Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter 2
Deep Blue Eyes

Baby Jayne's performance carried on well into the night, all the while free drinks made their way to the Elric brothers table at a continuous pace. Ed was to distracted to drink and Al was too excited to NOT drink, and as the hours passed, so did his grip on reality. He leaned accross the table to his brother and looked at him with heavy eyes and a goofy smile.
"Brother, thank you for dragging me here. This is the best birthday EVER!" Ed, who had been too engrossed in trying to figure out how he was going to get a minute alone with this mysterious woman (Not like that -.-), had finally noticed that his younger brother had been transformed into a bottle of gin in human form.
"Al! You're completely sloshed!" Al waved a drunken hand at his concerned brother.
"I'm fine! Your the one who's drunk!" Ed sighed and took one more look at the woman on stage before going to stand up.
"Come on, lets get you back home and sobered up before Claire comes in early and see's what I've done to you." The music stopped and the thinning crowd cheered, it was about 2:30 am and everything was starting to slow down bit by bit. The star of the show giggled lightly into the microphone.
"Well, you boys have been the greatest audience, really you have, but I think it's just about time for me to leave you all." She pouted her full lips and there was an audible grown throughout the club, (including Al). "But I think I have time for one more little number to give you fine men a proper send off." The band struck up as she made her way backstage, there was a faint glow of a blue light and she emerged moments later in a skin tight, glittering evenening dress. Al's senses were dulled and he was completely amazed.
"She's so fast! Did you see that brother?" Ed didn't respond, his eyes widened and he slowly sat back down as he watched the woman seductivley climb onto the grand piano, microphone in hand. She laid down and as her eyes locked on to Edward's for the first time that entire night, she began signing.
"I've got trouble, trouble, trouble
Always knocking at my door
Yes, I'm a whole lot of trouble, baby
Just like a kid in a candy store
Well, I'm nothing but trouble, babe
Now since the day that I was born"

Her eyes never left his, and he felt as if they were burning into his soul. Everyone else in the crowded club seemed to dissapear. The band, the waitresses, the customers, even Al faded into the background. It was just the two of them, and they both knew it. She slowly sat up, sliding to the front of the piano and continued her song.
"Well I'm as good as it ever gets
Give you something you won't forget
If you wanna spell trouble, babe
Well, send out an S.O.S." She slid off the piano and started gliding towards him, her eyes never leaving his for a moment. He knew she was singing just to him, this wasn't a some sort of finale act where she singled out one man for her own personal play toy, it was real. The sadness once again crept over her flawless face as she sang,
"'Cause baby's got something
Something you just can't ignore
And, yeah, it sure is likely, baby
You'll keep on coming back for more" She pointed at Ed and he furrowed his brow. The music got louder and she colapsed to her knees with the weight of the beat.
"Now listen, can't you see the way I move
Can't you read it in my hips?
There's a lot that's going on
In my pocket full of tricks" It was as if she was calling, screaming out to him. She started crawling closer to the edge of the stage and he instinctively leaned in.
"Got some secrets up my sleeve
If you know just what I mean
Got places you've never been
Take you out of your skin" She started sliding the palm of her hand accross the wooden stage towards him.
"Well, I'm trouble, trouble, trouble, baby
Always knocking at my door, yeah
I'm a whole lot of, lot of trouble, baby" Ed was so entranced he nearly stood up to cross the mere 3 feet that separated them, untill the music suddenly stopped and she fell onto her back. Her head slightly hanging off the stage, she pressed the microphone against her blood red lips and inhaled,
"Ooh, since the day that I was born"

The music finally wound down to a stop, until the only thing they could hear was each other's breathing. They never broke their stare and neither moved for what seemed like eternity. The noise of the background was slowly starting to fade in, Ed found himself wishing that it wouldnt, wishing that he had just a little more time to stare into those big blue eyes which seemed to hold as many miracles as it did tragedies. His time was cut short as the sound of a gunshot ripped through the air. He tore his gaze from hers and spun around to see half a dozen armed men had entered the club. The man who had obviously fired the shot still had his gun raised in the air, he smirked evily as he spoke with a thick french accent.
"What a beauitiful ballad mademoiselle, truly awe inspiring." He slowly lowered his gun to aim it directly at her. "I'm almost sorry that it has to be your last." Ed shot up out of his seat, ready to rush at him with full force, but the man beat him with the pull of a trigger. Ed looked back only to see that she had dodged the bullet with a flawles backflip and landed in a three point stance before standing upright with a sigh.
"You're gonna have to be a lot quicker then that if your gonna try and end me, handsome." She said in a cool voice as she kicked off her stilleto's. The man growled before emptying his clip at her. She doged every single one with ease before landing on the ground to the right of the stage. She was about 5 feet from Ed when she caught his eye again, the armed man noticed this interaction.
"Get out of the way blondie, this doesnt concern you." Ed spun around in time to see the gun pointed right at his head. He raised his right arm just in time to hear the familiar sound of lead on metal.
"Blondie huh? Well I guess that's better then shortie." As the man stood still in the doorway, obviously dumfounded, Ed took this opportunity to grab Al by his shirt (He had passed out cold by this time) only to throw him on the floor behind him and kick the table over for cover.

