A/N: Uh… Hello? *people throw tomatoes* Ehehe… So um… I wrote a new chapter..? I'm giving you permission to kill me if you want; I know how much it sucks to wait for new chapters. But then you wouldn't have another chapter. xD But anyways yeah, so this chapter is cute with extra fluff! ^^
This chapter dedicated to Not so human anymore for coming up with this idea… I am aware you all wanted an angst filled chapter but this idea was so cute I couldn't help myself…
Kidnapping #10: Happy
Date: July 25th, 1912
"Hey boss, come on, let's do this one!" Lieutenant Havoc exclaimed cheerfully as he grabbed Edward by the arm and dragged him to another game at the fair. This next one was a dart game. The rest of the crew: Breda, Fuery and Falman were following the two behind with ice creams, hot dogs, and a bunch of other kiddie stuff in their hands.
Ed sighed. "Fine, but this is the last one." He mumbled.
It had all started when he came back from the undercover mission that the Colonel had sent him to. He wasn't all that injured this time. Just a bit bruised and scratched. Al wasn't allowed to come. Mustang's orders were strict. So Ed had told Alphonse to go to Winry's and that he would be fine. The mission had taken nearly a week but he was exhausted. The mission had required him to go undercover as a terrorist's son with another soldier. He was supposed to go to meetings with his so-called father and find out where their headquarters were located. And then bring them down when they had trusted him enough. He had done all that and the terrorist gang wasn't even that strong but he felt old. He was only thirteen and yet with all these missions he was being sent to, he felt older than the Colonel.
So when Edward came back, he had dark circles under his eyes and he was scowling more than usual. He had turned his report in and had immediately headed to the dorms. He hadn't even fought that much with the Colonel. When Mustang questioned him, he had given little answers, saying that he was tired, ignoring the crew's looks on him. Lieutenant Hawkeye told him to rest well, but on the way out, but on the way out, she also exchanged glances with Mustang. Ed couldn't care less.
So that's why, he wasn't surprised when the next day Jean, Heymans, Kain and Vato had popped up in his room with civilian clothing, inviting him to the fair in the city. They wouldn't allow him to say no. He really didn't want to go without his brother, but he really couldn't handle their whining and Fuery's puppy eyes. Not when Jean was pushing him on the back to get him to come out his flat while he tried to hold on to the door.
So he'd accepted their requests before he got anymore crocodile tears and here he was. He took the dart and took aim to the bull's eye.
"You've got three tries." The clerk said. "If you hit the bull's eye on all three tries, you get the grand prize." He gestured the huge teddy bear on the corner which was taller than Ed. "If you hit the next circle, you get the smaller toys. The next circle gets you a cup. And if you can't hit any of those…well, then you get nothing."
"Right, right.." He took the darts and turned to the crew. "Don't you guys wanna try throwing too?" He asked.
They all shook their heads.
"Havoc, you have good aim, right? Maybe you should-"
"You've got better aim, don't you?" he grinned. "You've practiced with a gun before."
"We're counting on you, Chief!" Breda yelled, stuffing another hot dog in his mouth, while the other boys with him nodded in agreement.
Ed turned back, and took one of the darts in his hand. A faint smile appeared on his face as he took aim. He was finally able to relax. Maybe it really was a good idea to come with Jean, Heymans, Kain and Vato. He was going to thank them later.
He threw the first dart and it hit bull's eye. The boys behind him cheered. He took the second dart in his hand, more confident in himself, and threw at the next board. It hit the other target.
"One more to go!" Fuery yelled. "Come on, Ed!"
Other people had also gathered around the dart stand and were watching. Edward took a deep breath and threw the last dart.
Earlier that day…
Ding-dong!
Ed sighed, dropping his book in his lap as he rubbed his eyes. Who the hell was bothering him at this hour? He had woken up early that day, at around 5 in the morning to study. Well, actually he hadn't really planned to wake up that early, it's just the nightmares hadn't left him alone. And with Al gone, there wasn't any company. So he had decided to occupy his brain with his research. And now he was being interrupted.
He decided not to answer the door, hoping whoever it was would go away. He picked up the book again and began reading.
But whoever it was, was really persistent, as they repeatedly rang the doorbell over and over again. Edward stood up, swaying a little as his vision went black for a second. "Fine, fine, I'm coming, damn it…" he muttered, trying not to trip over the books he had scattered around.
