Chapter 44: Questions
"Where does it come from?"
"Her belly."
"Her belly? Like her belly button?"
"Wha'? Uh, yeah, sure."
"How'd it get there?"
"A special kiss."
"The special baby kiss?"
"Yeah, that."
"Do all grown ups know how to do it?" Lee was staring at Havoc with wide curious eyes while the chain smoker adjusted his tie distractedly. He wasn't sure how he had gotten stuck with the child during this run through, but he prayed to all that was holy that on the day of the actual festivities that the kid would be with his parents every second.
"Yeah, all grownups know how." He answered in exasperation, fixing the child with an annoyed look. "Speaking of which, where are you parents?" Lee shrugged a shoulder.
"I dunno. They just told me to wait here." He answered smartly. There was a silence between the two. "When are you and Aunty Becca gonna have the special baby kiss?" Havoc visibly flinched at the words.
"Just because grownups can do it doesn't mean every grown up should, kid." He answered while the small child continued to stare at him with an almost calculating look.
"Oh…" Was all he said before going back to the paper he had once been doodling on. Watching the now silence child, Havoc began to wonder just when exactly the boy had gotten so observant. He was certain the kid would be turning five sometime soon and would play a big part as an older brother role model to Ed and Winry's child. The kid was always going on about wanting a little brother of his own.
"Yo," Snapped from his thoughts, the soldier looked up to see Breda walking into the room, fully dressed and bored expression on his face. "Mustang and the others are all taking their spots for this recital and afterwards we gotta report to the station to pick up Winry's friends from Rush Valley." He informed. Havoc grimaced.
"The hell we gotta do it for?" he asked, slumping forward slightly. Breda shrugged.
"Ed's goin' with Mustang to pick up some stuff after this and Winry's got an appointment that she's leaving for with her grandmother and Riza."
"Then who's the kid gonna be with?" Both men turned their attention to Lee, who was watching them both with innocent eyes and a wide smile.
"He'll be with me." Alphonse walked into the room and smiled warmly at Lee. "Come on, Lee-kun. You were supposed to be in your spot a long time ago."
"Coming!" Lee called, slipping from his seat and rushing forward, taking Al's hand and allowing the youngest Elric to lead the way. Breda and Havoc followed at a comfortable distance while Lee turned his curiosity towards the more patient man in the group.
"Al-kun? Is Mei-chan your girlfriend?" The blonde stiffened.
"What?" He chocked out, his head turning swiftly down to the curious gaze of the dark haired child.
"Mei-chan. Is she your girlfriend? She's always with you just like Winry-chan is always with Edo-kun." Lee answered, swinging his free arm and looking straight ahead despite the priceless look that was on Al's face.
"Y-you've become very observant, haven't you, Lee-kun?" he asked with a forced smile, receiving a nod from the child.
"I know a lot! Mommy says I'm getting smarter and smarter everyday!" he informed, perking up when the other adults came into view. "Mommy!" Letting go of Al's hand, the boy ran forward, clasping excitedly to his mother and chattering up at the distracted woman who patted his head in acknowledgement but continued talking. Havoc came up to Al's side and clapped him on the shoulder.
"We'll only be so lucky if he's with his parents the entire event." He informed as Lee began questioning another innocent bystander. Riza must have caught her son's outrageous interrogations because she called for him while Winry's guest stared at the child with wide eyes and a red face.
"We could only be so lucky."
