Disclaimer: L.Q does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Edward was awakened from his sleep when sunlight hit his eyelids. He groaned in protest and buried his head underneath his pillow.

"Al, can you get the blinds?" he mumbled.

The lack of response made Ed remember where he was. He snapped his eyes open and sat up on his bed.

Wait, his bed?

He knew for a fact that he fell asleep on the couch last night. This meant . . . dammit, the colonel had carried him upstairs and tucked him in bed like a child!

Ed wanted to be angry, but if he thought about it, it was better this way. Who knew if he would've recovered enough to climb up the stairs on his own? At least Mustang had spared him the humiliation of being carried while he was conscious.

Not that being carried while he was sleeping was that much better.

Ed kicked the blanket off of him and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He was pleased to see that Mustang hadn't dared touch his clothes.

Yawning, he stretched his arms above his head, and then walked out of his room. Mustang didn't seem to be awake yet, which meant he got first dibs on the bathroom!

He dashed into the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind him. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. The bruise under his eye didn't look too bad, thanks to Mustang's quick treatment of it.

Ed stripped and stepped into the shower. The hot water was glorious. He considered just standing there to waste all of it, but he reconsidered and thought not leaving Mustang an ice cold shower was a great way to thank him for treating his bruise.

When he was done, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself. He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door to find – Mustang.

He was sitting on the floor with his knees up to his chest and his back against the wall. Ed looked – down! – at Mustang.

He was now wearing a white short-sleeved cotton shirt and sweatpants.

Which was more decent than the single towel Ed was wearing.

"What the hell are you are you doing there?!" Ed spluttered, folding his arms across his chest.

Mustang raised a single eyebrow as he climbed to his feet. "What does it look like? I was simply waiting for you to get out of the bathroom."

"I doubt it."

Mustang smirked as he stepped into the washroom. "Doubt all you want; when you have to go, you have to go," he said as he closed the door behind him.

Ed's glare dropped as soon as the door closed. He was willing to admit to himself that he was touched by Mustang's concern, but this – this was just hovering. If Mustang tried to act like some kind of overbearing father, he would have no choice but to give him a good punch to the face, for his own sake as well.

With that in mind, he returned to his room to put on some clothes.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Mustang looked at Edward over his plate of bacon and eggs. Ed shrugged, and continued stuffing his face. The boy must've been starving, having not eaten anything the previous night.

"I'm going to spend today at the library with Al," Ed replied, his mouth full. "By the way, did he call yesterday after I . . . fell asleep?"

Mustang thought about it. Yes, Al did call, but the call was regarding his progress on tracking down the unknown woman. He was working with Hughes and his investigation team, and was going to be reviewing information with them today.

Which meant Mustang had to keep Ed busy.

"Yes, Alphonse did call yesterday," he said, trying to think of something on the fly. "He said he remembered a particular medical book that may be helpful. It's in the library in East City, so he took the first train there. He called to say good-bye, but I didn't want to wake you."

Mustang held his breath, hoping Ed would buy his explanation. Ed frowned down at his plate, thinking.

"Okay. I'll just go to the library by myself then," he finally said.

Damn. Edward was not supposed to go to the library; Al had mentioned going there today, and he didn't want Ed to bump into him when he was supposedly on his way to East City.

"I don't think so," Roy said. "I'm supposed to watch you, and I do not feel like watching you waste a perfectly good Saturday holed up in the library."

Ed scowled. "What do you propose we do then?"

"Well, what's your idea of a good time?"

Edward stared at Mustang. What was his idea of a good time? He couldn't remember the last time he had done something purely for the fun of it, unless insulting Mustang and ticking off crooks counted.

He didn't have time for fun. Why would he? His brother was trapped in an unfeeling suit of armour, and every minute Ed wasted doing things as simple as eating and sleeping, much less having fun, was a minute taken away from Al's life.

He didn't have time for fun, but there was always time for research.

Ed couldn't even think about letting up on his research. He owed at least that much to his brother. If he didn't have any leads on the Philosophers stone, then he should be perfecting his alchemy and combat skills. He should only be focusing on things that he could use to help his brother. Wasting time chasing after mindless entertainment was not helping his brother.

He was appalled at Mustang for even suggesting he waste this perfect Saturday doing anything but something productive.

"My idea of good time is working out," Ed finally said. It wasn't a lie; working out was always a win-win thing to do. "I especially like to spar."

The thought of 'accidentally' giving Mustang a black eye in a sparring match brought a wicked smile to Ed's face.

"Would you care to join me?" he asked Mustang.

"I don't think so."

Ed's fantasy was immediately blown to smithereens. He opened his mouth to protest, but Mustang beat him to it.

"I don't like the look on your face, and I don't think attempting to beat people up is a healthy thing for a teenage boy to enjoy." Mustang pushed his chair back, got up, and put his plate in the sink. "I think we'll just go for a walk."

Ed scowled.

It was a nice day outside. The sun shone brightly, and a few clouds were strung across the sky like wisps of cotton candy. The trees lining the sidewalk swayed gently in the light breeze.

"It's a beautiful day today."

"Yup, sure is."

"I spend so many of these days inside the office; it's nice to finally be out and about for once."

