36 for any duo in the Foster Family AU, if you please?
Let Me Count the Ways ask game
Prompt: "Where are we going?"
“Are we there yet?”
Roy suppressed a sigh, regretting the coffee he'd obligingly bought Ed when they stopped to get gas. Maybe it would have been better to let him sleep.
“D-Dad? Where...where a-are we-we-we going?”
Glancing in the rearview mirror, all of Roy's irritation melted away. Ed sat slumped against the window behind Roy, red hood pulled up as if to block out the early morning sunlight he scowled at. On the other side, Al sat watching the trees and rocks moving past with a bright, curious look in his eyes before he turned to meet Roy's gaze.
So different from car rides in the early days, Al falling to pieces anytime they went on the highway, Ed sitting rigid and tense and using words Roy had no idea he knew if they so much as hit a pothole. They still refused to sit in the front seat, and Roy wasn't sure he'd ever be able to teach them to drive, but they'd made so much progress.
Not least of which was Al calling him Dad. And speaking at all, even with a stutter. That still took his breath away sometimes.
“For the fifth time,” Roy said mildly, “if I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise.”
He could almost hear Ed rolling his eyes, but Roy kept his attention on the road, which wound around tighter and tighter bends as they spiraled up the mountain. Then the road dipped, and they slid into the deep, cool shadow of the mountain. After the bright spring morning they'd been driving through, the trees hanging over the road looked even greener than usual, the trunks almost blue in the misty morning.
Just when Roy was beginning to wonder if he'd somehow taken a wrong turn, they came upon the small overlook and picnic ground to the side of the road. He pulled into one of the few parking spaces, happy to see that they had the place to themselves. Not that he was surprised; he didn't think he'd ever come across anyone else in this spot.
“This is it?” Ed griped as they all got out. “I thought you were going to take us someplace interesting.”
Roy quirked an amused eyebrow. “Oh? That's not what it sounded like when you complained all my field trip ideas are boring because I'm an old man.”
Ed opened his mouth to reply, but then Al called out, “Brother!” Beckoning excitedly, he raced over to the stone railing at the edge of the cliff, where coin-operated binoculars were set up. Ed immediately abandoned his griping and went to follow Al, though he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and walked more slowly. Had to keep up appearances as an unimpressed teenager, after all.
Smiling fondly after them, Roy grabbed his briefcase from the passenger seat and locked up before strolling over to the picnic table closest to the edge. He set down his briefcase and slid his hands into his pockets to warm them up as he walked over to the boys.
“C-Can you see o-our house?” Al asked, planting his hands on the railing and leaning over to survey the mist-shrouded valley below. Between cotton-puff tufts of clouds, they caught intermittent glimpses of roofs and spires from the town.
“No, we live on the other side,” Roy said, pointing to the curve of the mountain they'd spent the last hour climbing.
“So what's the big deal?” Ed asked, fiddling with the binoculars as if trying to get a quarter to pop out. “You kidnapped us just to show us a mountain?”
Roy mussed up Ed's hair, now visible as his hood had fallen down. “It's not kidnapping if I'm your legal guardian.”
Ed swatted his hands away, grumbling and fixing his long bangs as he backed up out of Roy's reach. But Roy could tell, from long experience, that despite Ed's scowl, he actually enjoyed the banter. Just going through the motions, as always. But it was familiar, and Roy only had to glance at the angle of his shoulders and the set of his jaw to know he was comfortable.
With a fond smile, Roy stepped up beside Al, who leaned his elbows on the railing. The boys might still be a bit leery of cars, but they didn't seem to have any trouble with heights, at least. “My Aunt Chris used to bring me up here when I was your age, and even younger. Anytime there was something we needed to talk about, just the two of us, she'd bring me here early in the morning.”
Al grinned. “Aunt Ch-Christmas?” He'd come up with that nickname the first time she'd come over for dinner after he'd started talking again. She'd practically melted when she heard it. Kind of scary, actually.
“That's right. She'd bring me here, and we'd stand right here, waiting for the right moment.”
“The right moment for what?” Ed had meandered over to them, now standing on Al's other side and looking curious despite himself.
Roy checked his watch, then smiled and pointed to the gap between two peaks of the mountain ridge. “This.”
Just then, the rising sun cleared that gap, and sunlight poured into the valley. Golden rays shot through the green-grey hills, parting the mists and dousing the town below with pure gold. Down there, it would probably look like any other early spring sunrise. But from this vantage point, they could see every window glittering, every car glistening like gems sliding down the roads. All around them, every leaf, every branch became gilded, as if dipped in a bucket of golden paint. And it seemed that every bird in the forest opened their beaks in unison to greet the dawn.
Roy glanced over at the boys, suddenly self-conscious. He needn't have worried, though. Both of them stared into the valley with identical expressions of wonder, any pretense of boredom or nonchalance stripped away with the sheer beauty of the moment. A fresh breeze picked up, flipping Ed's braid over his shoulder, haloed in the same ray of sunlight that seemed to shine right through their golden eyes thrown wide open to drink up every drop of beauty.
They could be angels, standing there rimmed with light. But they weren't angels. They were his boys. His.
For a moment, something clamped so tightly around his chest that he could barely breathe.
Then the sun rose an inch higher, and the sunlight became ordinary again. Still beautiful, the breeze still invigorating, the smell of undergrowth and the sound of birdsong still speaking of new beginnings. But no longer magical.
Ed was the first to break the spell, looking up at him and frowning slightly when he met Roy's eyes. “So...there's something you need to talk about?”
Roy could only nod in response, then mutely walked over to his briefcase on the picnic table. Now that the moment had come, he couldn't seem to find any words. So he just pulled out two manila envelopes and handed one to each of them.
“Your mission, should you choose to accept,” Ed quipped in a low voice, but he trailed off when they opened the folders and began to read the documents inside.
Roy knew what they said. He'd stared at them himself until he had every inch of them memorized.
This is to certify that Edward Elric has been formally adopted into the Mustang family by Roy and Riza Mustang, granting herewith all rights and privileges as a member of the family.
This is to certify that Alphonse Elric has been formally adopted into the Mustang family by Roy and Riza Mustang, granting herewith all rights and privileges as a member of the family.
“Dad!” With a choked cry, Al flung himself into Roy's arms, squeezing him as tightly as he could.
Roy hugged him back, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Welcome home, kiddo,” he whispered.
He looked over Al's head at Ed, who was still staring down at the paper. Roy's heart twisted a little. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to surprise them. Maybe they should have simply sat down in a family meeting and discussed it together, like Riza had wanted to do. But no, he'd had to go the dramatic route....
Slowly, Ed closed the folder again and set it down on the table. He still didn't look up. “So...do I...call you 'Dad' now?”
“You can call me whatever you want,” he said quietly. “This is a document detailing our legal relationship, but...I can be whatever you want me to be.”
Ed nodded once, his long bangs hiding his face. “Guess you're...better than our old man, anyway.”
What a compliment. Roy shook his head with a fondly exasperated chuckle. He could hear Ed's emotions warring with his need to be strong, unaffected, always ready with another quip, never letting anyone see the slightest hint of vulnerability. But he didn't need to be strong anymore. That was Roy's job now.
“Come here, son.”
A sob broke free before Ed could clap his hand over his mouth. He finally looked up, his eyes brimming over with tears. Had he ever heard those words before, in such a softly coaxing tone? Roy didn't think he'd ever said it himself. Maybe he hadn't felt he had the right.
But now he did, and Ed didn't hesitate a moment longer. He surged forward, tripping over his prosthetic foot and falling into Roy's free arm, ready to catch him and hold him close.
He never wanted to let go.
