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Sighing again, Winry sat on her toolbox. It was slick with rain -- but so was her skirt, so why did it matter? She rested her chin in one hand, and glanced around the station boredly.

There weren't many people out wandering the station. Not that it surprised her, the rain had moved her to shelter as well... but where was Al? She slumped slightly where she sat.

Her blue eyes continued to scan the station slowly, moving from one end to the other at a lazy pace. Suddenly, she perked. -- That blond tuft of hair looked awfully familiar...

Standing and shouldering her toolbox again, Winry set off after the figure. She toyed with the thought of calling out to him, but seeing as she couldn't see him clearly through the rain, she didn't want to look silly. So instead, she walked briskly toward him.

Reaching a hand out to tap his shoulder, Winry let a soft "Excuse me," escape from her lips. She tossed her head to one side in an effort to unglue her plastered bangs from her face. They were beginning to obstruct her view...

A wave of a few emotions nearly knocked her off her feet as she confirmed her assumptions of this boy being Al. Torn somewhere between scolding him and hitting him with her toolbox, Winry settled for a rather irritated expression.

Her hands finding her way to her hips, Winry noted that one of her eyebrows twitched as she began to speak.

"Mouuu, Al, why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming to Central?" She tsked softly. "-- it's not so much that I mind you being here -- but it would have been nice if you'd told me!" She lowered her gaze to the ground quickly, her tone dropping and losing it's irritation. "You're starting to act so much like your brother, it scares me..."

She mentally scolded herself. What good would bringing up Ed do? And her comment wasn't even true! Sure -- this had been a rather rash and unexpected thing for him to do... but it still paled in comparison to Ed's irrational inability to think before he acted. So why the heck did she have to go and say something unnecessary?? She sighed, and raised her eyes back to the boy in front of her, waiting for some form of reaction from him.

At first he was a bit taken back by this sudden state of surprise on Ashtoreth's face, but then he tried to make sense of what was being said. His face screwed up slightly as he heard talk of his brother and the gate that he had only heard his teacher speak of before. I thought she told me a well kept secret when she revealed that, one that only she was party to. How many people know what we did back then? Oh, no... this means that the State Alchemists must know about what we tried to do with mother...

His face darkened and he stared down at the ground like a child who was being scolded. He was so fixed on what was said that he missed entirely the question about Edward, lost in his own thoughs. As he stood there, trying to figure out what to do next, as though the wet pavement held the answers he sought so desperately.



Al started at the touch on his shoulder, then turned to see who it was that had addressed him. His despair turned to shock as he realized what Ashtoreth had just said may well have been overheard by... oh, no...Winry?

He opened his mouth as though to say something, then just closed it and stood there. He was struck dumb by this latest development, and started feeling a deep sense of forboding as he looked at the blonde haired girl before him. Oh, no.... now Winry knows, and that means Izumi-sensei may also hear of this... I am in so much trouble.



"How... Winry, how did you know I decided to stop in Central City?" he asked with no small amount of surprise. "I was coming back to Resembool... and this was just on the way... it's not like I had planned it or anything." He was losing it, and he could tell. His thoughts once again turned inward as he stood before his childhood friend.

Oh my gods... she heard it all. Why else did she mention that I was acting like Ed? I know she speaks with Izumi-sensei from time to time on the phone, and she knows what happened the night Ed disappeared during our failed attempt are reviving mom. I guess the best I can do no is try to smooth things over.

He quickly tried to divert the conversation and get this moved somewhere else. "So, uh... do you have some place to stay tonight? It's awfully wet out here, and it's only getting darker. Why don't we find an inn to stay at for the night. I haven't been here very long myself, and still need to find somewhere to stay for the night." He hoisted his suitcase up to try to further illustrate this, but felt like he was failing miserably to change the subject.

((*ribrib* okay okay, so, winry-chan, what do you call a blonde between two brunettes?

eh?

a mental block.

*falls over laughing* aahahahah!!! *stops laughing*

...oh, wait, i'm blonde, too... eek ))

He ignored her as he struggled. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? LEGGO OF ME!!!"


He stopped struggling and turned his head to look at her. He stared at the crimson red fingernail for a split second, smirked, and looked into Adine's eyes. "Ooo... death threats. I think this one wants a fight." He cooed sharply.