By this time the club had become a frenzy of drunk confusion, everybody had started either running or fighting. Ed motion to the woman with his arm.
"Come on!" She stared at the exposed metal wide eyed before she dared make a move. She was stopped short when one of the assailants picked her up by her hair. Ed gritted his teeth but she didnt make any noise of pain, instead she threw an elbow in his face, obviously breaking his nose.
"Vous putain salope!" He cursed and threw her as hard as he could back onto the stage. She did a somersault and quickly landed on her feet.
"Thats no way to speak to a lady!" She sighed "Why am I the only one around here who enforces manners." She clapped her hands together, emmiting a blue light, resembling lightning bolts. She pulled them apart slowly and the brute started to come at her again, it was at that point when she pushed her hands out in front of her creating a powerful force that sent the man flying into the wall opposite her. Ed couldnt believe what he had just witnessed, the impossible had just become possible. His mind began moving a mile a minute and he couldn't do anything to slow it down, not until she turned and ran towards him, she bounded off the stage and crouched down behind the his makeshift cover. They locked eyes once again, sending shivers down his spine.
"You need to get out of here before they see that." She pointed to his automail arm before she noticed Al, sprawled out beside them. Concern spread accross her face. "Is he alright?" She asked as she leaned in and placed a hand on the side of his face.
"He's fine, just drunk is all." She nodded and turned her gaze back to Ed. "What-Who are you? And what was th-" Gunshots erupted from the oppostite side of the room, Ed looke up to see men in military uniforms flooding out from backstage.
"Now is not the time for questions, especially ones that you already know the answer too. You need to take your brother and leave," more shots were fired and the men started closing in, "Now!"She grabbed the table they were hiding behind and threw it to the side, then she clapped her hands together again before placing them on the floor. Ed watched in amazment as she parted the crowd like the red sea with a seeminly invisible force. He hesitated a moment and studied her face once more, she was silently pleading him to move, so thats exactly what he did.

He gathered up Al over his shoulder and sprinted for the door. Once he was outside he chanced one more look back at the club. He saw her being roughly gathered up buy a tall military man with a plethera of stars on his uniform. He was clearly yelling at her while he pointed his gun and fired at a man who was retreating from the scene. She looked as though all the life had been drained out of her, when he caught her eye for the last time that night, mental anguish was all he could make out of her expression before she was harshly dragged away, out of his sight. The sound of more artillery quickly brought Ed back down to earth. He turned and practicaly ran down the street, but even though the Dixie club was currently being torn apart by thugs and murderous military men, he couldnt shake the feeling that the more space he put between himself and it, the less at ease he felt.

Ed didnt sleep much night. After lugging his drunk brother all the way home (something he never thought he'd have to do) and placing him in bed, he couldnt do anything but alternate between pacing the small apartment, and laying wide awake in bed, staring out the window. He couldnt get her out of his head, her eyes haunted him, they were beautiful and sad, and every time he attempted sleep she was there, singing to him words of love, of hate, and of desperation. It was maddening. And that power she had used, there was no doubt in his mind that it was alchemy. But he and Al and tried and failed countless times to perform alchemy in this world, how did she manage to bridge the gap between possible and impossible. Ed shook his head in frustration and reached for his discarded pocket watch to check the time. He held the time piece in his right arm and watched the moonlight reflect off of it.
"Fullmetal." He said his long forgotten alias outloud in the emptyness, as her voice repeated in his head over and over again. If she knew his state given alchemist name, then she deffinitley knew he and Al weren't of this world. He sighed and let his arm fall to the bed beside him and turned to stare out the window. As he looked at the dark Parisian sky, he resolved to find her as soon as possible, tomorrow if he could. Once he had settled that, he drifted off into a troubled sleep, with dreams of music, mayhem, and the mesmerizing sway of her hips.

