Work Text:
Havoc lit up a cigarette, “Hey, yearly vaccinations are coming up right?”
Fuery sighed as he batted away the smoke, “Yeah, got mine done early. What about you Hawkeye?”
Hawkeye didn't even look up from her desk, “Less talking more working, and I've been cleared for months.”
Breda raised an eyebrow, “How-”
“Work.” Hawkeye reprimanded and the group hastily went back to their paperwork.
However, what they didn't know was that two of their group's members were having a similar discussion just a room away…
Colonel Mustang leveled his subordinate with a look, “Fullmetal.”
Edward Elric kicked back against the wall much to Roy's displeasure, “What?”
Roy calmly folded his hands, “It's time for your yearly vaccinations.”
To no one's surprise Edward flew off the handle, “Oh absolutely not!”
Roy met Edward where he was at like all negotiations, “It's not just an order from me Fullmetal, it's an order from the Fuhrer himself! I know you've somehow managed to get out of them upon entry, which is why I'll be chaperoning you to ensure you actually get them!”
Fullmetal gaped, “Fucking… fuck you! You're a real bastard, you know that?”
Roy stood up, “And you're a pain in my ass Fullmetal. Any other compliments while we're here?”
Edward glared but kept his mouth shut, something that perturbed Roy slightly. Roy beckoned Edward to follow as he went towards the door.
“Now!?” His subordinate sputtered.
“Yes, now.” Roy said resolutely.
Fullmetal backed up and when Roy looked at him he had gone pale, “I'm not going.”
Roy sighed, “Fullmetal I am not against dragging you down to the medical wing, now come on.”
Edward said nothing and Roy looked again at his subordinate, this time taking a moment to properly assess him.
Fullmetal was pale. His normally sun tanned skin was sickly looking, his face pained. Roy noted that his hands were clenched, the human one uncomfortably tight looking. Edward had backed away from Roy, putting a decent amount of distance between them given the size of his office. Roy looked to Fullmetal and was taken aback to see his eyes held fear in them. For a moment Roy thought his subordinate was on something, only to realize that he was quivering with fear.
Roy almost laughed.
Edward Elric, the boy who had committed the ultimate taboo, was scared. From the second they met Roy had never known Edward to be scared of anything. He took life on like it was a challenge to be conquered. Every moment spent was a moment fighting things that even left Roy a little nervous. Roy had seen the horrors of war, he had been the cause of a lot of it, but Edward was as fearless as they came. Stubborn to a fault, and reckless as can be. Roy had watched Edward chase down more danger than was humanly possible, stare death in the eye and say ‘no’, and get into fights to the death on the regular.
Still, Roy supposed every man had his limit.
Except, Edward was no man. He was barely a teen. Yes, his subordinate was still young.
Edward glared at Roy, “I'm not going.”
Roy fought the urge to play their game of insults, “Why?”
His subordinate sneered, “Don't want to. End of.”
Roy sighed, “No, not ‘end of'. Why do you not want to go?”
Fullmetal gave him a dirty look, “I don't do needles.”
Needles? That was what this was about?
Roy glanced back at the kid. Edward was still trembling. Shit. This was a legit thing. Not just some little fear but an actual phobia. Roy was at a loss. The longer they stood in his office the more Fullmetal seemed to close in on himself. Roy panicked a little.
“Okay,” he said hurriedly, “I can't let you skip entirely but we can skip today.”
Edward only marginally relaxed, but the panic in his eyes dissipated so Roy would take it.
“Have you always been afraid of…” Roy began.
Edward cut him off, “I'm not scared.”
Roy rolled his eyes, “Okay sure.”
Fullmetal unclenched his hands and huffed, “Automail isn't fun y'know? Pinako said I'd get used to it. I guess I never did.”
Roy wasn't entirely sure he liked those implications, “I see.”
They were quiet for a moment, an awkward stand off between themselves.
Roy moved back towards his desk, “I must get back to my work, is there anything I can do for you Fullmetal?”
Edward rolled his eyes and he looked a little more like himself, “Yeah right, we both know work is the last thing you wanna do. Bastard.”
His subordinate headed for the door, flipping him off on the way out. Mustang just sighed. He would need to reschedule the appointment, but that could wait. For today at least.