Chapter 4: Back to Central

"Remember to write us at least every week! And let me know the instant something's wrong with your leg. Oh and don't forget those oils I sent you, it should help prevent any rusting. Oh, and don't forget—"

"I got it, I got it already!" Ed snapped irritably, sighing in annoyance as she dropped her luggage heavily onto the train platform and turned to glare at Winry in exasperation. Al and Winry stood behind her, watching their exchange with amused smirks on their faces. "I don't even understand why you two shitheads had to be here, I only asked Al to be the one to drop me off." She complained.

"What are you talking about? Of course we'd be here to see you off! Who knows when you'll be coming back?" Winry told her, frowning as she stopped in front of Ed, placed her hands on her hips and gave the other girl an admonishing glare. "Are you saying you would have left without saying goodbye?!"

In spite of herself, Ed gave her a wry grin and folded her arms behind her head. "Aw come on, Win. It's not like I'm going back to Xing, I'm just heading over to Central. I'll be like…a train ride away." She reminded her.

"Well, I for one am glad that you'll be miles away from us." Mei chimed, flashing Ed a smug smile from where she was clinging tightly onto Al's arm. "That way, Al and I will finally have some time alone to ourselves without you always interrupting—"

"Get your slimy paws off my innocent little brother, you whiny, shit-faced little brat with absolutely no sex appeal." Ed taunted back, smirking when, as she expected, the Xingese girl's eyes instantly flared with anger.

Promptly letting go of a wincing Al's arm, she stomped over to where Ed stood, lifted her chin and glared up at the blonde in challenge.

"I am not a whiny, shit-faced brat and I do too have sex appeal!" Mei raged back at her, her face flushed and her cheeks puffed as she glared indignantly at Ed.

"Heh. You could have fooled me, jailbait." Ed drawled, ignoring the warning glare she was receiving from Al over Mei's shoulder as she smirked wider and purposely looked up and down Mei's 14-year-old figure in amusement.

"I can't believe you were able to seduce Al with this curve-less body." She snickered.

"Don't listen to Ed, she's an idiot. I happen to think you're very pretty, Mei." Winry interrupted hastily before another embarrassing argument could break out. "And that dress looks really cute on you."

Mei sniffed at that and turned to give Winry a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Winry—"

"That dress looks several sizes too big on you." Ed smirked again, rudely interrupting their exchange. "You don't even have the boobs to fill it out."

"I'm only 14, you insensitive jerk!" Mei retorted, screwing her face up even more as tears of anger began leaking from her eyes. "Just you wait, I'll get my boobs soon, and they'll be better than yours!" She huffed.

"Yeah, right. Like that'll happen." Ed snorted derisively; still ignoring the warning look that Al was trying to give her over Mei's shoulder as she glanced down and pointedly crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize her cleavage. "My boobs are fucking gorgeous." She boasted loudly, giving Mei a rather obnoxious smile.

"Now if only your brain was even half their size." Mei snapped back snidely.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"Nee-chan—"

Al looked embarrassed at all of the attention they were receiving as he hastily moved to stand between his girlfriend and his sister. Before he could reach them, however, Mei spoke up again, a slow smirk beginning to form on her face.

"Oh you didn't hear me the first time? Then let me say it again." Mei taunted again, laughing gleefully. "I said at least I'm not some dumb, foul-mouthed, short blonde with boobs bigger than her brain!"

Hearing her words, the smirk on Ed's face instantly disappeared and before either Al or Winry could react, she suddenly exploded, her entire face flushing red with indignation as she stomped her feet and loomed over Mei with blazing eyes and her fangs out.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING SHORT, YOU PIPSQUEAK?!" She shouted furiously, her voice echoing over the train platform and causing even more passengers to turn around and glance at them in concern. "I AM NOT SHORT ANYMORE! LOOK AT ME, I'M MUCH TALLER THAN YOU, YOU SHITTY BRAT!"

"Yes, but I'm only 14." Mei answered sweetly, an innocent smile on her face as she pointedly turned around and walked back over to Al. "I still have time to grow taller than you. You? You're probably stuck like that."

