With a sigh, Al adjusted the brown paper bag in his arms and closed the store door behind him. After leaving his brother behind at their temporary dorms, the younger brother decided that it would be best if he went out to buy lunch instead of trying to get the "crazy" blond boy dragged to a restaurant only to make a complete fool of himself. Al knew that if Edward were to come back to his senses and found out that he ripped the underwear off of some poor waiter, he might bash his head into a wall out of embarrassment. Either that, or lock himself in some room and rant to himself about pretty much everything with the Colonel's name thrown into the tangent every few sentences.

"Oh, Alphonse!" Al started when he was pulled out of his thoughts and looked around, recognizing that it was Gracia who greeted him.

"Hello, Gracia." He bowed his head slightly to the brown-haired woman. "It's good to see you again."

Gracia smiled. "It's good to see you too, Alphonse." She looked around. "Where's your brother? It's rare for you two to be apart. Is he locked in the library researching?" There was a small chuckle at the end of her question.

Al shook his head. "No, Brother's back at the military dorms. He's…not himself right now."

"Is Edward sick?" He looked down and spotted little Elysia clinging onto her mother's skirt.

"Hello, Elysia! Yes, he is…quite sick." He placed a hand behind his helmet and he sounded hesitant with his answer.

Gracia, meanwhile, frowned. "Oh, that's not good. Was he pushing himself too hard again? I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I were to stop by quickly just to check up on him."

Al jumped. "Oh! No, no, that's not necessary! Ed's just fine. You don't have to visit him."

Gracia looked downcast. "Oh, okay. Well, I hope he'll be okay. I suggest, though, that he shouldn't be kept in his room all the time. He should be let out once in a while for fresh air. It will be good for his body."

"Thank you, Gracia." Al nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. I have to go back and check up on him now--"

"Isn't that Edward over there?" Elysia pointed a finger to a small outdoor café across the street, and when Alphonse looked at that direction he nearly fell over.

Indeed, Edward was at that café, but he wasn't ordering a coffee or snacking on a pastry. In fact, he was scaring the crap out of some poor young couple by barking and pulling at their clothes as if trying to get their attention. He had their attention, all right, as well as everybody else within the vicinity.

"Edward, no, what are you doing?!" Al exclaimed. He quickly bowed to the two females before running across the street and pushing through the growing crowd to desperately get to his brother. He ignored any protests from the passersby and quickly grabbed the dog-boy into a bear hug to prevent him from escaping.

"I am so sorry!" he apologized, bowing hastily to the couple as he backed away from the eating area. "Please excuse my brother's behavior, he hasn't been feeling well lately!"

"Well, then there must be something definitely wrong with him!" the man spat as he held his trembling lover close to him. "He tried to knock my wife off her chair!"

One of the bystanders pointed at Alphonse, or at least the "Edward" in his arms. "Hey!" he cried, "Isn't that the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Al jumped in shock and horror as the crowd burst into questions, most of them directed at him. "Um, um, no! He isn't!" he replied. "He's just…a huge fan of him and he likes to dress up as him!" At that, in order to avoid the crowd's growing questions and suspicions, he burst into a run, careful to not throw Ed around too roughly.

It took a while, but after walking a few blocks, he made it away from the curious and disturbed stares of the bystanders (some had the nerve to follow him) and with a relieved sigh, Al set his brother's body down. To his dismay, the teen didn't stand upright, but instead slumped into a sitting position with his legs tucked under him and most of his weight resting on his palms flat on the ground in between his knees.

"Edward…" Al sighed, his voice attracting the attention of the dog boy.

"Um, excuse me, Alphonse?" The suit of armor jumped at the hesitant voice, and when turned around he saw Gracia approaching him with Elysia clamped onto her arm. He was surprised to see that the mother and daughter had caught up with him so quickly since he had been walking rather fast.

"Oh, Gracia! You followed us here?" He put an arm behind his head. "Um, about what happened back there with Brother…"

Gracia frowned and shook her head. "Alphonse, what happened to Edward? Why was he acting the way he was?"

