A/N:

Me: HI EVERYONE! –one a sugar high-

Ed: Yo, whassup?

Me: Aw, Ed, I love you:3

Ed: Well, I love Alexandra ;

Me: OKAY! BACK TO THE STORY! ED!

Ed: FullMetal Alchemist characters, references, and other related indicia © Hiromu Arakawa. Only Alexandra, Jonathan, Alan, Sophie, and Yuki belong to her!

FullMetal Alchemist

Chapter 6: Shopping!

Ed jerked awake the next morning and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He blinked and sat up then looked around the small room. Al was still asleep, but Alexandra wasn't in the room.

"Alex? Alexandra?" Ed asked, getting up. When he saw the window open he freaked out and ran into the hall. "OH MY FUCKING GOD! ALEXANDRA'S BEEN KIDNAPPED! AHH!" In his insanity, Ed ran into Roy in the lobby.

"Oh, hey, Ed," said Roy. "What's up? I'm getting some medicine for Yuki. My guess is that she's going to have a splitting headache when she wakes up."

"IT'S ALEXANDRA!" Ed screamed. "SHE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!" Ed waved his arms in the air.

"STOP SHOUTING!" Roy yelled in Ed's ear. "I'm off."

"You! Manager! Where's Alexandra?" Ed asked the guy at the front desk when Roy left.

"Oh, she's working today. At the local sweet shop…you should check it out if you haven't already. All the candy is hand made, and Alexandra makes most of it. Oh, excuse me." The man walked over to a couple that was checking in.

Well, Ed thought, that makes sense…she did say she was working today. He shrugged and grabbed a map off the wall and headed outside in search of the infamous candy store.

xxXxx

"Morning, kid," said Roy. Yuki was just waking up. She rubbed her eyes and stared at him.

"What the fuck? What am I doing here? How did I get here? Where am I? What is that?" She paused. "AND WHY DOES MY HEAD FEEL LIKE IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE?" she shouted. She started crying and covered herself in her blanket. Roy rolled his eyes and ripped it off of her.

"You were sleeping, I brought you here, you're in my hostel room, and this is the hangover medicine you're going to drink if you want to stop that headache from getting worse. The headache is from drinking 12 beers, 5 martinis, and almost 20 shots." She grabbed the cup right away and chugged it down.

"Oh, this is disgusting! I promise that I'll never drink again!" she exclaimed.

Yeah right…'never' probably means 'I'll be drinking again in 3 days. "Well, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I'm dying," she moaned, burying her face in her pillow.

xxXxx

Ed finally walked into the small shop, after about half an hour of searching the town, causing the tiny bell above the door to tinkle. Alexandra looked up from her book. She had a lollipop in her mouth.

"Oh, hey Ed!" she said with a smile. She closed her book and wiped off her colourful apron. "Can I get you anything, sir?"

"Um…sir?" Ed asked with an amused expression on his face. He walked over to the counter and leaned against it.

"Company policy requires me to call you sir. Or would you prefer madam?" she asked jokingly.

"No, no, sir is fine." He grinned. "So what can I get for five dollars?"

"Well, let's see…lollipops, hard candies, soft candies, chocolates…need I go on?" She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, that's enough. Can I have a lollipop?" he asked.

"Sure! What flavour?" She turned around and scanned the shelf. "We have raspberry, blueberry, apple, orange, watermelon-" Suddenly Ed cut her off.

"I'll have a raspberry and save you from wasting your breath." He slid 50 cents across the counter towards her. She handed the lollipop to him and pushed the money back.

"It's on the house," she told him with a wink and a smile. He grinned.

"Awesome!" He stuffed the candy in his mouth and he looked exactly like she did. She grinned. Suddenly the doorbell tinkled again and a bunch of kids ran into the shop.

"Miss Alexandra!" the leader shouted. "Miss Alexandra, we're here with our allowances!" the little boy exclaimed happily. He was the tallest of the group, yet he could hardly see over the top of the counter.

"Well, Jason, I'm glad you came! What can I get you?" she asked, a big smile spreading over her lips.

Oh God, Ed thought, that smile is so cute! It makes me want to smile.

"We'd like 5 blueberry lollipops, 3 soft candies, and 7 chocolates!" the boy ordered.

"My, that's a big order! You must be rolling in money!" she said, still smiling. She quickly rounded up what he had requested and placed it on the counter in front of him. "That's 3 dollars and 20 cents! Do you have that much?"

