At long last...Part 3!

I'll admit it; I don't have a license so I'm not 100% sure if what I wrote is accurate. With gas prices they way they are (almost $1.50 a litre? Forget that!) and the expenses for insurance and all that jazz? Give me public transport anyday!

Roy scowled as he walked down the halls of Central Command, knowing that the other officers were laughing at him...not exactly laughing directly in his face, but their eyes contained a restrained laughter that was waiting to come out.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Sir?" Riza asked, startling Roy from his scowling.

He shook his head. "Not really, but would you actually trust the others in helping Ed with practical driving before his test?"

"Well," Riza paused, thinking about the options. "There is Falman..."

"Who will definitely bore Ed to death with technical terms..." Roy interjected. "No, I should be the one to teach him anyway. He gave up a normal childhood to join the military because I put the insane thought in that little head of his." He sighed. "Helping him to get his driving license should help give him some form of normalcy that a teen should have."

"Good luck, Sir." Riza saluted. "Just don't frazzle Edward too much so that he doesn't crash your car."

Roy pulled out a set of keys from his jacket pocket. "That's why I'm taking Havoc's car."

Riza's jaw dropped, hearing what Roy was doing. Part of her wanted to laugh but couldn't, knowing that it could easily be her car that could be heading into death row right now...

As Roy finally reached the parking lot, he found Ed already there, leaning against a Stanley Steamer and reading a book. 'Typical, the kid always has his nose in an alchemy book.' What Roy was not expecting was a growling sound emitting from Ed towards (he supposed) a good-looking older teen, who tried approaching the young state alchemist just to end up running away. Reaching closer to Ed, Roy realised that the growling was actually from Black Hayate, sitting beside Ed. He patted the canine's head. 'Good dog...he's earned himself a t-bone tonight.' Black Hayate yipped, almost knowing he'll be rewarded later, and ran off to look for his master.

"You know, Colonel Bastard..." Ed said as he closed his book. "You really need to stop using Lieutenant Hawkeye's dog as a bodyguard for me. I can take care of myself." He glared at Roy. "Plus how am I supposed to have a social life if your lackeys continue to scare off everyone?"

"Social life is one thing..." Roy walked towards the passenger side of the car. "Keeping you safe from horny teenage boys is another." As Ed was about to argue that the Colonel was once a teenager himself, the teen stopped himself as Roy tossed a set of keys at him that he barely caught. "So why are you standing around for? You want driving practice or not?" Ed had a huge smile as he entered the vehicle, waiting for Roy to enter and start giving him pointers.

As both alchemists buckled in, Roy started to give Ed some advice. "First things first, Ed. You need to consider safe driving; meaning you need to check your car to make sure everything works properly."

"Like checking the rear-view mirror and side mirrors for incoming traffic." Ed stated as he checked the mirrors of the car. "And testing the turn signals and the different lights to make sure that they work..."

"...Right..." Roy was dumbfounded that Ed actually knew what he was doing. "You also need to check the windshield wipers, the air pressure of the tires, the brakes, the horn and the gas pedal. But you don't have to worry about that today since Havoc just had the car serviced." Ed simply nodded his head in understanding, keeping mental note of what he needed to check. "Well, that's basically what I can think of to tell you now, so how about some on-road pointers?" The young blond smiled at his superior officer/father figure as he started the car and slowly drove out of Central Commands property to enter the city streets.

Roy was pleasantly surprised by Ed's maturity and ability to follow his instructions while driving the streets of Central. The blond alchemist kept a safe distance from the other cars on the road, yielded to pedestrians to carelessly ran into traffic, managed to make smooth turns in crowded intersections and remained calm during a twenty-minute traffic jam. There was no doubt in Roy's mind that Ed was definitely ready to obtain his license, which made him somewhat glum knowing that this boy was growing up to become a responsible adult. As they returned to Central Command, Roy was surprised that Ed was able to perform the death-trap of all drivers; Ed was able to execute a perfect parallel parking job with the Stanley Steamer in a tight spot.

"Well?" Ed was nervous as he came out of the car and Roy came out as well to examine the parking more closely. "How did I do?"

Roy allowed a breath to escape, turning his attention from the car to Ed. "Ed..." he started. "If there's one thing I know for sure, you are ready for your license. Before Roy knew it, he heard an uncharacteristic squeal from Ed as the young alchemist ran over and hugged him. This caught the older alchemist off-guard, but he accepted the hug, delighted that Ed appreciated him.

The pseudo-familial moment was broken, however, by an obnoxious older male. "Yo!" the unknown male called out. "What's a washed-up Lothario like you doin' with a hot shorty blonde like that?"

"Washed up?" Roy scorned.

"Shorty?" Ed steamed.

It did not take the state alchemists long to demonstrate the power they had; Ed transforming his automail arm into a blade and Roy slipping on his ignition-cloth glove to send a fire spark that barely missed its target, making the unwelcomed male run for his life. Roy Mustang and Edward Elric may not be related by blood, but they unquestionably share the same temperament when insulted.

Well, this is the end for Learner's Permit. Hopefully you all enjoyed this little story!