AN: So, the muse, once again, decided to run away with my brain for the entire school day until I sat down and wrote this during my study hall... Please R & R, if you have the time
Ed sat on Hohenheim's shoulder's, staring out over the big crowds. People of all sizes and shapes ran rampant below. He reached a hand out to his little brother, who lay cradled in his mother's arms. Al's thumb rested in his mouth, his head turned towards Trisha, but he turned to reach for Ed's hand.
The lights and noise of the carnival, a rare treat for the people of Risembool, were dizzying. A few teenaged children shrieked as they rode the small, rickety wooden roller coaster. The voices of vendors, with accents of many places in Amestris, and even a few from foreign countries, drifted across. Ed giggled as he saw a tiny woman walk out of one of the attractions, even though he wasn't sure what it was. He was just happy to be taller than someone, even at his young age. Al, however, was too busy staring, mesmerized by the House of Mirrors. He pointed with urgency, and his mother laughed, the soft sound familiar among the chaos. She tapped Hohenheim's hand, and pointed to the attraction.
"I'm going to take Alphonse in, would you both like to come?" she called out over the noise and music that drifted from the games and stands around them.
"Sure," Hoenheim said, still a little confused. Going to a carnival was not what he expected to spend his time doing, but Trisha had told him stories of going to the carnival in her lifetime, and he admitted it sounded like fun. He walked after her, Ed looking around and smiling at everyone. Hoenheim set Ed down on the ground as they paid for their tickets into the House of Mirrors. Hoenheim held Ed's hand while Trisha carried Al ahead of them, careful not to walk into a mirror. The approached a set of silly mirrors, and Ed laughed when his mother passed one.
"Look, Mom, you're so thin," Ed giggled. Al reached out to touch the glass, and Trisha held him close as the baby boy cooed at his reflection, kicking his feet happily.
As they walked out the other side, Hoenheim noticed an alchemy display, and, without thinking, began heading towards it. Trisha, Ed and Al followed, all slightly curious about what Hoenheim was doing. Ed watched, awestruck, as the alchemist made flowers from paper and dye. His eyes followed the man's hands as he drew a circle in chalk on the ground, and placed the materials on top. Al was intrigued by the blue lights of the alchemic reaction, and they both clapped as the man began handing the flowers out to the crowd.
"Would you like one?" the man asked, holding out a red flower to Ed. The blonde-haired boy reached out for it, and the man handed it to him. Ed turned around to his mother, who nudged him.
"What do you say, Ed?" she asked.
"Thanks," Ed smiled, holding out his arms to Hoenheim and demanding to be held. They walked through the carnival, stopping every once in a while to try out an attraction or two, but as the sun sank below the horizon, so too did the boys' eyelids, until Trisha found herself carrying a sleeping Alphonse. As they walked back home, Hoenheim smiled at his boys. Some day, they would make him proud.