If you're a returning reader, you might have noticed the edit to the pairing list on the first chapter. The Ed x Roy was always intended to be one-sided and inspiration struck soon after for the secondary main pairing. It happens to work quite nicely with what I have planned for this fiction, so I went with it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 2

"Could you direct me to Colonel Mustang's office?" Gracia Hughes asked the soldier sitting at the front desk while brushing her bangs behind her ears. Gracia had a basket hanging off of her arm and was trying to smile politely despite being nervous. It had taken her close to a week to get up the nerve to come visit on her own. "It's been a while since I visited his section of the office and I'm not quite sure if I remember where it is."

"Of course, Mrs. Hughes." The corporal nodded happily before explaining the directions and drawing a quick map. "Will that be all? Would you like me to ring the office and let him know you're coming?"

"No, that's quite alright." Gracia almost bit her lip. It had been a while since she'd seen Roy and she was almost scared he'd hide from her. The image of him showing up at her door only to quickly retreat to his car after a few short words still was fresh in her mind. Showing up unexpected would be best if she wanted to catch him. "Thank-you, though."

Gracia's heels clipped softly on the solid floors of the hallways. They would have echoed had it not been for the soldiers hustling and bustling about making noise to cover the sounds. Her grip tightened on the basket handle as she approached Roy's office. Gracia smoothed out the small checked cloth covering the warm contents and tucked the edge in absently. She still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to be doing, but she would find that out soon enough. As the woman stopped in front of the office door, she straightened her skirt and took a deep breath before turning the handle. It was now or never.

Hawkeye looked up from her desk when she heard the handle of the door turning. Checking her watch she frowned. They weren't expecting anyone in the office until much later when Edward got back from his latest assignment. Wondering who it could possibly be, Hawkeye stood from her desk when the door finally creaked open and a familiar head of brunette hair peeked around the corner. The woman standing in the door way gave Riza pause, but she quickly righted herself. "Oh, hello Gracia. What brings you here?"

"Hello, Riza." Gracia smiled as she stepped fully into the office, basket in front of her at the waist. She could feel the eyes of everyone else in the office on her, but she tried to keep from fidgeting. Gracia did not want their pity. Instead, she pressed on with her business. "Is Roy in?"

"Yes, he's in his office. Did you need something?" Riza looked the woman over and smiled softly. The smell from the basket was absolutely heavenly and she had no doubt what was in it. The contents of that basket were possibly the only thing Maes Hughes had never exaggerated about. The others could smell it too, if the looks of glee on their faces were anything to go by. Riza hoped the Colonel had it in his heart to share.

"I just came by to see him quickly." Gracia watched those eyes staring her down. They weren't cruel or condemning, but the questions were very clear. It wasn't often the widow of your boss' friend came to visit for no reason. Gracia could feel her nerve slipping. "But I can leave if he's busy."

"No, that's alright. I'm sure he'll enjoy the break." Riza smiled and put a hand gently on Gracia's shoulder to push her towards the other man's office. "I'll see you inside."

"Thank-you, Riza."

"Something very bad happened here, Brother." Alphonse spoke softly as he and his big brother stood in the doorway of the empty room. Even if the event had happened weeks ago, the smell was still putrid and hanging in the room. Al couldn't smell it himself, but Ed had to cover his nose to breathe properly. And even with the lights on, the room seemed dark. "I don't like it."

"I don't either, Al." Ed's voice was muffled while he tried to speak through his arm. The smell of dead meat and rotting flesh was making him nauseous. His eyes weren't doing any better as he took in the blood on the walls and streaks along the ground. "These markings look familiar, but the smudges and blood make the circle harder to see. Just about the only thing I can tell for sure is that it was meant for a living thing."

"Do you think he was trying to bring someone back to life, Brother?" Al questioned into the air as he took the first few steps inside. He looked around the room for notes or practice circles, but there didn't seem to be any around. Maybe the alchemist did his research elsewhere and just performed the transmutation here?