He stared at her blankly and then his eyes turned to rage. "You have some nerve saying that to me. Follow your instructions?! Yeah, sure...... havent you learned that I only work with you for MYSELF. How do you do it? I mean, seriously.... you go running around trusting ME, a homunculus. You know you are going to die in the end, right?"


He was really sick of being treated like this. Adine was the only human the homunculus could really tolerate, even if she was constantly treating him like her little slave.

Just remember, she is helping with the plans... helping with the plans.


He felt the touch on his shoulder and cringed as if in pain. He thought of something to say, but instead, let out a soft hiss. He was not doing this for her. He was doing this for himself. Maybe he could get some useful information out of her this time.


He stared at her. What was he going to do? She was as annoying as hell, but she at least caused some enterainment for the shapeshifter. He took in a deep sigh. "Who said I was being impatient?" He glared at her with his amethyst eyes, which she saw flicker, even in the dark. He watched her closely as she walked to the bathroom. He sighed once more and morphed into some random official he had seen before. He shot another glare her way and walked into the room. It was dark, like everywhere else, but it didnt have the empty feeling the hallway did. He looked around. File cabinets were all pushed near the walls. Then Envy remembered what he was appointed to do and searched up and down, look for a drawer that didnt quite fit.

Bingo.

There was the drawing... it was crooked and didnt seem to fit into the cabinet. Envy crouched down and pulled it out. He leaned down, his head near the floor, to see what was behind. There was a large file near the wall.

Geez, no secret doors or anything?! No combinations to break? Pah, booooooooring!

He grabbed the file quickly and walked calmly out of the room.

((LONG POST. eek ))

Winry made a face at Al's paling complexion. What was wrong with him...?

She reached a hand out and plucked at the drenched fabric of his shirt, knitting her eyebrows together. Maybe the rain was bothering him...?



Winry's eyes went wide for a moment when looking at Ashtoreth. She squinted slightly. She clasped her hands together in front of herself and bowed in greeting to the stranger.

Straightening again, she remained pleasantly silent, standing behind Al. Her eyes remained transfixed upon Ashtoreth. Something about the girl bothered Winry, and the mechanic couldn't put her finger on exactly what.

Somehow, that made it worse.

His eyes went between the two of them like it was a ping-pong match. He hadn't seen either of them this angry in quite awhile. He wondered if Hawkeye didn't see how upset and angry she was making Roy by her lecturing. He sighed inwardly as he looked to Roy who now seemed to be staring out the window in order to keep himself calm and in check.

Hawkeye was apparently quite worried about him getting twisted up with this new person who was on staff at Central Headquarters. Well, whether she was 'new' or not, he wasn't sure, as he hadn't been there for four years. He looked to Roy once more, who now seemed to have smoke pouring out of his ears as he was being called a 'skirt-chaser' by Hawkeye.

Silently he nodded in agreement with the both of them. He could see why she was worried, however, at the same time he could see why Roy would think that it wasn't exactly her business.

He found himself wondering as to what exactly Adine had meant by saying that she hoped she would get a chance to work with him. Currently he was not a State Alchemist, as he hadn't taken the exam in four years, thus, suspending his national certification. He knitted his brow together as the tried to figure it out.



Edward jumped a bit as he heard Roy address him. Swallowing quite hard, he stood and met the dark gray eyes that were beckoning him. He found his stomach filling with dread as he walked toward Roy. He wasn't quite sure what Roy had in store for him, but he was almost sure it couldn't be good. The tone of voice Roy had been using reminded him of the voice that lectured him on occassion before. Sighing, he stood up straight as he reached Roy.

Wow. He was almost as tall as Roy now that four years had passed. Sighing, he was sure this still wouldn't get him out of the short jokes that Roy used to make all too frequently.

He addressed Roy as he stood there and saluted to him. "Yes sir? What is it?"

Head of Investigations, Lt. Colonel Ayumi Tsukiyama was sitting at her desk reading about a cases that happened a few years ago. You could tell she was bored out of her mind just by looking at her. Her body was leaning to the left and her head rested on her left hand and had her forearm to support her. The fingers on her right hand tapped away as she read and her eyes were half closed, it looked like she could fall asleep any minute. She glanced at the clock.

