Hi everyone! I just want to say I've been doing good with publishing new chapters. Just watch, I jinxed myself. Anyways, this is a suggestion by November Flowers. Now, onto the story!
Summary: Maes and Gracia have to leave for a while, making both Edward and Alphonse babysit Elicia.
Idea Came From: November Flowers who suggested it
Timeline: Ed is 15, Al is 14 and Hughes is still alive
Rated: K+ for mild cursing
Notes: review reply at end, the song at the end is "Wanderer's Lullaby" by: Adriana Figueroa (AKA Adrisaurus)
Story 15: The Joys of Babysitting
Edward is abruptly woken up by the sound of a ringing phone. He groans and rolls over, pulling a pillow over his head as he curls up in the warmth underneath the blankets. He can hear Al scoff on the other side of the room, followed by footsteps as Al walks across the barrack room over to where the phone is on the wall.
"Hello?" Al asks into the phone, causing Ed to peak out from underneath the blanket to watch with interest. "Mr. Hughes? Why are you calling at such an early hour?"
"Hughes?" Ed grumbles as he slowly sits up, rubbing an eye. Alphonse glances over at his brother and nods before looking back at the phone hook. "Why the hell would he be calling at...seven in the morning?"
"What do you mean something came up?" Al asks and Ed raises an eyebrow. There is a pause as Alphonse listens to Hughes, a sad look crossing his face. "I see. We'll be there as soon as we can. Alright, see you later. Bye."
Alphonse hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath, as if preparing himself to confront his brother about why Hughes had called. Which is very much true, seeing as Edward probably wouldn't like it very much.
"Brother," Al says as he turns around, walking over to Ed's bed. He stands there, wringing his fingers as the two lock eyes. "Uh..."
"Spit it out, Al. Why was Hughes calling so early in the morning?" Ed snaps, not liking the fact that he had been waken up by none other than Hughes calling. Typical.
"Well, Mr. Hughes said that Gracia's father has just passed away." Al says slowly. Ed glances away momentarily before looking back to Al.
"And?"
"Well, her parents live out in South City. They want to head out on an early train to get there today." Al explains awkwardly. "He wants us to...babysit Elicia for a while."
"Babysit? Does he know who he's asking here?" Ed grumbles as he glares at the phone. "We can't babysit a little girl!"
"Brother, he said that he couldn't get anyone else to do it," Al says with a sigh. "Besides, it'll only be for a week."
"You act like it's not that bad!" Ed shouts as he swings his legs over the bed and stands up. His hair, out of its usual braid, is tangled and wild looking as he walks over to his suitcase. He looks like a crazy person wearing only his boxers as he shuffles through the clothes, trying to find clean ones to wear.
"It isn't that bad. Besides, it's Elicia we're talking about! She's so sweet, I doubt she'll give us any trouble." Al says as he changes out of his own pajamas and picks out fresh clothes from his own suitcase.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Edward mumbles as he struggles to pull on a tank top over his head. "She's needy! She needs attention twenty-four-seven! Do you know how exhausting that is? I don't know how Hughes can do it."
"You literally just described every little girl out there." Al comments, already fully dressed with his shoes and cloak on. "Don't complain so much, brother. Hughes and Gracia need us to do this for them. They've helped us so much so it's only fair."
Ed pauses, his pants halfway puled up as he stares at Al. Finally, he looks away and continues getting dressed. "Fine. Have it your way!"
"I will."
They make it out of the room ten minutes later, carrying their suitcases. They check the room out, hand the key over to the receptionist, and then head out into the streets.
The sun has just barely come up, making the sky look pale blue as the brothers walk. Ed grumbles about the cold while Al shakes his head at his brother's childish antics. 'Honestly,' he thinks with amusement. 'You'd think I was the older brother.'
It doesn't take long to get to the Hughes's household. Ed only manages to knock twice with his flesh hand before the door is abruptly pulled open to show Hughes's face. His eyes are grief stricken and they can hear Gracia crying in the background.
