Summary: Series of drabbles where Ed is a Zanna, which means being a little girl's imaginary best friend until she doesn't need him anymore. But Kara won't stop needing Ed for a very long time, and having an imaginary friend gets harder to explain the older you get.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Supernatural, Supergirl, or any of the characters within.
Kara watched the other little girls from across the street. Their moms always made sure they were playing together, whereas Kara preferred to be alone. They always seemed so happy, playing with each other. But those girls also probably didn't know that Kara even existed.
Which was why Kara Grant was so lonely.
She never had any friends to play with, not even from preschool. So Kara just played with her dolls in the backyard, or inside the house. The one time she'd tried playing in the front yard, a couple older boys from around the neighborhood came and broke the dolls. Kara was so upset. Those dolls were closest things she had to friends.
No one ever talked to Kara, unless it was her teacher from preschool. And she didn't count. Not that Mrs Lane wasn't nice, but she was a teacher. Not a friend. The only time anyone ever talked to Kara was when they had to, or when they were left alone in a room with her, which hardly ever happened. Kara was just the four year-old daughter of National City's most powerful media magnate.
So imagine Kara's surprise when someone started talking to her. And didn't stop.
It started with him sitting down in the backyard to play with her. Kara was scared by the older boy, scared that he would break her dolls like the others had.
But Edward was never anything but kind, if a little childish for his age. Edward said he was sixteen years old, which made Kara even more surprised. Why would a sixteen year-old boy want to play with dolls with a four year-old girl?
When Kara asked him this, he'd just shrugged and said he'd wanted someone cool to hang out with. Kara turned bright pink, but accepted the explanation.
After about an hour of playing dolls (Kara was really surprised the boy had lasted this long), Kara's mom, Cat, came out, asking if she wanted lunch. Kara replied happily "Okay! Can Ed have some, too?" Cat looked confused for a moment before coming to kneel by her daughter's side. "Who's Ed, sweetheart?"
Now it was Kara's turn to be confused. "He's sitting right there!" She said, pointing to where Ed sat, smirking.
Cat looked where her daughter pointed, unable to see anyone, then smiled. "There's no one there, Kara."
Kara looked at Edward, hoping he would provide an explanation. He shrugged, waiting. Kara turned back to her mother. "I'll be in in-a-minute, mommy."
Cat smiled, ruffled Kara's hair, then walked back inside. Kara turned back to Ed. "Why couldn't she see you?"
"Because she's not meant to," Ed replied, leaning forward. "I'm your imaginary friend. No one else's."
"Am I crazy?" Kara asked, unsure of what having an imaginary friend meant.
Edward laughed. "No, you're not crazy," he said. "Imaginary friends appear to a lot of kids who are lonely. If they need a friend, we come."
Kara sat thinking for a moment. "You're real, but only I can see you?"
Ed nodded. "That's right. Unless we run into another Zanna and their kid. Then I think we'll all be able to see each other. But it's never happened before, so I can't be sure."
Kara tilted her head. "Zanna?" She questioned.
Ed sighed. "That's what we're called. Zanna. We're a race that exists to help lonely kids into not being alone anymore."
Kara nodded, then looked back towards the house. "Do you wanna come in?" she asked. "I bet mommy wants me inside for lunch now."
"Whatever you want, Kara. I'm here to be your friend, your big brother if you like. Not your boss, or your parent. I think I'll leave the parenting up to your mom."
Kara giggled, then stood. She reached over and took Ed's hand. Then the two went into eat lunch.
Over the next few months, Edward grew to be Kara's best friend. The only one she had, to be honest. Sometimes, they would just sit quietly under the tree in the front yard and watch all the other kids in the neighborhood play together.
Whenever Kara and Ed were together, which was about 99% of the time, Kara was talking to the older animatedly. She chattered to him constantly, and Ed always listened. Whether the story was sad or amusing, he always listened.
To Kara's mom, it looked like Kara had simply made up a friend. And for now, it was okay. A four year-old girl with no friends? An imaginary friend was kind of expected at that point.
For Ed's part, he loved playing and hanging out with the little girl. And even just talking with her. As young as she was, Kara Grant was a lonely little girl with no one to talk to, no one to share her ideas, dreams, troubles, and frustrations with. Edward read Kara bedtime stories when she couldn't sleep, long after her mother had gone downstairs, fully expecting Kara to be asleep.
Ed even went to school with Kara when the time came. She was still in preschool, so there was not a whole lot to do, other than learning the ABC's and how to count to ten. After that, it was just lunch and playing, then naptime until Cat picked Kara up.
But Ed was with her always, and they always had something to talk about. To everyone else, it just looked like the adorable little daughter of Cat Grant babbled on and on to herself and her imaginary friend.
Kara's imaginary friend was her only friend for a long time, and she wouldn't stop needing him by her side until she was much older than the usual age.
Kids stopped needing their imaginary friends at somewhere around the age of nine or ten, generally.
Kara Grant would need Ed for a lot longer than that.
A/N: Dudes! I totally made Ed a Zanna! Can you imagine what it would be like, having Edward Elric as an imaginary friend? AMAZING!
Also, if you liked, please feel free to review. It's totally in your power! PLEASE JUST TELL ME HOW WEIRD THIS WAS AND GET IT OVER WITH!