Geez, I can't believe how long it's been since I uploaded anything here... I'm really sorry I took such a long hiatus, but hopefully I'll stick around for a while now.

I'm just as in love with FMA as I was when I wrote my last story, and now I'm also in love with the game Fantasy Life so I started writing this. I hope it works out because this first chapter was a lot of fun for me to write.

I might have some OCs appear, but they really won't be too important to the story.

I guess I don't expect too many people to notice this story because, really, who would look for such a weird crossover? But I really hope that the few who actually read this will enjoy it.

The library; a place for peace and quiet and reading—The boy flinched as something exploded in another room. So much for peace and quiet—…and alchemy. It's a place full of books that remind us of the past, and help us imagine the future. They entertain us; they inspire us. Books are amazing.

The blonde-haired boy groaned as he said aloud, "But all the books in the world couldn't tell me what kind of Life to start." He sighed as he lay his head down on the table in front of him. "Thinking about how great libraries and books are isn't going to help me. I need to focus on choosing a Life for myself."

Fifteen year old Edward Elric sat up straight and once more studied the booklet he had picked up at the Guild Office. It listed all the different jobs, or as they were more commonly called, "Lives", one could get in Reveria and explained what kind of work had to be done for each one.

There were the artisan Lives: cook, tailor, alchemist, blacksmith, and carpenter. The harvesting Lives: miner, woodcutter, and angler. And finally, the fighting Lives: wizard, hunter, paladin, and mercenary.

Edward didn't have very much interest in living an artisan Life, because the thought of working in the same place day after day just didn't appeal to him, and the harvesting Lives meant traveling to collect resources for people to use, which sounded fun, but still not exciting enough for him. The fighting Lives, however, were sure to be exciting.

"That leaves me with four choices," he mused to himself. "Hmm, maybe…"

He stood up and took his booklet to the room where the explosion had come from and found his brother working on his alchemy skills as usual.

"Hey, Al, how do you think I would do as a hunter?"

Alphonse, the younger of the two Elric brothers, looked up. "A hunter? I don't know, Brother. I doubt that you'd have the patience for that kind of Life."

Ed, as the older boy preferred to be called, frowned. Even he had to admit patience was one thing he was lacking. "Why would I need patience for that job?"

"When you use a bow to fight, you can't just rush in to attack like with a dagger. You have to stand back and take aim."

"Really?" Ed carefully read the description of being a hunter and sure enough it mentioned fighting with bows and "safe-distance" combat. "How did you get so smart, Al?" The older Elric grumbled as he sat on a nearby stool.

Al chuckled a bit. "I have friends that tell me about their Lives. Maybe that's your problem, Brother. If you had friends to tell you about their Lives, maybe you could finally decide what you want to do."

"Hey, I have friends!"

"Not very many, though. You should get out more and meet people instead of sitting in here all day reading. It's no wonder you haven't started a Life yet; you don't get out enough."

Ed folded his arms across his chest. "'Getting out' has nothing to do with it."

"It has everything to do with it! If you just took a walk around town then you might see a job you want to try."

"I doubt it."

Alphonse sighed and resumed making his potion.

The brothers said nothing for a few minutes until finally Ed broke the silence.

"Al, why did you decide to become an alchemist? …is it because of Dad?"

The younger of the two paused in his work for a moment before he answered, "He might be part of the reason… But mostly I wanted to help people by making things, and being an alchemist seemed like a lot of fun." Al smiled a little. "It never fails to amaze me what I can make with things that are otherwise useless. I mean, I can mix some plants with water to make health-restoring potions."

"Help people, huh?" Ed had heard his brother's mini speech on how amazing alchemy was before, but this time rather than tuning it out, he listened. And he decided; he wanted to help people, too. He stood. "Thanks, Al; that really motivated me for some reason. I'm going to take a walk, so I'll you see at home."

"Glad I could help, Brother. And since you're going out, could you stop by the tailor's workshop? I placed an order for an artisan's apron and it should be ready to be picked up today."