"Uh, Hughes?" Ed asks as he ushers the boys inside.
"We'll be back in a week." Hughes quickly says as he gently grabs Gracia's hand as she tries to calm herself. He carries their suitcases in his other hand as he walks towards the door, kicking it open. "I left a note for you guys on the fridge. Roy said he would be here on Wednesday to take over for you guys."
The two adults are out of the house before either Elric can ask a question. They stand there, blinking at the closed door.
"That was...something." Ed comments as he shakes himself. "At least it's warm in here."
"I hope everything goes okay for them," Al says sadly as they head towards the guest bedroom. "It's hard losing someone you love."
Ed grows silent at that.
They set their suitcases down and head to the kitchen where they see a hastily written note in Hughes's handwriting.
Dear Elric brothers,
here is a list of what needs to be done for little Elicia. Cook her homemade meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make her go to bed at eight, and give her an hour long nap everyday at 1 pm. Keep her happy and play with her. If you need anything, feel free to call this number.
Toodles!
~Hughes
Edward groans. "Seriously? Why do we have to be stuck with babysitting?! It isn't fair!"
"It's the least we can do," Al repeats himself as he looks at a clock nailed to the wall. "It's almost eight. Should we wake her up?"
"No, little kids are supposed to sleep in, or something." Ed replies, sounding unsure himself. "Damn it all! Al, you better be the one to take care of her. I'm taking no part in this."
"Brother! That's so mean!"
"Sorry Al, I'm not good with kids. Besides, I don't know the first thing to do when it comes to caring for them."
"You always do this! Make me do the dirty work."
"No, I don't! ...Only sometimes."
"Which is all the time!"
"Shut up! You'll wake Elicia up. And then where would we be?"
The brothers continue arguing late into the morning, going back and forth as they try to push the care onto the other. That is, until they are interrupted by a sleepy voice.
"Big bwother? Little big bwother?" Elicia says, rubbing an eye with one hand while holding a stuffed teddy bear in the other. "Whewe's mommy and daddy?"
"Uh," Ed and Al look at one another before looking to the little girl again.
"They had to take care of something far away," Al says as he walks over and kneels down in front of the girl. He smiles and ruffles her hair. Ed can't help but stare blankly as his brother interacts with the child. "Don't worry, they'll be back before you know it! In the meantime, you'll have us here with you!"
"Weally?" Elicia asks, excitement brightening in her eyes as a smile grows on her face. "Yay! Big bwothers awe here to play!"
"Yep," Al chuckles as he stands. "Now, how about some breakfast?"
"Yeah!"
Ed shuffles out of the kitchen, grumbling to himself as Al starts rummaging around in the cupboards for ingredients to make the food. He can hear the muffled voices of Al and Elicia as he sits down on the couch, glaring at the wall in front of him.
"This sucks," he mumbles as he throws his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "Why do we always get stuck with weird ass jobs like this? Not that I mind...I just don't want to babysit!"
"Brother, no cursing!" Al shouts from the kitchen, followed by giggles from Elicia. Edward starts glaring once more, hands slowly curling into loose fists.
"'Brother, no cursing'," Ed mocks forcing his voice to a higher pitch as he moves his hand in a talking gesture with disgust. He sighs, resignedly as he slowly looks over to the opening into the kitchen. And then it hits him, jealousy. He can't help but feel jealous. He grows mad at himself, but he can't help it. Elicia is getting all the attention of Alphonse, and Edward hates it. He doesn't know why, but all he knows is that he doesn't like it.
And that's how the day goes. Edward avoids Alphonse and Elicia like the plague, often times cooping himself up in the guest bedroom to just read his troubles away. Though, Alphonse would force him to come out and play every few hours.
And as night rolls around, and Elicia is sleeping peacefully in her bed, the two brothers lay in their own respective beds, wide awake.
