Okay, this is just a fair warning, but this isn't a real chapter. The real chapter…has yet to be written. I re-watched the FMA series, and I realized the timeline in my story is seriously messed up. I've said Ed & Al are 16 & 15, yet when they met Tucker (in the series) they were 12 & 11, and Ed was getting ready to take the exam to become an alchemist. I then realized that I'd have to rethink things a little, and I haven't been able to come up with a way to continue, yet. I need a little more time to sort things out, so instead of not posting anything this Monday I decided to go with a little omake of sorts, featuring the trio. We can just say this occurs sometime while they're in Central.


"Sofie, get up," Al pleaded, trying to wake up the sleeping feline on the couch once again. "You know you can't sleep this late. Ed has to go to Central HQ this morning, and then we're going to the library again. Please get up now." Sofie, annoyed at being woken up at 6 in the morning, was feeling particularly defiant this morning, and instead of getting up she rolled over to face away from Al, pulling up her covers to hide her face from the harsh light. Al sighed and sat down beside the couch, out of ideas on how to get her up. He'd already tried talking to her, pleading with her, begging her, and even shouting at her, yet she still refused to get up.

Ed walked out of the bathroom to find Al moping in defeat and Sofie still asleep. He sighed; Al was too nice, especially when he was trying to get Sofie up. That cat would sleep all day if she was allowed. Ed decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked over to behind the couch, and with a sharp kick sent it couch turning over, unceremoniously dumping Sofie onto the floor.

"Brother!" Al scolded, quickly returning the couch to its original position. "You shouldn't do that; it's mean," he said, moving to help Sofie get up.

"Yeah, you shouldn't treat a lady like that. I could have gotten hurt," Sofie said, giving Ed a harsh glare. She started picking up all of her blankets that had fallen on the ground, folding and placing them on the couch.

"That's right. Brother, you need to apologize to Sofie right now," Al demanded. Of course he would take Sofie's side in the matter, and he wouldn't drop it until Ed did as he was told. Neither would Sofie, meaning Ed was in for a very bad day.

"Fine, Sofie I'm sorry for kicking the couch and dumping you on the floor," he apologized with a sigh. Sofie appeared to ponder the apology for a moment.

"Well I don't forgive you," she said, shocking Ed and Al.

"W-what?! Why not?" Ed sputtered, utterly confused. Sofie shrugged.

"I'm tired of the way you treat me in the morning, and a verbal apology just doesn't cut it. No, if you want me to forgive you, it'll take more than that," she said, sitting down on the couch and turning away from Ed, giving him the cold shoulder.

"Like what?" he asked nervously. Not that it mattered to him, but he didn't like it when Sofie was annoyed with him. She ignored him for a majority of the day, only speaking to him when absolutely necessary, and she would mostly hang out with Al. He was not jealous, of course, just a little left out, and normally he would cave and apologize, thus being accepted back into their little circle. But never before had Sofie ever made him actually do something to regain her favor.

Sofie appeared to think a bit, and then suddenly grinned. Ed had a bad feeling. "Well, you could be my…slave for the day," she suggested. Before Ed could say anything, she continued. "It would totally make up for being mean to me this morning, and all those other mornings. Besides, it's only one day, it could be worse." Ed looked at her incredulously, but he couldn't find any hint of a joke. She was completely serious. With a sigh, his shoulders slumped in resignation and his fate was sealed. Sofie squealed with delight and jumped up to go get dressed.

"Okay, Ed, first thing: go to Central HQ and do whatever you had to do, and on your way home go and pick up some stuff for me. Then return home as quickly as possible, got it," she said, stopping to hand him a pre-made list. "Now shoo," she said, almost pushing him out of the apartment and roughly shutting the door behind him. Sofie rushed back to the bathroom to change, and when she returned she was wearing a cute, little white sundress and looked extremely happy.

"Um, Sofie, what are you going to do to Ed?" Al asked hesitantly while Sofie admired her appearance in the mirror. She shrugged.

"Nothing much. He's just going to have to be nice and pamper me all day because he's been such a bully to me," she said, walking back to the couch to recline until Ed returned. Al followed her, sitting down next to her.

"What about me?" he asked.