He opened the door to see four of his colleagues and friends. Jean, Breda, Kain and Vato stared at him with grins on their faces.
They were all wearing regular clothing. "Good-morning Chief!" Jean said, grabbing his arm.
"What is it?" He asked with a bored expression. He really wasn't in the mood today. If the Colonel was planning to send him on a mission today, then he was going to alchemically alter his paperwork so that he would have to do it over again. He shook his arm and pushed Jean off.
"Don't be so cold, Ed!" Kain said.
"Come on, get ready, we're leaving." Breda added, staring at him in the eye as if daring him to say something.
"Why?" Edward asked, squinting his eyes.
"Why, because we're going to an amusement park!" Vato yelled happily.
Ed's face didn't change. "…What?"
"An amusement paaaaark!" Fuery sang. "We're going to have fun! Today is our day off!"
Edward stared for a second before twisting his head to the side and pouting. "No! You're lying! I'm not going to let you drag me to some mission again. Tell the Colonel-"
"We're not lying." Jean said grinning. "Mustang doesn't know anything. Today really is our day off. And we want to take you with us to an amusement park." He held out his arm so that he could wrap his arm around Ed's shoulder.
Edward swiftly slapped it away. "I refuse!"
"Come on! Please Ed!" Breda grabbed his arm and pulled. Edward stood still. He didn't budge a millimeter.
"Please please please!" Vato also pulled with Breda while Ed held on the door so he didn't fall forward. He began grinding his teeth when Jean also started pushing him from the back.
And then he heard sniffling.
He turned his confused head to Fuery.
"And we came all this way… All we wanted was for you to come with us…" He made a really fake sounding hiccup sound.
Ed sighed loudly as he let go of the door. "Fine."
He tried to look annoyed as the crew cheered but even he couldn't hide the small smile that appeared on his face.
Bull's eye!
Bunch of yelling and cheering started around him as Jean slapped his back.
"Good job little boy!"
"He actually did it…"
"Little?" He whispered through his teeth as he turned around to murder the person who called him little. But his sight was blocked as the clerk pushed the giant teddy bear onto him and he nearly toppled over.
"Wow!" Vato yelled.
"It's even bigger than you, Ed!" Jean said, touching the teddy bear's head. He missed Edward's mumbling beneath his breath, promising a painful death. "It's so fluffy and soft too!"
"Really?" Breda advanced. Fuery and Falman both appeared next to Ed and they too, began touching the bear.
"You're right, it is!"
Ed sighed. These guys…they were acting like four-year olds. "Ahem." He cleared his throat. "I want to give this to you guys." Edward said, holding the bear sideways so that it no longer blocked his view.
"Huh?" Jean asked.
"But you won it boss, we can't accept it." Fuery said.
Ed scowled. "Aww come on." He held the bear out. "Take it as my thank-you gift." He mumbled, blushing slightly. "Please?"
He suddenly found himself being embraced by bunch of arms as he was squished between the bear and the other boys.
"You're so nice, Ed!" Fuery said, with tears in his eyes.
"We love you!" Jean yelled.
"You don't have to thank us at all, just you being here is good enough!" Vato tightened his arms around the group.
"We're going to make you the happiest person in the world today!" Heymans cheered, ignoring Ed's struggles to get out of the group hug. They all yelled in agreement.
"Can't…breathe…please…" Ed wheezed but they didn't hear him.
They all released him and took a step back as Jean let go. Apparently Jean was the leader of the group.
"So…where do we go next?" Fuery questioned.
The boys silently looked at each other for a while before Jean spoke up. "We haven't gone on any rides at all yet! Let's start with this one!" Havoc pointed at the 25-meter ferris wheel. He had tied the huge teddy bear to his back so it wouldn't get in the way. People gave him strange looks but he didn't mind.
"Yeah, let's do it!" Fuery agreed, before grabbing Ed by the arm and walking towards the ferris wheel.
"Ummm…guys?" They heard a voice before the three of them stopped and turned around. Vato and Heymans were standing there, not following.
"Come on." Jean gestured.
Falman twirled his fingers, staring at the ground. Breda looked guilty.
"What is it now?" Havoc asked annoyed, rubbing his head.
"Uh, you see…it's um…"
"Spit it out."
"I forgot to bring extra money and we spent the rest on those games and um…Breda also bought hot dogs so basically we don't have any money…" Falman's voice dropped a few decibels. "Which means we won't be able to go on any rides…"
Silence.
