It certainly sounded like he had met Alphonse Elric earlier. Al would look for Ed straight away and Al wouldn't think anyone was strange or out of the ordinary, not after all of the things that Alphonse had seen in his life. He smiled gently, but it was a sad smile, one that said more than was spoken. Those boys had experienced things that no soldier ever should have even before they joined the military and Maes wouldn't wish their fate onto anyone.
Nine. Twelve. Five. Maes' wheels were turning in his mind. What sort of child knew how to work with explosives and had names with numbers? He held back the frown that wanted to come out. No, he couldn't frown just yet. He wouldn't want to worry the boy before him. And this boy had seen death and loss of someone who had been close to them. Escape and shots. Maes put two and two together. This boy...had he been under subject to military investigation and experimentation? The poor kid. And he didn't even seem all that worked up about what he was saying. Even Roy got misty eyed still on occasion when speaking about Maes' death. The same with Riza, and both were trained soldiers like himself. Just what had this boy been through in his life?
However, Twelve had mentioned something noteworthy in his conversation. He didn't have a family. Maes just grinned brightly in response to everything that he was saying. He rested a hand against Twelve's shoulder again, gently. "Well, we'll have to speak to my darling Gracia, but...you are welcome in my family if you wish to have one, Twelve." There was a distraction that the boy offered, though, and Maes chuckled softly. "Now, I'm not one for all the magic behind alchemy myself. You'll have to speak to Al or Roy for that. I do know that they'll probably rant about how it's not done instantly and you can't get something without giving up something in exchange. It's just a thing that happens when you're around alchemists." Maes shrugged casually. "You learn to hear all about it." He lowered his hand again back to his side, still grinning from ear to ear.