"You can help if you want, or you can just do whatever. See, you're nice to me, much nicer than Ed, so you don't need to be punished," Sofie said. Al let out a sigh of relief, grateful for his nice personality. Even if Sofie did something really bad, he wasn't sure he'd really be able to be mad at her 'cuz she is just so adorable! Al was now lost in his musings, and Sofie decided to take another nap since Ed had been so rude waking her up so early in the morning.

~ Ed ~

He hurried to Central HQ because he knew Sofie's mood would worsen the longer he took, and he didn't want to imagine what Sofie could think up when she was angry. It was bad enough he had to do whatever she said today, but he really did not feel like being a slave for the rest of his life. He practically jogged to Mustang's office; if he hurried, he also wouldn't have to talk to the Colonel for as long either. The only reason he had to visit him anyways was because he had to turn in a rewritten report because the first time Sofie had accidentally spilt her milk all over it. So technically she was to blame for him being in a bad mood this morning because he had to go in.

He arrived in a record amount of time, only to find Mustang was away in an important meeting, and probably wouldn't return for a while. "Why do you need to see him?" Hawkeye asked.

"I need to give him my report, but I can't wait that long!" Ed exclaimed. He was pacing around the office because he couldn't sit still. He wanted to just leave and give the report later, but it was late enough as is and Mustang would surely punish him with some odd mission to the middle of nowhere.

"Why don't you just give it to me, and I'll make sure he gets it," Hawkeye offered, noticing the behavior of the agitated teen. Ed was eternally grateful to her, and after handing her the report practically ran out of the office. However, he turned back and sheepishly walked back in.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find some of this stuff, would you?" he asked, showing Hawkeye the list Sofie had given him. She took it, and out of curiosity the rest of the group wandered over to check it out as well.

"Oh, you can get the catnip and biscuits at this small pet shop I know of downtown," Fury offered. "I have no idea where you can find the nail polish or cupcakes, though."

"There's a bakery a few streets away that sells cupcakes," Hawkeye said, and then she began searching through her desk. "And I think I have an unused bottle of nail polish you can have. I don't wear this kinda stuff." After shuffling some items around she came up with a bottle of a light pink polish, which Ed took gratefully. Saves him some time wandering around, and the embarrassment of having to go into a girly store.

"What are you shopping for: a cat or a girl?" Havoc asked, confused by the list.

"A girl; I'm her slave for the day," Ed said sadly. Havoc laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. Just do what she asks and be nice to her all day. She'll forgive you eventually," he advised. "But what I really want to know is what you did to get yourself in the doghouse like this."

"I pushed over the couch she was sleeping on," Ed said, looking away from them guiltily.

"Edward! That is no way to treat a lady," Hawkeye reprimanded.

"Yeah, I know. Both she and Al said the same thing, and now I'm paying for it."

"Well good; you deserve it. Now go before you keep her any longer," Hawkeye said, pushing him out of the office. With a sigh Ed headed out to where Fury had said he could find the cat supplies. It didn't take him long to find it, and luckily it had plenty of what Sofie wanted. He bought a lot of catnip, just in case they ran out. The biscuits weren't that hard to find either at a bakery, which also happened to sell some cupcakes. He got some plain cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles, figuring Sofie would be okay with that.

Afterwards he hurriedly walked back home to Sofie and Al, desperately hoping Sofie wasn't mad at him. He rushed inside the apartment, startling Al and waking up Sofie. "I'm back," he announced, placing the items on the table. Sofie happily started digging through and pulling them out.

"That was quicker than I imagined. I didn't expect you back for another hour or so," she said. Ed let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, where's the nail polish?" she asked, turning over the various bags, but she couldn't find it. Ed rummaged around his pockets, finally pulling it out and handing it to Sofie. "Oooh, I like this color," she exclaimed. Ed kinda just stood there, unsure of what she wanted to do now, and too nervous to ask her.

"Now what?" Al asked, thankfully. Sofie looked at him with a grin.

"Spa day!" she exclaimed happily. "You have to do my nails, and my hair, and then later we can go out for some shopping," Sofie said happily. Finally she would be getting the treatment she deserved. Sure, Al was nice to her, but a girl needs to be pampered every once in a while.

"That sounds like fun," Al said, and Ed looked at him like he'd been betrayed. "I want to help too."

"Okay, you can do my nails, and Ed can do my hair," she ordered, settling down on the couch. "I want a French braid," she told Ed.

"What makes you think I can do that?" he asked. Sofie turned around and gave him a look, gesturing to his own braid. Ed scowled but did as she asked.