"Yeah!" Elysia piped up. "If he wanted play make-believe, he shouldn't do it in public. He looked really stupid." She would've continued, but her mother gave her a warning glance and put a finger up to her lips.

"Uh…Brother…he…" Alphonse sighed when he saw the woman's determined face. "Can we talk about this in someplace more…private? I mean, it's bad enough that people are staring…" He voice dropped as he glanced at the few people scattered around the street.

Gracia nodded. "Of course. My house is only about two blocks from here. It'll only be a few minute's walk."

---

"…So for a while, I decided that he was off on his own long enough and he still had stuff to do, so when I went to get him, he was like this." Alphonse looked down at Edward and Elysia as the two rolled around on the floor and barked at each other. Elysia wasn't listening to the conversation, so she thought that he was just playing.

Gracia nodded in understanding. "I see." She took a moment to take a sip out of a tea cup cradled in her hands before continuing. "And you don't know what happened?"

Al's helmet shook back and forth. "No, I don't. All I remember is Brother falling out of some doorway all beat up and…not himself."

With a worried sigh, Gracia leaned forward and rested a hand on Edward's cheek, her thumb brushing lightly against one of his bandaged wounds. "You poor boy," she almost whispered. She smiled sadly as the boy relaxed to her touch and nuzzled into her hand. "Where did this happen again?"

"At a bookstore. You know that new one that opened not too long ago down by Main Street?"

Gracia gasped lightly and pulled her hand back, making Edward whine and nudge her leg with his nose. "Oh! I might know where you're talking about! Was there a little puppy there?"

Alphonse jumped. "Yes there was! Oh, shoot, I forgot about that puppy! I was going to come back and get him, but I was so busy with Brother…"

"We took the puppy in last night!" The two looked at Elysia, who was standing and patting Ed's head. "We had to put him back, though, because Mommy said that he wasn't ours." Al's head shot up and his red eyes locked with Gracia's dull green ones. "He might still be there, then," he said as he began to stand up, only to be ushered back down by Gracia.

"Don't worry, Alphonse, we checked the store before we met up with you." She could tell that he was confused. "The puppy wasn't there, so his owner must have returned to get him."

"But…that makes no sense…" Al shook his head. "The owner of the shop was arrested, and we would've known if he was ever released…"

"Then perhaps a relative or a friend came by," Gracia reassured, covering up her own growing uneasiness. "Don't worry, Alphonse. I'm sure he's okay."

Al was silent for a while before replying. "Yeah, you're right." He went into a thoughtful pause. "What was that dog's name again? I know that that shop owner said it a few times…Dr…Drew…no, that's not right…neither is David…Dr…Dru…" His eyes lit up. "Drudwyn! That's his name, Drudwyn."

They all started when Edward jumped around and barked excitedly. Finishing off his spasm with a whine, he propped himself up onto his knees and leaned against the couch that Alphonse and Gracia were resting on.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Al leaned forward. "Brother?"

Any and all enthusiasm Edward expressed had faded and he let out a whiney bark. Gracia frowned and placed a hand on his head.

"Edward…" She shook her head. "What happened to you?" Ed let out a breath and rested his head on her knees, his dim golden-brown eyes wide and staring up at her.

"Alphonse, since when were Edward's eyes brown?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Al leaned over so he was looking at his brother. He cocked his head to the side as he observed him. "They were always gold-colored…" He sighed in defeat." I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with what that storekeeper did to him…"

The room went quiet, and Elysia took the opportunity to climb up onto the couch and snuggle against her mother while watching Edward with curiosity.

"Is there something wrong with Edward?" she asked as Ed began to crawl up onto couch with them. "Has he gone crazy?"

Silence. As if noticing the uneasiness, Edward let out a hesitant whine as he curled up beside the armor and laid his head onto his lap.

"Brother…" A gauntlet gently rested on Ed's shoulder, the thumb slowly massaging a spot on the red cloth. Al could tell that his brother was upset and in despair. What he didn't know, though, was that the reason why his brother was upset was not only because his real name was unknown to them, but also because he missed him. He missed his master.