"Brother, why were you in such a bad mood today?" Al asks as he looks over at Edward. Ed promptly rolls over onto his side so his back is facing Al, his head propped up on his arm. A clear sign that he has no intentions of sharing his thoughts and feelings with his younger brother.
"Don't worry about it."
"You're jealous."
"Am not!" Ed shouts, glaring at Al over his shoulder. But the touched smile on Al's face makes Ed sigh and look back at the wall. "Maybe a little. But only because she's getting all the attention!"
"I feel like there's another reason," Al says, rolling over onto his side so he faces his brother. "She reminds you of Nina, doesn't she?"
Edward completely tenses up. Slowly, he rolls over onto his other side so he is facing Al. The two lock eyes, and in a few seconds, they get it. Both are always reminded of Nina every time they see Elicia. Her happy giggles, the way she prances around and wants to constantly play. Everything about her is a direct reminder of Nina.
"Yeah."
"I know how you feel," Al sighs sadly, looking away. "But, you can't let that bother you. She needs us, Ed. She doesn't know what's going on and all we can do is make her happy so she doesn't start to feel bad because she doesn't understand any of it."
"I know. I'm sorry, I just...I can't bring myself to...I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
They drift off into sleep after a couple hours of talking. Only to be woken up by a tiny knock on the door. Edward is instantly awake and alert, ready to fight anything and anyone. He doesn't exactly relax when he sees Elicia push open the door, but his instincts calms significantly at seeing no threat.
"Little big bwother?" Elicia says, hiccuping. Edward instantly feels awkward as he looks over at Al to see him fast asleep.
"Um...is something wrong?" Ed asks slowly, the words sounding foreign in his mouth. He always feels awkward around kids, especially after what had happened to Nina. And, to make it even worse for him, he's never been one to comfort others. Alphonse is different since they are practically connected. But it is different with other people.
"I had a bad dweam." Elicia sniffles, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"Oh, uh, what-what was it about?" Ed asks as he shifts.
"Daddy didn't come home."
Edward feels himself freeze. He clears his throat, hand clenching and unclenching the blanket. He sighs, shoulders sagging as he takes one last look at Al.
"Come here," Ed says, patting the space beside him. Elicia walks into the room and climbs up onto the bed, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. He smiles as he reaches out with his flesh hand, gently wiping them away. "Don't cry, it'll be okay. Your dad will always come home, he promised you that. Didn't he?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Ed says, unsure of what to do now. Elicia doesn't seem convinced. And then a memory pops into his head. "Whenever Al and I had bad dreams, our mom would always sing us to sleep again."
Elicia looks confused. Ed slowly pulls her onto his lap and hugs her, much like what Trisha would do all those years ago. He talks in hushed tones, gently rubbing her arm before he opens his mouth and begins to sing a quiet lullaby.
"Wandering child of the Earth
Do you know how much you're worth?
You have walked this path since your birth
You were destined for more
*There are those who'll tell you you're wrong
They will try to silence your song
But right here is where you belong
So don't search anymore
*You are the dawn of a new day that's waking
A masterpiece still in the making
The blue in an ocean of gray
You are right where you need to be
Poised to inspired to succeed
You'll look back and you'll realize one day."
By now Elicia is fast asleep, a small smile on her face as she leans against Ed's chest. Ed can't help but smile sadly as he slowly lays down, hugging Elicia close. He stares blankly at Al to see his brother awake and smiling back sadly, a few tears in his eyes. They both stare for a moment longer before closing their eyes and falling asleep.
And that's it folks! If you guys missed it, information about the song is up in the Notes section at the top before the start of the story. Anways, onto review replies!
Lady Jessica Mustang- I'm glad you liked it! I'll get working on writing the second suggestion of yours now. Thanks again!
That's all! Don't forget to leave suggestions for what you want me to write in future chapters. Thank for reading, have a nice day/night!