"'m not a kid!" The ten year-old stomped her foot. Zira Mustang was a nightmare to behold, at least to Cecil. To him, she was his own personal Hell. Her dark hair was messy from playing out in the yard, but she tucked it behind her ear anyways without straightening it. "I wanna see what you're doing!"

Cecil, meanwhile, had alchemy books strewn about. He had been researching, to his mother's slight irritation (but mostly it was just amusement disguised as such). His aunt and uncle had already begun teaching him alkahestry the year before and he had become absolutely enthralled.

His argument as to why Zira couldn't come into his room had been based around the idea that the subject was too mature for her.

"I'm the same age as Elliot!" She pouted, arms crossed.

Elliot was his cousin and he was a nightmare, too.

"Your point, Z?" He rolled his eyes, shutting the leather bound volume he'd borrowed from his father's study. Obviously he wasn't getting any reading done today. Lord save him, why was he in charge of the brat today? His sister was the one being paid to babysit, wasn't she?

"I want to learn." She dropped into a seated position, eyes hard. "Teach me."

"No." Simple enough response.

"I'll tell my mom." She countered stubbornly. He tried to keep a straight face, but failed after only a moment's passing. Laughter erupted deep in his chest at the little girl's determined expression. As if telling Riza Mustang that the brother of the babysitter she'd hired wasn't teaching her daughter alchemy was a problem. The woman would have his head on a silver platter if he dared to teach her.

"Go ahead." He taunted. He knew messing with a kid five years his junior was childish, but he didn't really care. "Your mom will be angry with you for wanting to learn."

She huffed and stood up again. Her angry footsteps stomped across his bedroom floor to his desk where she swiped a piece of paper and a pencil before she sat back down in front of him.

"I already know things." She told him. "Like this." She does four triangles in slightly different positions and his eyes widened in surprise when she crossed lines through two and added squiggles to a third. She hastily, in poor penmanship, wrote their meanings beside them. The four elements.

His Adam's apple bobbed nervously and was that sweat already forming on his brow?

I am in so much trouble if she pins this on me.

"And dad has this little thing on the bottom of his glove." She continued, seemingly oblivious to her playmate's horror as she drew a tiny salamander. "But sometimes he has two extra legs, not when dad draws it, but sometimes."

"Oh." Was all that came out when he opened his mouth.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you going to teach me or not?" And suddenly she sounded five years older than him.

"I'm not a teacher." He choked.

"No…" She said thoughtfully with an expression wise beyond her years. "But I need someone to teach me and no adult is going to teach the President's daughter."

She wasn't wrong, at least.

"And what do I get in return?" He raised an eyebrow. If he was putting his life on the line, he'd better know why.

The ten-year-old grinned, hair falling messily back into her face.

"My friendship."

He laughed again, fell over in an appropriately playful manner when she shoved his shoulder in response.

"The saying is 'payback your debt in full, plus interest,' Zira." He shook his head. Equivalent exchange, plus one. "I don't think your solution measures up."

"You can keep charging interest until I pay you back, then." She opened the book he'd closed earlier and looked up at him with dark, pleading eyes. "Teach."

A/N -

Hey folks! This is just a little ficlet of a bunch of little things. There are some OC's to note, obviously.

Zira (originally it was Ziva, but I wound up changing it) Mae Mustang is the Royai baby.

Elliot Elric is the baby of Al x Mei and lives in Xing.

Cecil "C" Elric is EdWin's eldest

Bronwen "Winnie" Elric is EdWin's youngest.