The sun had just risen when the smell of fresh bead baking roused Ed. His first thought that it was all a dream until Claire realized he was doing all the work while the owners rested comfortably in their beds.
"Edward Elric, vous homme dégoûtant! get up and run your business like a real man!" Ed rolled his eyes and slowly sat up, swinging his feet around to the side of the bed, and rested his tired head in his hands. It was going to be a long day. Ed was almost completely dressed before he realized how strange it was that Claire's "precious little man" did answer to her call. Then he remembered how completely trashed Al had been last night and he quickly crossed the hall to make sure his brother hadnt choked on his own vomit. Upon opening the door he saw Al having obvious trouble with his clothes. He had managed to get his pants on (Unbuttoned, but A for effort right?) but was strugling with buttoning his shirt... mainly because he had put it on backwards. Ed crossed the room to turn on the rooms sole lamp.
"Kill me." Al groned as he gave up on his uncooperative shirt and layed back on his bed.
"Man up Al, it's just a hangover." Ed flipped the light switch to the obvious dismay of his brother.
"NO! Not the light! Oh the humanity!" Ed removed his brothers shirt and tried to help him put it on correctly.
"It can't be that bad... Stop squirming!"
"Stop yelling!"
"Stop being such a baby!" At this point the bedroom door slamed open.
"What is taking you two so damn lo-?" The guilty party stood completely still. Al hanging half dead from Ed's grip as he tried righting is shirt. "Qu'est-ce qui se passe ici?" Claire crossed the room to get a better look at Al, who had burried his face in his hands to hide from the offending light. She dropped to her haunches and tried removing one of his hands. "He's a complete mess!" She stood up and began backing Ed into the corner. "Qu'est-ce que vous lui avez fait hier soir?"
"I didnt make him do anything. He wanted to drink and who am I to stop him? He's an adult!"
"Your his older brother crétin!" Al groaned as her voice began to elevate. Hearing her sucrés petit homme in pain, she left Ed in annoyance and went to help Al to his feet.
"Come with me mon amour. We'll get you some coffee." She threw Ed one more look of disapproval before departing.
"He's not even fully dressed!" Ed sighed and took a minute to find his dignity and self respect before following.

He found them downstairs in the front of the bakery. Al was sitting at one of the small tables nursing his wounds as Claire set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. She turned to see Ed, who smiled sheepishly at her and rubbed the back of his neck.
"At least you managed to get his shirt on the right way." He tried to laugh but it died on his lips as she stalked past him.
"Vous, venez avec moi." He let out a sigh before turning on his heel to follow her back into her torture room. (It's really just the bakery kitchen, but thats where she kept all the rolling pins -.-) Without looking up at Ed she began kneading some bread dough.
"Listen Claire," He began tentativlely, "He's totally fine. It's just a little hangover is all." She took a minute before replying, she was very good at making him squirm.
"You don't seem to be indisposed in the slightest." She smacked the dough down on the counter, causing him to flich. "Where's your hangover?"
"Well... Ya know, he's young, he'll build up a tolerance to alchohol when he's older." She finally met his eyes.
"I thought you said he was man?"
"He is! But...Lets be honost, he's barely 18 and-" She was around the tabe and in front of him within seconds.
"I dont think you drank at all last night. Were you just feeding him drinks?"
"Why would I do that?" She shrugged.
"Je ne sais pas, but you obviously werent to concerned with how many drinks he was feeding himself." She paused and regarded him for a moment before continuing. "Qu'est-il arrivé la nuit dernière, Ed?"
An esquisite pair of deep blue eyes flashed in his memory as he finally realized what she was getting at. She knew Ed well enough to know that he would never let anything or anyone harm one hair on his brother's head. She could tell something big had happened and she was concerned. She broke thorugh his crumbling defense and he rested his forehead in his hand in exhasperation.

"I can't really explain any of it to you right now, mainly because I dont really know whats going on myself." He was rambling this off rather quickly so she lightly grabbed his shoulders.
"Ralentissez l'amour, you don't have to tell me anything. But are you at least alright?" He sighed before gracing her with a perfect smile.
"I'm always fine. Maybe a little disturbed but, other then that..."
"So this is where you two are hiding. Hey, whats with the kid? He looks likes he got in a fight with a bottle of vodka and lost." A thick irish accent cut their conversation short and the two looked up to find O'Malley leaning in the door frame grinning form ear to ear.
"Qu'est-ce que tu fais ici Sean? I thought I told you, no dogs allowed." O'Malley put his hands in the air.
"Relax love, I'm here on business." The French woman rolled her eyes when they heard a chair hit the floor followed by Al running past them and up the stairs, one hand over his mouth. Ed felt like absolute an absolute tool, he'd never let anything distract him from Al before, he couldnt understand what the hell his problem was. He murmered a curse before going to run after him but Claire stopped him.
"Don't beat yourself up mon amour, like you said, it's just a hangover." She laughed softly and gently rubbed his arm before starting up the stairs. "Son grand frère ne peut pas le protéger de tout." She smiled once more before disappearing out of sight. Ed let out a disgruntled sigh and ran his hand through his hair, not regarding the confused irishmen in the doorway.