"WHY YOU LITTLE—"

"For truth's sake Ed, just shut up! For once, would you just…act your age?!" Winry finally snapped, stepping in between the two arguing girls again and shoving them away from each other.

"It is way too early in the morning for this." She groaned.

Ed and Mei exchanged identical scowls, stamped their foot and pointed accusingly at each other.

"She started it!"

"Oh for the love of—would you both just shut up? You're making a scene!" Al, who seemed to have finally had enough of his sister and his girlfriend's antics, moved to stand beside Winry in between the two girls. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he ran a furious hand through his hair and gave his older sister a warning glare.

"Nee-chan, you really have to stop picking on Mei, okay? And you're not really one to talk, you were so curve-less at Mei's age that people kept mistaking you for a guy." He pointed out bluntly, causing Ed to flush in embarrassment and Mei to burst out into gleeful giggles. "And you, Mei. My older sister is a genius, alright? Don't call her a dumb blonde again, it kind of also insults me." He told her.

At her words, the expression on Mei's face suddenly became crestfallen and her eyes were slightly wet with tears as she looked up at Al and gave him a meek, apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Alphonse-sama." She whimpered, ignoring the way Ed rolled her eyes at her use of her nickname for Al in an obvious, pathetically obvious attempt to get him to forgive her.

"Don't cry." Sighing, Al rolled his eyes to himself but reached out and pulled the younger teen back into his arms in an effort to comfort her. "It's fine, Mei. I'm not angry with you. Just…don't fight with nee-chan anymore, okay?"

"Hmph. Only if she promises to be nice." Mei grumbled under her breath.

"Right back at you, you little shit." Ed sneered.

"Nee-chan!"

"Alright, alright! I got it!" Ed cringed at the genuinely angry tone of her brother's voice and finally stopped, raising her hands up at him in mock surrender. "Jeez, don't bite my head off, Al. I don't want you giving me the silent treatment, especially now when we're not going to see each other for months." She grumbled.

"Then stop fighting with my girlfriend." Al told her, leveling her with an annoyed glare. "Honestly, you would think you'd get tired and grow out of it after two years." He sighed in defeat.

"Ed never grows out of anything, Al. She's just that immature." Winry quipped with a smirk, ignoring Ed's violent retort as she walked up to the female alchemist again and gave her a warm, tight hug. "You be sure to take care of yourself out there, alright you jerk? Oh and send our regards to the General and the others."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Ed rolled her eyes and shrugged her off.

"Don't worry about me so much, I'll be fine. You just focus on planning that shitty wedding of yours, especially since that bastard of a doctor you call a fiancé is so useless anyway—OW! DAMN IT, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" She cursed in pain when Winry had glared at her and reached out to pinch her waist.

"That was for making fun of my fiancé." Winry snapped, and before Ed could retaliate, the automail mechanic reached out again and pinched Ed hard on the arm this time.

"FUCKING—OW! STOP PINCHING ME, DAMN IT!"

"—and that is what's going to happen to you a thousand times over if you even dare to miss my wedding, Edeline Elric." Winry warned her in a low voice, though the graveness of the threat was diminished somewhat by the teasing sparkle in her warm blue eyes. "Now don't forget – I'll be dropping by your dorm in Central after a few months so that we could make sure you fit into your gown." When Ed just grumbled under her breath and gave her another scowl in reply, Winry just smiled and reached out to give her another long, warm hug.

"I already told you I wouldn't miss it for the world. You did make me your maid of horror after all—OW! I meant honor! FUCK! YOU REALLY HAVE TO STOP PINCHING ME, WIN!" Ed exclaimed helplessly, pushing the other girl away and rubbing her sore arm.

"Be safe out there, okay?" Winry laughed warmly, shaking her head at the other girl's antics. "And make sure to visit us often. As much as I hate your guts, I'm going to miss hearing your loud mouth and your constant swearing around the house." She teased.

"Of course you will." Ed retorted smugly but she couldn't help her answering smile as she returned the other woman's hug for a few more seconds before she finally pulled away and turned to Al beside her.

