It had started as a normal, slow summer day. No one had the energy to make a fuss over anything, not even the Fullmetal Alchemist, who was known for never being able to sit still. He had had a debriefing meeting with the Colonel earlier that day, and rather than snap when Mustang teased him, he let out a half-hearted glare, molten gold eyes managing to send a slight chill down the spines of those present.
Then the meeting was over, and Ed went back to the dorms to enjoy his day off before his week long mission started the next day, while the rest of the group headed to the mess hall for an early lunch. On the way back, Breda had noticed a paper lying on the floor, and, worried that it might be important information, he picked it up. He was surprised to see that it was not some forgotten document, but a picture of a young boy who looked vaguely familiar. Assuming that it was the child of another soldier, he didn't think too much of the sandy blond hair or the gold-hazel eyes staring at him from the smiling picture of the boy.
Breda did, however, feel concerned that the owner would miss it, and so took to asking various colleagues and associates if he knew who the owner might be. Sheska, too thought he looked eerily familiar, but could not think of anyone in her impressive memory who might be his mother or father. After two days of looking around, he decided to just leave it in the office, and if the owner was missing it, they surely would have heard by now that he was asking around.
While it was sitting in there, he noticed each one of his teammates kept sending it puzzled looks, and Breda realized that it was bugging them as well. They all realized they should know who this picture was of, but couldn't place it.
As such, it was not a surprise that when Hughes was visiting, he noticed the picture and took to observing the features on the boys face.
"Huh." He said. "So that's what he looks like." And just like that, he had everybody's attention.
"Hughes, do you know who that is? Breda's been looking for the owner, in case there's a parent like you freaking out that they are missing their child's picture." Mustang said.
"Parent? I don't think you'll find someone like that around here. But give it a few more days, it'll get claimed, I promise." Hughes smiled widely. "But if you REALLY want to look at pictures of cute kids, just check out these pictures of my darling Elysia~!"
FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA FMA
A few more days went by, and the crew finally started forgetting about the picture of the mystery boy. The day after that, Ed returned from his mission, though he seemed vaguely distracted, enough that he yet again passed on the chance to start a fight with his Commanding Officer.
Finally, Mustang had enough. "Is everything okay, Fullmetal? You seem distracted."
"I'm fine, bastard, just trying to find something. Nothing for you to worry your useless, lazy ass over." Was the irritated reply. "If you're done, I need to get going. Al is waiting for me at the library."
At the dismissal, he started to head to the door, but was sidetracked by Havoc, who was once again looking over the picture. Curious as to what held the soldier's attention that was not cigarettes or girls, he stole a glance and immediately snatched the picture out of his hand.
"Where did you get this?!" Ed all but shouted at his coworker and friend, startling him into a stuttered response about how Bread had found it about a week ago.
The crew became worried when Ed began laughing, clearly relieved for reasons they didn't understand.
"Thank god," Ed sighed" I thought I lost it."
"Do you know who that kid is, chief?" Breda asked, somewhat excited to have the mystery solved finally.
"Huh? Of course I do! This is Alphonse!" He replied proudly, once again stunning the office. "It was taken a couple weeks before the failed transmutation. This is what he looks like without the armor!" And with that, he left the office, a new, subtle spring in his step.
The team, meanwhile was slightly shocked, and they realised belatedly why the boy had looked so familiar. He was a little younger than when the had met Ed, and the coloring of the hair and eyes were just slightly different, but other than that, they could pass as twins.
"So that's what he sees." Feury said softly. Upon noticing the puzzled looks he was getting, he elaborated. "We've only ever known Alphonse as the boy in the armor, But Ed, whenever he sees that hulking figure, all he sees is his brother, the boy in the picture. It's no wonder he refuses to take any break on his research."
With that, the office settled once more into silence, each crew member, from Mustang to Breda to Hawkeye, began contemplating the revelation that they were no longer able to see Alphonse as they always had, instead now seeing that smiling little boy that Ed must see every time he closes his eyes. And they all felt their determination to help the boys in their quest grow more than they had initially thought possible.