"Yeah, sure, make me your errand boy since I don't have work to do. That's a fine way to treat your older brother."

Alphonse just turned to Ed and grinned innocently. "And pick up some dinner, too, please!"

"Tailors? They work in the Royal Castele Workshop, over there. Just go straight to the back."

"Thanks," Ed said, hurrying to where the woman had pointed. He had known the tailors worked somewhere in the Artisan's Market, but after he failed to figure out exactly where they were, he stopped to ask a shopkeeper for help. Now he was off in the right direction.

Ed had (obviously) never been to the Royal Castele Workshop, so he didn't know what to expect. He walked in and was surprised by what he saw.

On the right side of the building was the carpenter's work area, while on the left blacksmiths were pounding ore into weapons. That meant that this building was the hub for three different Lives.

"Wow," he said softly to himself, "this place is huge!"

He walked straight to the back of the building like the shopkeeper had told him to, and sure enough he was greeted by the sight of tailor's sewing and mending. The only problem now was that he didn't know which tailor he should talk to. He took a chance and walked up to a young brown-haired girl working on a Castele blouse.

"Um, excuse me, little girl?"

The girl looked up and smiled brightly. "Yes? How can I help you?"

"I'm here to pick up something for my brother. His name is Alphonse Elric and he placed an order for an artisan's apron."

"An artisan's apron? I'm just a novice, so I don't know how to make those. You can ask her, though." The girl pointed to a young woman with long dark hair working on a tuxedo on the other side of room. "She's new around here, but I've heard she's an expert, so an artisan's apron would be no problem for her."

"Okay, thanks." Ed went across the room to the dark-haired tailor, but instead of asking about the apron, he started watching her work.

There was a finished pair of formal slacks folded beside the woman, and the tuxedo on her lap was nearly done. Someone must have asked for a matching set of clothes for a formal event. Currently, she was sewing gold trim around the blue jacket.

Clothes like that seem like they'd be hard to make, but these look so good! I wonder if she really is an expert tailor…

"Are you just going to stand there and watch me all day?" the woman asked, not bothering to so much as glance up.

Ed was taken a bit back by the coolness in her voice "Oh, sorry. I couldn't help but notice how nice your work is. Are you really an expert tailor?"

"I am. Now what do you want?"

Not the friendliest person, are you? "That girl over there said you might have worked on some clothes for my brother. Do you have an artisan's apron for Alphonse Elric?"

"Elric?" she said softly to herself before shaking her head. "Yes, the apron's on the table over there." She waved towards the table, giving Ed the feeling she was in no hurry to put down her work so he should get it himself.

"Thanks. I guess." That last part he muttered under his breath so she wouldn't hear. He wondered for a moment why she seemed to question his last name before deciding it was nothing to worry about. There were probably a lot of people who would be familiar with his surname, given who his father was…

Ed easily found the apron and put it in his Inventory. He was going to leave the workshop right away, but decided to try making conversation with the tailor once more. Al had hinted that he should make more friends, and he could at least welcome her to the neighborhood.

"You're new around here, right? Where did you used to live?"

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to finish this."

"Right, I'm sorry. I was just trying to be friendly."

"I'm sure that's all you were doing." Her tone suggested she was rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Why can't you just take a hint that I want to be left alone?"

"I just–"

"As I thought," the tailor sighed, "you men are all the same."

"Men?" Ed raised an eyebrow. "Hey, calm down. I'm not even eighteen yet; I'm not quite a man in the way you're thinking of."

For the first time since Ed had gotten there, the woman looked up from the tuxedo she was sewing. Her eyes, which were an unusual purple color, widen with surprise. She blushed slightly.

"Oh! I…I'm so sorry! You don't sound that young; I thought you were…a little older."

"Hmph. Why don't you try looking at people when you talk to them?" It might have been rude to say as well as uncalled for, but Ed was annoyed by the tailor's own rudeness.

"I'm sorry," she said again, bowing her head. Ed thought she was going to start working again, but when she didn't move he realized she was just avoiding his glaring eyes. He sighed.

