Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Sloppy Kisses and Doggy Bones ❯ Perhaps It Ain't That Bad ( Chapter 2 )

Edward let out a whine as his little doggy stomach growled. His eyes strayed to the ceramic bowl of doggy kibbles that was left out for him and he stuck out his tongue in disgust.

The military policeman who had come by earlier said that he would return to retrieve the Golden Retriever-mix puppy later. It had been six hours.

Almost immediately after the dog-turned-human was discovered and the suit of armor started to practically yell at the shopkeeper about why his brother was acting like a dog, a blue-clad military policeman had stopped by to check up on what the ruckus was about. Alphonse pointed a finger at the shopkeeper (which he rarely did to anyone) and explained that he “found poor Brother beat up and barking like a dog. That man did something to make Brother crazy, do something to him!” The shopkeeper was then apprehended, Alphonse followed with a yapping, whining Edward body, and doggy-Edward was left behind and forgotten. Damn.

Ed's stomach growled angrily and he shuddered. Because of the shorter daylight hours of late November, it was getting darker in the shop which only made him want to get out sooner, and he would if it weren't for the fact that he was still tied to the chair, and it was one hell of a heavy chair. Even when he practically ran, he was still jerked backward, and to add on to his hunger, his neck felt very sore. Not just that, but he was cold. Hungry, sore, and cold. Wasn't he one lucky puppy?

“What did I do to deserve this?” he groaned, scooting himself closer to the food bowl. He peered in and grimaced, not wanting to eat something that he considered not edible. His hunger got the better of him, though, and he gingerly stuck his snout into the little brown pebbles, trying his best to ignore the putrid scent his sensitive nose was picking up.

He gagged and let the food fall off his tongue before he even closed his mouth. He practically dunked his head into the water bowl and tried to get the gross flavor off his taste buds.

“How the hell do dogs eat this crap?!” he exclaimed as he nearly choked on the water. It looked like he would have to work on the lapping process before he ends up drowning himself while trying to get a drink of water. Damn dogs.

He stared at his water bowl, watching the water droplets drip off his muzzle and into the water, and an idea clicked on in his head. He knocked the water bowl over and rolled in the spilled liquid until his head was soaked and began to pull against the rope. His head didn't budge, just like his earlier attempts, but soon it began to slip through the rough twine and, with a grunt and a final pull, his head slipped through the noose and he rolled backward rather comically and flopped belly-down on the rust-colored carpeting. It was a little while until the room stopped spinning, and he couldn't help but let out a laugh, which sounded more like wheezing. His Edward-intellect had gotten him out, and he'll now be able to find his brother and that bastard of a shopkeeper that got him stuck in the way he was.

Edward realized, though, that he still had one more obstacle: the door.

---

“Elysia, Honey, don't stray off too far, it's getting dark!”

“Okay, Mommy!” A giggle came out of the little green-eyed girl as she jumped into a pile of slush on the edge of the sidewalk.

“Elysia, Darling, don't do that, you'll get all dirty.” The girl's mother extended a hand out, which the four-year-old grabbed eagerly.

“Okay, Mommy, I'm sorry.” Elysia flashed a winning grin to her mother, who smiled back.

Gracia Hughes was on her way home from visiting a friend's house, and while she had planned on leaving earlier before sundown, little Elysia had plans of playing with her mother's friend's new puppy. After leaving, she kept on begging for a puppy of their own who she could call Rosie. With Gracia being a mother like many others, she told the little girl that they couldn't because of a few listed reasons. “Perhaps when you grow a little older,” she had said, and this quieted Elysia for a while.

“Mommy, look! It's a puppy!” Elysia pointed at the glass door of a bookstore across the street. Gracia's grip on her daughter's hand tightened.

“Don't run across the street, Honey,” she warned when the girl began to step off the sidewalk.

“But, Mommy, look.” Elysia gave her a sad look. “The puppy wants out. He looks lonely.” Gracia looked in the direction of the pointing finger and saw the little golden-colored puppy, his mouth opening to release silent whines and barks and standing upright in order to paw and scratch at the glass door.

