It had been a long day for Roy Mustang. Dealing with the Fullmetal Alchemist was never an easy task, and becoming Fuhrer was hardly a walk in the park. He was so close... The position for Fuhrer was opening soon, and there were plenty of possible candidates, himself included. He had to do something to stand out. While he was already quite famous, and known for his acts of bravery when usurping Fuhrer Bradley, there had been plenty of other brave soldiers. One of them was another candidate to become Fuhrer. Olivier Armstrong.

She was a damn tough woman to beat. She was smart, and people would like her straightforward attitude after being duped by Bradley. Roy had to up her, somehow... Yes, his reputation was great, but so was hers. Reputation alone wasn't going to cut it, nor were promises of a brighter future. Olivier was much more direct than that. The people would eat her words up, and criticize his own. But he couldn't change his entire game plan or personality just because hers was formidable.

While he pondered this conundrum, he walked slowly down the peaceful streets of Central. It was summertime. Cicadas chirped into the night. He'd gotten out of the office late because of Edward, who had caused chaos during the day and everyone in the office had to stay late to clean up after the blond who had utterly disappeared. Without alchemy, Edward was a giant pain in the ass...

Roy couldn't blame him, of course. Ed's entire life had been devoted to the study of alchemy, and returning his and Al's bodies back to normal. The kid's goals had been reached, sure, but the entire meaning of his life was almost gone. Alphonse was growing up, too. He was moving on. And Ed was left with his life in the military, running silly errands for arrogant Mustang. Even then, Roy wasn't being consistent. He was too focused on becoming Fuhrer to deal with Edward. Naturally, Ed reached out to everyone. Through violence and general misbehavior.

And with that train of thought, he then pondered the conundrum that was Edward Elric.

He didn't realize he was headed towards Ed's apartment complex until he stood outside the door, hands in his pockets, looking up at the top of the building. About ten feet to his right sat a bunch of kids, probably twenty, just around Edward's age. He could smell the illegal drugs from a mile away. The ten feet just made it obvious. He gave them an irritated look, watching them smoke for a good minute. One of them just sneered at him, but they mostly ignored him, and talked quietly amongst themselves.

"Don't you kids have anything better to do?" he grumbled, more to himself than them.

"Hey, pops," asked the kid with the spliff, "Look'n for the brat?"

Roy turned to them. Were these Ed's peers? His neighbors? It wouldn't hurt to ask.

He approached them, and clarified, "You mean Edward. How could you guess?" The kid with the spliff handed it to the only girl there. She was pretty, dressed in a dingy tank top and torn pants. She drew from the spliff, long and hard. It was a shame. She had such beautiful wild red hair and such a little waist. The rest of them leered at her, but she clearly didn't care. There were four boys, all dressed nicer than she. Their pants weren't torn, and they wore light sweaters or leather jackets, whereas she had nothing to warm her. Not even shoes. She crouched on the ground.

One of the kids smirked. "He's the only military type around here, pops."

"Is he in?" Roy inquired. The four boys looked at each other. One of them shrugged.

The girl, having held her breath since her drag, let it go, and answered in a tight voice, "Blond kid? Stomps a lot, wears a red jacket?" The kids around her burst out in laughter and amazed, 'Duuude's and 'whoa's. Roy glanced between them all. What was amazing about her recounting what Ed looked like? Ed was rather memorable, after all. Roy nodded at her to continue. She sniffed, and took another drag. All of them waited patiently for her to hold it in, and let it go slowly. She coughed, and nodded. "He's..." She coughed again. "He's here."

"Dude," one of the least leering kids exclaimed, "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Roy asked.

The one who originally lit up the spliff answered, "She's like a fucking genius." He gestured to her, keeping his greedy eyes on her breasts. "She doesn't live here, man. Never been in Central her entire life. And that fuckin' brat hasn't walked by since she showed up, neither. She's like psychic or something." Roy raised an eyebrow and examined the girl once more, who was letting go another drag. When they all seemed to begin to ignore Roy again, he turned around and headed for the door. On his way there, he heard the next conversation.

The girl handed the spliff off to the next person and corrected the guy, "It's deductive reasoning. It's not fuckin' mystical powers. Thanks for letting me bum one, though." She stood up and brushed her pants off. They all protested, groaning.

"Come on, honey!"

"Stay awhile!"

"Don't be like that!"