"WHAT?!"
"I-I'm sorry Jean! I didn't eat anything before coming here so-"
"We didn't eat anything either! We only ate one hot dog each!" Havoc yelled at them. The two flinched simultaneously while Fuery watched Havoc with wide eyes.
"Umm…how about I go back and bring money while you wait?" Heymans asked for permission, trying to look sorry.
"It took us two hours to get here, you idiot! We can't afford to lose any more time!"
Ed cleared his throat. "Hey guys? Look, it's okay, alright?"
No one looked at him. He frowned.
"Yeah but who cares about losing time if we can't even do anything? So maybe he should go…" Falman mumbled, trying to ignore Jean's angry glare.
Meanwhile, Ed just stood there watching them quarrel. He sighed. He knew they wanted to go on the rides and he knew Breda didn't do good with hunger but he wished they would stop all the yelling.
An arm suddenly locked around his waist.
"Hey! Mm-"
A hand clamped over his mouth and someone dragged him backwards. He was about to start struggling and was thinking of transmuting the guy behind him into a rug when a smaller hand grabbed his flesh hand.
He stopped.
Fuery took a break from listening to all the yelling and turned around to see what Ed was doing.
He wasn't there.
"Huh?"
He adjusted his glasses and scanned the rest of the area around them. He was hoping to catch a short blond with a red coat looking around but there wasn't one.
He turned to Falman, Breda and Havoc.
He tugged at Jean's arm but he was too busy glaring at Heymans and Vato.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'll pay you back when we get back and I'll even buy you a pack of smokes!" Breda continued, trying to reason with Jean.
Jean tugged at his hair. "That isn't the point!"
Falman nodded. "Yeah, besides, those things will kill you."
Jean deflated and sighed. His shoulders slumped forward. He turned around. "Chief, I'm sorry, we really wanted to-"
He stopped and blinked when he only saw Fuery standing there.
"Ed..?" he asked.
"That's what I was going to tell you!" Kain yelled.
Falman, Breda and Havoc looked around in panic.
"Wh-where's the chief?!"
"He's gone!"
Jean glanced at Kain.
Kain gulped. "I already looked around…" he trailed off.
"Maybe he's lost." Falman suggested.
"How can we lose him?!" Breda yelled dramatically.
"What if he realized we're completely useless without money and ditched us?!" Fuery deadpanned.
Kain glared fearfully at Havoc. "Ed wouldn't do that! Would he..?"
"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" Jean said. He turned around and began walking. "Let's search for him!"
The other boys cheered in agreement as they followed him.
After about half an hour, they all slumped dejectedly on a bench.
"He's gone…" Breda mumbled.
"We were going to make him the happiest person in the world…" Kain moaned.
Jean suddenly gasped and sat up straight as if he came to a sudden revelation. The crew looked at him.
"We know Ed wouldn't ditch us…and if we can't find him...what if… What if he got kidnapped?!"
The crew gasped dramatically simultaneously, receiving looks from the people passing by.
"We have to tell the Colonel!"
The phone rang on Mustang's desk as he answered with his left hand while signing papers with his left.
"Sir, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc is calling you from an outside line. He claims it's urgent."
"What could be so urgent, today is supposed to be his day off…" he sighed. "Put him through."
"Yes, sir."
Mustang waited for a few seconds for the Second Lieutenant's voice to be heard.
"H-Hello?" came the hesitant voice. He sounded like he was afraid.
What did that idiot do again?
Mustang shut his eyes. "What is it, Jean?"
There was silence on the other hand for a moment before stuttering began. "W-well, you see, uhmm… You know how today was our day off..?"
"Uh-huh." Mustang responded, bored.
"And, uhh…Kain, Vato, Heymans and I decided to go to an amusement park…and we decided to bring Ed with us…"
Mustang sighed. "Let me guess…You annoyed him to the point where he broke one your noses?"
"Uhh..no.. Actually, we got him to come with us." Jean replied.
Roy began tapping his pen onto the papers he'd signed. "Then? What's the problem?"
"Well, you see, we kind of lost him…"
Mustang chuckled. "You sure he didn't ditch you?" he said, amused.
There was a yell on the other end. "No!" Jean cleared his throat. "Anyways, Ed wouldn't ditch us… He was having fun, I think. So we searched the entire park and we couldn't find him!" Jean's voice suddenly rose. "He must have been kidnapped! Help us Colonel!"
