A/N: Thank you all for reading so far! And I'm very, very sorry for the delay for this chapter and for the shortness! My internship at the kindergarten as well as school and personal life stressed me quite a bit and took a lot of my time so I was unable to write save for today (FINALLY).

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Unlucky Alis: Haha well to continue our cycle, I thank you each and every time for bothering to review, since sometimes I myself find it difficult to think of what to write that can be helpful to the writer in a review ^^ Ah, well, maybe a bit longer than a few chapters, but I have to confess I'll have to kill off a few precious characters (not telling who! ;)). Ah really? Thank you! I always fear I don't include enough details in my writing, which is partially true, but please tell me what parts lacked details and I'll try to correct that ^^ Ah yeah, Lena, my sassy little martial arts queen haha :) I thought I didn't give poor Aaron enough 'screen time' so I had to include a bit more backstory for me :3

Guest: Hi there, thanks for reviewing! :) haha Aw, thanks so much, I had to laugh when I read your review, I'm positively surprised my story can inspire such reactions :3 I can't write enough 'thank you's for your kind words haha they just made my day, thanks again :D Weeell…unfortunately I do plan on killing a few characters, but I won't reveal anything until that time comes ;)

JirachiAtSundown: haha Wow, thank you so much! :) You can't believe how appreciated I felt after reading your particular review, because I know how it feels like having 200 stories favorited or stored somewhere and always waiting for updates or just re-reading them and I can't believe my stories would ever be among one of those so thanks a lot! :) I hope it won't get boring any time soon!

HotPotato: No, you're not stupid. Well, Liet. Vega is still shrouded in mystery, but I'll reveal a bit more about him in the next chapter, so stay tuned! :)

Hirude: (starts crying anime tears) Thank you Hirude! T_T I'm glad I'm not as predictably boring as I thought, (phew), as for the seven sins' pasts, I planned on expanding on them afterwards when the war starts to reach its climax don't worry ;)

Sherlsepeare: I'm glad it helped! :) Ah…chapter-wise, huh…Hm, according to my currently scatter-brained self, I thought about 45-ish-50-ish chapters in total, but, since I always get new ideas and adapt them to the story, it may be longer, why? Is it boring already? (sweat drop) True, true, there's Edwin, then the Homunculi and Bradley, then the whole war and ofc our side ships :)

PinkythePet: May I just say how adorable your username is? I was amazed how cute I found it XD Ah, thanks so much for the sweet compliments! :) I thought no one would notice the 'Hold my milk' sentence xd Oh geez, I hadn't expected so many to suspect Hughes…should I say with good reason or not? Guess we will find out in later chapters :P Huh, what? Spreading the word? O.O I actually do remember an anon user 'A Fan' reviewing a few of my stories before…oh dear, I hope they don't make any sort of rumors or something, otherwise I may get enraged PMs from authors about someone spamming their review boxes full of my name . But uh, thanks for telling me, I really hope nobody minds that.

Enjoy!

Negotiations

"Ling, what took you so long?" Ed rose an eyebrow at the panting Xingese soldier, noticing the darker specks of gunpowder on his uniform, "Were you attacked?" he waved his brother over but Ling raised a hand.

"I'm fine," he straightened finally, his voice raspy from panting so hard, "I gave the letter, but I suspect there's a rat within Aerugo's army,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, his face a mask of surprise, "Huh, a rat? How do you know that?" he crossed his arms and settled his weight on one foot, patiently waiting for his friend to speak.

Ling sighed, scratching at the back of his neck as he retrieved the tracking device from his back pocket, "That soldier, Lieutenant Vega, he warned me just before a land mine went off. I managed to jump away just in time, but that's not why I was suspicious," he shared a meaningful look with Alphonse, "He was carrying a medical pouch, containing paralytic needles," Alphonse's eyes widened.

"Paralytic needles? Maybe he used to be a member of the medical staff before," he rubbed his chin, soft, gold eyes slanted in worry.

