Bar-Ohki: You know deep down you want him to court you too.
moonstone: I'm not planning on it. I pulled myself out of bed just for you hehe.
Shawn: Yes, I have to still get to the happy ending. There are unsolved matters still hanging around them.
Koneko: Nitro wants to give you a llama hug. Ultimatum isn't on hold exactly, I just need to pull out my notebook and finish typing up the next chapter from the paper. I need to do that though, it's been a while since I updated it.
GreedxEd: We all know why you thought it was cute. Al/Marta by any chance? tehehe
B.D.: I'm sure you'd like it if Ed were jealous about you.
Cheru: He is rather yummy like that... I am fairly certain I'll give him more chances to be jealous. -cackle- Alice is so much fun like that.
Sakoyo: The ramen is wonderful, thank you.
xwhitex: Al is just awesome in his own thoughtful, quiet way. And I love the way I do Al as well.... -snickers- it's so much... fun -is hopeless-
mrawgirl: Roy really is a master, and all alchemists look good wet XD
ferret: My mind is as dirty as yours, trust me.
Paon: I like adding him in every so often. I'm getting more attached to him the more I do.
Mary: Two Mustangs.... oh heaven help the female population.
And now, the wrap up to the days in the lives of our favorite two terrors, lovers, and the supporting cast.
Chapter Twenty Six
Romanian Embassy - London
"What went wrong this time?" Fane sighed as he spotted Alice walking in through the front door of the embassy. He knew something had gone wrong, just by her mere presence. Not taking into account the fact that her hair was standing nearly on end.
"That damn llama is what went wrong!" Alice snapped as she strode over to him, shoving her coat into the waiting hands of the suited man who hurried in her wake.
With a roll of his eyes that he hoped she saw, Fane waved for her to follow him. "You got outwitted by a four-legged beast of burden?" He concluded as he listened to her follow after him. "How utterly sad, are you sure that this is what you really want?"
"Of course it is!" Alice growled, crossing her arms petulantly and stomping after the ambassador. "And it should be what you want as well! Unless I get what I want, you don't get whatever the hell it is you're after with Edward."
"I have more time than you do to wait for Edward to fall into a trap." Fane disagreed, "even if you fail I'm sure there are several other routes I can take. You're just the easiest. Though in retrospect, perhaps not the quickest."
"What is it you're after with Mister Elric anyway?" Alice asked, following him down one of the corridors.
Fane smirked to himself. "I thought you didn't care?"
"I don't care. I'm just curious as to whether or not you should be helping me more, depending on the generosity of the favor I'm doing for you."
"Currently, you're not doing me any favors." Fane reminded her. "Currently you keep getting outwitted by either Roy or that Rottweiler of a llama. And while we're on that little subject, if you were any good at getting men into your bed, you'd have gotten Roy into yours without my help. Does your reputation not only precede, but outshine you?"
Alice scowled, "oh yes, keep laying out the insults. That'll go over really well in the end. I've just begun-"
"And what a fine beginning it is turning out to be." Fane acknowledged with a mocking laugh. "I've never been so impressed in my life." And he opened the door to his office. "If anything, Lady Alice, I should start exacting favors from you, considering all the pains I'm going through to not once, but several times, get you in with Roy alone and you blow everything. Do you think this is a game? This is business."
"That was never in our agreement. You help me to get what I want, that's all." Alice reminded him. "I owe you nothing. And before you bring up that too-common threat to show my father what the life I lead is really like, you can forget about it." She replied as she followed him into his office, rolling her eyes at the three women already inside. Clearly Fane's latest results of his pimping. To be honest, even if Fane was a good dancer, she was hard pressed to get past his looks or the fact that he was just plain ridiculous. She ignored the women.
"And why is that?" Fane asked as he walked over to his desk, pulling one such woman onto his lap as she walked over to him.
Alice shrugged as she walked up to the desk, "he said something earlier today about flying out to Paris on a business trip of some sort. It doesn't involve me so I don't really care. Apparently he'll be gone long enough for me to get Roy, and you to get whatever the hell it is you want out of this. What is it you want, anyway? Yes, bring Edward to his knees, but what else?"
"The only way to move my country forward is to get rid of Edward. I do this, and not only will Romania become stronger, but I will be the one praised for it." And Fane turned to the scantily clad woman in his lap. "Isn't that right?"
"Whatever you say. Just get rid of her." The woman replied, glaring at Alice.
Alice glared right back. "Careful, or the bed you sleep on tonight just might be in a jail cell with three other women who will make you their bitch."
Fane smirked, and wound his arms around the woman in his lap. "Not in a foreign embassy. You have no jurisdiction here. Here, I have all the power. So get to the point of why you're here before I have you arrested for some stupid thing like… oh, wasting my time."
