Sidequest

"But I have to do it alone!"

"Huh?" Alphonse's nose scrunched up and his lips pulled into a slight snarl before he caught himself. "Why?"

"My dads..." Hiro's eyes stayed trained on the ground as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"Rexus and Gaian? I get wanting to be like them but not even they soloed their first dungeon."

Hiro tilted his head, his eyes shifting to the side, "Yeah but..."

Alphonse sighed, "Just let me come with you and watch your back. I won't do anything unless you're stuck or in danger. Deal?" Alphonse offered his pinky to Hiro.

Hiro relented, wrapping his pinky around Alphonse's, "Fine."

After a solid shake, Hiro turned back to the dungeon and Alphonse stepped up beside him. Alphonse glanced at Hiro out of the corner of his eye, "You know... Rexus and Gaian may have been most famous for each soloing a dungeon but they were also pretty famous as a duo."

Hiro's eyes widened and his head snapped to Alphonse, his mouth agape, "You're right!" His eyes lit up with excitement and he grabbed Alphonse's arm.

Alphonse's cheeks went bright red and he looked away with a gulp. "Let's go, okay?"

Hiro's face split into a breathtaking smile, "Okay!"

*

Back in the safe zone, Suzie woke up at a reasonable hour. She opened her eyes to Kelsi's face, looking more relaxed and content than she ever did awake. With a quiet groan, Suzie turned her head towards the other bed... The empty bed.

Suzie pushed herself up with a start and slid off the edge of the bed, dragging the blanket off with her, "Where are they boys!?" She tried to stand, struggling with her legs wrapped in the sheet.

Kelsi sat up, rubbing her eyes, "they probably just went down for breakfast."

"Alphonse got up before me?" Suzie shook her head, "no way." Finally she managed to untangle herself from the blanket and spotted a piece of paper on Alphonse's pillow. "I have a bad feeling about this."