"You know, this is just like when we played with Winry," Al said, painting the first of Sofie's nails. Ed scoffed. He was standing behind the couch, brushing Sofie's hair out.

"And if you'll remember, I never liked that either," Ed said, separating Sofie's hair. "I don't get how girls like this. What's the point if it'll just get messed up later?" Sofie sighed.

"Ed, you don't need to understand. You just need to keep braiding," Sofie ordered. "Besides, it's fun. We get to feel pretty, and special, which is why we do it." Ed rolled his eyes, not that Sofie could see him.

Several minutes later, Al had finished painting Sofie's nails and Ed had finished his surprisingly well-done French braid. "Now we can go shopping, and maybe later we can have a picnic. Wouldn't that be fun?" she exclaimed. Al nodded happily, while Ed groaned. "C'mon, I saw this cute dress I want to get," she said, walking out the door with Al following and Ed taking up the rear. Sofie led them to her favorite store, the one with the dress she saw, and she made Ed buy it for her, along with several other dresses she liked. Then she led them around town for another few hours, buying other things she liked with Ed's money and making him carry it all.

"Sofie, can we stop already. I'm starving," Ed complained, dragging behind the rest of the group. Well, he was laden with a bunch of bags. Al wasn't holding anything else other than the lunches they'd bought. Sofie, realizing she was also hungry, decided it would be a good time to eat.

"Sure, let's go to the park. That would be like a real picnic," she said happily. They made their way over to the park, the same one they had went to when Sofie had first arrived in Central. Sofie skipped ahead of them, choosing a spot under a large tree, probably the same one as last time. Al began setting everything up, laying out all the food for Ed and Sofie. The cupcakes Ed had bought earlier were also included. Thankfully Sofie had no complaints with rainbow sprinkles.

It was actually turning out to be a nice picnic, and even though he wouldn't admit it, Ed was enjoying it a little. However, when Mustang and Hawkeye showed up Ed's mood took a turn for the worse. "What are you doing here? I'm trying to enjoy my day," he said, watching with a scowl as Mustang sat down between Ed and Sofie.

"Well, I heard from the guys in the office you have to be a slave for a girl and I thought, I just have to check this out," he explained.

"So you spent all day looking for me so you could gloat," he asked. Mustang nodded.

"That and to get out of paperwork," he amended. "So how's the slave been doing today?" he asked, addressing Sofie. She shrugged.

"He's fine," she said.

"What!? 'I'm fine.' I should be getting a gold star or something like that. How many guys do you know that can braid hair, or put up with four hours of shopping?" he complained.

"Wait, you braided her hair?" Mustang interrupted, chuckling. Sofie nodded.

"Yep, and Al did my nails," she said, showing him her hands. This time Mustang burst out laughing.

"You guys are finny. I should tell everyone at the office about this," he said. Ed was mortified.

"No! You can't do that! Besides, I was ordered to; I had no choice," he said. Mustang pretended to think about it. Ed was mentally pleading with Mustang not to tell anyone, and thankfully his pleas were answered.

"Okay, I won't tell...if you let me take a picture so I can show them," he bargained. Ed was about to say no, but Sofie agreed and he had absolutely no choice. Then, from out of nowhere, Mustang pulled out a camera and told them to smile. A flash later and Mustang was walking away, having accomplished what he'd set out to do.

"Finally he's gone," Ed said thankfully, picking up a cupcake.

"So, Sofie, what do you have planned after this?" Al wondered, turning to Sofie. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I just really wanted to have a picnic today," she said. "You guys are always so busy with your researching and stuff. I just wanted to have a fun day," she admitted, leaning back to lie down and watch the sky. "And today has been great." With a clank Al was also watching the sky.

"I agree with you; we definitely needed the break. What do you say, brother?" he asked, looking at Ed. Ed finished his cupcake and looked up at the sky before looking at Sofie and Al. The trace of a smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah, today's been fun," he admitted.


So that's done. I apologize for not really updating, so instead of just not posting anything I did this. My next update will definitely be a real chapter, I'm just not sure when that update will occur. It most likely won't be next Monday. My schedule is about to get a lot busier this month with all the tournaments I have every weekend and practices almost every day of the week. This is just a fair warning, but I wouldn't expect much this month. However, when I do update it'll be just as long as usual, maybe even longer 'cuz I feel really bad right now. Sorry :(