Chapter 3

Roy groaned.

"There's nothing in the fridge?" he moaned, looking at his sister who was spread out on the couch. She gave him a scrutinizing look with her narrow dark eyes and shrugged, smiling sweetly.

"I saw a bunch of stray animals on the road and I just thought I'd..."

"Okay, where are they, Terra?"

"On the sixth floor," she admitted. "They wereso cold and hungry! I couldn't just leave them!"

"Remind me to introduce you to a kid named Alphonse sometime, you'll get along real well."

"I already know him, he's Eddie's brother."

Roy nearly spit out the water he was drinking.

" 'Eddie?' You're on nickname terms with Fullmetal?"

"Why not? Just because you don't keep any girls doesn't mean I can't go out with anyone..."

"But!"

"Oh shut up, you're always making fun of him! Can't you just give it a rest?"

"But!"

"I invited Ed for dinner tomorrow, since everyone has a day off from work. He said he'd come," she said acidly, and Roy sighed.

"I'm not going to promise to be on my best behavior."

"I don't care, just be nice to Edward."

"I don't know if I can manage that much..."

"Do it, or I'll show your girlfriend the whole photo album. I know you hate all those pictures from when you were little."

Roy glared at her and his sister glared back with equal ferocity. "I don't know why Mom and Dad had to go and have you! I was enough," Roy muttered. Terra stuck her tongue out at him. "They wanted a girl, not a boy."

"Just because you're fourteen years younger doesn't mean you have the defense of being the baby. Not around me, Sister."

"Gee, I love you too, Big Brother."

"So exactly how long is... 'Eddie', staying?" he grumbled, rummaging around in cupboards for food. "All day tomorrow, and he's bringing Alphonse with him. Don't worry, he'll leave after dinner."

"No way he's staying the night, that's for sure," he grumbled.

Terra looked hurt. "You don't trust me!"

"I do, I'm just overprotective."

"Hey, I don't say anything when you go out. God knows what you do."

Roy glared again. "For your information, I don'tdo anything. I just get extremely bored, that's all. But this time is different, I mean it!" he said in response to her skeptical look. "I know her, she's perfect. Except for being armed twenty four seven, but I can deal with that."

"Does Papa know anything?"

He winked. "He's the one who's coaching me through this, everything will go according to-"

"Awwww... they're so cute!" Terra and Roy looked up the steps and he laughed. "She must have found your street friends, Terra." He put one hand on the rail to go upstairs. "By the way... don't bother us on the twelfth floor tonight, 'kay?" Terra blanched and Roy chuckled. "I've got business to take care of." He whistled and headed up the steps. "Ewww... that's gross Brother."

He found Riza on the sixth floor playing with the puppies and kittens, stretching more than she thought she did and giving Roy a spectacular view, though he had the brains not to say anything about it. "Having fun?" Riza jumped a little with a white puppy in her arms. "Oh, uh... heheh..." he looked in the general direction of the puppy in her arms. "That's my dog, White Hayate. She must have come up here to play with the new visitors. I thought it would be funny to name her after Black Hayate, she looks like she's the same breed.

"Hello White Hayate, you like Riza?" The puppy squirmed, yipped, and jumped at Roy.

"Anway, I just heard that Terra invited 'Eddie' over for dinner tomorrow."

Riza tilted her head.

"Fullmetal. I can't stand the thought of being here alone with those two, so I thought maybe you'd like to stay for dinner tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'd love to! But what about work?"

"There's a day off, Terra said. I didn't ask why though."

He put White Hayate on the floor and she bounded down the stairs. "Now, for what I was going to show you..."

He took her hand and led her up another six flights of stairs to the last floor.

"Wow... it's... glass?"

"Crystal I think... It gives a nice view of the night sky, don't you think?"

"Yeah it does..." she murmured, mesmerized. She sat down on the edge of the bed and stared up into the sky. "It's beautiful... wow..."

"I know something else that's beautiful," he whispered, kissing her on her lips. He pushed her back gently on the bed and he smiled.

"We've got the whole night together, just the two of us."