She smiled wryly. "Sorry boys. I wasn't kidding when I said I was bumming you one."

"C'mon, we all knew what you meant," one of them called out.

"Yeah. At least one of us has to get laid," another one protested.

She sniffed. "I didn't promise anything of the sort. Bye, now."

"Hey wait a minute!"

A girlish gasp brought Roy's attention back to the boys, his hand on the door handle. He turned his head to look at them, and found the girl on the ground, three of the boys in the process of standing, one of them already hovering over her.

"We weren't going to give anything out for free, y'know," he leered, and began to reach for her. A white gloved hand grabbed the kid's. The kid looked up at the man who'd kept him from touching the girl, and he blinked widely at Roy. The military guy had been damn quick. Roy smiled dashingly at him and squeezed his wrist.

"I don't like to be a rough person," he said quietly, pleasantly, but the pain in the kid's wrist made the smile and tone more than intimidating, "but in light of what your next actions may be, I might have to change my mind about that." He let go of the kid, who stumbled backward a little bit. He wiped his nose, and glanced around at his buddies, who all seemed a little stunned and intimidated.

"You're just one guy," the kid informed him needlessly. Roy snapped his gloved fingers once to make his point, enough to singe the kid's eyebrows. The younger blinked in shock, stumbled backward a little, turned tail and bolted out of there, screaming about getting his ass kicked. His buddies followed soon after, tripping over themselves. Roy watched them go for a moment and turned around to see the girl, composed and nonplussed, brushing off her pants. He saw her bitten fingernails, the dirt caked onto her hands and feet.

"Deductive reasoning," Roy recalled out loud, "How did you know what Ed looks like?"

She looked up at him. "Tracks on the ground, indicated someone small, with heavy feet, one more so than the other." She gestured to the tracks which trailed off the sidewalk and cut through the otherwise untouched lawn. "At least," she added, "heavy enough to leave prints in grass. He's impatient, probably, if he's stomping around and cutting across the lawn. So he closed the door on his jacket." She gestured to the front door, a piece of red fabric sticking out between the door and the frame.

"And the blond hair?" Roy prompted.

"Hardly anything impressive," she answered with a wave of her hand. She met his eyes and smirked. "But I could tell you for a twenty." Roy could see clearly that this curvy girl needed some form of income, and had a nasty habit to waste money on. She could certainly use a twenty, maybe to buy food or new shoes, but it was obvious what she'd most likely spend it on.

"How about, instead of money," Roy suggested, "I give you a place to sleep and some shoes."

She chuckled. "You're being hypocritical. Telling those guys to back off and expecting me to get into bed with you?" She met his gaze, and saw his severe expression. He wasn't going to give her money, or make a move on her. She looked away, smirk gone. She waved her hand dismissively. "I make it a policy not to go into stranger's houses anyway."

He crossed his arms along his chest. "Use your deductive reasoning, brat." She glared at him with a fiery green gaze. "Do I look like a bad guy to you?" She sighed and looked him over, eyes trailing up and down his body. She folded her arms and paced around him a little. He held up his hands, indicating innocence, and ready to be judged.

She hummed thoughtfully as she sized him up. "Clearly in the military. Very clean. You don't get dirty. High ranking, then." Her eyes raised off his pants and his shoes, to his chest and shoulders. "Chin held high, back straight. Either over confident, or extremely capable. Or maybe you just had a bitchy mom who insisted you sit up straight at the dinner table."

She sniffed again and rubbed her nose before continuing her evaluation. "Hair is clean and cut, but not styled. You either didn't have time this morning or you're not really as vain as you seem to be." Her eyes moved to his face. "You're young, in the military. Some kind of hero, probably in the Ishvalan war. You use fire." She took a few steps backward and ceased pacing. "I would never trust a politician, General Mustang." Her smirk was back.

He smirked as well. "I'm glad you know me, and upset you don't trust me therefore."

She shrugged. "Nothing personal. I like you better than General Armstrong."

Then, suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. Awful, wonderful revenge.

"Maybe you wouldn't trust a politician. How about the Hero of the People?"

At first, Ed didn't even know how to react. He stood in sweatpants and nothing more, in his studio apartment, in front of Roy Mustang and some homeless girl who reeked of marijuana. This pompous ass hole, who he'd pissed off earlier in the day no doubt, was trying to shove this arrogant little bitch onto him. Ed personally didn't have anything against her yet, since she hadn't even said anything, but that wasn't the point.