"Of course!" one of the other little boys piped up proudly. They laid their money on the counter and Alexandra dropped it in the register. She leaned over and ruffled the boy named Jason's hair affectionately.

"Enjoy!" she told them. They grinned and ran out. Ed smiled at her.

"Looks like you get a lot of eager customers, huh?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. All the kids around here love candy…and for some reason, they love calling me 'Miss Alexandra'. They're pretty cute," she added. The bell rang again and she looked up. A young girl and boy walked in, with huge smiles on their faces. They both wore tattered clothes and looked at bit ragged, but they were happy nonetheless.

"Hello, Miss Alex!" they sang in unison.

"Hi Susie, hi Martin!" she sang back, walking out from behind the counter. They ran over and hugged her.

"How are you today?" Susie asked with an angelic smile.

"I'm great," Alexandra answered, patting Susie's head.

"We came to get some candy! Our mother gave us some money!" Martin shouted, holding out a few dollars.

"Well, Martin, choose wisely," Alexandra advised, ruffling his hair. He grinned up at her.

"I want an orange lollipop!" he decided after a few seconds.

"And I want an apple one!" Susie added.

"Coming right up!" Alexandra said, giving the two their treats. "And here, have these, too," she told them, handing each a few hard candies. "Enjoy!" Both she and Ed smiled as the siblings' faces lit up. They thanked Alexandra and ran out. Ed stared at her for a second.

God, she's as sweet as the candy she sells! He thought to himself. He leaned against the counter again. "You know, it's really nice of you to give those kids that candy," he remarked casually.

"Well, they're poor. Their mother only scrapes together about 100 dollars a week. I think it's my duty to give them something for being so patient and polite through what's happening to them," she explained. Before Ed could answer, Alexandra glanced at the clock. "Uh oh, it's 12:00…you might want to get behind the counter." Ed raised an eyebrow and walked over to stand next to her.

"Why?" he asked. As if on cue, a stampede of people rushed in through the door, bursting into the shop and grabbing candy off the shelves, then lining up in front of the cash register.

"That's why," she whispered. He blinked. "Noon rush hour…anyway, do you think you could help me out here?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course…"

xxXxx

By this time, Al had woken up and was faced with a cold and empty room. He started to panic.

"Where did everybody go?" he wailed, on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

xxXxx

"Feeling any better?" Roy asked, peering at Yuki through the covers.

"No," Yuki muttered at him, her face in her pillow. There was a slight pause, and she added, "I hate you."

"What did I do?" Roy asked, annoyed.

"You got me drunk, that's what!" she shouted, her voice muffled.

"I told you to lay of the beer!" he protested. "You didn't listen to me!"

"I hate you anyway." Roy sighed.

"I give up," he mumbled.

xxXxx

"Well, my shift ends in two hours," Alexandra said, flicking some hair from her eyes. "Then we can get out of here."

"Thank God," Ed muttered from his spot on the floor. She laughed and looked down at him.

"It's wasn't that bad!" she exclaimed with a smile. Ed stared at her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He had shed his jacket and was now lying in his white collared shirt. She rolled her eyes and turned around, walking past the shelves towards the back room. She stepped into it and looked around. She hadn't noticed a crate was teetering precariously in its spot atop another crate, high above her. The vibrations of her footsteps were enough to dislodge it further, and before she could do anything, it fell, right onto her bad arm. She screamed out in pain and dropped to her knees, cradling the injured limb. The crate had undone the clasps on the brace, so her auto-mail wasn't in place. It hurt like hell.

"Wha? What is it?" Ed asked frantically, running into the room and kneeling down next to her. He had heard her scream and had to find out what was wrong. "What happened? Is it your arm?" She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Here, let me see," he said gently. Alexandra hesitated. She didn't want to show him her auto-mail. Luckily, only the clasps were undone, and the metal wasn't visible. She held it out for him. He pulled up her sleeve and looked at the brace. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's…it's a brace. My arm is weak," Alexandra lied. She shut her eyes as Ed twisted it and looked at it from all angles.

"Oh…" Ed said quietly. He quickly fastened the clasps and pulled her sleeve back down. "Does it feel okay now?"

"Yeah," Alexandra replied. She exhaled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Ed said with a smile.

xxXxx

"Come on Roy! We have to make it to the next 20 stores before they close!" Yuki exclaimed, dragging the poor man down the sidewalk with her.

"But you already have, like, 50 cosplay hats! Why do you need more?" he asked.

"Because it's fun!" she shouted.

xxXxx

"What do you think of this one?" Alexandra asked.