Roy sighed again. Ed kidnapped? That wouldn't be a big surprise, actually. But at an amusement park? There were people around. No one would be able to kidnap him without no one seeing it happen. Unless Ed was forced to walk away by himself…
He checked the clock. He had time. And he wouldn't mind getting some fresh air.
"I'll be right there. Wait for me at the front gate."
"Yes, sir."
Honestly, Mustang had no idea what to do when he got there. But if there was some clue to where Ed went that his oblivious crew hadn't noticed, well, he would be the one to figure it out.
Edward stared at the vast park laid out in front of him, breathing in the fresh air. He smiled as he took in the view. It was a nice change, seeing the whole park from above. It made him feel…taller.
He scowled a little.
"Big brother?" he felt a squeeze on his hand and turned his head to the little girl that sat beside him.
"What is it, Elicia?" he smiled softly.
"Are you having fun?" she asked, staring at him.
Ed laughed. "With you here, of course I am."
Elicia also began laughing and gave Ed a hug, to which Ed returned by putting his arms behind her back.
He heard the sound of a camera clicking. "What about me, hm?"
"Mr. Hughes." Edward deadpanned. "I wish you would alert me when you're going to take a photo."
Maes Hughes grinned. "Well, you two just looked so cute, I couldn't help myself."
Edward turned around and looked down from the ferris wheel they were on. The people looked like ants swarming around, and staring down too much made Ed dizzy. "Yeah, well, you nearly gave me a heart attack back when I was down there." He sighed. "And plus, I didn't even tell them. What if they're searching for me? They might even think I ditched them…"
Hughes laughed. "You're better with ditching them anyway, those losers didn't have enough money!"
Ed gave him a look. He's evil…
I should find them when we get down…
Mustang entered the Amusement Park and looked around. Immediately, he was greeted by crying faces and whiny voices.
"C-Colonel!"
"We lost him!"
Mustang resisted the urge to roll his eyes. During missions and work, these four usually were serious and knew what to do. But right now, he wanted to slap them upside the head.
"Have you asked around?"
Jean, Heymans, Vato and Kain all stared at him.
"W-Well, we did ask some people…"
Mustang sighed. "Other than that?"
"We just…searched for him?" Fuery said.
Yes, something definitely happened to his men when they took days off. He didn't think it was possible before, but now he was more or sure that Ed had possibly ditched them.
What am I doing here..?
Roy began walking towards a woman standing by the arcade. "Um, excuse me miss, have you seen a blond little boy in a red coat?"
The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry."
Roy turned around and was about to ask someone when he noticed that the others were just watching him. "Why are you standing there? Ask more people!"
"R-right, sir!"
For the next ten minutes, the five grown men spent their time asking anyone if they've seen Ed. Until finally…
"WHAT?"
Suddenly Fuery, Falman, Havoc, Breda and Mustang all crowded around an old woman.
"You saw him, madame?!" Havoc yelled.
The woman fixed her glasses and looked away, as if she wanted to escape the men's eyes. "Y-yes, a short blond boy in a red coat. Some guy was dragging him around actually…"
"A guy?" Breda asked.
"Dragging him around?" Mustang asked with a hint of anger.
The woman seemed to shrink in herself the closer they got.
"So, this guy, what did he look like?" Havoc asked.
The woman thought for a moment. "He had glasses…and he had this mad look on his face, and he was laughing… I thought he was crazy…"
Multiple gasps were heard.
"So someone did kidnap him!"
"WHAT IF IT'S AN ESCAPED MENTAL PATIENT?!"
Mustang was standing there thinking, while the other boys began freaking out and bombarding the poor woman with more questions.
But while Fuery's eyes were constantly searching the crowd for a blond head in the middle of his friend's cries, that's when he saw it.
"Um…guys?"
Once again, no one heard him just like before.
"Colonel, sir?"
Nope, he too was going over something in his head, staring hard at the ground.
He turned back to his friends. The old woman had long left them in a hurry and now they were talking about crazy theories.
"What if it's like some guy who's son died and thinks Ed is his son because he's crazy?!"
"You mean like that movie we saw together?"
"Yeah, and the kid who gets kidnapped by the mental patient decides to stay with him pretending to be his son because he feels bad for him!"
Falman gasped. "What if…What if Ed does the same thing?!"
Fuery took a deep breath. And then…
"I FOUND HIM!" he yelled as loud as he can.