To Ed's dismay, however, instead of smiling and wishing her well like he usually did whenever he had to drop her off, Al had his arms crossed and he was glaring at her, a knowing frown on his face. Knowing exactly what was going on inside his head, Ed gulped and nervously walked over to him, flashing him a disarming smile.

"Aren't you going to give your older sister a goodbye hug?" She kidded weakly.

"You're leaving again."

At the accusatory tone of Al's voice, Ed was instantly overcome with a wave of guilt. Her shoulder slumping, she took another tentative step towards him and dropped her eyes to the ground, shuffling her feet.

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry but I promise that it won't be for as long as last time, Al." She told him, placing both her hands on his shoulders and pulling him slightly closer so she could meet his identical gold eyes. "After I settle this whole flame alchemy issue, I'm coming right back home. I promise. It'll all be done so fast that you won't even have time to miss me." She assured him, giving him a confident grin.

"I was thinking—" Al frowned again and, to Ed's surprise, he looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted his feet. "—maybe you should consider staying in Central for longer time, nee-chan." He suggested.

"What do you mean?" Ed blinked in confusion at his words and she stared at him, trying not to show how deeply offended she was by his words. "Are you telling me you want me gone? You don't want me to come home?" She asked.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." Al rolled his eyes at her melodramatics and finally gave her a small, knowing smile. Ignoring the way she scowling at him, he reached out and finally pulled her into a tight, warm hug. When they pulled apart, he leaned down – being the taller of the two, much to Ed's chagrin – so he could meet her eyes properly. "All I'm saying is…Maybe you should consider pursuing a real career in the military this time."

"What?" Ed stared at him again, blinking a couple of times as she processed what he had said. "Wait a minute – are you serious? You actually want me to stay in the military? Or is that just your way of telling me that you want to get rid of me?" She demanded.

"I'm serious." Al rolled his eyes again but laughed and gave her a knowing look. "I just don't want you alone in Resembool. Remember, in a few months, Winry will be getting married. And then afterwards, I'll be the one leaving for Xing with Mei. You might find yourself coming home to an empty house." He said softly.

As she considered his words, Ed began to scowl again and she glanced over Al's shoulder to glare accusingly at Mei.

"You're staying in Xing to be with that pre-pubescent flagpole?" She growled, causing Al to wince.

"Nee-chan, don't call her a—"

"I am not a pre-pubescent flagpole, you foul, insensitive twat!" Mei growled back, glaring at her.

"Okay, stop right now." Al cut them off again sharply, turning Ed back around so that her back was facing Mei instead. "Anyway, yes, I'll be going to Xing with Mei. She is my girlfriend, nee-chan. And we are in a serious relationship so she wants me to meet her family and spend some time with them." He told her, smiling slightly.

"Ugh." Ed made a face and groaned as she reached up and massaged her throbbing temples. "I still can't believe I even let you date that little brat. She is way too young for you, Alphonse." She muttered.

Al snorted at that and narrowed his eyes at her, giving her a knowing smirk.

"Says the girl who dated a man five years older than her." He retorted.

"I was bored that day." Ed reddened slightly at that but grinned and gave him a saucy wink. "And the man was a lawyer, you know how much I love intelligence in a man." She quipped, and Al groaned loudly, shaking his head.

"That just proves my point. You'd be bored out of your mind alone in Resembool." He told her, grinning in spite of himself at the way Ed just scoffed in response. "I really think the military will be good for you. You'll have really amazing people like General Armstrong and General Mustang there to learn from. You might even enjoy it this time – you know, with the threat of having to save the country from genocide out of the way." He joked.

Ed was unable to hold back a smile at his words as she reached out and yanked the younger Elric into another tight, bone-crushing hug, using the same gesture to ruffle his blonde hair at the same time.

"Hey—" Al protested weakly.

"Since when did you become such a smart ass, my adorable little baby brother?" She grinned affectionately as she reluctantly let him go, watching as a scowling Al jerked away from her and began straightening his hair and clothes.

"I've always been the smarter of the two of us." He said smugly, earning another smile from his sister.

"Is that right?" She teased.