Finally, Ed asked in disgust, "Why did I even let you into my apartment?"

Roy smirked. "So you'll do it. I mean, you do owe me for the cleanup."

"It wasn't my fault!" Ed snarled ferally, flailing. "Havoc provoked me!"

"And Havoc was duly punished," Roy assured him firmly. "It's your turn now."

"Come on!" Ed groaned, "For all I know, she's bringing fleas and diseases into my home and stealing my shit!"

"Hey now," she interjected, smirking, "Don't give me any ideas. I used to be a kleptomaniac." Roy raised both of his eyebrows and turned to her, not sure what to think. She just grinned maleficently at the blond alchemist.

Ed rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "You can't stop being a klepto."

She purred, "Case in point. I've already stolen your pocketwatch." Ed's hands flew to his pocket, and found the silver watch sitting patiently. She burst out laughing, and Ed scowled firmly. He glared hard at Roy for a long moment, completely seething. Roy just smirked back, trying to hold in his own laughter.

He hissed, teeth gritted, "I'm not putting her up."

Roy just continued to smirk, his ground firm. "I gave her permission to."

"It's not your home to invite her to!" Ed shouted, gesturing to her maniacal grin.

Roy shrugged. "Deal with it. You owe me, and I owe her."

The girl's smile dropped in confusion. "You do?"

He chuckled and replied, "Your secret about how you knew Ed was blond."

Her smirk returned, and she shrugged. "The boys were talking about him."

"What the hell were they saying?" Ed insisted, facing her.

"Only faggots have long blond hair, etc." she answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

Ed almost literally steamed with anger, fists clenched and teeth gritted. "Those mother-"

"Revenge for your pride has been taken," Roy assured him, clapping him on the shoulder. Ed looked up at him, not quite shocked out of his anger, because he was still irritated, but distracted enough that he wasn't about to run after the bastards who had called him a faggot. "In return for my kindness, you can show this young responsible young lady some kindness as well." Roy gestured to the girl again.

Ed pressed his lips together firmly. He glanced at Roy. Then her.

He held out his hand to shake. "Edward Elric."

She shook his hand back. "Carol."

Ed immediately took his hand back and turned on Roy. "She lied. I'm not taking her."

Roy rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Does it matter if she uses a pseudonym?"

"Yes," Ed snapped. He turned back to the girl. "What's your fucking name?"

"Kay," she answered, smirking still. Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously this time. He could tell if she was lying now... He looked her up and down. She was really pretty. Damn. But he didn't take well to liars. Her smirk turned to a more honest smile. "Kay Whitesfield."

Ed put his hands on his hips. "Don't give me that shit. You're lying about the surname."

"You're good," she responded, and grinning like crazy, she held out her hand again. "Honestly. My name's Kay Doe." Ed believed her this time, but his eyebrows drew together in confusion. He clasped her hand again and they shook, this time a little less curt.

"Doe?" he inquired.

"Don't have parents," she explained easily, dropping her hand to her side.

Ed grunted. "That's uncreative. You could have had any last name in the world."

She shrugged. "Wasn't my decision."

He apologized, "Sorry, but I can't take you. Mustang go-." He turned around and stopped. The two of them were alone in the apartment. His shoulders dropped. "You've got to be kidding me! That mother fucker ditched me with this hobo!" He kicked the coffee table over with his metal foot, shouting the entire time. Books and papers spilled onto the floor unceremoniously. Kay just took a step back from everything, and ignored Ed's temper. The studio apartment was nice, but minimal. One couch, the coffee table, a bed, cupboards, and ice box, and a stove. Clothes and books lay strewn about carelessly, and notes with chicken scratch handwriting accompanied them.

"So you're in the military, too?" she inquired, picking up a paper and analyzing it.

Ed grunted. "Yeah. I'm a State Alchemist." She put the paper down with a soft "ah" of understanding. Ed's eyebrows drew together again and he frowned slightly in confusion. "What was reaction for?" he asked, picking up the same piece of paper and glancing over it to see if there was anything revealing on it. There wasn't anything.

She shrugged and absently went through the books on a shelf. "I don't believe in alchemy as a science." Ed stared at her, dumbfounded for a long moment. His mouth hung open and his shoulders were absolutely slack. He quickly found an explanation and a solution to his question that he was quite comfortable with.

