Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

A/N: A random one-shot my brain pooped out. This is my attempt - yes, attempt - at angst. Can it even be considered slight angst? Gah. I hope the characters are in, well, character.

Warnings: Language

Ignorance Breeds Fools
- Lainella Fay

The Colonel wants to see you. Immediately.

.~.

Edward Elric stomped along the hallways of Central Headquarters, towards the office where Colonel Mustang's unit, and the Colonel himself, would reside. Tired, cranky, and aching from the uncomfortable train seats, the State Alchemist grumbled curses under his breath, wondering what was so important that the Colonel couldn't wait till the next day—hell, even a half hour's rest would be greatly appreciated—to tell him. Al quietly trailed behind his brother, a seven foot tall suit of armour no fourteen year old should be tall enough for, as he carried Ed's suitcase for him; the older boy having forgotten about after receiving the urgent message from Second Lieutenant Havoc.

Slamming the wide doors of the inner office open; Al stayed behind to chat with the rest of Mustang's unit in the outer office; Ed marched in to send the Colonel a death glare—or he would have, if the Colonel was sitting on the chair with his know-it-all smirk and elbows on the desk, head in his palms, like he always did during Ed's previous arrivals. Unfortunately for Ed, his death glare went unnoticed by the Colonel, who was standing towards the left of his chair, hands clasped behind his back, eyes looking out of the window behind the desk.

"What d'ya want?" Ed more or less growled out.

To his surprise, the Colonel didn't grace him with any short jabs, smirks or—well, anything the Colonel normally did when Ed entered his office—but simply answered in a tone Ed rarely heard—one which was never directed towards him, ever—a tone so distant, commanding, and…scary. "Turn in your watch, Fullmetal."

No warning, no explanations. Just an order which stunned Ed motionless. What was the Colonel saying? No, this can't be right. The Colonel would never order Ed to do such a thing, not when he knew how much the watch meant to Ed, meant to Ed and Al.

"W-what?"

"I do not wish to repeat myself, Fullmetal. Turn in your watch."

"Are you out of your mind!" Ed lashed out at the Colonel, the silver chain dangled beside black leather pants. "You can't make me do that!"

"Yes." The Colonel twisted his body around, dark eyes bore into Ed's own golden orbs; Ed had never felt so frightened by the Colonel's gaze. "Yes, I can, Fullmetal."

"No!" Edward kept his ground, his fists tightly clenched and his nails would have drew blood if it weren't for his white gloves. "I need this! You know that!"

"You will do as I say, Major." The Colonel's eyes narrowed. "It's an order."

Ed shook in fury. How could he give up the watch, his identity as a State Alchemist, when it was all he had, his only hope to get his brother's body back? But there was something about the Colonel's gaze, the unreadable look in the older man's eyes—Ed was never an expert at reading others, especially the Colonel, hell, Ed didn't think that there would be anyone in all of Amestris who could read the Colonel; the mask the older alchemist wore was unbreakable and opaque—that made Ed feel uneasy. More than uneasy. It felt as if there was going to be a wave of destruction heading towards him at any moment and it made Ed feel…terrified.

"You have five minutes to leave your watch on my desk."

Ed's hand reached into his pocket, and fingers curled around the silver weight tucked in it. He won't. He can't. Ed glared defiantly at the Colonel; a man he respected, but at that very moment, loathed. He needed this.

"Two minutes remaining, Fullmetal."

Edward shook his head. The Colonel's eyes narrowed even further; Ed didn't know that it was possible to. His eyes were locked onto Ed's own, and Ed tried to hide the shudder coursing through his body, starting from the toe up.

"One minute."

Ed still refused to budge, even as sweat formed on his forehead and one bead dripped down his cheek. He waited as seconds ticked, three…two…one.

The Colonel stepped around the desk and sighed in resignation. "Failure to obey an order. I'm disappointed, Fullmetal. I have thought that you were brighter than this. As a civilian alchemist, you would still be able to research for the Philosopher's Stone, but now…" The Colonel was now merely a few centimetres away from Ed, and was looking down at him in a condescending manner. "…all possibilities are removed seeing as you will be put behind bars for disobeying a direct order. I'm sure you've heard of the term, 'court-martial', Fullmetal?"