Ling shook his head, absentmindedly fingering the hem of him uniform, "No, he himself said he had no knowledge of medicine. He said they were given to him 'mere hours ago' and that he had to proper knowledge of them," he turned his head to look at Edward, "He also asked me how long one of them could render a human immobile," Ling's jaw tightened, "I lied and said well over an hour. I was suspicious of his allegiance, so I thought lying was the best action,"

Ed nodded in understanding, squeezing Ling's shoulder, "Good. Keep track of him and inform us if you notice something odd." He looked at his brother, "You gather your men and check your supplies, we still have the emergency sets if you are running low," with that, he turned around to walk where Alphonse thought to be Hughes standing with Kimblee in the distance.

With a heavy sigh, Winry leaned back against the chair near the wall, chest rising and falling rapidly from getting so worked up over a stupid asshole over the phone.

A client called and said that his car was apparently malfunctioning again and that Winry didn't do a good job of repairing it, when she asked him what happened before that or if he drove the car at all, the man said he went on a week-long journey without once cleaning his car.

The problem was he was a journalist traveling to all sorts of exotic places, those three places had such different climates from each-other ranging from bitter winter to the humid, moist atmospheres equivalent to a jungle.

Moistness, bitter cold and burning hot, add in some rain and fumes from other cars and possibly pollen from the trees and the car was ruined. Now, her client had a car which needed excessive maintenance, good cleaning rituals and the right oil, otherwise the car may malfunction.

There was a thin but sturdy layer of dust and dirt, pollen and other questionable, brown tinged substances coating the whole car, as her client explained and Winry barely withheld a biting retort about how he should get his own hands dirty and clean his own car. The motor worked, it was driving but it was simply filthy.

Did the gentleman bother? No.

Did he care? No.

Did he want Winry to clean it for him? Oh, yes.

Did Winry allow herself to be treated like his personal cleaning lady? Hell no.

So, she hung up and told him to pick his car up and clean his own car himself, more than sure that she just lost a frequent client, until her temper got the better of her and she sent caution to the wind.

And now she found herself here, sitting on an uncomfortable stool with oily hands, greasy hair and a very bad mood.

She rubbed at the spot between her eyebrows, sighing long and hard and coughing when she inhaled the foul-smelling stench in the air from the open car.

Standing up and dusting off her work clothes, she made her way over to the front of the garage and opened the sliding door, taking a lungful of fresh air.

She relished in the quietness of her neighborhood briefly, before returning to her seat and sitting on it heavily, rubbing at her head.

Her face suddenly grew how when she unwillingly remembered the embarrassing conversation she had been forced to endure at Garfiel's patisserie shop the other day. Well, she supposed karma payed her back after putting poor Aaron into an embarrassing situation himself.

But still!

It had actually clicked between the two! Aaron couldn't stop talking about her all the way to the shop and Winry had a hunch the reasons why he repeatedly burned or wedged his fingers somewhere wasn't because he was clumsy.

Well…he was clumsy, but not that clumsy. More like, his mind had been preoccupied with thoughts about Amelie.

Winry smiled, she was such a sweet girl, waving goodbye to everyone when she left and shyly giving Aaron her number before practically fleeing with a red face. She had been sure Aaron had quite possibly suffered a mini heart attack too.

That brought her again to the conversation with Garfiel…

A few days ago…

"So, deary, tell me, how is our handsome soldier hunk doing?" Garfiel had inquired with the most devilish expression she had ever seen on a human being, all mischievous and teasing.

Edmund had not been any help either, with him nearly having a breakdown about how Winry could get hot guys and he had trouble finding any decent ones at all.

Well…

"H-he's fine," she had stammered, desperately trying to calm her racing heart and trying to tell it to shut up because she certainly didn't feel like that about a guy she barely knew and never even met in real life!

Garfiel had only rolled his eyes dramatically, snorting in disbelief, "Hmpf, directly to the point I see? Come on my blonde working machine! I need more details! Do you have any juicy pictures to share?" Edmund grumbled in agreement, silently sipping his milk as he carefully watched the different shades of red her face turned into and thinking he should call an ambulance least she suffered blood loss to her brain.

