Hi there people! Didn't expect this, did you? It's been nearly a year since I updated this, but figured I really shouldn't abandon things, and inspiration happened to strike when I was writing the last chapter of In The Shadows, the fic this story ties into. Not to mention the fact that I've been on a writing binge since summer started.
One thing though is that I'm not too sure if this still counts as a series of oneshots, since they are all kind of interconnected. I guess it's just a lighthearted prequel/stand alone fic.

Story Teller

Alphonse Elric slowly walked towards the impressive house he was to spend the next few hours at, once again watching over the five year old boy that lived there. He had offered to Mrs. Bradley to call him if she ever needed and he was in the neighborhood, and here he was a month later, still trying to decide how wise a decision that had been.

The few times he'd seen the young Selim had just continued to prove to him that the monster he had fought all those years ago really was gone, but old paranoia wouldn't completely leave him be. He simply shook his head and decided that it would be best to just ignore all of that though as he reached the front gate and was let inside by a large guard.

Reaching the front door, he knocked and it didn't take very long for Mrs. Bradley to open it and invite him inside. He didn't see Selim around anywhere, but his eyes did brush over one more guard. They had been here the last two times he'd visited, but he mostly ignored them. He knew why they were here, and wasn't about to bring it up if Selim happened to be nearby. It went without saying that he wasn't suppose to know.

"Thank you again for coming on such short notice. His regular babysitter had to go to the hospital to visit her mother, and you were still in Central so…" the older woman explained again, and Al just shook his head.

"No need to thank me, I'm the one who said to call, but…" the blonde trailed off a bit, glancing around the room to make sure that Selim wasn't actually in there. The last time he was here the child had managed to sneak up on him so quickly it nearly gave him a heart attack. "Why do you even need a sitter? With all the guards I've seen around, he should be safe," Al asked, and Mrs. Bradley frowned slightly.

"Well, the guards are very nice, but I'd rather Selim be with someone who would interact with him a little more freely. I just want him to have as normal a life as he possibly can," the older woman explained, and Al nodded.

"I understand, it makes a lot of sense that you would. Well, you best be getting off before you're late, I'll make sure Selim is well take care of," the blonde said, and Mrs. Bradley smiled and started towards the door.

"I suppose you're right, thank you again Alphonse," she said as she headed out the door, and Al just nodded, turning around to find the little boy he was now in charge of once the door was shut.

It didn't take long to find his room, since he'd been shown the last time he was here. There was a guard standing outside of it, so Al felt it was safe to assume that Selim was in there. There were only a few of them really, five or six at the most. Al hadn't counted.

"Hey there," the blonde said as he opened the door and walked inside. Selim was sitting on his bed, a small book on his lap, which rested lightly on top of his cat. Al couldn't help but smile when he noticed the stuffed armor sitting in a corner of his bed. "Your mom left, and so I'm back to watch you again, if that's okay," the young man said kindly, and Selim nodded just slightly.

Al closed the door and started walking towards the bed. There wasn't any actual guards in here, which put him a bit more at ease. The last time he'd watched him, he couldn't help but try and stay in the rooms they weren't in as well. It was just a little intimidating, he wasn't sure how Mrs. Bradley dealt with it. Of course, she might just be used to it from when she was married to the president, and Selim had never know anything different.

"What you reading there?" he asked as he looked down. From what Al could see, it was mostly pictures, with large print sentences underneath. Selim lifted up the book in order to show him the cover. The blonde smiled as he read it aloud.

"Adventures With Magic Mel? What's that about?" Alphonse asked in an amused voice as he sat down next to the boy. Shadow looked up at him for a moment before closing her eyes again and going back to sleep on Selim's lap.

"A magician who goes on lots of adventures… like you," the five year old said, and Al smiled at how his explanation was basically restating the title of the book, but couldn't help to raise an eyebrow slightly at the last part of his sentence.