Alice glared at him. "I need you to create some sort of diversion in Parliament that will keep Edward occupied for a large amount of time. Hours. I don't care when, just keep me informed of when the coast is clear."
"That's all?" Fane asked, and chuckled darkly. "A diversion? In Parliament that will last hours? What do you think I plan to do, set off a bomb scare?"
Alice shrugged, "do whatever you see fit. Though personally I hope you do something which will get you arrested."
Fane considered, "very well. But this time if Edward lays a hand on me again, I'll be doing the same to you. Do we understand each other?"
"I'd love to see you try." Alice replied sweetly.
Fane smirked, "trust me, you'd rather I do it, than Edward- were I to accidentally slip mention of the details of our little bargain."
"Trust me, you'd rather I not tell Edward a few dark little secrets I know about you. It'll make whatever ass-kicking he gave you seem like child's play." Alice said and absently tugged at her hair, trying to make it lay flat again. "Try what you will, Fane, but in the end, I'm still going to win. The cards are stacked in my favor here on my own homeland."
"If such a thing were an immovable barrier to getting what I want, then politicians like myself would cease to exist." Fane reminded her. "I'm an ambassador, I'm not one for no good reason. I know how to get what I want on the turf of another country."
"Except when a single advisor to the prime minister is standing in your way." Alice laughed, and spun on her heel. "Do what I said, cause a diversion. So far that seems to be all you're capable of as an ambassador."
Fane watched her go, before turning to the women, the remaining two of which had gathered around him. "Now where were we ladies…"
Outside Alice stomped her way back out to the car waiting for her. Getting in she glowered out the window as the car pulled free of the gates of the embassy and back out onto the streets. She was running out of time. The more time Edward and Roy spent together, the more Edward would corrupt Roy towards her. She couldn't let Raymond happen all over again. It had been too harsh a blow to lose him, especially like that. And deep down, she felt that it was somehow Edward's fault that Raymond had turned traitor. She wasn't going to lose Roy either because of that annoying advisor.
"Maybe it's time to start acting on my own as well." She muttered under her breath, staring out at the sleet as it began to fall, obscuring the already dark night sky. "Fane is ridiculous and unreliable. I just have to get Edward out of that shack of his. Or lure out Roy… which might be more difficult. He's so pale, I doubt he ever goes outside much." Well, Edward it was then. "Good thing we share a property border." Alice slowly smiled to herself.
"Back home, Lady Alice?" The driver asked back at her, undisturbed by her mutterings.
Alice straightened, her eyebrows coming together in thought. "No. Not just yet. I have one more visit to make. Wherever the nearest club is… I need a hell of a drink."
And the car changed direction obediently.
10 Downing Street – Prime Minister's Office
Thomas walked into Charles's office, finding the man still hard at work. "Sir?"
Charles looked up with a smile of welcome. "Ah, Mister Brown, still no luck I assume?"
Thomas shook his head. "No, sir. He's still not answering the phone. Would you like me to stop by and just check if he's there? I still don't understand why he ran off so fast."
"I don't think any of us are meant to." Charles replied, folding his hands together on top of his desk with a thoughtful breath. "No, leave him be. I'm sure he's fine."
"There's something else." Thomas ventured, only continuing at Charles's nod. "I got a call from one of Alphonse's coworkers at the paper. A Mike something or other, runs the gossip column. He seems to think we should be aware that Lady Alice seems to be spending quite a bit of time with Mister Banciu."
"Is he trailing her or something?"
"He runs the gossip column." Thomas rolled his eyes, "of course he's trailing her. How fortunate for her that her father doesn't read the paper Al works for."
Charles looked thoughtful. "He believes they're up to something?"
"The man works with Al, and I figure if he had the inclination to call me that this Mike person and Alphonse must be friends of a sort." Thomas explained, "so naturally he'd know that Edward and Al are brothers, and that Edward and Fane have no love for each other. Throw Lady Alice into the picture, and it's easy to see where his train of thought is headed."
Charles nodded slowly. "Inform Edward, let him decide what he wants to do. If he wants security posted at his gate, you can arrange for that. However we can only hope that Mister Banciu is just seducing Lady Alice into a one night stand. I pity either of them who encounter that llama on a bad weather day such as this one."
"Yes, sir." Thomas nodded, and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Mister Brown," Charles called after him.
"Sir?" Thomas stopped, and looked back.
"Elections are coming up faster than any of us think. I hope you're thinking on your next choice."
Thomas paused, before he nodded. "I am, but until then, I'm learning a great deal from Mister Elric. I'll never be any good unless I continue to learn from him until that day."
"Have a good rest of your evening." Charles smiled at the man.