There was silence almost immediately and everyone stopped chattering and looked at him.
Kain swallowed, feeling his face grow hot. That was the only way to get their attention but now he wished he hadn't done that.
But the silence only lasted a few seconds.
"WHERE?!"
Mustang raised his head while the rest of the crew ran to him.
"He's…up there…"
He pointed at the top of the ferris wheel.
They all raised their heads and saw a blond head, and a red coat, yet his face was turned the other way so they couldn't see his face.
Everyone visibly relaxed, the tightening in their shoulders lessening.
"Who is he with?"
"ED!" Havoc yelled. "HEY!"
"He can't hear you, Havoc." Mustang said. "We just have to wait for the ride to be over."
"But t-the guy with him…"
Then there was that stuttering behind them.
"B-but, what if…What i-if that guy is like a t-terrorist and he's planning to blow up the entire amusement park?!" Falman raised his voice suddenly.
"Huh?"
"W-Well, in that one m-movie I saw, th-there was this guy and he-"
"Stop! Just stop alright!" Mustang yelled. He ran a hand through his hair and took in a deep breath. "We're going to wait for the ride to be over, and if not, then we'll think about it. Got that?"
Everyone nodded.
"Great."
After about five more minutes, the ride stopped and everyone got off one by one. They all waited patiently, trying not to hurry or run towards the group of people.
Finally, Ed came to a view…with Hughes. And Elicia.
Mustang, and the others' jaws dropped.
Hughes on the other hand, seemed energetic than before. He raised a hand and waved at them. "Yo, Roy, so you're here too, huh?"
Edward just stared at them with a neutral expression. "Umm, guys, I was going to tell you, but I couldn't..?" he said, giving a pointed look at Hughes. But as usual, he was oblivious.
"Chief!"
"You had us worried!"
"We searched the entire amusement park!"
"We thought you were kidnapped!"
Mustang's eye began twitching. "Hughes!"
Ed frowned. "I tried to alert you but Hughes just began dragging me before I could do a thing."
Havoc raised his hand and pointed at Hughes. "YOU KIDNAPPER!"
Elicia stepped in suddenly. "Daddy is not a kidnapper!" she said in a pout. And then she looked back at Ed and grabbed his hand. "You came with us because you wanted to, right, big brother?" she looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"O-of course I did, Elicia."
She grinned before she turned back to the grown men. Mustang and the others were arguing with Hughes, while Hughes was laughing and making jokes left and right.
"Big brother is going to stay with us! You can't take him away from us!" Elicia suddenly yelled, like she wanted to join in the fight.
Ed raised an eyebrows. "Elicia?"
"Huh?" Havoc turned around, cutting his yelling to Hughes about having to search the entire park in half and turned to Elicia. "He was with us first, little girl!" Then suddenly he grabbed Ed by the arm and pulled him towards himself. Unfortunately, Elicia didn't let go of the hold she had on Ed's hand.
"No! Big brother is going to stay with me because I love him! I won't give him to you!" she pulled Ed's hand from the other side.
"He's not going to stay with you, because we're going to make your big brother the happiest person in the world today! You hear that? We will!" he pulled Ed's arm again, making him stumble, ignoring the bored expression on his face.
"NO, I WILL!"
"YOU LITTLE-"
"Hey, Havoc, don't go fighting with my little angel!" came an angry yell from Hughes. "If she says she's going to make him the happiest person in the world, then she will, understand?!" The crew inched away from Maes a little.
Mustang buried his face in his hands. "Hughes, look at what you did!" I came here for this?
And suddenly, there was a full blown-out agreement on who can make Ed happier, and how Hughes was a kidnapper, and how Mustang came here in the middle of his work, and how Havoc shouldn't be yelling at Elicia or else Hughes would kill him.
And everyone was ignoring Edward, who was still being dragging to one side or the other by either Jean or Elicia.
Ed sighed. Usually, he would be bothered by all this yelling but today, he felt happy, seeing them all fight in a not-serious but funny way.
Maybe it really was a good idea to come with them to the park today.
He smiled.
Even with Al not there, he was happy…
After all, he still had a family.
A/N: What do you think? Did you like all that fluffy chapter with extra fluff? Did it bring a smile to your face? Let me know, and I'll see you next time! (Hopefully) Oh and by the way, do you think I should separate this into a separate one-shot? Cuz it kinda got long. XD
Thanks for reading!
I LOVE YOU!