A/N: I got this idea while sitting in my multimedia class. It took me a while to write it because I wanted to try to get a general plot out before I did anything. We'll see how this goes. I hope you enjoy!

The summer sun was hot on Ed's back as he stopped on the steps of Central Command. Hawkeyes continued past him, likely to give some last words of advice to her commanding officer waiting in the car below. "I'll only be gone a little while." Ed said, knocking his fist against his brother's armor. "Just for this mission."

Al nodded, making a sound of agreement. "While you're gone, I'll see what research I can find. But call me if you can, okay?"

"I'll try, Al. But you know we're going in undercover. No one will know we're military, hence the civilian clothes." Ed grinned, tapping his knuckles on Al once more. "But I'll try."

"And don't forget to keep up with your automail maintenance!"

"Okay, okay."

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him turn, and Riza looked down at him. "Edward, do me a favor and keep the Colonel out of trouble." She said, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

Ed nodded. "Sure, Lieutenant." Behind them, a car honked noisily. Both blondes turned and looked at Mustang, sitting impatiently in his car. He honked the horn again, watching them from the window.

"Gotta go, Lieutenant." Edward groaned. "Mustang's gonna throw a fit if I keep him waiting any longer."

"Go on, then." Riza nodded, and gave the boy a nudge. Ed trotted down the steps, clambering noisily into the passenger seat of the car.

"BYE AL!" He shouted, waving out the window. Roy pressed down on the gas pedal and the car lurched forward. "Hey, watch it!" Ed snapped as he was almost tossed out. "We haven't even started the mission and I've already almost died!"

"Then sit down and buckle up, Fullmetal. No time to waste." Roy shot back, not bothering to look at him.

"BYE BROTHER! BYE COLONEL!" Al yelled back, waving frantically. Beside him, Hawkeye had her arm raised in a salute as they sped off.

Ed grumbled to himself as he settled down in his seat, flicking his braid over his shoulder. The car was cooler than the hot air outside, so he couldn't help a small sigh. "So what's the story?" He asked, kicking his feet up as he leaned back.

"Feet down, Fullmetal." Mustang ordered, casting a glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "Weren't you listening when I explained this to you?" When Ed just shrugged, he heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Murders. Out in some city named Clearlake. Probably the work of one serial killer, but they can't find the guy, so here we are."

"We aren't the police." Ed said sourly.

Roy sighed again. "I know, but orders are orders. Shouldn't be too hard, anyways. Then you can get back to your brother." Silence fell. Neither of them spoke as the scenery flew by. Cityscape turned to bright green hills, then to browning fields. It reminded Ed of the train rides to Resembool.

"Do we have a cover?" Ed asked suddenly, surprising Mustang. "Our cover story, I mean. Don't they usually give us covers for missions like this?"

Roy paused, navigating around a pothole in the street. "…Yes, of course we do."

"Okay…" Ed dragged out the word, watching his superior quizzically. "And are you gonna, I dunno, tell me?"

"I was going to tell you when we got closer." Roy said casually. "But I suppose there's no use waiting." Ed stayed silent, waiting for his answer. Seconds ticked by before Mustang sighed once more. "Our cover is that we're in town visiting a friend of ours – that would be the military's informant, planted in the city."

"Okay." Ed said, nodding. "Simple enough."

"And you're my son."

A second passed.

"EXCUSE ME?" Ed exploded. "No way! I can't pass myself off as your son! I don't look anything like you! And I don't even want to be your son!"

"Fullmetal, quiet down!" Roy barked. "I don't like it anymore than you do! But we'll say that you take after your mother, okay? We have to make it work, since that's what was given to us."

Ed ground his teeth together, seething. He didn't speak, but rather he glared at Mustang for the next hour. The nature scenery faded away as they got into a city. Ed had slumped down in his seat, unhappy with the entire situation.

Mustang parked the car outside of some restaurant. "Out, Fullme – Ed." He said, putting enunciation on his name. Straight into their roles, then. "We're meeting our friend inside."

"Good. I'm starving." Edward groaned as he slid from his seat. His stomach made a loud noise of agreement. The blonde trailed after Roy, hands shoved sullenly into his pockets.

Once inside, the scent of food immediately had Ed's attention. His stomach growled again as a waiter walked past with a tray of food. His mouth watered at the sight of cooked meat, but his attention was quickly diverted to a man striding towards them with his arms outstretched.

"Ah! Roy!" He cried joyfully, as if greeting an old friend. "Welcome to Clearlake, my friend!"

Roy smiled widely and accepted the man's embrace somewhat stiffly, and Ed hid a snicker beneath his hand. Mustang took a hold of Ed's arm tightly and pulled him forward. "I've told you about my son Edward. Ed, this is Leopold Cormack, the friend I told you about."

"You didn't tell me much." Ed mumbled under his breath with a sideways glance at Mustang.

Leopold didn't seem to hear, and instead ruffled Ed's hair. "Ah, Edward, of course! Roy told me all about you! Come, both of you, sit and eat. I've already ordered, I'm afraid, but if you want we can get more." He led the pair to a table in the corner, laden with food.

Ed perked up at the sight, sitting down eagerly and grabbing a chicken leg. Roy settled more gracefully, picking at some salad as he eyed Leopold interestedly.

Leopold didn't take long to begin talking again. "Where's Edward's mother?"

"Unfortunately, Elizabeth had to stay home." Roy answered smoothly. "She sends her regards."