"You as well." Thomas smiled back, and quickly left.
Glass Rose Chateau
"Stop that."
"Don't think so."
"Edward."
"Roy."
Roy promptly pushed Edward under the water, released the blonde's head, and smirked as the more than tipsy man resurfaced. "It creeps me out when you do that."
"I know, that's why I do it." Edward grinned unabashedly, pushing his sopping wet hair from his eyes. "Oh look, I'm all wrinkly!" He exclaimed with glee, staring at his flesh hand as if completely entranced by it.
Roy smiled, and tried not to laugh. "Yes, Ed, love. That's what happen when we spend fuck knows how many hours in your damn kiddie pool." In all fairness, the water was deep enough for swimming, and it came up to his chest, but he could hardly not taunt the blonde about the deepness of the water.
"You're too big." Ed pouted, and began to slosh his way away from Roy.
Roy cracked a grin, "is my size a problem?" And he laughed as Edward blushed mid-stumble through the water. "Where are you going?"
"To get more wine." Edward declared, resuming his drunken stumbles towards where the wine bottle sat innocently at the edge of the pool.
Roy groaned, "you've clearly had enough. Just how did you manage to drink all that liquor before you ran off on that horse? You were getting dizzy on your third glass of this stuff." He said, and swam after the blonde.
"This stuff is the very, very good stuff." Ed explained in a conspiratorial whisper as he turned to Roy with a grin. "I like good stuff."
"I can tell." Roy said, and intercepted Ed into his arms, pulling the blonde firmly into them. "You don't need more wine, love."
"Do too."
"Don't start that again."
Edward beamed up at him innocently. "Start what again?"
"You know what. You little terror." Roy chided, and tried not to mind as Edward splashed water at him for his use of a certain adjective.
"Then I think we should go to bed." Edward suggested verbally, while his body suggested in other ways.
Roy coughed delicately, and began to pull Ed back away from the wine bottle. "Would you even remember it tomorrow morning?"
"Probably not." Ed admitted as he still smiled up at Roy as if completely enraptured.
Grunting in agreement, Roy nodded. "So tell me, my little-" another splash of water was sent at his head,"Fullmetal, your brother should have had his non-date dinner already. How do you think it went?"
"I'll call him tomorrow so he can freak out over the phone and cause hearing loss." Edward decided, circling his arms around Roy's neck.
"Sounds fabulous."
"Did you know you're gorgeous?" Ed asked with a tilt of his head as he considered the man holding him.
Roy chuckled, "you're very sweet when you've had too much to drink."
"Drink!"
Roy had to hang on as Ed suddenly tried to launch off in a sloppy backstroke towards where the wine bottle was. "No, no more for you." He insisted, holding onto the now pouting blonde.
"But you're gorgeous." Edward wheedled running his fingers through Roy's hair.
"It's the wine talking."
"It is not."
"Well, Alice certainly seems to think I'm nice to look at." Roy teased, and barely had time to laugh before he was suddenly bracing himself against the pool wall as he kissed Edward back. He kept the slippery blonde wrapped in his arms, not wanting the water to be getting in their way right now.
When Edward pulled away at last to catch his breath he was glowering at Roy. Rather cutely, as far as Roy was concerned.
"Alice cannot have you, you're mine." Edward growled, leaning in to kiss against Roy's neck.
"Yes, the skeleton belongs to you." Roy chuckled, leaning his head back against the floor around the pool as Edward continued to kiss him. A content sigh slipped from his lips, and he held Ed close. "Don't worry, she won't like me anymore when she believes there's nothing about me to fix."
"Why did you do that to yourself?" Edward asked in a pause of his attentions to Roy's wet skin.
Roy smiled faintly to himself, almost sadly. "It doesn't matter anymore. Are you sure you're kissing me correctly?"
"Oh I'll kiss you." Edward growled before attacking Roy's neck again.
Relieved that Edward being drunk had another silver lining, he closed his eyes. Not only would Ed not remember asking him such a thing, he was easily distracted away from it. It wasn't a question Roy wanted to answer, not now. If ever. Because in all truthfulness, it didn't matter anymore. There were other matters demanding his notice right now, and he soon found himself unable to stay away from one such matter any longer as he turned Ed around to pin the blonde up against the textured wall of the pool.
Meanwhile only two doors down, the sedatives were still working at keeping the pregnant Camira calm at being enclosed in the garage, but she stirred restlessly. She'd ventured over to press up against the garage door where she could smell both the cold and the llama on the other side. The presence of Nitro, even on the other side, kept her far calmer than the sedatives as the first contraction started.
On the other side of the garage door, Nitro stood quite still, eyes trained on the front gates of the estate, ears listening to one of his charges as the sleet soaked him through.