He asked, "Are you Ishvalan, then? Believe in the same creator?"

"Nah," she replied, "I just don't see the scientific basis. Alchemy is real, for sure, and it certainly isn't the work of the devil." She picked up a book and flipped through it. She put it back where she found it gently. "There is no energy involved with it. Nothing to make an object or substance simply change. If I draw meaningless circles on the floor, it won't do anything." She picked up another book. "If I draw an array..." She returned the book to its place after inspecting it. "Well, it doesn't look too different from meaningless circles, and it isn't of a different substance. It's just the arrangement of pointlessness that makes the difference."

"It works," Ed argued stubbornly, glaring at her. He suddenly disliked her strongly.

"But it's not science," she reiterated, tossing a book over to him. He scowled firmly as he caught it. She continued to ask, "Have you ever seen a basic alchemy book? Of course you have. Where have you ever read about how it works? Why it works?" She threw another one on the ground, becoming more vehement with each word, throwing more books on the ground. "No, they just tell you how to do it. The ingredients, the array, the research. For all that fucking research, you get experiment after experiment, and you never get a fucking explanation as to why it is possible at all." She threw her last book.

And Ed caught it.

They stared at each other for a long, intense second.

"So what is it?" Ed asked finally.

She ran a hand through her hair and collected herself. "Could be anything. A fluke of nature. A miracle. God, even." She rested her hands on her hips and exhaled loudly. "It could simply be magic. Or maybe it's fate. The stars and the planets and the human population align perfectly. The universe just allows it to happen. Or maybe the Gate allows human will to actually shape the world." She met Ed's sharp gaze at the mention of the Gate. "But it's not science."

Ed pressed his lips together firmly while she talked. He stated, "You've seen the Gate."

She responded easily, "It was a nice place."

"It was horrible," Ed contended quietly.

"It was blank, clean, and peaceful," she reasoned.

He snapped, "It was painful and frightening."

After a tense silence, Kay ran her hands through her hair and looked away, completely at ease again and without a care in the world. "Oh," she sighed dramatically, "Edward, won't we ever agree on anything?" She flopped down onto the couch, and propped her feet up on the arm of the couch. She threw her right arm over her eyes.

Ed snorted, and she heard him shift his weight. "You're dirty. You should shower."

She bolted upright, and grinned. "We agree on something. Lovely."

Ed gave her a look of pure incomprehension. "How can you stand mooching off of people? Don't you have pride or dignity?" he asked, watching her hop to her feet nimbly. He couldn't imagine living on the streets, or in someone else's house. It would be degrading. Even though his words were stinging, she didn't react at all. She just smiled.

"Oh, pride and dignity don't exist," she informed him dismissively with a wave of her hand, "At least, not for me. To me, it's just people being too stubborn to ask for help when they need it. And I need help." She approached the bathroom - the only separate room because it was a studio apartment - and smirked at him when she touched the doorknob. "I'll be more agreeable in the morning when I can think straight."

"Mustaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang."

"What is it, Fullmetal?"

"How long do I have to put up with her?" Ed whined tiredly. The two of them sat in his office. Well, Roy was the only one sitting. At his desk, to be precise. His eyebrow twitched with irritation as he listened to Ed whine. The pen in his hand stilled. Around his desk sat incredible mountains of paperwork, and already a headache was forming in the base of his skull. Ed, on the other hand, was on the verge of a temper tantrum, lying down on the couch with his flesh arm resting over his eyes.

"It's been one night," Roy reminded him, jaw clenched.

"She sleeps on the couch," Ed whined, "I like sleeping on the couch..."

Roy dropped his pen and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You don't like a roommate."

"I liked Al," he reminded Roy loudly then grumbled, "He never slept on the couch."

"What do you want me to say?!" Roy burst out, raising his head abruptly.

"Tell her to leave!" Ed shouted back, sitting up and glaring at Roy.

"You do it!" Roy ordered him in exasperation. He exhaled and calmed himself slowly by counting to ten. "I'm busy," he added quieter. Ed, still frowning, pulled himself off the couch in exhaustion, and shuffled out of the room, still grumbling to himself.