"Geez, don't worry about it. It's fine."

Ed decided it would be best to leave before things could get any weirder. He didn't realize until later that he never paid for the apron.

Later that evening, Ed was wearily walking to Alfredo's Bistro to get some dinner for both him and Alphonse. It was the best restaurant in town, and it was also where one of his closest friends worked. He was weary because, as Al had suggested, he had spent the rest of his afternoon going around town taking a moment here and there to watch other people work.

Unfortunately for him, the only Lives he got a good look into were the artisan ones. The ones he didn't want to work for. The only way to watch the action of a fighting Life would be to go out into the field were the monsters roamed, but it didn't seem wise to risk getting in someone's way just to watch them.

Opening the door, Ed went into the bistro and was greeted by Flapjack, who worked at the cash register.

"Hey, nice to see you! You're here a little later than usual."

Ed smiled tiredly. "Yeah, I was a bit busy this afternoon."

Flapjack put one elbow on the counter and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "Did you finally start working somewhere?"

"Not yet, but I looked around at some places today."

"Oh well, you'll find something soon. Anyway, even though it's Friday things have been pretty slow around here, so I'm sure you'll be welcome in the kitchen.

"Hey, I thought I was always welcome back there."

They both laughed a little as Ed went behind the counter to the kitchen.

He had spent more time the bistro's kitchen than in the dinning room where customers normally ate. He liked to hang out back there to talk with his friend and watch him cook, and Alfredo, the bistro owner and Master Cook, never minded as long as they weren't busy. It helped that Ed behaved himself and sat on a stool to avoid getting in someone's way.

"Guess who?" Ed called out playfully even though he knew guessing would be unnecessary.

"Hi, Ed," came the cheerful reply, accompanied by the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board in a careful rhythm. "The usual?"

"Yeah." Ed pulled up a stool to the side of the work counter opposite of where the cooks where working and sat down. He noticed his friend was staring intently at him, and his nose was twitching slightly like a dog picking up on the trail of something. But after three years Ed was used to this behavior.

An adept cook for nearly a month now, Gluttony wasn't exactly human, but the blonde teen didn't mind at all. Ed didn't know very much about where he came from, but he felt like he knew everything else by now, including the fact that the nonhuman had a sense of smell like a dog, if not better. The two had been friends ever since an incident three years ago had brought them together in an unusual way.

"Hmm? What's up?" Ed asked. "You seem more interested in my scent than usual.

"Sorry, I'm just surprised you smell like more than books today."

Ed sighed. "Give me a break…"

"You smell like you've been all over town," Gluttony went on as he continued preparing food. "What have you been doing today, Ed?"

"I've decided to finally be serious about starting a Life, so today I was checking out jobs around town."

"Oh, that's good!"

"I didn't find anything I want to do, though." Ed propped an elbow on an open space of the work counter and rested his chin on his palm. "But I guess it was nice to do something besides wait for Al to finish working."

"Speaking of which, how is Al?"

The teen smirked. "He's still working on becoming a Master Alchemist so he can travel the world and legally teach alchemy to other people. I don't know what I'm gonna do when he leaves, though. I'll have to live by myself."

"You should get a pet so you won't be lonely."

"A pet, huh? I'll think about it."

They both fell silent for the time being, so Ed watched his friend work. It made him smile to see Gluttony taking his job so seriously, because he usually wasn't a very serious person. Actually, most of the time he could be somewhat childish. But it was excusable because he was still young. In human years he was over a hundred years old, but to him that was only about ten years.

It's weird, Ed thought, it'll be about fifty more years before he's as mentally developed as I am now. And yet, just looking at him you wouldn't guess he's only ten in "nonhuman years". I wonder if his mind is aging slower than his body. It didn't bother me, but still… Strange.