Ed swallowed; the one and only notion of the fear that he felt. Instead, he let anger take over and Ed yanked the silver pocket watch out of his pocket, the clip of the chain was unclipped from his belt in the swift and forceful motion. Edward spat out, "Fuck you," as he threw the watch down at the Colonel's boots, where it bounced once on the carpeted floor before laying still, the symbol of the Amestrian Military facing up.

He spun on his heels and kicked the door down with his exit. Shocked faces greeted him in the outer office but Ed paid them no mind, eyes only flicking over to the suit of armour standing beside one First Lieutenant Hawkeye.

"Al, we're leaving."

.~.

Lieutenant Hawkeye stepped over the broken door and entered the inner office, where she saw her commanding officer, Colonel Roy Mustang clutching a silver pocket watch in his hand—more specifically, Fullmetal's silver pocket watch.

"Sir?"

"Speak your mind, Lieutenant."

"You didn't tell Edward about the conflict over at the Drachma borders."

The Colonel turned his back towards the Lieutenant, taking a few steps forwards so that he was standing right in front of his desk. He placed the silver watch down onto the hard wood and shook his head. Lifting up his head, facing out the window, he replied, "No. He doesn't need to know."

"But—"

"No, Lieutenant," the Colonel's voice was firm, "he wouldn't leave if he knew. The top brass are considering sending State Alchemists out there depending on the situation; I hear it's getting worse by the minute. Fullmetal doesn't belong on the battlefield."

"You're protecting him," Hawkeye declared in realization. "But, sir, the Fuhrer and Generals are expecting the Fullmetal Alchemist to be under your command. Him leaving at this point in time will affect—"

"Fullmetal doesn't belong on the battlefield," the Colonel repeated, interrupting Hawkeye mid-sentence, "he doesn't have to see what we saw." At Ishval.

Even though the two words went unspoken, the Lieutenant heard it clear as day. Scenes from the Ishval Civil War never left their minds, not hers, not the Colonel's. "I understand, sir." With a salute, she left the Colonel alone.

Mustang glanced up at approaching gray, storm clouds and he spoke to no one but the air, "I hope you succeed, Fullmetal." I will protect you, to ensure that you don't experience what I went through, the battlefield's not a place for you, Fullmetal. It doesn't matter if you hate me, if that's what it takes to keep you away, I'll shoulder it, I'll take the blame. "Please stay safe, Edward."

.~.

"Colonel Roy Mustang, your unit is to head over to the frontlines as soon as possible."

"Yes sir!"

I'm glad you're not here for this, Fullmetal…no, Edward…I wonder where you are now. Have you fulfilled your goal?

.~.

"Brother," Al gasped as he stared at the front pages of the Central Amestimes.

"Hm?" Edward answered, scooping down yet another bowl of rice down his gullet, eyes darting about the pages lying on the table top.

"…look at this."

The tone of Al's words forced Ed to look up from his alchemy notes, furrowing his eyebrows at his brother. He plucked the newspaper from Al's rattling metal hands—that made Ed raise his eyebrows in surprise—and took a look at what made Al so anxious.

War breaks out on the Drachma borders. State Alchemists sent out to resolve the situation.

Ed jumped out of his seat as he skimmed over the next few lines; his trembling hands proved it impossible to hold the newspaper still and he laid it flat on the desk, ignoring the few sheets of alchemy notes that fluttered down onto the ground.

—Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, famed Hero of Ishval is also said to be out on the frontlines—

Frontlines.

Frontlines.

The Colonel, Hawkeye, everyone, were out on the frontlines.

They could be dead and he wouldn't even know. He didn't even know what was happening in his country.

"No," Ed croaked, "no, no, no, no, no."

"Brother…do you think…?"

Ed felt bile rise up his throat and slammed a palm over his mouth. The Colonel's strange behaviour, those piercing dark eyes, the order—the order. How could he have been so blind? Why didn't the Colonel tell him? Ed wanted to yell at him, but the man wasn't there.

He wasn't there.

Once he was sure that his lunch wouldn't come out the same way it went in, Ed removed his hand and slammed a fist down onto the table. He felt horrible, no, he felt much worse than that. There were no words to describe how he was feeling.

"Al…" he quietly said, his golden bangs fell forwards, shielding his eyes, "I'm an idiot."

"Brother?"

The Colonel's an idiot.

"We're all idiots."