She would have said more but the military-exclusive train that Olivier had booked her on had finally chosen that moment to arrive on the platform, momentarily halting their conversation. As she heard the train's loud, deafening whistle calling out for its occupants, Ed winced in realization and she turned back to stare worriedly at Al.

"I think that's my train." She announced uncertainly, biting her lip.

Winry and Mei had walked up to stand behind the two Elrics, watching their little exchange. When all of them finally seemed to realize that Ed would be leaving soon, Winry's eyes became slightly glassy and even Mei fell silent as the petite Xingese girl reached out to clasp Al's shaking, clammy hand tightly in hers.

"Well…I guess I'd better get on before the train leaves." Ed managed a soft, choked-up laugh and pointedly ignored the lump that was forming painfully in her throat.

Knowing that Al would be able to read her emotions well enough anyway, she decided to avoid meeting his tearful gaze as she leaned in again, pulling him and Winry into one last hug. "Take care of yourselves, okay? And don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, I swear I'll come rushing back home if I have to." She told them.

As she pulled away slowly, Ed reluctantly turned her attention to Mei again and, grumbling to herself, she rolled her eyes but managed to give the younger girl a small grin.

"Take care of my little brother for me, alright pipqueak?" She teased.

"You got it, you blonde twat." She parried back, shooting her a smirk.

Ed felt her left eye twitch at that but when Al shot her yet another glare, she bit her tongue and decided not to let loose another string of rather interesting, creative curses she wanted to snap out at the Xingese girl.

Instead, as she slung the strap of her luggage over her shoulder, she shot them all one last, wide grin – her gaze lingering on Al a bit longer than the others – before she turned around and began walking to the train. Just as she had stepped onboard, she heard a familiar voice call out to her again and, absentmindedly, she cast anothers glance over her shoulder just in time to see Al's sad, wistful smile as he waved at her.

"See you soon, nee-chan!"

The train was already pulling away when Ed finally returned his smile and began to wave back at him, suddenly nostalgic as she remembered all of the other times in the past that she had been together on trains like this. Back then, Al had always been with her and they were practically inseparable from each other in their search for the elusive philosopher's stone.

I never thought I'd miss those days.

A sad smile lingered on Ed's face as she watched the train beginning to pull out of the station.

Neither of them stopped waving at each other until the train had moved completely away from the platform and they were both so far away from each other that they saw nothing but an inscrutable blonde dot in the distance.

See you soon, Al.

Sergeant Major Jacob Hicks was definitely not having a good month.

He had been assigned to a series of administrative projects in South Headquarters by his Commanding Officer for the last couple of weeks – mainly because South HQ had been a bit short of hands lately due to a lot of reassignments and bureaucratic red tape.

Now that he had finally finished his work and was looking forward to returning to his family in Central, his CO had once again contacted him and given him another field assignment – this time, up north.

In Briggs.

As far as outside assignments went, being assigned to Briggs was the absolute worst. Not only were the officers there known to be particularly brutal and unrelenting, but he had heard several horror stories about how the head general there – Lieutenant General Armstrong – had once made her men spend a night out in a cold blizzard when one of the men had accidentally dropped his rifle in the middle of their morning drills.

Needless to say, Jacob was by no means looking forward to suffering from hypothermia anytime soon, thank you very much. And as much as he was curious as to whether or not the rumors were true that the famous Ice Queen of Briggs was actually quite beautiful, despite her terrifying demeanor, he wasn't quite that eager for a death wish.

He could only hope that the rumors were true and that the Lieutenant General had in fact been reassigned by the Fuhrer to head a new department back in Central. If that was the case, then he might be able to survive a couple of weeks out in Briggs, but only if he kept his head low and tried not to draw too much attention to himself.

Jacob was startled out of his thoughts when the train had started moving again, having just made another stop in a nearby town. Letting out a weary sigh, he stood up and began making his way back down to his compartment way on the other end of the train.

Whose stupid idea was it to place the dining cart way at the back of the train anyway?

