Summary: When Roy Mustang got Edward Elric into the Military, he vowed that he would shield them and save them from retribution. Set mid series, Edwards's latest mission lands Mustang in hot water to receive punishment.

This was actually inspired by D.M. Evans line in her multi-chapter fic Sorrow's Dark Array where Roy says "Saved him from someone discovering what he and his brother did while shielding him from retribution." Chapter 15. So… this stemmed from that line lol.

Characters: Roy Mustang Centric

Shield

"You will take responsibility for Mr. Elric seeing as he is too young Colonel Mustang. I hope you can keep our newest star under control." Fuhrer Bradley said after the State Alchemist exam and handed over the paperwork for the Colonels newest subordinate.

"Of course your Excellency." Colonel Mustang replied smoothly, no indication of his real thoughts under the blank military mask. The man saluted before turning and leaving.

Oh how Roy hated that memory has he flicked his eyes back to the sheet in front of him. He groaned and let his face hit the desk in annoyance and put his hands over his head.

"Sir?" His Lieutenants inquiring voice reached his ears. He could already hear her hand moving over to her side arm.

"Fullmetal somehow burnt three stables to the ground, destroyed an aqueduct, and blew up two factories this time around." He grumbled and moved his head so his chin was just resting on his desk. "I have no idea how he does it."

"That is a problem, Sir. The paperwork won't get done if you sit there and groan." She replied smoothly as she come forward and deposited more paperwork.

He groaned once more before he sat up and started finishing up his paperwork. He could only hope that this time taking responsibility wouldn't be painful. Maybe they'd take it out of his funds?

It was a few days later when his hopes were violently crushed. It was a call from Hughes which alerted him.

"Colonel Mustang." He answered.

"Ah Roy, I have bad news." Hughes said on the phone, quietly and quickly. "I'm afraid this is strike three on the proverbial strikes. I'm so sorry. I'll keep the boys away from headquarters today and tomorrow."

Roy's stomach dropped and he sighed. It confirmed his suspicions that this punishment was bad.

"Thank you Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." He said and hung up. They would be there soon. He opened his drawer and stared at the painkillers that lay so innocently in there but he shut the door and stared at the door that stood between him and his subordinates. They certainly wouldn't be happy about the news.

Roy put the last piece of signed paper, thank the Gate the stack was done, and put his pen down. He stretched, arms going above his head to even stretch his fingers, and leaned back against his chair once he was done.

The things he was willing to do to shield the boys and keeping them on track to getting their bodies back. He already had to pay some out of his pockets, two private 'talks' which lead to digging pits and guard duty. General Gran thoroughly enjoyed back handing him once, but he talked his way out of that particular incident.

However, not one had warranted a call and a sorry from his best friend. He hummed as he thought about just what that meant, though it was probably something that would hurt.

Roy was torn out of his musings as the door slammed up and the Fuhrer came in followed by guards. He stood up and snapped a salute.

"Fuhrer Bradley, for what do I owe the honor?" He asked after Bradley gave him an 'At Ease'.

"Ah, Colonel unfortunately with The Fullmetal Alchemists latest assignment, it was bad enough that punishment must be delivered." The older man said and Roy held back a flush.

This was terribly bad news, especially now that Roy was fairly certain this man was a Homunculi who knew he knew.

The Fuhrer sighed and walked past Roy to look at the window.

"Seeing as Fullmetal is under your command and you have failed to rein the boy in, and you are directly under mine…" He trailed off and Roy tensed his jaw. "I will be handling your punishment today. Perhaps a bit of public flogging will motivate you to train the puppy a bit more efficiently."

Roy couldn't help the cringe that crossed his features before he got it under control. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. Gate have mercy on his soul. Flagellation happened often enough in the military of course, but it was never done by the Fuhrer unless a general messed up terribly. Even then, officers had a nice wide birth in order to avoid getting the whip, though it was done often enough. General Grumman in his youth had been subjected to it four times before he got too old and shipped off to the east.

Son of a bitch.

The Fuhrer turned and motioned for him to follow so he fell into step with the guards around his person.

He glanced at his Lieutenant, and the rest of his men but they were commanded to follow as well.

Oh it burned him more than he thought and he swore if Edward was there he wouldn't be able to get through this. This was more than just Edward's punishment, it was his for multiple reasons that he couldn't name.

He walked down the halls and they were silent, barren of any people. He bet it felt kind of like an execution walk, and boots clicked on the tile floor in a singular pattern. Not a single person out of step and Roy had the childish urge to misstep, but now was not the time.

They stopped at a pair of doors and his subordinates were commanded to step out into the courtyard.

Roy was directed through different doors about ten minutes later and he was blinded by light. His vision cleared and he saw that all the brass, his subordinates, all officers, and more soldiers were out.

His eyes landed on Hughes off to the side and they widened, but the look on his face was terrible, which let him know the Elric brothers were watching, but they wouldn't know why. He hoped.

