed was ready to give a chase but a hand tugged on his shoulder holding him back. 

“Let him.” Roy glances off into the direction where the photographer had disappeared down a right turn. 

“Have you gone insane Mustang?! I thought you wanted to keep us out of the spotlight. We been trying to lay low as a family for years.” Ed exasperation caused his scent to sour.

“Maybe it’s time for Armetris to familiarise itself with the incoming Fuhrer’s family.” 

That caused Ed to still. 

“Are you serious? Roy, you aren’t pulling my leg right?” Ed looks to his mate. 

“Edward, when have I ever joked about being Fuhrer?” A grin played on Roy’s lips. 

“We let the journalist eat up our love story for a couple days. Let them write about how we are madly, madly in love with each other.” Roy’s free hand snakes around Ed’s waist, pulling him close. “Then the military will officially release the press announcement. Journalist are like priahanas, they are always looking for fresh blood. The news on who would be the next Fuhrer would drown out old news of our late night shopping trip in a flash.” 

“You manipulative bastard.” Ed yanks at Roy’s collar, bringing the taller man toward him. “I love that about you.” 

Ed crushes their lips against each other once more and Roy cannot help but drop his bags of groceries onto the pavement. Roy had more important things to hold onto anyways. 

“Hey Noah! Is that your omega dad on the newspaper? You really weren’t joking that your alpha dad would be the next Fuhrer!”