"Of course not! Garfiel! He's a soldier, not some stripper!" Winry had tried gaining some semblance of control and dignity by drinking her coffee, under the watchful gaze of Garfiel, "I barely know him, we've written each-other letters for a few months and we video chatted a few times due to his busy schedule…it's nothing big,"

And of course it wasn't. It was simple. She had signed up for a 'letters to soldiers' program in order to do something helpful and productive in her free time and help people in need and that was what she was doing. Except that, Edward, in his own way, was also helping Winry.

Helping her to beat away her loneliness…

Garfiel had impatiently tapped his fingers against the counter, looking unimpressed and downright disappointed, "…Pictures?"

Begrudgingly so, Winry had shoved her phone in his face and had been mortified to learn Garfiel had caught her red handed, "YOU MADE A SCREENSHOT OF HIM! DAMN I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, GIRL!" Edmund nearly spat out his milk and eagerly leaned over the counter in order to see the picture of the supposedly handsome soldier.

Winry had never blushed as hard in her life as she had then, as a few employees from Garfiel's shop walked over to them to see Edward's picture for themselves.

"Damn, that boy is ripped, is he taken?"

"Winry, how old is he? You think it's legal if I chat him up?"

"Is that gold?! Wow, that man is as handsome as they come. I say take the next plane and get him before some other military chick there does!"

Edmund's commentary hadn't helped her at all, with him starting it with a loud whistle, "Damn, he's got some guns packing and not the metal ones either! Bet they are loaded, ain't they? Maybe something else is loaded too," he had giggled at his own dirty joke and Winry had half a mind to throw her cup at his head.

Garfiel meanwhile had shushed his men, zooming in on Edward's face and every part of him to scrutinize him further, "Heh, can't be disappointed by soldiers, they need to have the stamina to survive those brutal training rituals. Solid muscle, not bad looking…not bad looking at all." He gave Winry her phone back and his voice turned deathly serious, "You won't be young forever, I say get him or I will get him,"

Flashback End

That last sentence Garfiel had uttered must have been one of the most disturbing things Winry had heard grown homosexual men say in a while. And she had heard a lot.

She giggled to herself, shaking her head. As annoying and impossible her friends were, they were precious with all their little flaws.

Speaking of little flaws…

Winry grabbed her phone from the rusty metal table, speed dialing Lena's number and waiting to see if she picked up.

It was past four in the afternoon, surely her defense course was finished already…

On the fourth ring, she finally picked up and before the woman had a chance to say a 'hello', Winry beat her to it, "You told Aaron Ed and I were star crossed lovers?!"

A short pause on the other line and she could hear Lena's snort, "Gee, hello to you too blondie." Some rustling and shuffling and Winry heard Lena's voice clearly again, "Hey, the boy deserves to know, least you startle the poor boy with lewd pictures of your man all over your work place!"

Winry could hear her blood pressure rising, "You're poisoning his innocent mind!" she grit her teeth, already feeling a pressure in her head for even trying to make sense of Lena's words.

The woman was as casual as ever, "Pff, you're one to talk, don't think I don't know that dirty little screenshot you took of Edward that's on your phone!"

Winry froze, a mess of jumbled thoughts and highly-strung nerves, "W-what? How d-did-"

Casual. As. Ever. "I hacked into your phone, no big deal," Winry was quite sure the impulsive twitching of her right eye wasn't random.

"You hacked into my phone and went through my photos?! Lena! That's a breach of privacy!" Winry shouted into her phone, grabbing a hex lag screw and wishing it would go through Lena's head.

The woman laughed, "Aw, come on! Don't pretend like I never broke the law a little! Besides, we're friends, right? There's nothing we hide from each-other!"

Winry deadpanned, "You never hacked into Riza's phone,"

"Well, that's because she'd shoot me dead if I ever did. And who the hell would scar their mind permanently with dick pics and naked pictures of Roy Mustang?" she made a gagging sound and Winry couldn't help but expel a shaky sigh, shaking her head.

"You can be so crude and yet so surprisingly shy sometimes…" then an idea came to her, "What if I were to hack into your phone and search for pictures of your boyfriend, hm?"