"Hey…don't stare, Ed. It's creepy…"

"Sorry," Ed said, trying to suppress his amused laughter. He knew it wasn't nice to laugh at his friend for being made uncomfortable when he was stared at, but his reaction was rather amusing. Ed had to admit he found the way Gluttony fidgeted uneasily and blushed slightly a little cute. "I was just making sure you don't try to kill me again."

Gluttony blinked before understanding and laughed a bit. It was an inside joke between them that had been going on since after they first met.

"It's okay; you're safe for today."

"I noticed. Are you done yet?"

"Yep, here you go."

"Thanks." Ed reached over the counter and accepted the two parcels that held his and his brother's dinner. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out some Dosh which he laid on the counter in such a way that Gluttony would have to walk around to the other side to retrieve it.

"Ed…"

"You gotta earn it," Ed said teasingly. He did this once in a while when he was a joking mood.

"I just made your dinner; isn't that enough?"

"Nope!" Ed laughed as he stood up leave.

Gluttony tried to look annoyed, but it was clear he wasn't really mad.

"Are we still going to Mount Snowpeak tomorrow?"

"Huh? Yeah, why wouldn't we?"

Ed watched his friend fidget a bit nervously. "Um…I thought you might want to stay in town to continue looking for a job."

The teen grinned. "Nah, finding a Life can wait until after the weekend. I'd rather go see some snow for the first time. So I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright." Gluttony smiled. "Bye, Ed!"

After taking an uneventful walk home, Ed was sitting in the kitchen eating dinner with Al, who had been waiting for him to return. They had been eating in silence until Alphonse asked about his brother's afternoon.

"It was okay, I guess," Ed muttered around a mouthful of food. "I walked all over town but I still don't know what I want to do. I really want to have a Life fighting monsters, but it's hard to see that kind of action first hand…"

Al nodded. "I guess it must be. You wouldn't want to get in someone's way while they're fighting something. But you'll figure it out, Brother. I know you will!"

"Thanks, Al. Oh yeah, I almost about your artisan's apron." Ed pulled the apron out of his Inventory and gave it to his younger brother. "Are you going to wear it when you do alchemy?"

"Yes. Thanks for picking it up, Ed. How much was it? I'll pay you back."

"Pay?" Ed paled a little, realizing he hadn't paid for the apron. He moaned, "Oh no…"

Al looked worried. "Brother? What's wrong?"

"Gah, I didn't pay for the artisan's apron…"

"Edward! What do you mean you didn't pay for it?!"

"I got into a bit of a fight with the tailor because…it's a long story."

"You have to go back and pay the tailor, Ed!" Al said, starting to panic at the thought of his brother getting in trouble for stealing.

"I know, I know! I'll go right now and finish eating when I get back."

He hurried out the door and ran as fast as he could to the Royal Castele Workshop, his golden braid hitting his back the whole way. The few people that were out on the streets stopped to stare at the hurrying boy, but he paid them no mind.

Ed got to the workshop and, as he had earlier that afternoon, went straight to back of the building. He found the dark-haired tailor cleaning up her work area. She turned to him as he approached her.

"Oh, you came back. Good." The grin that spread on her face was almost evil. "Because you own me money."

"I'm…sorry…" Ed gasped as he tried to get his breath back. "We had that…weird conversation and it just…slipped my mind. How much…do I owe you?"

"Three hundred and fifty Dosh. That conversation must have been weird from your point of view, huh?"

"You want to explain what that was all about?" Ed asked as he fished the money out of his wallet.

"Let's just say…I've had really bad experiences with men in the past."

That didn't tell him very much, but Ed could see that she didn't really want to talk about it. He decided to let it go for now and gave her the money. Then they just stood there.

Now what? Should I just leave now? Should I say something first?

The tailor cleared her throat. "I should get back to cleaning up so I can go home."

"And I should go home and finish eating."

Ed turned to leave, but before he could, the tailor spoke again softly.

"I really am sorry about this afternoon, and I want you to know it wasn't your fault. I understand you were just being friendly."

"Don't worry about it anymore, alright? It's okay."

"…thank you."

Surprised, the teen spun around and saw the young woman smiling gently.