Roy looked away but kept his head high. This wouldn't break him.

They got to the center near a wooden pole, and the soldiers around him turned at once and he brought his fingers to unclasp his jacket. His fingers shook slightly as the silence spread throughout the courtyard, though he didn't hesitate. One by one buttons were unclasped until he was able to take off his jacket, which he handed off to a soldier who took it and folded it, then worked on his white button down. It came off quicker than his jacket, and handed it over to the same guy who took his jacket.

He was walked over to the pole, and held his hands out which were tied together rather tightly. He shifted nervously and refused to look for any of his men, the Elrics included, and kept his eyes forward. The pull of the rope caught him momentarily off guard, but he did not stumble, but they tied it to the pole. It was a knot that wouldn't give him room to move or any sort of give. At least he wasn't hung by his wrists.

His knees were kicked out from under him which caused him to land painfully on his knees. He grunted but he was soon blindfolded making his heart race. It was a blessing and a curse, while he wouldn't have to see the soldiers; he would be able to hear the whistling of the whip before it hit his skin.

Cold realization ran down his spine as he noticed that the Bradley didn't tell him how many. He almost chuckled at the man's, homunculi, creativity. While the viewers knew how many lashes he was to receive, he did not. How clever, Roy mused.

Roy tried not to flinch when he felt a hand touch his back, and he heard Bradley's deep chuckle.

"Let this be a final warning Colonel Mustang. I would just hate to have to do this again. Now make sure you count loud enough for me to hear."

Roy didn't get a chance to react before he heard the whistling of the whip before it bit into his skin. It stole the very breath from his lungs that he wasn't about to even let out a grunt. His skin felt each of the leather cords, nine of course, deeply and he wondered if Bradley even really held back.

"One." He grunted out and then another flash of pain erupted from his back. Gate he was going to be lucky if he came out of this with only bruised ribs.

"Two." He grunted, tears formed in his eyes and the next came with little warning.

He was barely given enough time in between each lash from the Cat-O-Nine tails to breathe let alone count. His shoulders were not free from the onslaught alone with the occasional ones that would hit the top of his ass because it was too close. Collateral damage. By the time the twentieth hit came around he had mused if Bradley was enjoying this too much. Twenty lashes should not have him in that amount of pain, but he had managed to keep his groans of pain to the minimum. Perhaps that's why they were that forceful; not enough give.

Roy could feel the blood running down his back and pants, even down his chest from the wounds to his shoulders. He would need new pants after the punishment was over. He laughed silently at his thoughts. He must be crazy if he was thinking about having to go to the office and order more pants while he was receiving a punishment.

At the twenty fifth one of the ends caught his neck as the man had aimed too high, and with the force of the blow as strong as it was, it had enough momentum to wrap mostly around his throat and touched his jaw line on the other side. It was excruciating and beyond agonizing which caused him to actually cry out loudly in pain.

Roy choked on the yell and it was enough to break the dam in his eyes that caused his tears of pain to finally break free from underneath the cloth that held them captive. He sagged down after that one to try and get air in his lungs, but he wasn't so lucky that Bradley would give him a moment's reprieve. He just merely lowered his strikes to his lower and mid back.

But Roy stubbornly kept counting but it was getting progressively harder to stay conscious. His head fell forward and mumbled his numbers the best he could. He briefly wandered if he would have any skin left on his back when this was done.

He blurred in and out of consciousness through the rest, but he stubbornly kept to reality by the counting but he was quite delirious. He giggled out loud though at number forty five. It was loud enough that the soldiers closest to him heard as well as the Fuhrer.

"Is something funny, Mustang?" He asked and Roy giggled again.

"I don't have to do any more paperwork for the rest of the day~" He mumbled out, the pain in his throat severe enough to hurt to speak.

Bradley actually gave a little laugh. How amusing. It was certainly true enough, but Bradley hadn't expected those words out of his mouth.

"Forty-Five was the count given. Untie the Colonel and take him to the medic bay." Fuhrer Bradley said and glanced down at the now unconscious form on the man. The Soldiers cut him free and picked him up, one arm over a shoulder and carried the young man's body to the medic bay to be transferred to Central Hospital.

Roy woke up slowly and painfully aware that he was on his stomach, head tilted to the side to have easy breathing and needles in his arm though. He let out a pitiful moan and his eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry but he saw the blue of a uniform come towards him.

Hughes ran a hand through his hair and sighed as Roy groaned again.

"How bad is it?" He rasped out.

"Well, I would say he put far more force than necessary. Forty Five lashes and you'll be on your stomach for longer than a week. Before the blood loss, your back is in serious tatters, bruised ribs, bruised skin, your shoulders and a bit of your butt included, and high risk of infection." Maes ground out. "If you want me to be honest, you shouldn't look like this after forty five. You'll probably have to have PT after this to make sure your back heals properly."

Roy resisted the urge to roll over but groaned in discomfort.

"How is everyone else?"