Ed didn't even bother giving the colonel a reply. To be honest though, he liked to be out on these kinds of days too. They were perfect for when he was travelling on the road with Alphonse.

Their walk soon brought them to a park, where there were tons of people. There seemed to be some sort of special event going on. Ed tiptoed and saw a large stage set up on the grass. Music blasted out of large speakers and a man was singing his heart out on the stage. Various attractions were scattered throughout the park and vendors dotted the park here and there, selling fried foods and treats. A little girl ran past them, holding pink cotton candy and a balloon in one hand.

"What's all this?" Ed looked up at Mustang, who was surveying the scene with a critical eye.

"It's called a travelling fair, Edward," Mustang said. "Haven't you ever heard of one?"

"Tch, I know what a fair is!"

"Then you should know that fairs are a great place to spend the day." Without another word, Mustang strode into the crowd, leaving Edward to follow reluctantly behind him.

Ed followed Mustang through the park, who stopped every once in a while to look at an attraction. Ed wasn't really interested, and still had his mind on research. He didn't understand why Mustang would rather be here than at the library. Even though the man wasn't desperately searching for something that may or may not be a myth, he could still learn something from being around all those books, right?

Out of the corner of his eye, Ed caught sight of something that made him stop his grumbling. With a fleeting glance at Mustang's back, he left the man and merged into a small crowd that was watching a juggling clown.

The clown was smiling widely and tossing red balls into the air. With grass under his feet and a light breeze in the air, memories from Resembool were suddenly blown into Ed's mind.

He remembered a fair that he had once gone to with Winry and Al when they were children. Winry had made them all stop to watch a clown similar to this one. Ed remembered watching fascinated as the clown threw the balls into the air one after the other. Even as a child, he had been more interested in the physics behind it than the actual spectacle of it.

The first five seconds of it had been amazing, but then Al had decided he was scared by the clown's makeup and started crying. Ed had never really liked clowns after that.

The memory brought a frown to Ed's face. The clown finished his juggling act and came up to Edward. He took some balloons out of nowhere, blew them up, and then quickly twisted them into a hat. He placed it on Ed's head with a goofy smile.

Ed was just about to tell him off for treating him like a child, but Mustang was suddenly at his side. Ed looked up and opened his mouth, ready to defend himself against the smirking Bastard, only to find that . . . Mustang wasn't smirking. The colonel had a strange expression on his face. It looked like he was both happy and sad.

Hmm, maybe he had a similar memory concerning clowns.

"Don't wander off without me, Edward," Mustang said softly as they watched the clown go back to performing his tricks.

"Whatever," Ed replied. He didn't need anyone looking out for him, especially someone like Mustang! He was definitely strong enough to look after himself; hadn't he proved that by now? Adults only got in the way these days; he didn't want anyone trying to baby him.

Regardless of how good it felt.

Ed sneaked a glance at Mustang, who was watching the clown impassively. He hadn't commented on his balloon hat yet, so Ed decided that it was okay to leave it on for the time being. They continued to watch the clown for a while, until Mustang decided that it was time to move on.

The pair walked through the fair in silence. Ed looked down at the ground. Why was he here, again?

Ed suddenly realized that Mustang wasn't with him anymore. The nerve of that guy! He tells Ed not to wander off and then goes and does it himself barely five minutes later!

Ed stopped his mental ranting and shrugged. He didn't really care. He should be glad the bastard had left him; but the feeling of disappoint that ran through him told him that he felt otherwise.

Something pink and fluffy suddenly obscured his vision. Ed backed up a bit, and was surprised to see Mustang holding cotton candy out to him.

"A vendor was selling some back there," Mustang said by way of explanation. "I thought you might like some."

Ed stared at him incredulously.

"It's not poisoned, Edward." Mustang grabbed his left hand and wrapped his fingers around the stick extending from the mass of pink fluff.

"Unless you count sugar as poison, that is."

Edward didn't say anything and looked at the candy in wonder. He had never had cotton candy before. His mother had never let him and Al buy some, and he had never gone out of his way to buy some on his travels with Al, seeing as they were always busy fighting for their lives and making breakthroughs in their research.

But Mustang had just come along and handed him some, so it would be a shame not to try it now. And since when did he ever turn down free food?

Ed opened his mouth wide and took a huge bite out of the cotton candy. After a few seconds of contemplation on the taste – it was better than he had ever imagined it to be – he grinned up at Mustang.

"Thanks, Mustang"

Mustang raised his eyebrows slightly, but replied nonetheless. "You're welcome, Ed."

Ed enjoyed the fair after that. He pointed at attractions and mooched money off of Mustang to play games and win prizes. After successfully knocking down all the bottles with a ball, he was presented with an array of stuffed animals to choose from.

A large, fluffy cat beckoned to him. It was rather cute and he immediately thought of Al. He sneaked a side glance at Mustang, who was looking the other way.

The man hadn't said anything about his hat and had bought him cotton candy. He had even given Ed money to play the game, knowing that Ed would probably win and be offered a prize.

He was pretty sure that Mustang wouldn't look down on him too muchif he got a giant stuffed kitty.

