A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers and to my beta! 3

009: Unknown Past

The girl—if it was appropriate to call her that, for she seemed only a few years younger than him—was standing quietly outside their shop. He found it unusual for two reasons: because it was a bar and he rarely saw girls in their teens loitering anywhere near it, and because she did not look like she was lost. She had short blonde hair, and timid brown eyes, and her hands were carrying a basket of fruits. His hands stopped in the middle of wiping a beer mug, as he wondered again why she would be here.

"Roy-boy!" a voice called out from behind him. He started as his foster mother walked near him. "What are you daydreaming over there for?"

It was late in the afternoon, and people were starting to file into the bar, it was arguably the busiest time of their business. He hurried to pick the cloth he had dropped, and finished the glass he had left half-dry. "Nothing," he mumbled.

Madame Christmas frowned, clearly unconvinced. She looked to where he had been staring and saw the girl out their window. A grin spread across her burly face. "Ooooo, she looks pretty," she teased.

Roy glared at her, as his cheeks turned pink. "It's nothing like that."

Madame Christmas laughed. "Really? It's not like you to be so shy about these kinds of things, Roy-boy."

Roy flinched at her address. He did not reply, but continued to glare at her.

"Doesn't matter, she's gone now anyway," Madame Christmas' said, after another long laugh.

Roy turned quickly to where the girl had been, but there was nothing there now but an empty sidewalk.

Before he could react, Madame Christmas placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll see her again. Central is a very small city, despite what people say," she smiled at him. "And we've got a lot of work to do now, anyway."

He finally looked away from the window, and shrugged her hand away. "I told you, it's nothing like that." He picked a new glass at his side, as his foster mother walked away chuckling. Yet even as the night wore on, he wondered about the girl.

"Roy-boy?"

Roy turned in surprise, and smiled as his foster mother walked towards him. "Daydreaming again?" she asked.

He shrugged as he pulled a seat for her. "Not really. An old memory suddenly resurfaced, that's all," he said quietly.

She laughed. "It's not like you to be reminiscing. And I thought you'd left minutes ago?" she asked him.

"Just waiting for my ride," he explained, taking his chair.

She raised a brow. "You didn't drive your car here?"

"A friend did. She dropped me off and picked up something from her apartment before we leave for headquarters," he explained, taking a sip from the glass of water before him.

"Oooo, got a lady from the military, have you?" she grinned.

Roy laughed. "It's nothing like that," he explained. In the corner of his eye, he saw a head of blonde appear outside the window. "Oh, she's here," he stood, smiling again at his foster mother. "I'll visit again next time. Tell the girls to take care," he said.

Madame Christmas rose from her seat as well. "You won't even introduce her?" she feigned a frown.

"Maybe next time," he called out, as he waved and walked away.

The bar was empty and it was easy for him to navigate through the tables. He tightened his coat as he stepped outside, and was greeted by the salute of the 2nd Lieutenant.

"I thought you'd get lost on the way back," he smiled as they walked towards his car.

"That's improbable, sir," she glanced at the bar and then at a street to their right. "There's a grocery far in that street," she gestured, just before they opened the car doors. "We often went there for fruits, when I was younger." They settled on their chairs.

He looked at the street interestedly. "Really?" he exclaimed in surprise. "I never knew there was a grocery there," he said, as he secured his seat belt.

She nodded as she turned the car's engine on.

"I should check out their fruits sometime soon," he shrugged, and the memory faded back into his subconsciousness.

END