Gracia let out a sigh and looked down at the girl. As much as the mother wanted to say “No,” she simply cannot to those wide begging green eyes. “Okay, perhaps we can just go see the puppy dog.”

Elysia's pout immediately broke into a smile and Gracia had to practically keep a death grip on her wrist to prevent her from dashing across the street.

“Hello, Puppy,” the little four-year-old cooed as she crouched in front of the door and placed a hand onto the window. She giggled as she heard a muffled bark and the dog pawed at where her flesh was pressed flat. “Mommy, I think the puppy wants out.”

“But he's not your puppy, Sweetie, so you can't.” Gracia crouched down next to her and peeked into the store. “But it does look like no one's been inside for a while…” She saw the mess of the water all over the floor and how the dog's fur around his face and neck was ruffled from freeing himself from the makeshift rope-collar.

“So, we have to let him out!” Before Gracia could say or do anything, Elysia jumped to her feet and pulled the door handle downwards with the door swinging open. Immediately, the dog dashed out, only to trip over his own feet and fall flat on his face in the slush. Elysia immediately was at the dog's side and fussing over the now-soaked puppy. “Mommy! I think the puppy hurt himself! Can we bring him home?”

“Elysia, he's not our puppy, we can't bring him home.” Gracia again was at Elysia's side.

The puppy began to paw at the girl's leg and whined a little bit.

“Mommy, he's trying say that he wants to go with us! Can we please bring him home? Please?”

Gracia sighed and shook her head. When she looked at the dog, she locked gazes with his large golden eyes, and somehow, someway, she was able to tell the puppy, indeed, wanted to go home with them. He eerily seemed almost human.

She tilted her head to the side and finally made up her mind. “Okay, Elysia, we can bring him home tonight. But!” She held up a pointed finger upwards to interrupt the girl's squeal of delight. “But, we must bring him back tomorrow. He is not our puppy, remember.” She looked into the empty bookstore. “By the looks of it, the owner must've left some time ago and didn't have time to pick him up. I suppose they would appreciate it if we cared for him just for tonight.”

With a giggle, Elysia lifted the puppy (with some difficulty because of her small size) and practically skipped down the sidewalk. Gracia, meanwhile, peeked into the store to see if anyone was around and, satisfied to know there wasn't, closed the door and quickly followed her daughter.

---

Edward had never felt so grateful in his life. Not only did the widow and the daughter of Maes Hughes, the dead military man he had looked up to when he was a few years younger, found him, but Gracia had ignored the whole “leave my dog alone” concept that many dog owners had and brought him to their cozy home. As soon as he was placed on the floor of the foyer, Elysia had rushed off to find some extra blankets and he and Gracia were left alone. Gracia finished storing her and Elysia's outerwear and proceeded to pick up Edward and pet him gently. He tensed a little. Just because he was a dog didn't mean he wanted to be treated like one.

“You're a wet little puppy aren't you?” she cooed. “Perhaps we should get you dried up. You must be hungry, too.”

At the mention of food, Ed's ears perked forward and his attention was solely on the brown-haired woman, who let out a chuckle.

“You must be hungry, then. Well, let's get you dried and we'll feed you.”

Within minutes, Gracia sat herself down on a wooden chair by the kitchen table with a dish towel in one hand, a brush in the other, and Edward balanced on her lap. He hadn't really been looking forward to this, but he was somewhat surprised to feel how gentle she was with him.

Well, duh, Edward, he thought, Gracia's the nicest woman you know. Of course she wouldn't be rough, especially if you're some helpless puppy who's cold and wet and hungry.

His tense muscles loosened, and while she brushed his coat, his eyes closed in relaxation and he settled himself into a laying position. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to be a dog. So long as he was with Gracia, he wouldn't have to worry about much, and as soon as he figured out how to get his body back, he'll thank her and treat her nicely to a dinner to show his gratitude or something of the sort.

