Edward had been woken up by Roy Mustang, the elder and higher ranked officer had been shaking the young blonde for a good five minutes being careful not to disturb the baby nestled safely in the young boy's arms.
"Ed... Edward... Fullmetal," Roy called out as he shook him.
"Come on pipsqueak wake up," the Colonel smirks.
In an instant the young alchemist's eyes open and he glares daggers at Mustang.
"So help me Mustang if I didn't have a child with me right now you would be in a lot of pain," Ed hisses carefully sitting up while manoeuvring the baby girl into a more comfortable position while making sure not to wake her.
"Brother! That's not very nice," Al exclaims from behind Roy who was still crouched down next to Ed who now sat up on the couch.
"What's the time? Has everyone else gone home?" Ed asks through a yawn.
"Yes they all left forty-five minutes ago, it's seven forty-five," Mustang explains. "We can make a quick stop by the dormitory where you boys were staying to pick up some stuff but only a few bare essentials like a change of clothes and your toothbrush, everything else will have to wait till tomorrow," he adds standing up and retrieving his coat from off the back of his desk chair.
"Ok, sounds good to me," Ed mumbles with another yawn. He cradles the baby still gently rocking her.
"Hey, Mustang?" He calls out while slowly and carefully moving to slip his boots back on.
"Yes, Ed?" Roy replies looking over his shoulder to the young boy.
"Would it be wrong of me... to give her a name? We don't know what hers is and we don't know how long it will take to find her parents... or if they even gave her a name... but it feels wrong to just refer to her as her" Edward says softly. Mustang raises an eyebrow and glances to the child in Edward's arms.
"I think you should hold off just a little longer if we still have no leads as to where her parents might be after tomorrow, maybe even a little longer. then I think it would be appropriate to give her a name, even if it is only temporary," Roy says with a soft smile as he walks to the door, picking up Edward's still slightly damp clothing and the blanket and tattered nightgown which the baby girl had been wearing. He places them into a cloth bag and turns to the Elric brothers.
"Al could you grab her bottle and rabbit toy. Then we can leave," Roy says softly. Alphonse nods moving with a slight metallic clang as he retrieves the items and joins mustang at the door. Edward slowly stands and tiredly rubs his eyes while shuffling to join them, his feet dragging along the floors as his untied boot laces make soft Thuds against the floor and the leather of his boots.
"Ed tie your laces, I wouldn't want you to trip and harm the baby," Roy instructs reaching out and taking the child from the sleepy state alchemist balancing her in one arm while slinging the bag of Damp clothing over his shoulder with the other arm.
Ed gets down on his knee and ties his boots before immediately taking the child back. A small glare aimed in Roy's direction told both Mustang and Alphonse that Edward was serious about looking after and being responsible for this child.
"Ok let's go, Mustang we are going to have to stop at the market on the way and pick up some diapers and clothing for her as well," Ed demands.
The three of them walk through the now eerily silent halls of central headquarters. Ed glancing around while staying two steps behind mustang and Alphonse who casually talked about something which Edward paid no mind to.
"I uh... I don't have any money at the moment..." he suddenly says as he realizes he spent the last of it buying 'gifts' for Winry.
"What do you mean you don't have any money!?" Mustang asks with a tone of confusion.
"Winry," was Ed's only reply as Mustang pushed the doors open the cool afternoon air sending a slight chill through Edward who pulled his coat tighter around himself and made sure the blanket was securely wrapped around the baby.
"This way Fullmetal," Mustang sighs leading the brothers to the car park off to the side of central. Pulling keys out of his pockets to a nice looking black car. Ed didn't know much about cars but he knew enough to know that this one which mustang owned was a nice Car.
Roy unlocked the car and opened the driver's side door getting in behind the wheel. Alphonse got in the back seat and Ed hesitantly moved to the passenger side opening the door and awkwardly manoeuvring to sit down in the seat beside Roy while not disrupting the child who miraculously still slept in his arms, soft snores escaping her every now and then.
"Mustang thanks, again, for letting me keep her," Edward mutters as he clicks his seatbelt on.
"It's really not a problem Edward, I know what those orphanages are like and you can never be sure what foster families are like behind closed doors, It may not have seemed like it but I am glad you are so enthused to take care of her, now we know she is in good hands," Roy says while starting the car with a soft purr of the engine.
~~~~~~
Not too long after getting in Mustangs surprisingly warm car, they pull up to the dormitories where Ed and Al had always stayed while in central. Ed turns around in his seat and carefully hands Alphonse the small Child.
"Hear Al, you wait here with Mustang, I won't be too long I promise," he says clicking off his seatbelt and leaping out of the car running up to their dorm. He unlocks the door and pulls out his trunk throwing his very few clothes in and his toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush and shampoo into a separate bag and then put that bag into the trunk. He picks up Alphonse's favourite alchemy book and then put it in the trunk closing it and leaving the dorm locking the door behind him.
Running back down the stairs and out the door he runs up to Mustang who stood by the boot of the car waiting for him.
Roy grabbed the trunk out of Ed's hands and placed it in the back of the car while Edward got back into the car doing his seat belt back up and turning to Alphonse who sat even more still than usual as he stared down at the baby in his arms.
"Lighten up Al, you're doing great with her," Ed chuckles leaning towards his younger brother to take the baby back into his arms.
As he does so she stirs and wakes with a small yawn.