It didn't help his mood that instead of the usual civilian train he took whenever he went out on these out of office trips, to save time, his CO had ordered him to take the military express instead – which meant that there were absolutely no beautiful civilian women onboard for him to flirt with or at least pass the time.

Women were always attracted to soldiers, after all, and a lot of them were often impressed when he told them that at his age of 24, he was already a Sergeant Major. In fact, mentioning his rank had often gotten him a lot of pretty good girlfriends in the past, most of which he had ended up going out with after only a few dates.

Smiling a little smugly to himself at the thought, he was just about to push past the doors of another compartment when, to his surprise, he caught a flash of gold from the corner of his eye.

Turning toward it, he was immediately taken back at the sight of a beautiful blonde woman sitting in one of the train's empty compartments, with a thick book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. From her youthful features, he guessed that she couldn't have been any older than 18 or 19, and his suspicions were confirmed when she lowered her book slightly, allowing him a good glimpse of her pretty face.

Thankfully, it didn't look like she had noticed his presence just yet and so he took that moment to just stare at her, ogling her exquisite features, her long, slim legs clad in tight, black leather pants, and her gorgeous cleavage, revealed slightly by a low-cut black top which she covered with a long, hooded red coat.

Most of all, however, he stared intently at her shining blonde hair – long and gleaming with such an unnaturally golden shade that Jacob doubted he had ever seen anything quite like it. And that was saying something, considering he had dated his fair share of blondes over the years.

He hesitated for a few seconds when he realized that she was obviously a soldier – she wouldn't have been admitted into a military train if she weren't. But judging from her young age, Jacob was willing to bet that she couldn't have been of a rank higher than a Private or maybe a Lance Corporal. In other others, he was obviously of a much higher rank than she was and that put him at a massive advantage in flirting with her.

Just like all civilian women liked soldiers, all female soldiers were always attracted to men who were of higher rank than they were. This was just a fact of life. And once this girl found out that he was a Sergeant Major, he had no doubts that he would have her eating out of the palm of his hand.

"Excuse me. Uhm—"

Jacob waited until the girl looked up from her book and her startled, slightly annoyed gaze settled on him.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw the stunning golden color of her eyes. Holy hell, this girl was just bloody gorgeous. She would definitely be his next girlfriend if he had something to say about it!

"—I was wondering. Would you mind if I sit here with you?" He asked, flashing her a wide, charming smile.

She stared blankly at him, the annoyed look in her eyes lingering for a few seconds before it suddenly cleared, and her lips curled upwards into a decidedly amused smirk. Placing the book she held back gently onto her lap, she set her cup of coffee back down onto the table in front of her and gestured lazily to the seat across hers.

"Please." She drawled.

"Thank you. I'm Sergeant Major Jacob Hicks, by the way." He grinned and gave himself a mental clap on the back at the way her eyebrow arched curiously at the mention of his rank. "I couldn't help noticing that you were here all by yourself and I thought you could use some company. Are you heading to Central? From what town are you?" He asked, unable to stop the barrage of questions from spilling out of his mouth.

Instead of answering right away, she continued to smirk at him and arched a single eyebrow as she leaned back against his seat, crossed her legs and regarded him with an amused gaze. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable as her golden eyes continued to scrutinize him closely, her sharp gaze roaming up and down his form, Jacob felt himself flush and he shifted uneasily in his seat.

She finally answered after a long moment's pause, one corner of her mouth lifting into a knowing grin.

"I'm from Resembool."

"Oh, Resembool. I've heard that was a nice, albeit quiet town. I was there once on an assignment, you know." Jacob commented, fighting another urge to stare when she smiled slowly and gave him a lazy, appraising look.

"You were?" She drawled back, golden eyes flickering with mild interest. "How long were you stationed there for?"

"About a month, I think." He answered easily, leaning back against his seat. "My CO likes to assign me to different sectors of the military every now and then. She thinks traveling all the time will give me a lot of good, solid experience for when I become a leader someday." He told her.

"I see." The girl answered again, crossing her legs and taking another sip of her coffee.