But she said that she'll bring me back there tomorrow morning. If she does that then I'll be on my on again, and by the looks of it, no one would be coming back to get me. He let out a whine at the thought. Dammit, why did this have to happen to me…?

“Mommy! I have the puppy's bed ready!” Elysia hopped into the kitchen, and her outburst made Edward jump onto all fours and nearly lose his balance. Gracia, though, must be used to this because she seemed unfazed. She held a hand up to Ed's side to keep him from falling over.

“That's nice, Sweetie, thank you. How about you go upstairs and get changed? After I feed the puppy, you can play with him. How does that sound?”

Elysia's smile, if possible, grew wider. “Okay, Mommy!” At that, she skipped off while humming some children's song that, if Edward recalled correctly, involved a spider and a water spout.

After the girl left, Gracia let Edward down and began to travel around the kitchen. “To tell the truth, I don't know what puppies eat,” she said thoughtfully, opening a cabinet and pulling out a plastic bowl, “but my friend did say that she wants to avoid feeding her dog any dry dog food.” She looked down at Edward. “So, I suppose I shouldn't try to run out and buy some, shouldn't I?” Ed felt very grateful as she pulled together some vegetables and what looked like some leftover chicken. Along with the bowl of his dinner, Gracia provided some water, and he practically wolfed down the food.

He shortly realized that a dog's mouth does not work like a human's, and whenever he tried to chew on his food, it would either fall back out into the bowl or he would almost choke on it. Finally he resulted in holding his head up in an awkward way to keep the veggies and chicken in his mouth while chomping with his mouth open. Oh well, he thought, it's not like I had any table manners in the first place.

Indeed, after his dinner, Edward spent time playing with Elysia, who, to his dismay, continued to drag him around and pet him rather roughly, and he was so relieved that Gracia stopped her before she could dress him in her dolls' dresses that he wanted to jump up and give the woman a big lick on the cheek (which he knew was the dog's equivalent to a kiss). He was led upstairs to the girl's room (which hurt his eyes for a moment because of the bright pinks and purples and blues) and placed in the arranged pile of bed sheets and comforters that were lying next to Elysia's bed.

While Elysia was dragged off into the bathroom to get ready for bed, Edward made himself comfortable, and when he felt how soft his makeshift bed was, he collapsed onto his side and let out a relaxed sigh. He snuggled deeper into the blankets and thanked a nonexistent God that he could finally rest. The day had been very stressful, and after that dinner and spending time with Elysia (even if it hadn't been as enjoyable as he had liked), he was strangely content and happy about his situation. He definitely will pay the Hughes back when he turns back into his human body for their hospitality.

Unable to hold back the sleep any longer, his eyelids drooped and in moments drifted into a dreamless sleep.

---

“Mommy, do we have to bring him back tomorrow?”

Gracia pushed a strand of Elysia's hair behind her small ear. “Yes, Honey, we do. He isn't ours and his original owner might be worried about him.”

Elysia continued to frown and looked down at the sleeping puppy on the floor. “Okay, Mommy…” She looked back up at her mother. “But will we be able to visit him?”

Gracia thought about this for a little. Finally, with a smile, she replied, “Maybe. Now, how about you go to bed? Tomorrow we have a busy day, and you don't want to be tired and weary do you?”

Shaking her head, Elysia smiled. “No, Mommy, I don't!”

“That's my girl.” She pecked the little girl's forehead and pulled the blankets up to her chin. “Nighty-night, Sweetheart.”

“Nighty-night, Mommy.” Giving her daughter one last look, she shut off the lights and left the room.

Elysia stayed silent for a little, looking down at the silhouette of Edward on the floor. Making up her mind, she quietly crawled out of bed and lied down next to him, draping her arm over his small body. He let out a small groan, but otherwise didn't show any signs of waking up. Elysia snuggled against the puppy and, pulling one of the blankets over herself and Ed, finally let herself go to sleep.