Winry knew she won the unspoken battle the moment Lena's voice went a higher pitch, "Feel free to, I got nothing dirty to hide unlike you sexual deviants, ha!" the pitch grew even higher when WInry said this,

"And screenshots from your video chat sessions?"

"YOU EVIL WOMAN! Argh! Alright, alright, I'll never hack into your phone again! Geez, no need taking out the big guns, okay?" Winry laughed at Lena's funny reaction, feeling a bit of pride at having won such a trivial and childish 'battle'.

Lena giggled too, amused by the whole situation, "Anyone, anything new from Ed?"

Winry smiled a small sad smile, thankful that Lena couldn't see it, "No, he hadn't answered my last letter and he hasn't been online in a few days either. I suspect he's busy with everything that's going on,"

Lena, one to be known for her people skills and reading of the mood, offered softly, "Want to go out with the girls? I'm sure we could all use a bit of a break from work and the crap that's the real world," she giggled and that made Winry giggle a bit too.

She couldn't deny she was feeling slightly weary from work and everything, especially after that stupid customer riled her up so much in the morning and now as well, "Sure, why not. Should we meet up at your place with the others and see where we go?"

"Mhm, sure thing, let me just write in our group chat so the others know too. Ah and Winry?"

Winry perked up curiously, pressing the phone closer to her ear, "Yeah?"

"Grab a few sweets, I have a feeling like today is gonna be a long night,"

Winry laughed so hard she didn't care that a few passerby's gave her strange and partly frightened looks.

Roy smirked, rubbing his knuckles against his uniform as he walked with his men over to their destination, "I can't believe I'm being ordered around…"

Edward deadpanned beside him, "Really? I thought dogs are used to playing fetch and roll over," Roy shot the younger male a glare but Edward ignored him, trekking calmly through moss and moist earth.

"Anyway, Rico said he wanted to talk to us personally, why the hell should we go to him instead of him coming to the border?" Ed huffed in annoyance, rolling his eyes, "Lazy bastard,"

Roy couldn't help but agree silently on that, looking over to his right, "Now, I don't want to sound rude or anything but…why in the world did you come too?" he tilted his head to the side, sporting a very confused look.

Greed scoffed, "I'm feeling shitty and I got a bone to pick with his royal Highness,"

Ed watched Greed's movements from the side, noticing how they've gotten noticeably smoother since the last few weeks. His recovery was going surprisingly well, but he still didn't trust him fighting anytime soon should it come to that.

"Feel any pain?" he knew it was a bit of a dumb question, considering the state of Greed's injuries, but he was sure Greed knew what he meant.

The dark haired Xingese man sighed, "Chest feels like Lena kicked me for not buying any sweets and my stomach feels like Lena fell asleep on me the whole day,"

Roy's eyebrow shot to his hairline, "….Ah…"

Ed smirked, "Good, another week and you're good to go again Greed," the older male grumbled, but nodded, walking alongside them with two dual pistols strapped to his hips and grenades attached to his belt. Carrying any sort of rifles or other weapons across his chest or on his torso was out of the question for now, at least until he fully recovered and could move without any outbursts of pain or wounds reopening.

"So, you think the asshat was lying about the base?" Greed rose an eyebrow curiously, waiting for either Roy or Ed to answer.

It was Roy that answered, "Not lying per see…'keeping information' may be a better term," he looked at Greed and held his gaze for a moment before scanning the trees, "But he did agree to meet up and talk, so at least we know his allegiance isn't divided,"

Greed snorted skeptically, "Doubt it, bet the stupid prince would turn tail and run as soon as Bradley catches wind of our secret meetings and tea parties Aerugo would be bombed the next day," Roy laughed quietly, but silently agreed, knowing just how strained Aerugo and Amestris' relationship still is thanks to Bradley's interference.

Had Grumman taken the position of Führer, perhaps relationships with the rest of the countries would have been better as well. Drachma may have still posed a problem, but negotiations may have been in the works with that country as well, considering Grumman's more lenient nature as opposed to Bradley's.

They were approaching the border to Aerugo now and they could already see guards stationed in the distance, rifles cocked and aimed at them, not yet recognizing their uniforms.