"Who's your CO, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Lieutenant Maria Ross." He answered proudly, smirking to herself when he noticed the way the girl's golden eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Oh I knew it, she is definitely interested now. Maybe I should tell her about the other higher-ups I've worked with. That ought to impress her.

As the thought popped into his head, Jacob smirked to himself and continued. "Well, she's my direct CO anyway. But every now and then, the Lieutenant works with Major Riza Hawkeye, who then works directly for Brigadier General Mustang. So it's almost like I'm working indirectly for his team too, you know." He boasted.

"I see."

The blonde looked definitely impressed now as she crossed her arms over her chest and grinned widely at him, her golden eyes twinkling mischievously.

"So you work often with Brigadier General Roy Mustang, do you?" She asked.

Damn it, I should have known she'd ask about Mustang.

Jacob tried hard not to groan to himself and frantically wracked through his brain to say something that might help get her attention away from asking about the famous Flame Alchemist. He didn't want her to think that she could use him to get close to the handsome Brigadier General.

"Well, once or twice, certainly not a lot, if that's what you mean." He amended hastily and forced a laugh, waving the question away. "I mean, I don't actually get to see the Brigadier General. I've only talked to Major Hawkeye. Though I have seen his office a few times." He added thoughtfully.

"I actually know your Commanding Officer. We've met before. She's a brilliantly astute woman." The girl answered him with another knowing smile, peering innocently at him over her cup of coffee.

"Aye, that she is." Jacob agreed, though he couldn't quite place the strange tone of her voice. "By any chance, have you also met Major Hawkeye and Brigadier General Mustang?" He asked curiously.

This time, Jacob noticed that the amused smile the blonde girl gave him definitely meant something but he decided to shove his growing suspicion aside, choosing to ignore all the alarm bells going off inside his head.

"I may have come across their names a few times or so when I was younger." She teased.

When she was younger…?

Jacob frowned in confusion at her words and stared curiously at her again, trying to gauge how old she really was and wondering how on earth she could have met his Commanding Officer, Major Hawkeye and even the Brigadier General already. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out the question that was lingering in his head.

"How old are you anyway?" He asked bluntly.

The blonde girl smirked widely at him, gingerly placing her chin on her hand and leaning forward towards him, causing Jacob to blush when he realized how close her face was to his.

"Hasn't anybody ever told you, Sergeant Major, that you should never ask a woman her age? It's quite rude." She purred in a low voice, instantly causing the blush on Jacob's face to darken even more in embarrassment.

Or perhaps it was arousal.

With her being so close to him like this, he wasn't exactly sure anymore.

"M—my apologies. I didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious." He stammered nervously.

"I see." She smiled again and lowered her eyelashes slowly, giving him a suggestive look. "Why? How old do you want me to be, Sergeant Major?" She purred his rank again, causing Jacob to break out into a nervous sweat.

"U—uhm— That is—anyway!" Jacob moved away hastily from her and pressed his back against his seat, a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. When she glanced back at him in obvious amusement, he swallowed nervously and decided quickly that a change of subject was in order.

"So uh…any family in Central, then? Friends? Or a…boyfriend…maybe?" He asked hopefully.

It was a deliberate and frankly, an embarrassingly transparent attempt to find out more about her but Jacob found that he couldn't care less. He realized that all of his usual, subtler flirting tactics weren't going to be effective with this woman, especially when it was clear that she obviously had the upper hand in that department.

"Nope. No family. No boyfriend either, I'm afraid." She answered, and he couldn't help the way his grin widened at her response. "Frankly, I doubt I'll have much time for any of that under my new CO." She added innocently.

"Really? Who's your new CO then?" Jacob asked.

She blinked once and met his gaze evenly.

"Lieutenant General Olivier Armstrong."

Jacob heard the name spoken but it actually took him a few more seconds before it had registered in his head. The minute it did, however, his eyes grew as wide as saucers and he fell back and gaped at her as though she had just admitted to having two heads.

"B—b—but! Lieutenant General Armstrong is one of them big bosses! Sh—she's terrifying!"

The girl shrugged, looking completely uninterested as she stared out the window at the passing scenery.

"—and she's way up the military roster! I heard that she doesn't even take soldiers into her team without them having sufficient experience!" He continued to stammer.