---

The lunch hour had ended a good two hours ago, and Roy Mustang's subordinates were quite well aware of it. Four sets of hungry stomachs crowded around one of the small desks in the corner of the suboffice and away from the double doors leading to their superior's main office. It wouldn't be a very good situation if the Colonel, who was being forced to work under the watchful eye of his Lieutenant, were to hear whim of their plans to sneak off for something to munch on that wasn't cafeteria food.

"So…" Havoc said, his cigarette wiggling in his mouth. His fingers dug into his mop of blond hair to scratch at his scalp. "How about that sandwich shop down the street? I heard that they had some pretty damn good hoagies."

There was some quiet mumbling between the others before little Fuery piped up, "I heard some bad things about that place. I don't trust it. How about that one place at the corner of 23rd and Cherry? I'm in the mood for something spicy."

Havoc shook his head. "Nah, too far. We don't want to have to cross Central to get lunch. If Hawkeye finds us missing, we're screwed. Remember, we have these to worry about." He picked up a thick manila folder and waved it around.

They let out a chorused sigh, which was accompanied with a few stomach growls.

"How about…" All attention was diverted to Breda. "How about just one of us goes out to get lunch and the rest stay here? I'm sure then we can make up an excuse when Hawkeye's done with the Colonel and she comes out here to find that one of us has gone missing."

"Yeah, yeah, that's good, that's good." Falman nodded and scratched his chin in thought. "The question is, though, who?"

The room was silent once more, then in unison everyone raised a hand and said, "I will." They looked at each other and sighed as their arms fell at their sides.

"If everyone wants to go, then how about we have some sort of game to decide who goes?" Fuery suggested, adjusting his glasses. "The winner could then go and get lunch." The rest nodded in agreement and the Sergeant smiled.

"Alright, then." Havoc held his almost-depleted cigarette between his middle and forefinger as he sighed out a puff of smoke. "What should we do then?"

Breda held up a finger. "How about a poker or Black Jack tournament?"

"Nah, too long. I'd like to eat before the end of the day." Havoc glanced up at the clock. It was almost three in the afternoon.

"Um…" Fuery scratched his head. "How about "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" or pick a number?"

Havoc shook his head. "No, they're both rigged. How about…the one who's tallest?"

Fuery frowned. "Not fair…"

A few more suggestions were thrown around, one of which included guessing on what the Colonel and Lieutenant would do if someone pounded on their door.

Havoc listened to the ideas, his eyes shifting from one subordinate to the other, and as soon as he heard one that piqued his interest, he raised a hand to silent them and pointed at Falman. "You. Repeat what you said."

Falman raised an eyebrow. "Um…rock paper scissors?"

"Yes!" Everyone jumped at the blond's exclamation, his cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth. "Rock paper scissors. Brilliant idea. Simple and quick, I like."

Everyone else smiled. "So, how's it gonna go?" Breda asked. "First one out gets to go, or…"

"No." Havoc rested his arms on his and Fuery's shoulders. "We keep playing till only one person is left, and that first person goes and gets lunch! Great, huh?" He pulled his arms back and held out a fisted hand, the other three following suit.

In unison, they bobbed their fists and muttered, "Rock, papers, scissors…"

"What's going on here?"

The four jumped in surprise and spun around, bolting into a straight upright position when they saw that it was none other than Roy Mustang. "Sir!"

Fuery slouched a little and gave his superior a sheepish grin. "Uh, Sir? How much of that have I heard?" He scooted aside when Mustang approached him and heaved himself up onto the corner of the desk.

"Long enough to know that you're trying to get your asses out of here without bothering to invite me." He leaned forward and held out a fist. "You know, I can play a mean round of rock paper scissors."

The other four looked around warily and, seeing that Hawkeye was still in Mustang's office keeping herself preoccupied on the phone, they gathered around into a circle and held out their fists.

Mustang was disappointed to see that he was the first one out.