The Military Drabbles

Guns / Schieska
Nobody knew it except Hawkeye. She worked with Schieska patiently after hours, showing her how to load the gun, how to aim and how to clean the weapon.
The bookworm girl was afraid of guns, she twitched with every shot. But she was determined to learn, how to defend herself. She was in the military now, since lieutenant colonel Hughes hired her to restore the destroyed records.
Schieska worshipped the man and wanted to be a little like him; and Hughes was a good fighter. But she wasn’t as dexterous and fast as him.
So the girl befriended with guns.


Candy / Roy Mustang
Roy had a secret.
Okay, he had more, but this one was special. If anybody found out, he would have been embarrassed.  
Deep in his desk’s drawer, there was a box, filled with candy. Simple fruit-flavored hard candy, the type you can get in any candy store. But Mustang loved it. He always had a soft spot for sweets, may it be cakes, cookies or anything else. He explained this with his nature – he was fire after all and fire needs to be fed.
He only took the box out, when he was alone. A tough soldier can’t have any weaknesses.


Silk / Cain Fury
Off duty tonight. Fury pulled out his civilian clothes and began to dress up, whistling a merry little tune quietly.
He planned to go to his favorite tea-shop, where the lights are low, soft music plays and the girls are just as shy as him. And that’s a great place to read too.
Such a special place requires a special outfit and Fury smiled as he pulled on the blue silk shirt. He loved how it caressed his skin, so softly, so delicately.
It is a cheap excuse of a real girlfriend but until he finds one, silk will do.


Tea / Heymans Breda
It’s either tea of beer for him.
Breda drinks a lot of tea and when asked why, he says “I like it and I need the caffeine. Coffee tastes ugly.”
In a bar, he’s the first to order and it’s always beer and surprisingly enough only one mug during the evening. The others don’t seem to notice though.
Breda has about ten bottles of whiskey and wine in this room, all untouched. Sometimes, he gives them away as a gift with a bad conscience – he got them as a gift too.
But weak alcohol tolerance is not something to joke about.

Paperwork / Alex Louis Armstrong
A lot of things were passed down in the Armstrong family since generations; great things, like alchemy, artistic skills and strength which was used to serve the weak.
Alex Louis Armstrong was proud to possess all of those things. He used them like all of his ancestors; for a noble purpose.
But as he was sitting behind his desk and was staring at a blank sheet of paper, he remembered with a bleeding heart, that some embarrassing things were passed down in his family as well.
The terrible spelling abilities, for example.
Armstrong sighed and began to write his report.


Hostage / Danny Brosh
He was six, when that robbery took place.
Danny was going home from school, when he heard the shots. He got scared, especially, when he spotted that masked guy running straight towards him. Danny just stood there, unable to move. The robber picked him up with ease and pressed his gun against the boy’s temple.
“Back off or the brat gets it!”
A loud bang, and the grip loosened; the boy fell on the ground. When he looked up, he saw a soldier’s concerned face.
“You all right?”
From that day, he wanted to be a soldier too.


Train station / John Havoc
Stations. He liked them and he hated them.
Havoc stood on the platform, watching the soldiers to get up on the train; some saying farewell to their families. Havoc knew, some of them won’t return.
The sound of the engines and the adventure waiting for him set his blood on fire. He didn’t become a field officer for nothing; he loved action. He liked stations because they meant traveling, new places and new experiments.
But for the military, it often meant another battle and that’s why Havoc hated stations.
Like equivalent trade: they gave joy and they took people away.


Blood / Maes Hughes
Sometimes, it frightened him.
He hasn’t seen much action; he was in the Investigation Department and he rarely used his weapons.
Why not guns? Maes knew the answer but he always lied when somebody asked him this particular question. The truth made him feel a little uneasy.
He liked blood. He liked its brilliant color, the heavy smell – until there wasn’t too much of it. He didn’t like massacre, of course. Hughes was a kind, gentle guy – with a small twist, that is.
Nobody knew this, not even Gracia. And sometimes, Maes prayed, that nobody ever will get to know his secret.


Glasses / Watteau Farman
Once, some stupid guy teased Fury about his glasses. Farman was there and he got angry by the childish behavior of that soldier. He was about to protect Fury; but the sergeant major just smiled and told the rude soldier “When I’ll grow old, I wouldn’t need my glasses anymore because my vision will even up; but when you’ll grow old, you’ll be as blind without them as bat at noon.”
And he smiled, while the other soldier blushed with anger.
Farman smiled too; he liked how quick-witted Fury was but his chest tightened a little.
He’ll need glasses soon.


Birthday / Maria Ross
She hates her birthdays.
Yeah, yeah, she gets older but that’s not the main reason. It’s an old grudge; once, she got a very stupid gift for her birthday, the kind you can’t forgive so easily.
She was twenty and a corporal; the Ishbal War raged on the Southeast and Steven, her fiancé was supposed to come back from the front for Maria’s birthday.
Instead of him, she received a regretful look from his sergeant on the train station. And ever since then, when it’s her birthday, Maria sits down with a bottle in the evening and tries to forget.


Loyalty / Frank Archer
Loyalty is an important thing. The whole military is based on that – you have to be loyal to your superiors, to the Fuhrer, to the country. It’s so important that most soldiers think, it’s in their blood now.
Frank Archer thinks about it a lot. He’s been always a good soldier, a very loyal one – that’s how he managed to climb this high. His unconditional loyalty got him the promotion to Colonel too.
He’s trustworthy. The Fuhrer counts on him. Archer’s loyal to him, to the country and his superiors.
But most of all, he’s loyal to his own carefully concealed ideals.


Whiskey / Riza Hawkeye
Riza kicked off her boots, shed down her uniform and let her hair down. With only a loose shirt covering her body, he sat down and turned the small radio on.
Sometimes, it’s hard to behave all professional, cold and strict. Even though these things are in her nature, Riza is still a woman. She likes a hot bath in the evening, likes the scent of roses and she uses to dream about the gentle touch of some faceless man.
There’s a glass of whiskey with lots of ice on the table. Sometimes it feels nice to just let go.