"Like me? How so?" he questioned playfully. He already knew that Selim thought of him as a magician, but he was almost positive he hadn't told him anything about his travels or adventures over the years. Especially a few certain adventures that he knew he would never tell him.

"Mommy says you travel round the world a whole lot, and that's why you don't come over much," the black haired boy explained, and Al nodded. So that was it, it made sense. He couldn't help but smile and ruffle the boy's hair slightly, which thankfully caused him to giggle this time instead of pulling away like before. Looks like he was warming up to him, that was a good sign.

"You like it when I come here to watch you?" the blonde asked happily, and Selim nodded. "Well then, I guess I'm just gonna have to make sure I make time to come back in between my magic adventures," he said, and tried not to laugh at the way Selim's face lit up like a light. He certainly was a lot more outgoing then when he first met him, but then again, lots of kids were shy around strangers.

"Can you tell me about your adventures please?" he asked, and Al nodded. He wouldn't tell him everything, not by a long shot, but it wouldn't hurt to tell the boy about Xing, or something like that.

"Of course, although I can't say that it'll be as exciting as Magic Mel's adventures," he said, but Selim had already closed his book and put it aside in favor of listening to a story that had actually happened to someone real. Shadow still slept contently on his lap, and he grabbed the stuffed armor from the corner of his bed as well. Al quickly went into a cheerful and somewhat toned down tale about going to Xing and learning the special branch of alchemy that was there.

The black haired boy listened intently the entire time, and Al got the feeling that he was much more interested in his story then he ever was in his 'Adventures With Magic Mel' book, and that he would end up telling a lot more stories every time he came back.

A few hours later he had told nearly every story he could think of that was appropriate for the child, and they had only stopped for a small while for Al to make lunch. Selim was probably at the most excited that the blonde man had seen him by the time his mother had finally returned home.

"Hello there Mrs. Bradley, I think I have something that belongs to you," Al said cheerfully as the older woman walked through the door, and motioned towards Selim, who was sitting on the couch with his cat and stuffed toy, which Al had learned the boy took almost as many places as he did his cat, watching the kitten attack it playfully.

"I think you do. How was he?" The woman asked, and Al smiled at her reassuringly.

"He was just fine, it was a lot of fun," the blonde said. At that moment Selim pushed himself off the couch and headed over to his mother and substitute babysitter.

"Mommy! When I grow up can I travel around and have adventures with Mr. Alphonse, please?" the black haired boy asked excitedly, and his mother hesitated just slightly, glancing over at Alphonse after a moment when she was unsure of what to say. Al just smiled back sheepishly. They really didn't know just how much freedom the child would end up having once he grew up, but there was no point in trying to explain something they just couldn't, or shutting down a five year old's request. After all, he might very well be allowed to, if he still wanted to, or if Al was even still traveling by then.

"Of course you can dear, but right now Mr. Alphonse has to go back to his home, so it's time to say goodbye," the brunette woman said, and Selim nodded as he turned towards Al.

"Bye bye Mr. Al, promise you'll come back and tell me more stories?" Selim asked, and Al smiled and nodded.

"Or course I will. Well, I hope to see you both soon," the blonde said before leaving the pleasant, if not slightly uncomfortable house behind. So he'd only really been around the new Selim three times, but he was already starting to warm up to him. He knew he should be more cautious, but he sincerely wanted to believe that there wasn't any evil left in that boy.

Walking towards his hotel room, he quickly went through his schedule in his head. He had to head back to Resembool soon, and after that he wasn't sure. Of course, now he'd have to make sure to plan a side trip or two every once in a while to the little area on the outskirts of Central.

Really, it was just for monitoring reasons, to make sure everything was still under control and their wasn't any signs of Pride returning. That was all.

Yay, done. Wanna know what's weird? I wrote half of this chapter, took a little break and saw that two different people had reviewed and faved this story, the first time anyone had shown an interest in this story in a very, very long time. Weird how things work like that, huh? Right when I decided to bring it back to life.

Well, I hope you liked it, and please review.