One of them shouted out a few feet away, "State your identities!"

Roy didn't miss a beat, "Roy Mustang and Edward Elric from Amestris!" he held the telegram up in the air, "His Royal Highness Claudio Rico has asked for an audience at the Royal Office!"

The taller guard motioned for the smaller one to run up to the group and retrieve the telegram while he still aimed the rifle at them. They remained perfectly calm and non-threatening as Roy handed the slip of paper to the guard.

The boy, looking no older than Ed himself, quickly read over the contents and scanned the letter for its validation, confirming his countries' signature crest in the form of a stamp at the top right corner of the telegram.

Turning back to his partner, the smaller guard waved his hand calmly and his partner dropped the rifle allowing the group to continue walking.

Once they reached the other guard, the man regarded Roy familiarly with a salute and a respectful handshake, "My apologies, one cannot be too careful in times such as these," Roy nodded in understanding, offering a small smile back, "Word has it that impostors roam the area around Amestris and Drachma, posing as soldiers from varying countries to create internal strife," his gaze narrowed, "They've been stealing uniforms off the dead bodies of fallen soldiers and caused our own defenses from dwindling due to sending our tracking parties around to investigate," he shrugged, inclining his head to his partner and himself, "You looked a bit shocked with just the two of us here, but Aerugo never did have much of a military might, it's a miracle we're still standing, considering things," he shrugged with a small smile.

Roy frowned, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder in sympathy, "I understand, I can't make any promises, but as soon as everything is resolved, we'll try and lend you some of our men to help rebuild Aerugo to its former glory and restore peace between us, it's been a long time after all,"

The other guard laughed, nodding his head, "It has certainly. As long as Bradley is on the throne, I doubt such peace may even come," Roy smiled sadly but squeezed the other man's shoulder again and they group briefly said their goodbyes to the two guards before continuing on into the city, being allowed entry upon showing the telegram and stating their identities.

It didn't surprise them at all that they had to further trouble navigating through the relatively sparse streets toward the royal building looming over most other ones, effortlessly bypassing stationed guards outside and within.

Inside, two guards standing at attention on either side of two large double sided doors, a dark burgundy decorated with intricate gold designs on its wooden texture, opened them for the group and Greed muttered under his breath, "Creepy little stalker," as they finally entered the spacious office of none other than Claudio Rico himself.

His office reflected every bit of the ruler's own persona.

Two lush chairs, appearing slightly Xingese in their design, stood in front of a large glass table, a map trapped in between two pieces of thin glass, the surface already marked with red, blue, green and brown markers, some lines lead to other countries, others encircled individual territories of potential importance to Aerugo, while others, most notably in red, marked the land of Drachma.

Rico remained seated calmly in his high, dark red chair, the deep red cushioning appearing slightly small to fit his broad shoulders and the golden ornaments on his uniform, a smirk curling his lips as he calmly regarded his old friends.

"You don't waste any time do you, my impatient friends?"

Ed snorted, marching right up to the cocky prince and slamming his hands down on his spacious, mahogany desk, immediately two guns were pointed at him and Greed fingered the shaft of his own gun at the open display of threat at his superior.

Rico's smirk didn't vanish, he felt the vibrations caused from Ed's hands slamming against his desk and shaking everything on it, including creating a small but visible mark on the now splintered wood.

"What the hell is your plan, Rico? Whose men are the dead soldiers at your base? And don't even think about lying to us or you'll get reacquainted with this," Edward lifted that arm up, curled into a fist and Rico placatingly lowered it back down with a white gloved hand, leaning back in his chair again.

"You haven't changed much Edward, save for looking older," Rico held a hand up, forcing his subordinates to lower their weapons and sheathe them, the blond's gaze narrowed crossly at the sitting prince.