"I'm a State Alchemist."

The blonde girl looked positively bored now as Jacob's eyes flicked to the book she had been reading before he walked in and he eyes widened again as he read the book's title for the first time - Advanced Alchemic Theories and Equations. Still sputtering in shock, he couldn't help but notice the fact that the bookmark she had placed in the book was well near its end pages, which suggested that she was almost done reading the entire book.

"Or at least, I will be. I'll be taking the State Alchemist Qualification Exam tomorrow. Which is precisely why I need to get my studying done before we arrive in Central." She added pointedly, giving him an annoyed glare.

"Wow."

"What?"

He paused when he realized that the playful, flirtatious tone of her voice had suddenly disappeared and instead, she was glaring dangerously at him, her golden eyes narrowed and a challenging sneer curling her lips.

Swallowing nervously, he gave her a sheepish smile and scratched at the back of his head.

"It's just that…You definitely did not strike me as an alchemist-type of woman, you know what I mean? Well, you definitely don't look like one. You're just so…young." He mused, shifting uneasily when he noticed the way the blonde's eyes were blazing now and the way she was gritting her teeth, her hands clenching into fists.

Belatedly realizing that he may have treaded on dangerous ground, Jacob decided to retreat for now.

She may not have been the Private or Lance Corporal he had initially thought she was but she did say that she was there to take the Alchemist exam, which meant that she was, technically, not of a higher rank than him.

Not yet, anyway.

So that meant he could still flirt with her.

With that in mind, he leaned forward and gave her another one of his charming, flirtatious smiles.

"By the way, I never got your name."

"Lieutenant Colonel Edeline Elric."

The blonde girl's cold eyes and highly amused smirk remained completely impassive as Jacob stiffened and began to sputter in front of her again, all of the blood draining from his face the instant he realized who she was. As he struggled to catch his breath, the blonde smiled smugly and leaned back, resting her chin obnoxiously over her intertwined fingers as she watched him.

"I also go by the title of Fullmetal Alchemist, in case you were wondering."

When she saw the way Jacob was obviously still trying to somehow work his thoughts out into any coherent words, she smirked and raised one of her legs – her left leg – and used it to promptly stop heavily on his shoe.

At the sharp pain of what definitely felt like an automail leg stabbing into his poor foot, Jacob let out a very unmanly yelp. He stumbled as he scampered up from his seat and hastily raised his hand up into a messy salute.

A terrified voice was screaming in absolute panic from somewhere inside his head.

Bloody fucking hell, I just hit on a high-ranking officer! Screw that, I just hit on the Fullmetal Alchemist! How the hell was I supposed to know who she was?!

"Lieutenant Colonel, Ma'am!" Jacob squeaked shakily as he stood in front of her, fighting back the urge to wince when he realized that he was sweating very profusely under her amused gaze.

"At ease, Sergeant Major." The Lieutenant Colonel's eyes gleamed with mirth as she took in his rigid posture and panicked expression.

Then, with a quiet chuckle and a shake of her head, she tossed a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder and turned back to her book, raising a small hand and waving him dismissively towards the exit of her compartment.

"There's the door, Sergeant Major. I suggest you use it. And be sure not to let it hit you on your sweaty ass on your way out, soldier." She drawled, snickering.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Jacob didn't bother waiting for the rest of the Lieutenant Colonel's reaction before he whirled around, still sweating out buckets, and scampered, as fast as humanely possible, away from the compartment.

He was definitely never hitting on blondes again after this.

Notes: So alright, originally I was going to include Roy and Olivier's confrontation scene in this chapter but then it got too long so I decided to include it in the next chapter instead – which by the way, will be written entirely in Roy's POV so please stay tuned! :D

Who else loved seeing a little bit of Ed's obnoxiously flirty side in this chapter? I had so much fun writing it! Some of you might find it a little OC but personally, I really imagine fem Ed like this. She'd definitely be just as vain and cocky and obnoxious as male Ed, and she would definitely use situations like this (men drooling over her) to inflate her immature little ego. (giggle)