"Hey there you, did you sleep well? One more stop and then we will be at Mustangs house," he says softly. "That's where we will be staying, with the Colonel Roy Mustang," he says as Mustang gets into the driver's seat. Roy glances at Edward as he whispers softly to the little baby girl.
Starting the car he drives to the central market. A large building in the east of central which housed all of the market stalls.
After the quick twenty minute drive there and Roy parked. As they were Sitting in the car for another minute none of them talking but the little baby who made gurgling noises as she played with a strand of Edward's golden hair which she had pulled loose earlier.
"You have a budget of 41,000 cenz, that's all I have on me right now, don't worry about paying me back I'll put it on your research funds," Mustang finally speaks out.
Ed awkwardly nods face scrunching up at his mistake of nodding while the baby still tightly held his hair.
"Ok, we only need the bare essentials at the moment, a cot, some food for her, clothing and a book," Ed says quietly while easing his hair out of the child's tight grip.
"Let go now, please, come on you, gotta give me my hair back now," he softly coos.
"There should be enough. If you need to get more then we can come back tomorrow after you finish taking to Hughes," Roy mutters.
They get out of the car and after Roy locks it, they start to walk towards the market. Edward grins lovingly down at the child while cooing at her as he walks, Alphonse walks beside him observing his brother and the child's interactions. Roy stayed slightly further back content with just watching as the young blonde boy cared for the child.
The first thing they walk towards was the clothing.
Racks of small baby clothes were now surrounding them as they earned some odd glances and stares from other people who had decided to do some late night shopping.
"What do you think of this one Colonel?" Edward asks holding up a light blue dress and a red coat.
"I'm sure she will look adorable in that," Roy replies with a strained strain smile as he glances behind Ed to the man who gave him a dirty look almost as though he thought it was Edward's actual child and that it was Roy's fault the boy had her. Which he supposed was half true. Roy had been the one to allow him to keep the child.
"Oh this one is nice, you would be able to rival Elicia in cuteness with this," Ed coos while holding up a small black dress with short ruffled sleeves and a small hood, intricate pink roses had been hand embroidered onto the bottom edge of it. Ed turned to Mustang with a smile and pointing past him,
"I think that should be enough clothing, for now, we should look at getting her some food next," he chimes his eyes twinkling with joy.
Another person gives Roy and the younger alchemist in front of him a strange look and Roy yet again tries to brush it off and gives Edward a forced smile.
"Ok then," he agrees. Ed turns to Alphonse who had the clothing which Ed had selected piled in his arms.
"Let's go, Al! What should we get her? I'm not sure what she can eat at this age but I don't want to only be giving her milk, milk is disgusting anyway," Edward exclaims as he walks to the food area with a spring in his step.
"I can't remember the last time I saw brother this happy, Colonel," Alphonse says as they walk.
"It is a rather nice change to his usually moody attitude," Roy smirks with a chuckle.
Once they get to the baby food Isle they find Edward holding the baby so she could see the shelves and he was pointing at all the different Jars and contains while saying what they were out loud.
"What about this one, look that's vanilla flavoured, does that sound nice? Or what about chocolate? Can baby's eat chocolate flavoured things? I suppose we should think about something like that one too, oh look that one has potatoes in it..." Ed mumbles to the child while scanning the shelf. As he is doing this a young woman walks up and grabs one of them off the shelf with a smile.
"Try this one, my little girl loved it," she says offering it to Ed.
"Oh, thank you!" He grins accepting the jar labelled apple and cinnamon.
"No problem, she is very cute, what's her name?" The woman asks while waving at the baby, Edward smiles sadly and rocks her slightly.
"I uh... I don't actually know yet, I'm just looking after her while we're looking for her parents," he explains.
"Oh well best of luck, you're doing a great job," she says with a laugh.
"Thank you," he grins.
"Brother, you should still look get her some milk, it's important if you want her to be healthy and besides it wouldn't be fair to not let her have it just because you don't like it," Al exclaims as he walks up to his brother. Ed frowns slightly before letting out a sigh.
"Fine, we'll get milk," he grumbles. "Hey Colonel, could you grab a few more of these, I'm not sure which other ones to get," Ed asks as Mustang joins them.
"Sure, Maes mentioned a few that Elicia liked, you go on ahead get whatever else you need I'll meet up with you at the furniture section." He says with another strained smile, Noting that this woman was probably the first person to look at Edward with a sense of pride rather than disgust. As Ed and Al disappear around the corner he gives the woman a genuine smile.
"Thank you, you are the first person I've seen since we walked in hear to treat him with respect, almost everyone else has just stared in disgust or disapproval, it is refreshing to know not everyone is utterly ignorant," he says while collecting a few different jars from the shelves.
"At first I thought the child was his and I know what it is like first hand to have to deal with the reality of being a parent at that age. I had my first daughter when I was seventeen, to an abusive man who I despised, my baby died of a sudden disease not long after she was born but I remember coming to hear much like he has to get her all that I could afford to give, I know the looks, the comments, and because of that I have sympathy for people like him who also get the same looks," she explains with a sad smile.
"I'm sorry to hear about your child, I hope you have found happiness," Roy says
"Oh I most definitely have, it's been a few years now since I meet the most wonderful man, and now we have a wonderful family, that's why I'm here actually to pick up a birthday gift for my little boy, I guess I best be on my way, I wish you and the young boy the best," she says bowing in farewell.
"You too, thank you again for your kindness and your help," Mustang smiles before walking away.

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