Roy stepped up, far more calmly than Ed had, "Forgive us for the sudden intrusion we need clarification concerning those soldiers. This isn't a light matter and it could very well escalate into lifting our shaky peace treaty, Rico,"

Rico sighed, clasping his hands closed in front of his face and looking at each of the Amestrian soldiers in his office, "As stated in the letter, you're a fool Elric, as are seemingly all of you,"

"Why you-" Greed stepped forward, close to drawing his concealed gun, until Roy stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

Rico cut him off curtly, "However, let me enlighten you. The dead soldiers are rogues we have beat in combat a month ago. I assume you have seen the double emblems on a few of them, yes?" at this, a bloodied scrap of fabric was thrown in front of him on the desk, by none other than Edward.

Ric's gaze traveled briefly to it, before moving back up to focus on his guests, "This was meant as a deception on our part," the standing soldiers froze and Ed shared a look with Roy over his shoulder.

"Deception? Aimed at whom?" Roy rose an eyebrow questioningly.

Rico smirked, "And I thought the great Flame surely would have seen through it," Roy's gaze narrowed warningly, and Rico relented at last, "None other than Drachma, of course,"

Stunned silence filled the office and Rico used the opportunity to explain, standing up and turning his back to his guests, staring at another large map in front of him stuck to the wall, "Drachma is our common enemy as you are well aware," his smirk dropped, gaze darkening, "Only last week, many of my men died as a result of an unexpected ambush coming from Drachma," his fists tightened behind his back, "Aerugo draws its primary strengths from its economy and culture and little on military unlike the bigger countries. That is to say we are more than capable to defend ourselves against any hostile actions, but Drachma seems to be more than what we are equipped to deal with,"

Roy frowned, "I understand your situation, but why the double emblems?"

Rico smiled, "Tell me, have you seen a particular thing about those dead soldiers and their emblems when you found them?"

For a moment, nobody in the room said anything but then Ed's eyes widened in sudden realization, "Some of the emblems showed Amestris' and Aerugo's insignias. Not all of them showed the Amestrian emblem until I returned later to double check,"

Rico nodded, "Correct, Elric. Not every soldier's emblem faced the side your emblem was on or my own. They were mixed, about equally so many 'Amestrian' soldiers and 'Aerugo' soldiers if memory serves me right," he tapped his forehead with his index fingers, closing his eyes briefly to relive his memory.

Roy stiffened, realization dawning on him, "I see…you wanted Drachma, if any of their men came upon the camp, since it is in the vicinity of their border, to think we were at hostile relations so that Drachma may use you against us in the near future, thinking they had an ally…"

Rico smiled and nodded again, "Well thought Mustang and I thought you lost your touch with old age,"

"…Old?" Roy deadpanned, sighing.

Rico turned around again to regard them all, "I think it's safe to assume you understand my viewpoint," the cocky smile was back.

Greed growled, "I would like to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass," Rico chuckled, not seeming the slightest bit offended where his guards glared at Greed's crude speech.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't dear Greed," he smirked, "Tell me, does your beloved still receive my letters? I've sent her some lilies and petunias, but I never get any replies," he sighed over dramatically.

Greed barked, "That's because I burn your stupid petunias and your stupid ass letters,"

"How cold," Rico placed a hand mockingly over his heart, "It wounds me so,"

Greed crossed his arms, the tension in the room rising alarmingly, "I could eat a fucking bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a smarter statement than that you horse faced piece of-"

"How dare you insult the Crown-!" one of the guards aimed his rifle at Greed, who was prepared to draw his own weapon until Rico firmly grabbed the shaft of the rifle and lowered it down.

"Stand down, these people you see here may be uncultured idiots, but they pose no threat," Rico voiced loud and clear, sending each of his guards a firm glare.

Ed crossed his arms, "Gee, thanks…" muttering under his breath.

Roy cleared his throat, sending Greed a disapproving look before attempting to diffuse the situation, "Rico, I apologize for my subordinate's crude behavior, but may we further negotiate our next steps concerning this war and your own agenda against Drachma,"

Rico regarded the group for a moment, before waving his hand dismissively and motioning outside, "Shall we discuss this over some tea?"

Greed swore he would rip that smirk off the bastard's face.

I'm a sucker for wisecracking Greed ^^ Please tell me what you thought so far! Again, sorry for the short chapter, life has been slapping me left and right . "