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Bread

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Maes grabbed one of the small baskets by the door and looked around the supermarket wearily. Normally it was Gracia who did the shopping, but she had been busy with Elysia and she had insisted that it was an emergency.

He glanced left and right before braving the interior of the store.

Of course Gracia was a kind, loving woman, but it was times like this that Maes had learned not to argue or question when she said something... at times like this, she became a little scary...

Maes let his breath out nervously, trying to decide what to do. This just wasn't the type of errand you sent a man on... Finally, it came to him and he quickly walked toward the nearest isle and looked at the shelves before snatching the largest loaf of bread they had.

Feeling slightly more confident, Maes headed toward his real destination. As he neared, his heart beat a little faster and he could feel sweat forming on his forehead and under his arms. He tried to tell himself that it was okay, everything was fine; he could do this...

He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the tenseness. He always felt like this when he went into a potentially dangerous situation. Finally, Maes let his military training take over, and, giving his surroundings one last look to make sure no one was watching, he took a deep breath and hurried down the isle.

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"We're not buying milk, Al," twelve-year-old Ed said stubbornly and folded his arms tightly.

"But, brother, how do you expect to get any taller if you don't—" Al started, but Ed shook his head and hurried away. There was no way he was going to waste his money on something that disgusting. With a grin, he turned and hurried down the candy isle intent on getting something more suited to his tastes.

As he reached out to grab a piece, Al stepped up beside him and said, "Brother! You know we can't afford junk food like that!"

"Come on, Al!" Ed said defensively and shook it a little at his brother. It was just one piece. He was about to say more when he saw Maes Hughes walk past the isle. "Hughes!" he called out. The man started and glanced around looking slightly panicked.

When he saw them, the usually over-happy man seemed only slightly relieved. Ed walked toward him with Al following, but before Ed could say anything, Al was engaging the man in small talk. Rolling his eyes at how polite his younger brother was, Ed noticed the basket Hughes was holding high on his arm and blushed, feeling slightly uncomfortable when he saw what was in the basket.

"Oh, we're just here to pick up a few things," Ed heard Al say. "What about you?"

"Oh, just picking up some bread," Hughes said easily, yet the way his body tensed at the question made Ed think that the man wasn't too comfortable with buying what was under the loaf of bread.

It was then that Ed got an idea. Letting a small smirk spread across his face, Ed said, "Ah, sure, bread." Hughes glanced down at him and Ed saw his eye twitch slightly at the realization that Ed was short enough to see what was in the bottom of the basket.

Lifting the piece of candy he'd grabbed earlier, Ed said in an exaggerated tone, "I really want this, but Al says we can't afford it..."

Hughes' eyes narrowed slightly for a short moment, before he grabbed the candy and put it in his basket. "You only live once, Alphonse," the man said in a cheerful voice that sounded slightly forced. "Of course, you're not going to tell anyone I'm buying this candy for you, are you Ed?"

Ed shook his head, grinning broadly. "Nope! As far as I know, you're only here shopping for bread."