Ed opened the door to his apartment, and froze solid in the doorway. He stared in disbelief at the woman in front of him. He knew he had given her permission to borrow some of his clothes, but he really didn't expect this. First of all, she was only wearing one of his military issue button up cotton shirts that Mustang loved to wear. Also, as a side note, Ed had forgotten he owned something like that, never mind it had clearly been ordered too large for Ed. She was a voluptuous woman, with great hips, decent boobage, and nice legs. It was nice to see that she was clean, too.

She blinked at him in surprise, having been leaning over to pick something up, exposing her nice ass and leggy legs and nice form in general. "Hey," she greeted him, standing up straight. This brought him out of his daze. He closed the door behind him, and, blushing furiously, shoved a bag from Roy into her hands. She looked inside, and hummed thoughtfully. "Isn't General Mustang so nice. Charity." She pulled out a pair of pants, a light and fashionable sweater, and some shoes.

"Go get out of that ridiculous outfit," Ed muttered, embarrassed.

She hummed. "Can do." She looked up, smiled wryly at him for a brief moment, spun around on her heel, and went into the bathroom. Once the door closed, Ed started to take note of his apartment. It wasn't exactly clean, but his clothes and books were separated, and the books from the floor had been placed in their original spots. The dishes had been done as well.

He called out to her, "You cleaned." He heard her laugh, but before she could reply, she began to cough. He frowned, and approached the doorway. "Kay? Are you choking?" She continued to cough for a few moments more.

She finally choked out, "I'm fine." He listened to her cough some more before she continued her response. "I just smoked a bit..." More coughing, in which Ed let that sink in. So she really did reek of marijuana last night. He hadn't imagined it. And Roy must have smelled it as well. She finished her sentence, "... a bit too much last night." The door swung open abruptly, and Ed saw her watery eyes and uncomfortable expression. It was in that awkward moment when they were a little too close for comfort that Ed realized he was taller than her. A strange sort of satisfaction swept through him.

"Mustang gave you an outfit," he realized aloud, "because he didn't want to give you money." A soft beat of silence. Then, "You're a drug addict."

Kay answered nonchalantly, "Maybe. I smoked for the first time in seven years and was judged immediately. It says something about the world. Not that I'm unused to being judged by others, but it's annoying."

Ed scoffed. "Seven years would mean you smoked when you were - what? Ten?"

Kay frowned, and corrected him indignantly, "I was fourteen." Clearly unhappy with him, she decided to push him aside so she could get through and create more distance. Ed kept his eyes on her while she walked away, towards the couch where she'd slept the night before.

"When are you leaving?" Ed asked, crossing his arms.

She plopped onto the couch and picked up a book. "When you kick me out, dear."

Ed shook his head, half in exasperation, half in disappointment. "Do you have a job?"

She shrugged, eyes on the book. "No."

"Then go get one!" Ed ordered her angrily, pointing toward the door vehemently. Her eyes left the page and examined his arm that gestured toward the door. She continued to look him up and down while he insisted angrily, "You might have had a bad childhood or whatever, but you're an adult now, so move on, get a job, and live a normal life!"

She chuckled humorlessly and turned back to the book. "Can do, boss."

Ed clenched his fist. "Don't mock me."

"Alright," she promised absently, "I'll get a job in the morning."

Ed growled in frustration, turned around and informed her coldly, "I'm going out. I won't be back until tomorrow night." As he spoke, he approached the door and yanked it open. "I'm going somewhere where I don't have to sleep on the floor." The door slammed shut behind him. Kay finally looked up from her book, expression solemn.

"Good bye, Ed."

Ed stared at the front door to his apartment for a long, long moment. No one was in the hall to bother him or distract him. He'd had a long morning, after waking up at Havoc's without a change of clothes or a razor to shave with. He'd left home so abruptly because he just couldn't stand someone being in his space like that. After talking to several people about Kay, he decided he'd overreacted and needed to help her get back on track instead of yell at her. As he stood in the hallway, he braced himself. He was determined to help this woman.

He reached out finally for the doorknob, and turned it. The door swung open. His apartment was in the same state it had been when he came home last. A little more organized, but not exactly clean. He stepped inside, his fiery determined expression turning into a soft frown. Maybe his apartment wasn't in the same state. It was empty of company. Where was Kay? He stepped further into his apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Kay? I'm home for my lunch break." he called out. As he did, his eyes landed on a bright pink sheet of paper. It clearly did not belong on the table with Ed's research. Hesitantly, warily, he approached the table and lifted the paper. His eyes skimmed over the black ink, the handwriting slanted and pointy, and some words spelled wrong.

