Title: Paternal Hypergraphia
Author: jordannamorgan
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Characters: The Elrics and the Hughes family.
Setting: General.
Rating: G.
Length: 399 words.
Summary: Ed is introduced to one library he would rather not revisit.



Really, it was inevitable that Maes Hughes caught onto the fad of baby diaries.

When pressed by the pushy father, Edward agreed to look at the chronicle of Elicia’s young life just to placate him. He assumed it would only mean going as far as the Major’s office… but it turned out to involve being dragged to the Hughes home instead.

“I’m surprised, Major,” Ed remarked with faint impatience, as Hughes was unlocking the front door. “As crazy about Elicia as you are, I figured you’d always have her baby diary on you, to show it off at work.”

Hughes didn’t answer. He was too busy gushing over the tutu-clad toddler who ran squealing to meet him when the door opened. However, Alphonse shifted uneasily at Ed’s side, armor rattling.

“Uh, Brother, I think you might have misheard him. Didn’t he say diaries, plural?”

Ed promptly got a sinking feeling; and fifteen minutes later, the foreboding was justified. Toting Elicia in one arm, Hughes led the boys to a small room of the house that they’d never been in before.

All four walls of this room were lined with bookshelves, and those shelves were crammed with dozens—hundreds—of thick volumes. The covers were an array of pinks and pastels, decorated with flowers and ribbons. Many of them were glittery.

“Crap,” Ed groaned, staring in horror at Hughes’ library of paternal obsession. “Don’t tell me all of these are—!”

“Oh, no. Most of them are our photo albums! We can get into those more later—but these are her baby diaries.” Grinning proudly, Hughes gestured to one entire floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

“…You do know a baby diary is supposed to be for documenting a child’s important events, right, Hughes?”

“Well, of course.” Hughes beamed. “Every second of my precious little girl’s life is important!”

The young alchemist knew better than to argue. “Yeah… How old is she again?”

“Two years, seven months, and eleven days!”

Ed’s wince was echoed by the clunk of Al’s armor sagging, as they both realized the same thing: it was going to be a very long evening.

Then Ed discovered Hughes’ wife Gracia had slipped into the room behind them, as he heard her apologetic whisper over his shoulder: “If it’s any consolation, Ed, I’ll make your favorite dinner tonight.”

That thought was the one thing that got him through the next five hours.

---

2018 Jordanna Morgan