Ed slowly pulled his arm down and tried to breathe slowly and get used to the smell and the thick air. He needed his hands to investigate and look through things. His nose would just have to suffer. "That or one hell of a rebound on a chimera experiment or something."

"These marks on the floor look like something tried to drag itself along the floor while the blood was still wet." Alphonse knelt down on one knee to look at the floor more closely. "You don't think?"

"I hope not." Edward almost shuttered and rubbed his arm through the sleeve. "Another homunculus is the last thing we need running around. The others are bad enough."

"But how would we know?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see if one shows up." Ed sighed to himself and started to walk around the room. "But for now, we just need to figure out who was here and what they tried. If we know that, than we'll know if even what he was doing could create one. We might just have a chimera running around. I'll take that over a homunculus any day."

"I agree." Alphonse nodded and clunked his way to the table on the far side of the room. Still no books or notes. Just an empty table and pieces of chalk littered about the room were all he could see. "Isn't it weird that there's no papers or anything in here? There's no way he just drew that circle without practice, is there?"

Ed snorted. "It would explain why the rebound was so nasty if he did." The young blonde squat on his heels and frowned at the circle on the ground. The work was intricate and precise from what he could see. Whoever this guy was, he knew what he was doing. "We should find out who was renting this room."

"Okay." Al paused. "Hey Brother?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"If it is a homunculus, what are we going to do?"

"Add him to our list and hope for the best." Ed took in a deep breath and rolled up his sleeves to keep them from getting filthy. Blood wasn't the only thing making this room a mess. The mold and dirt that covered the non-red sections of the floor was just as bad. It was disgusting; the perfect location for the sins this alchemist tried to commit. "Now let's get looking for clues!"

"Gracia?" Roy knew the confusion he felt had leaked into his voice when he saw the woman walk into his office after Hawkeye. Roy found himself immediately standing on his feet to greet the woman properly. Though, he would not deny he was nervous and knew he was rubbing his fingers together on instinct. He hadn't had a proper conversation with Gracia since the funeral. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no." Gracia shook her head and smiled. Things were worse than she thought if the only reason Roy could think of for her to visit was bad news. "Nothing's wrong. I just dropped by to see how you were."

Roy's sigh of relief was very noticeable, but he didn't really care. But now he was baffled as to why the woman was here to see him. Had he done something wrong? Did she know more about Hughes' death and what he was doing when he died? "Ah, I'm glad nothing's the matter than."

Riza watched Roy's eyes and saw the confusion and fear. She thought it best to let them be alone for now. "I'll leave you, then."

The silence after Hawkeye closed the office door was almost overbearing as the two looked at each other. Roy swallowed tightly and tried to smile. "Have a seat, please."

"Thank-you." Gracia walked over to the desk and sat the basket down on the corner before walking over to the Colonel's couch. She sat with her hands in her lap and blushed in embarrassment as Roy looked at the basket. Maybe it had been too much. "That's for you."

Roy lifted the corner of the fabric and blinked down at the warm, steaming pastry. The wonderful smell that had been just a hint earlier was released completely once it's fabric prison was removed. Roy breathed it in and saw images of Maes carrying a similar basket and munching on a slice flash by his eyes. Roy hoped his voice sounded smooth and didn't hint at the tightening of his breath. "This looks wonderful. May I ask what the occasion is?"

"It's nothing special, if you take the cover off entirely you'll notice it's only half a pie." Gracia bit her lip. "I made it for Elysia and her friend this morning for lunch and they only managed to eat half. I didn't want it to go to waste and I remember Maes said you liked my pie."

Roy noticed the later part of her sentence was soft and that she started to wring her hands. The knot in his own throat was tight as well. "It's hard not to enjoy your cooking. Thank-you."

Gracia waited for him to say something else, but he seemed to be silent. His shoulders were hunched and the very proud man who was her husband's best friend and favorite topic of conversation (outside of their Elysia, of course) did not look like himself. He looked lonely. When she started talking it was sudden and almost forced. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Roy?"

"Ah?" Roy tried to find the right words, but they wouldn't come. Gracia was looking hopeful and her shoulders were back straighter as she sat up. "I'm not sure if-"

"It'll be fine, Roy." Gracia interrupted and stood up. "You used to come over all the time."