Her eye twitched a bit. It's been nearly an hour. Where the hell is that guy?

She was not only bored, she was also upset. Very upset. Not at the fact that someone was late, well actually it was that, but also at the fact that her night off was ruined! It's been years since she had a night off and a piece of paper ruined it.

She was blissfully eating her first meal that wasn't old leftovers that her sister had given her and was peacefully listening to the news when the phone had rang. The person who had called her was one of her subordanites and he had said that they needed her for something urgent. Hearing this she got dressed into her unifrom and ran over to HQ in the rain only to find out that the thing that was so important was just a few things needed to be signed. And now the person who was going to deliver the paper for her to sign was nearly an hour late.

She sighed and got up from her chair. I guess I'll just walk around until I find that dimwit. She walked over to the door and walked out
((I changed my profile so it obeys the rules))

Riza's mouth tightened into a grim line across her face. She had to fight the urge to walk over and slap him again...but he seemed rather angry this time, and she feared that she would be punished for her actions. But it was true...there were times he was so foolish she just wanted to shake him...

She straightened her back and stared at his.

"Sir, I did not intend for that to sound as rude as it did," she said honestly, and heard him snort sardonically. She fisted her hands. "While I know you have not manifested these...'tendencies' into anything more than stares, it still troubles me that you allow your emotions to be swayed so easily by a pretty face or long legs..." She scrunched up her face and shook her head hopelessly at him. "And of course I know you haven't been on a date in a year... That 'date' a year ago was with me, Sir...and it wasn't a date. We went to the grocery store together because I had twisted my ankle and you refused to let me carry the bags by myself." She looked at the floor. "But...I'm serious... I don't trust Adine...and I don't think you should either..."



Riza met his eyes with a steely gaze of her own. She knew he hated it when she scolded him...especially when there were others within earshot. She didn't mean to 'mother' him...but sometimes she wondered if his own mother had done her job? He was so defiant, so proud... He was so childish sometimes it made her absolutely furious! Not to mention he wouldn't listen to reason to save his life. He had his own way of doing things and he didn't want anyone telling him otherwise.

Well, Riza decided that so long as his way was done in the warped state of mind it so often was, she was going to enforce things her way...and if that meant embarrassing him in front of his subsidiaries, so be it.

He meant too much to her to just give up and let him make a mistake he would regret for years to come. And Riza was certain that Adine was just such a mistake.


Riza's brows knit up as he looked at her, blinked rapidly, then averted his eyes.

Her heart sank, and her shoulders sagged a little. Dammit...now she had done it...

Now he was really embarrassed. Probably angry, too, from the way his face was turning red. Gods, why had she said that? Why was she never able to keep her mouth closed when he was involved? She hated it when he was cross with her... Granted, it had only happened once or twice, but she still hated it.



Riza remained beside Roy's desk, as she had not been summoned to join them. She wasn't sure what he had in mind, but she didn't really care at that moment. She was feeling rather poorly about the whole thing.

Didn't he get it? Not only was she herself feeling a little threatened by Adine's intrusion and...close contact... But she feared the secretarial serpent had plans to work her office voodoo on all three of the men in this office. Riza feared for all of them, to be honest. Before now, Adine had never appeared to have her eye set on Roy, or anyone in Riza's direct contact... In fact, Riza had only seen the vixen in passing, and had kept all snide comments to herself.

But if this theif of hearts had her sights set on Riza's boys, then she would show no mercy. Maybe it was presumptuous of her to think of them as such...but anyone would have attested to the fact that Riza wouldn't have hesitated to do what it took to keep safe the people close to her. Havoc and Edward were no exception to this...but if Adine had her radar specs set on Roy...Riza was prepared to take the witch on head-to-head.

Riza glanced at Havoc, who was looking at her rather sympathetically, and brown eyes narrowed. Not at him, mind you... No, she was far too preoccupied with dark thoughts of how to keep Adine away from this office, and she looked past Ed and Roy at the closet, her thoughts swimming in malice.

Nobody messed with Riza Hawkeye and got away with it... Adine McLearynn was sorely mistaken if she thought she was going to be allowed to work her wiles on Roy Mustang...