Maes bit back a bark of laughter. Of course Roy would think about everyone else other than himself.

"Shocked, in fact everyone has been rather quiet about it you know. It wasn't clear on why you were receiving punishment, but it has everyone on edge. He made a particularly bad move today by doing so much damage to you. What's the phrase? Excessive force? Luckily due to his vagueness you haven't lost any reputation. Thankfully it helps you can toast them if they get out of line."

Roy hummed in acknowledgement and closed his eyes. He was so very tired.

"They boys are in shock. Everyone was quote unquote invited to watch. Thankfully they don't know why you were put through that, though Edward certainly showed anger for you. Perhaps he wants to defend your honor."

Roy snorted softly.

"Good, maybe they'll tone down their recklessness. Who damages a thousand year old aqueduct anyway? Gate knows what would happen if he found out that I was protecting the brat." He mumbled and tried to turn his head but moaned in pain, and moved it back to its original spot.

"Ah, I forgot about your neck. You'll certainly have be very careful. It was nasty. I'll let everyone know you have awoke, but go back to sleep." Maes said and leaned down and gave him a kiss on the temple before leaving the man so go back to sleep.

The next time Roy awoke, it was to quiet bickering and a hand running through his hair again, which he tried to nuzzle into but was unable to move much. A soft giggle alerted Roy that it was Gracia Hughes, as no one he knew had a softer giggle.

"Gracia." He mumbled as he forced his eyes to open.

"Hello Roy, you gave us quite the scare." She said kindly but kept her hand through his hair.

"Mmmm what do you mean? I just fell asleep." He mumbled out but managed to look at her. She frowned and patted his head before removing her hand, which resulted in a rather pathetic whine from him.

"You had a massive infection. You were extremely delirious and unconscious most of the time." She said seriously but turned her head off to the side. "Elicia darling, come here. Uncle Roy is awake."

The little girl quickly came into his sights and he smiled at her. What she said next threw Roy way off balance. "Seeing as you think of Little Big brother Ed and Big brother Al as sons, does that mean we get to be a bigger family?" She asked so innocently.

Roy felt his color rise, red flushing up his neck and he tried to cough but failed.

"Who told you that Elicia?" He sputtered out, eyes wide. That was a darling secret between him and Maes. How did she find out?

"You did silly!" She said and poked his nose and giggled.

Gate did he feel exhausted and the sound of metal moving on metal made him close his eyes, which only made him even more tired. He just woke up and he was feeling drained already. Fantastic.

"Is that why?"

Ah there was Edward's voice. Somehow he was expecting it to be a bit more angry, not quiet and unsure.

"Why what, Fullmetal?"

"Why you are laying in the hospital room scaring everyone to death. You're such a jerk."

Roy tried to laugh but it hurt too much. He moved his gaze from little eager Elicia to the golden gaze of Edward.

"You don't need to be burdened by punishments and reprimands. You have something far more important to do rather than worry about us." He said softly and then tried to shift into a better spot, but his back burned from the movement, so he settled back down.

"You are such an idiot Mustang." Edward said and stomped out of the room. Roy felt a bit wide eyed.

"Huh, wonder why he left." He mused and was rewarded with the soft laughter of Gracia and Elicia.

He sat straight back in his office chair with difficulty, but he had too much paperwork to do to really complain. Three stacks were piled high in his two week absence, and he seriously hated the Fuhrer for making him come back to the office. Stupid Homunculi.

"It was a punishment after all Colonel Mustang, be glad I gave you two weeks."

His staff had been wonderful as usual and created little to no problems, each working efficiently to get the office back to normal. Hawkeye gave him a disapproving frown when he walked stiffly through door, but she didn't say anything. Havoc had only smoked one cigarette for the first chunk of the day, leaving the room smelling much nicer, Breda collected bet money and gave it to him (which he hadn't realized he won), Falman worked on organizing his paperwork by importance which would save him hours, and Fuery had wonderfully gotten a homemade paste to help the healing on his back that pleasantly smelled like mint. Hawkeye was generous enough she didn't even threaten him with her gun.

Gates he loved his staff.

His arms didn't really want to move but luckily the pain pills he was on insured him that while it proved difficult to move; at least he wasn't in pain, at that particular moment anyway. He mumbled a few curses as he signed away and managed to get through half before he heard the stomping of one Edward Elric outside his door.

The boy barged in like the mini hurricane he was and stalked up to his desk. He slammed something down into the desk, turned around, and walked back out.

Roy felt a bit baffled but looked at it anyway. His eyebrow rose into his hairline as he read what it was.

Every cenz that he had paid out of pocket for everything that he covered without Edward knowing was paid back, but he flipped over the sheet to read more. It was a personal note to him and he barked out a delighted laugh before folding the paper to put it into his desk to be looked at again and again.

A/N: Yay done~ I enjoyed writing that piece. :D I hope you enjoyed, please let me know what you thought. Yeah once again sorry about UC I just… yeah I have no real excuse. Sorry.