Ed,

I desided it was best too leev. See yoo arownd.

K

He pressed his lips together in a firm line. He didn't know how to react. He'd been so determined to help her, and she just left before he could even try? Why? Did she feel unwelcome? He hadn't kicked her out or anything. How did it help anyone if she left? Now he was stuck with this sort of guilty feeling and he wasn't about to sit around and wallow in it, or try to forget about her. His jaw set firmly. He'd decided he was going to help her. A minor setback like this wouldn't deter him.

He stuffed the note into his pocket and left his apartment, slamming the door behind him. Just on time, his neighbors stumbled inside drunkenly. No doubt these had been the guys who she'd been with. There were two of them, and they were laughing too loudly. Ed grabbed one of their arms as they walked by, and they blinked at him owlishly.

"What's yer problem, man?" the one in his grasp slurred unhappily.

"The girl you guys shared a spliff with," Ed snapped, ignoring his question, "Where did you meet her?"

The other one glanced around nervously. "I don't know, man. The bitch was smart, but real prude. She ain't worth your time." Ed glared at him, completely unimpressed. His grip tightened on the fleshy arm he held, and the guy winced.

The one in pain answered, "The park a few blocks down." Ed let go of his arm and briskly headed towards the exit. "She's nothing but trouble!" the one he'd grabbed warned him, "Don't expect too much!" Ed ignored the shouts, and stomped out the door, slamming it behind him. He headed down the street, his angry thoughts swirling. What was she thinking? Didn't she understand how he would feel when she left?

It didn't take him long to get there. Even if he was short, he was quick and muscled. The park wasn't very park-like, given that it was in the middle of the city. It was simply a grassy, public square with a couple of trees and benches where people could sit and eat lunch or meet with friends. Ed looked around, his gaze sharp, for this girl. She had to be here, or he wouldn't know where to look for her. The sun shone brightly for such a miserable moment, when Ed found she wasn't there. He'd probably never see her again.

A frustrated cry tore from his throat, and left his lips, earning him some confused or weirded out looks, and some whispers about him behind his back. He knew it was childish to have a temper tantrum right then, so he just turned on his heel and stomped back to work, where he'd skipped his lunch for no reason. The office was only a few blocks away from his apartment, and he was halfway there already since he'd gone to the park.

He normally wouldn't care what the girl did. She was her own person, and wasn't any of his business. But somehow, over the course of a couple nights, she had become his business. He'd decided to help her, damn it. Jaw clenched in frustration, he skipped up the white steps of the building he worked at. She should have known that she was his business. She shouldn't have so selfishly left. She should have stayed home...

Growling under his breath, he flung himself up the stairs, inside the building. The office was on the third floor. What had she thought? That he was tired of her? That she was invading his space? What was her problem? He stomped down the hallway, and flung the office door open. Breda and Havoc looked up at him eagerly for a distraction from their work. They quickly cowered when they saw his mood.

He pulled up a chair at their quiet table, and roughly sat down. "I don't know what to fucking do now," he snarled and buried his face in his hands. "She just up and left," he muttered, muffling his voice in his hands. Still, Havoc nodded in appreciation for his feelings, and Breda, not known for his tact, just leaned back and crunched on some potato chips.

"I know how that is," Havoc lamented, "Girls never stick around with me, either."

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Breda remarked loudly.

Ed lifted his head and glared at him. "I'm talking about Kay." Havoc and Breda let out a soft, "oh," in realization. Ed shook his head at them, and put his head back in his hands. "I wasn't going to relent. I was going to help her, no matter what. Why did she leave?" He slammed his fists on the table, head raised. "This is so frustrating!" Havoc exhaled loudly, unable to think of anything to say.

Breda clapped Ed's shoulder. "That's a bummer, Ed."

"I thought you wanted her to leave," Kain piped up from the other side of the table. His head cocked sideways with his earnest curiosity. He glanced between the three of them. "Or did I miss something?" Havoc gave him a frank expression, and Breda smirked at the awkwardness of Kain's realization. Ed just looked really tired, staring up at the ceiling. "Well if you want her back," Kain advised with a shrug, returning to his work, "girls love it when guys chase them down. Just find her."

Ed groaned. "But she's homeless. Where do you find a homeless person?"

To that, no one had an answer.