The other man nodded in understanding. "Will you be staying at my house, Roy? There's plenty of room."

"No." Roy shook his head. "I've booked us a hotel room already. Thanks for the offer, though."

Leopold nodded. "You've picked a hell of a time to visit me, my friend."

"Oh?" Roy feigned mild interest. "Why's that?"

The other man glanced about before leaning in. "Murders, Roy. Plenty of them, too. All lovely young people, they go missing and then they're found dead. Disfigured in some way, usually."

Ed paused in his enthusiastic eating, looking up at his commanding officer. Mustang had a look of shock, but Ed could see his eyes burning. Rightly so, too. Whoever was doing this was obviously a sick human being. With a slight knot in his stomach, Edward kept eating, staying out of the "adult" conversation but still getting information.

A shadow over the table had all three of them looking up. A woman stood there, smiling at them. "Hello, Mr. Cormack." She said cheerily. "Some new faces, too – are these your friends?"

Leopold smiled back, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Ah, of course, Annie. Um, this here is my friend Roy, and his son Edward. They're here to visit for a few weeks!" His blush grew as Annie moved closer. Ed and Roy glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

Annie's smile grew. "Oh, hello! Welcome to Clearlake!" Her eyes found Ed. "Can I ask how old you are?" She asked. He swallowed his food and began to answer, but Roy cut him off quickly.

"He's thirteen." Roy responded with a small smile.

Ed froze, almost inhaling his chicken, shock and then rage coloring his face. He ducked his head as if he were shy, while he gritted his teeth and tried his hardest not to kick Mustang. Annie didn't seem to notice.

"Really? How cute." She bubbled. "You must be so excited to see a new place, then, huh?" Ed twitched, but didn't dare move more. She then noticed his automail hand, not hidden by his usual gloves. "What happened to you, sweetie?"

"Accident." Ed managed to choke out without sounding too angry. "A long time ago."

"I see. Well I won't bother you much longer." Annie said with a sympathetic look at the boy. Then the woman touched Leopold's shoulder. "Well, I hope you two enjoy your stay. Have a lovely day, you two. You as well, Mr. Cormack." And then she breezed off as quick as she'd come.

Leopold didn't seem to notice that he was staring after her, and Ed might've enjoyed a little bit of teasing despite hardly knowing the man. However, Ed was much more interested in being utterly annoyed with Mustang. He glared harshly at the man, who only gave him a warning look and took a bite of his food.

Edward scowled fiercely, and took out his frustrations on the chicken leg in his hand. Thirteen? Really? He didn't even look thirteen! Ed's scowl deepened as he chewed. He waited for Roy and Leopold to start talking about the murders again, but after Annie's interruption it seemed they were reluctant to bring it up again in such an open place, regardless of their cover. They talked about trivial things, reliving memories that had never really happened and reviving a made-up friendship.

Ed didn't say much, still stewing in his irritation with Mustang. He thought he was so funny, didn't he? Calling Ed thirteen… Ed didn't look anything less than the fifteen-year-old boy that he was. He was clearly not thirteen. So why would Mustang say thirteen? Obviously it was to annoy him…

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. Roy was standing, and so was Leopold. "Time to go, Ed." He said amiably, with a look that clearly said Edward had better get his ass into the car immediately.

Ed huffed and stood. "Bye, Mr. Cormack." He mumbled as he slid past Roy and hurried out the doors. The sun had set during their time in there. It was only a few seconds later that Roy exited the building also, getting in the car and starting it silently.

Edward turned in his seat, crossing his arms and just glaring daggers at his commanding officer. "What the hell, Mustang?" He demanded. "Why would you say I'm thirteen?"

"Do I look old enough to be a father to a fifteen-year-old, Edward?" Roy asked calmly. "Thirteen is still pretty old. I can stretch it and say I'm thirty three."

"I don't even look thirteen!"

"You're small enough to be."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE CAN'T EVEN PASS HIMSELF OFF AS A GROWTH-STUNTED TODDLER?"

"You certainly act the part, Fullmetal." Roy commented lightly, smirking. Ed screeched in incomprehensible rage.

The hotel room was nice enough. There was a single bedroom with two beds, and a sitting space with two couches and a small table. Ed tossed his bag on the ground by the nearest bed and flopped down into it with a groan.

Roy sat down on the other bed. "Bed time already?" He teased.

Ed couldn't take the effort of turning his head to glare, and settled for muffled swearing. "I'm tired, Mustang – "

"Dad." Roy interrupted. "It won't do if you call me by my name, Ed. I'm playing your father, so for now I'm 'Dad'."

Ed lifted his head to snarl at him. "Whatever, Dad, I'm tired and I'm going to sleep!" Ed rolled over and curled up, kicking off his boots. "I don't plan on calling you 'Dad', Mustang." He growled. "But I won't use your name, okay?"

"Fair enough. You don't have to use it unless you need to, like when you need to get my attention." Roy allowed. Ed grunted and pulled the blankets over his head. He wondered if Al was doing okay in Central by himself. It wasn't often that the brothers were separated like this, although it was sometimes necessary for missions such as this one. Ed exhaled into his pillow. With any luck, this mission would be simple and straightforward, and it would be done and over with in no time.

He cracked a smile. Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?

A/N: And there's chapter one! The next chapter should get the ball rolling as they get more into their mission. I'm sorry if anyone was OOC, I know Ed was overreacting. But he tends to do that in regards to his height and age. Thank you for reading! Reviews are very appreciated!