Prologue - Part 1
Hughes

The sun hung lazily over the city of Munich on that bright, summer morning. Cobblestone streets sat mostly undisturbed while working men and women prepared for the day ahead. Two such people just so happened to be doing so on opposite sides of one of these quiet streets—one with her flower shop, and the other pausing to take in the view on his daily route.

This was the day, Maes Hughes told himself for the quadrillionth time. He could feel it in his bones: this was the day he would confess his love to the only woman on Earth, Gracia Baumgartner. ("Only" in the metaphorical sense.) He had planned it all out... Well, not all of it...Well, not any, really. Maes couldn't get up the nerve to make a plan, so he had simply decided that today would be the day. She would be opening her shop soon enough, and then he would make his move. He had to. If he chickened out now, he would never be able to do it.

Time passed. Folks walked the streets on their way to wherever they were going. The flower shop had opened five minutes ago, and Maes was managing quite well to appear casual. Finally, Gracia stepped outside with a small bundle of flowers, and Maes' heart stopped. She was so beautiful! The way she took an unconscious sniff from her bouquet while turning to place it outside on display; the care she put into arranging them... It was breathtaking.

A pair of kids walked up. The elder, a blond boy in a casual brown jacket—completely unfit for this weather—greeted her. Gracia started turning, but she paused upon spotting the young police officer across the street. She smiled and waved. "Good morning, Mr. Hughes!"

Maes gave her a polite nod and smile. He couldn't do it. Today was not the day, nor would it ever be. Visibly flustered, he turned and continued along on his route—or he would have if his name hadn't been called out again.

"Hughes?"

This time, it was a pair of voices. Maes turned and met the startlingly yellow eyes of the boy by the flower shop. Having recomposed himself, Maes raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he called over in response. "Do I... know you?"

The boy glanced around, and Maes took note of the calculating expression. Seeming to have come to a conclusion, the boy said something quietly to beautiful Gracia and led his companion across the street. "Sorry, you just... reminded me of someone," he confessed. Upon closer inspection, Maes realized the boy was a bit older than he'd initially thought—maybe fifteen or sixteen, not exactly prepubescent.

"Oh, I do, do I?" Maes tucked his thumbs in his pockets casually. "Who is it then? An old friend? Maybe an uncle?"

The young man let out a short guffaw. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I'm Ed by the way. Edward Elric," he added, holding out his right hand. Maes hesitated, but Edward met his eyes and gave him a cheeky grin.

'This kid.' Maes took the hand. It was surprisingly bony, yet firm. "Nice to meet you, Ed. Maes Hughes. And this is...?" He tilted his head to catch the eyes of Edward's companion. The girl was a darker blonde, had blueish eyes; maybe a few years younger than the boy, she sported a more appropriate half-sleeved dress. She seemed startled by the attention, stepping back behind Edward.

Edward looked at her. "This is Felicity, my... sister. Her German isn't too good, though. She, uh, grew up in America with... our mom."

The girl looked up at Maes with an apologetic grin. "Yeah, sorry. H-hi." She had a thick accent, but it was understandable enough.

Maes smiled and gave her a quick wink. "That's all right. What brings you two out so early? Are you staying around here? Just moved in?"

"Yeah, we're staying with a friend at his apartment—just down there." Edward gestured. "As for what we're doing, it's Felicity's birthday today, so I thought I'd take her around town to celebrate."

"Birthday, huh?" Maes adjusted his glasses and placed his hands on his waist, smiling. Now this was something to brighten his day; he loved kids. He smiled at her. "How old are you? Wait, I can guess." He put a hand on his chin and squinted at the girl. "Ten... no, eleven. Twelve, tops. Is she twelve?"

Felicity gaped at him. She asked Edward something in English. He responded in kind, and she whirled on Maes. "I'm SEVENTEEN, you idiot."

Maes blinked. "Oh! Uh, sorry about that...? Geez, it was an honest mistake." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, tilting his head just enough to read a nearby clock. "Er, well, it's about time I get going, but... Happy birthday, Felicity."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him playfully, which made him relax a bit. She turned to her brother. "I think I used that wrong. He looks hurt."

Edward shook his head at whatever she said. "Nah, you're fine. He's just surprised. 'Cause you're short."

Felicity gasped. "Hypocrite!"

"I was never that short."

"You don't have an excuse."

"For what? I was never short."

"Not even. You were a bean sprout."

"The heck is a bean sprout?"

"Uh... I'm not sure of the translation..."

Maes watched their back and forth in bemusement. "Hey, I got one more question."

Edward looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"Where are you from? You said she was raised in America."

"Oh, yeah." The young man waved dismissively. "She was born here, but uh, she went over there with our mom when she was still a baby. Long story. Don't ask."

Maes raised an eyebrow. "All right then. Well, I really must be going. I work around here, so I guess we'll be seeing each other again."

"Guess so," Edward replied. He smiled, waved, and turned. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hughes."

"You too, Edward."

"Call me Ed."

Maes chuckled. "All right. It was nice meeting you, Ed." And as he watched the teenagers return to his love's flower shop, Maes Hughes realized that his last chance had been squandered. He would never ever be with her. He sighed, turning and shaking his head. "Maybe in another life."

Whaatt? Third person? But I liked hearing Felicity's panicked inner-dialogue! It was so relatable!

Okay, so here's how it's gonna go down: I've written a few chapters worth of third person events and more of Felicity's writing. And yes, it is her writing; she's got this neat little red journal and everything. BUT! the majority of the plot is in third person. Her voice is still mostly commentary. Although, I haven't finished it yet, so later chapters are flexible: What would you prefer? I have yet another poll on my profile for that, but if you just want to review with your answer, that's fine.

...Hm? What? Oh, you don't like that she's in Germany now? Oh... I'm sorry... If you have the time, maybe you could give it a chance? If not, thanks for sticking around this long. Wait, you didn't even watch the 2003 anime? What are you doing here? GIT OUT! SHOO! SHOO! Watch that first. Bookmark this or something, then shoo!

TO NEWCOMERS: How did you get here? Well, I guess I did say you don't need to have read Fullmetal Adventure. There will be some odd things, but that fic is loooonnnnggg (and very obviously a journey of my writing skills from the bottom of acceptableness), so I don't blame you for skipping it

R&R is like clapping for Tinkerbell.