Roy looked at her and wondered why she was pressing this issue. He had always come over before because Maes dragged him there to show off his daughter or his wife's cooking in person. Without Maes Hughes, Roy couldn't help but think dinner with Gracia would be nothing but awkward. "I know, but.-"

"Besides." Gracia interrupted him again. She was not giving Roy the option to say no. Roy wasn't the only one who was lonely. This would be good for the both of them; Gracia was sure of it. If anyone else loved Maes as much as she had, it was Roy. Everyone was being so thoughtful and comforting to Gracia since Maes' passing, but she felt Roy was being left out and needed the comfort just as much as she did. "Elysia would love to see her Uncle Roy again. Don't you think?"

"Alright, I'll see you after work." Roy smiled softly. He had been beaten by a pair of very determined green eyes and found himself utterly defeated. "Where is Elysia? Is she not with you?"

"She's at her friend's house." Gracia smiled. "And with that, I need to do my shopping for the week while she's being watched."

"I'll walk you out." Roy offered and brushed past the woman so he could open the door. She looked like she was ready to protest, but Roy beat her to the punch. "I insist."

"If you insist." Gracia smiled softly. This evening would be hard for the both of them, but they needed to do this. Their walk to the front door of the building was quiet, but Gracia didn't mind. They'd have plenty of time to talk over dinner when the time came.

"So this is where you've been." Envy laughed as she saw Greed leaning against a tree casually. He had apparently stolen a new set of clothing to blend in better with the humans and had a hat pulled down to shade his face. A cigarette hung from his lips unlit; he looked the picture of a vagabond. "You're not human, you know. So what's the point in looking like one?"

"To avoid drawing attention." Greed turned to Envy and smirked after eyeing the man from head to toe. "Unlike yourself. Even disguised as a woman a skirt that short is bound to gather attention."

"Hmph." Envy snorted and walked over to study Greed. For someone born so recently, he had an unusually sense of calm about him. Not to mention knowledge of the world; he was too smart. Had he retained all of his memories so well? What a fluke that would be; one Envy would have to smother quickly if he wanted to get anything out of this man. "Have you thought about what I mentioned earlier?"

Greed nodded silently, but kept his eyes trained on the window he was watching. Inside two little girls played happily together with paper and crayons. He almost smiled watching the little one with green eyes, but knew to do better when Envy was around and watching. "I'll pass for now."

"That's how the last Greed kicked the bucket, you know. Turning us down."

"Turning you down, or getting in your way?" Greed pulled a watch out of his pocket and checked the time thoughtfully. He still wanted to go check on a few things and the best time to do so was fast approaching. Timing was everything when you were gathering information and stalking. Getting noticed is what gets you killed. "You don't have to worry. I have no intention of getting in you or any of the other's way."

"They will find out about you soon enough." Envy shrugged and looked down at the ground. A small insect had started to crawl over his shoe. He kicked his foot out and squashed the bug to the cement in mid toss. "Better make up your mind before then."

"So you haven't told them about me yet." Greed smirked. "I figured as much. And I have made up my mind. I have no interest in being human."

"Aren't you special." Envy grinned. "I'll be watching you. Have fun people watching."

"I will." Greed frowned. Envy was going to be trouble; he felt it in his gut. In all honesty, Greed wanted to kill the metamorphic homunculus, but lacked information on how to go about it. After a bit of experimenting, Greed discovered his own ability to regenerate almost instantly after injury. It was a talent he planned to milk for all it was worth when the time came. However, that meant Envy had the same talent – and the years of experience to top him. "Things are going to get interesting."

But for now, Greed had more important matters that needed attention. Now that his own stalker had departed, Greed let the tiny smile slip onto his face. The little girl was smiling brightly as she colored. It was adorable; a really picture perfect.

Roy was hesitant as he stood outside of Gracia Hughes' doorway. Havoc had driven him there on his own way out of the office and told him to take it easy. Clearly his nerves must have been written all over his face. Finally, after much internal debate, Roy raised his hand to knock on the door only to be left standing with his fist in the air and a blank look on his face.