"F-for what?"

"For being so understanding. It…makes me feel happy."

"Oh. Well, uh…you're welcome then."

Ed could feel his face heating up as he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. He tried to leave again only to be stopped when he walked into another person leaving the blacksmith's work area.

"Watch where you're going, little boy," a deep male voice said sternly.

Edward quickly got over his embarrassment and started to rage inside. If there was one thing that really ticked him off (beside people making fun of his long hair), it was when someone called him tiny, little, or any other synonym of the word short. He wasn't short; everybody else was just too tall! Well, most everyone, anyway.

"Hey! Don't call me little, you bas–"

The man just laughed. "You rather feisty for such a shorty, aren't you?"

"Gah! Don't call me short, either! And why don't you watch where you're going?"

"My, my. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" His voice was scolding, but looking up Ed saw that his eyes were full of amusement. "I should have a word with them about your behavior, young man."

"My parents are dead," he muttered softly.

"Oh." The amusement was gone, no doubt replaced by guilt for making fun of the boy with no parents.

Serves you right, Ed thought.

"Ahem. Uh, what's your name, kid?"

"Don't call me kid, either! My name's Edward Elric."

"I see." The man saluted him. "My name is Roy Mustang. I'm a paladin."

Ed's eyes widen with shock. "Mustang?! You don't mean that you're the Master Paladin, do you?"

Roy laughed heartily. "No, I'm his son."

"Oh." Ed quickly relaxed. The Master Paladin, Sir Mustang was a highly respected person in Castele; it wouldn't have done to speak to him in such a tone. Not that it was really okay to speak the way he had to anybody else, of course.

Roy looked down at him, seemingly studying him. Ed wanted to go back home to finish his dinner, but the older man was blocking his way.

"What kind of Life do you have, Edward?"

"How is that any of your business?"

"Answer the question."

"I don't have one yet," Ed growled. He was annoyed with this man for thinking he could start asking question out of the blue.

"As I hoped." Roy smirked for a moment before looking serious. "We're in need of more paladins in Castele. You look like you just might make a decent one."

"Wha—? Are you…offering me a job?"

"No, I'm offering an invite to try out for training. My father, Sir Leroy Mustang, will decide if you're suitable for the job or not. If he finds that you are, then he will be the one to offer you a job."

"I don't know what to say; this is kind of sudden…"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you're not interested?"

"Don't be stupid!" Ed grinned. "Of course I'm interested! Where do I sign up for training?"

"Come to the castle to speak to my father."

"Okay, I'll do that! Thanks, you don't know what this means to me."

"Hmph, don't thank me yet." Roy turned and started walking out of the building. For the first time Ed noticed the shiny new sword he was carrying, shedding light on why he was there in the first place. The paladin stopped to looked back at the teen, the smirk having returned to his face. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pipsqueak."

"No, Monday," Ed called back. "I'm going to Mount Snowpeak with a friend this week—wait. What did you call me?!"

Roy had already left, most likely laughing, so Ed did the only thing he could and left as well.

He slowly forgot about his anger as he thought about his luck instead. If he became a paladin, he could fight monsters and have adventures while he worked. It was just what he wanted out of a Life. Sure, he would probably have to work with Roy a lot of the time, but he could deal him.

Suddenly his whole day seemed to have turned around for the better. He hurried home to share the news with Al.

And there's the first chapter of this unusual story.

I'm treating "Inventory" the same way I treat Hammer Space in my Mario fics; as a storage area that every person has just kind of floating in between space and time, and only the owner can access stuff in their Hammer Space (or in this case Inventory).

Because there's a cannon character in FL named Mustang, and I really wanted Roy in this, I made up a first name for Sir Mustang and made him Roy's father. (Fun fact: I really wanted to call him Waluigi, but went with Leroy instead.) I'll probably do the same for the Fantasy Life character named Hughes.

Also, you might be wondering why Lust is listed as a main character in this but yet no one mentioned her at all. Don't worry; she'll start being more important later.

~Dawn