Ed quickly pointed out what he wanted and soon he was using both his arms to hold the stuffy to his chest.

"It's for Alphonse," he said quickly when he saw the corners of Mustang's mouth twitch upwards.

The fair had a Ferris wheel, and Ed looked up at it in awe. It would be amazing to look over the whole fair from the top . . .

"Do you want to go on, Ed?"

Ed looked at Mustang. He was munching on a hotdog and holding a bag full of sweets. (They belonged to Ed, but he had given them to Mustang a while ago for him to hold.)

"It'll be a view like you've never seen before."

"Are you saying I'm short?!"

"Nobody is as tall as a Ferris wheel; it will be a fantastic view for me too."

". . . Fine."

Mustang led the way to the lineup, but Edward was excited to go on as well. They had never been able to bring Ferris wheels all the way to Resembool during fairs, so he was looking forward to another new experience.

The assistant smiled down at Edward as he climbed into the carriage after Mustang. "Going on a ride with your father, eh? It's a lovely day for it."

Ed felt his eyebrow twitch. How could this girl think they were family? He and Mustang looked nothing like each other! Before he could set things straight, the door was closed and the carriage started moving.

Mustang was sitting there impassively, so Edward couldn't tell what he thought of the comment. A fleeting thought of his own father crossed his mind and he hoped Mustang wasn't too offended by being mistaken for his dad.

Soon enough all the carriages were filled and the Ferris wheel began to move in a continuous circle. Ed was amazed at the view when they reached the top. He could see the entire fair! He could even see where the gigantic park ended and where the streets and buildings began. If he squinted, he could even see Mustang's house.

"The view is just as good when you're looking at it from inside the carriage, you know."

Ed scowled at Mustang, who was taking in the view while still staying in his seat. He reluctantly pulled his head back inside the carriage and forced himself to sit down.

"Bastard," he mumbled.

Mustang gave a small chuckle.

Ed looked at him from the corner of his eye. What was wrong with Mustang? He had been acting suspiciously like a human being today. Hmm . . . maybe he only turned into a bastard when he was at work!

That would definitely explain a lot.

Ed went back to looking out the window. Al would've loved this. He'd definitely have to bring Al on a Ferris wheel one of these days. But would Al even be able to fit in the carriage?

Edward tore his gaze away from the view outside and calculated the dimensions of the carriage. Yes, Al would fit, but it would be a tight fit.

Of course, size and weight wouldn't have been a problem if Al had his own body . . .

"Edward, can you see HQ from here?"

Ed blinked in surprise as he was torn from his thoughts. Mustang was staring at him intently. Why did he ask him? He could just look out the window and see for himself!

"You can only see the military headquarters through your window; mine is facing in the opposite direction," Mustang said.

"Fine, lazy bastard." Ed grumbled to himself and twisted around in his seat to look in the direction of HQ.

It was nowhere in sight.

"Not only are you a bastard, but you're an idiot as well; HQ isn't anywhere near here!"

It was true; Mustang's house was in between headquarters and the park. They were all the way at the park and the Ferris wheel wasn't that high up.

After trading insults inside the carriage, Ed ended up leaving the fair in high spirits, with all depressing thoughts of Al out of his mind.

Alphonse looked at the pictures and sighed in frustration.

"It was dark and I couldn't get a good look at her face. She could be any one of these women, or none of them!"

Hughes sighed and took off his glasses. He rubbed a hand over his face, massaging his eyes.

"Then we don't have much to go on. We might just have to wait until she strikes again."

Al could only sit there in resignation and hope that his brother would be alright.

"You still want dinner?"

Roy looked at his charge incredulously. Where did Edward put all his food? And didn't he have a spoiled appetite from all the junk he ate at the fair?

Ed looked at him. "What? Did you think I would pass up any chance to mooch free food off of you? Besides, I didn't get to eat dinner yesterday."

Roy rolled his eyes and headed to the kitchen.

Edward headed up the stairs to his room with a full belly. Boy did Mustang know how to cook! He had thought for sure that the pyromaniac was only capable of burning food, but he had been pleasantly surprised today.

Ed stepped into his room and placed his - Al's - stuffed cat on the floor beside his bed. He fell onto his bed with a contented sigh and crossed his arms behind his head.

He hadn't done any research today or learned anything (aside from the fact that Mustang liked hot-dogs, was a good cook, and wasn't ashamed to go on a Ferris wheel), but he had still had fun.

Maybe spending days like today just having fun wasn't such a bad thing after all. All he needed for everything to be perfect was the addition of Al.

Ed smiled to himself just thinking about it, but soon furrowed his brows in confusion. Didn't he need to subtract Mustang from the equation for everything to be perfect?

Yes, yes he did. Just he and Al would be fine; they didn't need Mustang.

Ed flipped over and buried his face in the pillow. Why had he even bothered to include the bastard in the first place?

L.Q: Hmm . . . I think the ending is a bit messed up.

Lest: Only because you wrote it, like, right before you posted it!

L.Q: It's called last minute inspiration!

Lest: If you say so.

L.Q: Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I can't believe I got 30 for 3 chapters!

Lest: Yeah, keep 'em coming, guys!