"I'm glad you came, Roy." Gracia smiled at the dumb look on the normally stoic man's face. She bit her lip; it was mean what she did. No matter how amused she now was; her Maes had rubbed off on her in all that time. Gracia had seen Roy standing outside of her door from the window and watched him debate internally for a good five minutes. When she finally saw him take that breath to knock, she pulled the door open before he had the chance. "Come inside."

"Thank-you." Roy pulled his hand down and stepped over the threshold. The house seemed empty somehow. The alchemist tried to keep his eyes from falling on the little picture frames littered around the room that held memories that were far too painful to think on at the moment. "How was your day?"

"It was good." Gracia reached up to take the man's coat and hang it on the rack. She noticed he hadn't taken any step further into the house and was still standing at her entranceway. "Elysia had a good time, too. She colored all sorts of pictures while at her friend's house."

"That's good." Roy stood not sure what to do with himself. It would have gotten awkward, but thankfully a bundle of energy came bursting into the room.

"Mommy!" Elysia came barreling to a halt when she saw the guest in her living room. It was Daddy's friend. The scary one. Elysia buried her hands into her mom's skirt as she looked up at the man.

"Elysia, you know Uncle Roy. Don't be so shy." Gracia cooed.

"It's okay." Roy kept his smile on his face. He was an intimidating person; that wasn't anything he didn't know.

Gracia frowned and rubbed her daughter's head. Having your best friend's daughter being scared of you, couldn't have made Roy feel good. "Dinner's ready now, why don't you come and have a seat while I set the table?"

"Alright." Roy prayed for a pleasant evening without any breakdowns. The air was tense enough already and Elysia's reaction hinted at the night going badly. "It smells great already."

"I hope you have room after that pie." Gracia laughed. "I do hope you didn't eat it all by yourself."

"No," Roy suddenly smirked as an intruding through momentarily broke him from the tension of the room. "I was good about it."

"I'm glad. Now come and stop standing in my doorway." Gracia pushed the man towards her kitchen. They were going to have a nice, normal dinner if it killed them. She'd eaten by just herself and Elysia far too many times.

"Hey, where's the Colonel?" Ed asked as he turned to Riza as she entered the office. Since she hadn't been there when he walked in, Ed helped himself to busting down the Colonel's private office door. To find it empty save for stacks of paper on his desk that need signing and a random basket. Al had hung back next to Havoc's desk to stay out of the way. Ed thrust a thumb over his shoulder to point back at the door. "Bastard's not at his desk."

"Have a little respect for your commanding officer, Edward." Riza shook her head and sat the stack of papers she had retrieved neatly on her desk. She had hoped Ed would eventually stop calling the Colonel that nickname, but some things never changed. "He went home."

"What? But I have a report to make! He's the one who told me I needed to report after my initial study of the stupid site!"

"It's late, Edward." Riza shook her head. "He only left a few minutes early to make an appointment he had with a friend."

"So he's on a date." Ed almost growled. He worked his butt off all morning on a disgusting piece of an alchemic disaster and the Colonel was living it up with some chick!

"No, he's not." For once. Riza whispered inside her head. "Gracia invited him over to dinner to catch up with him and so he could see Elysia." Riza paused as she remembered the reason for the visit. "She brought some pie earlier. There might be some left on his desk if you want some."

"Really?" Ed smiled and trotted back into the office to look for anything that resembled Mrs. Hughe's cooking. She made some of the most awesome pie. The basket on the Colonel's desk suddenly wasn't so random anymore. "Yeah! There's still a slice left!"

Alphonse laughed quietly to himself as his brother devoured the last piece of pie straight from the basket. They'd give the Colonel the report on what they found tomorrow morning. "Come on, Brother. Let's go back to the dorm and get some real dinner."

"Sure." Ed nodded and licked the last few crumbs from his fingers with a smile. He'd forgive the Colonel this one time for ducking out. Especially since the last piece of pie had a piece of paper on it that said 'Fullmetal.'