"I dunno," Ed answered. "I think it's too big."

"Okay…how about this one?"

"That one's too small."

Alexandra had pulled Ed and Al along house shopping. They were in one of those show homes, where miniature models of houses were on display. They were scrutinizing each one carefully, making sure that they would choose right. Alexandra was going to make the house a gift to Yuki, since Yuki had let her stay in her apartment for so long.

A/N:

I'm going to skip ahead here, because I don't think you want to hear all the torture the girls are putting the guys through. Fast-forward back to the hostel:3

End A/N.

Yuki collapsed onto her bed, exhausted from all the running around and choosing outfits. Roy had been forced to carry all her shopping bags and now dropped them on the ground. He fell back onto his bed and fell asleep right away.

"Hey, Roy? Thanks for helping me out today…I know it was probably really boring, but thanks. You're really sweet." All she got for an answer was snoring. She sat up and looked at Roy. "Well, good thing you didn't hear that."

xxXxx

"Well, that was an interesting day," Ed commented, sitting down on the easy chair in one corner of the room. Al nodded and sat down on his bed.

"Yeah, it was fun," he agreed.

"Oh, and thanks for the free candy, Alex," Ed added, leaning back. Alexandra shut the door and looked at Ed.

"Alex? Hmm…I like it. And no problem," she said with a smile. She quickly scanned the room, since the night before she had only seen the bed in the dark. There was a piano by the small window. "I didn't know there was a piano in here!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I didn't either," Al said. "But I can't play, so it doesn't matter to me."

"Neither can I," Ed admitted.

"Well, I can," Alexandra said quietly. "Would you guys like to hear something?"

"Oh, yeah," Ed replied, sitting up straight. "Right, Al?"

"Sure!" his brother said.

"Okay…" Alexandra sat down at the piano and did a short warm up, after which she stretched her fingers and placed them on the keys. At once, she began playing Beethoven's Fur Elise, slowly and clearly. Ed and Al listened, lost in the music. Alexandra finished the piece soon after that and she looked towards them.

"Wow," Ed whispered, "that was amazing!" Al started clapping.

"Oh, thanks," Alexandra murmured, her cheeks turning pink. "Anyway, I think I'll go take a shower…I'm tired." She stood up and walked towards the bathroom, but stopped about halfway as she realized something. She had left all her clothes in her wardrobe, and that was in the bank vault, and the bank was closed! She looked back at the brothers. "Um, do you think I could borrow a shirt from one of you? To sleep in?" she asked, embarrassed. Ed looked at Al for a second.

"Yeah, sure, you can have one of mine," the blonde said, standing up and walking over to his suitcase. He shuffled through it and came out with a blue collared shirt, which he handed to her. "Here."

"Thanks, Ed!"

XxXxx

A few hours later, the three roommates lay in bed still but not sleeping. Al was staring up at the ceiling in his bed, and Ed and Alexandra were looking away from each other in theirs. Finally, Alexandra got a bit too restless, and stood up to walk over to the window. She leaned against the still and stared out at the full moon. Soon after that, Ed and Al got up to stand next to her.

"You can't sleep either?" Ed asked.

"No," said Al. Alexandra stayed quiet. She fingered the small silver locket that hung around her neck. Ed noticed.

"What's that?" he asked quietly. Alexandra rubbed her eyes and opened the small charm. She showed it to Ed.

"It's my mom," she whispered, gesturing to the small picture nestled in the frame. Al looked over, and she held it out to him, too. "God, I miss her so much," she said softly, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground, feeling tears running down her cheeks. Ed looked down at her sadly and kneeled next to her. Al did the same.

"We miss our mom, too," Al said quietly. Ed nodded. He sat down next to Alexandra and put an arm around her shoulders hesitantly. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes again.

"I can't sleep…do you want to hear a lullaby? It's one my mom used to sing for me when I couldn't sleep." They nodded. She closed her eyes and began to sing. "Hush little baby; mama's near, to brush your hair and calm your fears. To kiss your cheek and hold your hand, 'til you drift off to sleepyland. To help you count those little white sheep, and sing you songs 'til you're asleep. To tell you tales of kings and queens, of Jack and Jill and wonderful things." She paused to yawn and rested her head on Ed's shoulder. "So snuggle up and hold me tight, and dream sweet dreams all through the night. And every night when the sun goes down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town." When she finished, Al and Ed were already sleeping. Alexandra smiled at them, then closed her eyes and fell asleep against Ed.