"Whats with the heavy atmosphere Elric?" Ed took a moment before mustering up a smile and turning to face the man.
"It's nothing, I just feel a little guilty for letting him drink so much on his first night out is all." He laughed.
"Oh..Well where'd you two heartbreakers go last night?"
"The Dixie Club." Ed cursed himself for answering before he had a chance to even think of lying.
"Really? Cause I heard they're was a big commotion down there last night." He looked sideways at the blonde. "You werent the one causing trouble, were ya Ed? Cause you can't afford to attract attention." Ed quickly shook his head.
"You think I'm an idiot? I know that. And besides, it wasnt me." He answered ernestly. "As you can see, Al had had way to much before the show had even ended, so I took him home kinda early. When I left the place was as docile as any club full of horny drunk guys can be." Ed, who was eager to change the subject, lauged and slapped the man on the back. "So, O'Malley my good man, What kind of work have you got for me and - well just me today I guess." He smiled and motioned for him to follow as he made his way down the stairs to the Elric's office.
"Oh, I got something big for ya today lad." He glanced back at the man skeptically and let him enter the modest room before he shut the door behind them.
"Oh yeah? Well lay it on me, you now how much I love a challenge." Ed faked a smile as he sat behind the desk and put his feet up. Truth be told, he wasnt sure he could handle a big project right now, not after last night and all the sneaking around he was about to do to get the answers to his copious amounts of questions. But they needed money, even though one was secret, the brothers still had two businesses to run and he couldnt afford to snub a potential gold mine. O'Malley flopped himself down in one of the armchairs opposite Ed, and pulled a file out of his jacket.
"Elric my good man, no more road bound vehicles for you my friend. It's time to get your tires off the cement and into the air." He spread the file's contents accross the desk. Ed leaned forward to see words like "jet engine" and "military" along with digrams of fighter planes he'd never imagined before. Ed furrowed his browe.
"The military again huh? Isnt what we cooked up for them last time enough for them to go off of?" He gestured to a picture of a Breguet Bre.19 sitting on one of the many bookshelves. "I'm not sure I want to go getting any more involved with the French military. To close to Germany for my liking." O'Malley shook his head in disagreement.
"I don't think you have to worry about that Ed. I hear Germany's starting to make a whole lot of noise that a bunch of countires aren't to happy about, including France." Ed locked eyes with the man.
"Are you talking about a war?" He nodded.
"The government is spinning it's wheels trying to come up with best plan for defense against a possible invasion, and this guy," He pointed to the name Charles de Gaulle which was printed at the bottom of most of the papers "is desperate to get them to move forward with avionics." Ed reached one of the papers with a diagram of an aircraft carefully drafted onto it. O'Malley sighed before continuing. "He's heard through the grapevine that theres a couple of engineers doing top notch work underground. If you help them defend in a time a war, I doubt they'll start breathing down you'r back Ed. Actually, I think they'll do the exact opposite and leave you be to keep as some sort of secret weapon." Ed leaned back in his chair to cross his arms accross his chest.
"I've spent enough of my short life being a dog of the military, and to be honost, I'm not to keen on the idea of chasing my tail for their amusement once again."

O'Malley didnt question his words, after 3 years of workng with the Elric brothers he was sure they'd seen things beyond his comprehension and beyond this world. He simply sat back to meet Ed's gaze and replied
"It's a massive amount of money Ed." He nodded and look at the scattered documents.
"Thats the only reason I havent torn any of this up yet." Both men sat and pondedred to themsevles in silence. The noise of customers upstairs in the bakery slowly brought them back to reality, and O'Malley stood up to leave.
"You don't need to give me an answer now. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon and you can tell me what you've decided then." He started for the door before stopping and turning once more to regard Ed. "Ya know, if you really think this world is your home now, you're gonna have to crawl out from underground and face it sometime Ed." The elder Elric just stared at him as he reached for the door knob. "You've gotta find something to believe in, or you'll end up dying for nothing." And with that he was out the door and up the stairs, leaving Ed alone and speechless. After staring at the wall he rested his elbows on the desk and burried his face in his hands. The man was right, and it pierced Ed straght to his core. As much as he pretended he had moved on from his old life, he wasnt quite sure if he had. Where would he be if he hadnt returned to this world? Working in central command with Colonel Mustang while trying to convince him that marrying Lt. Hawkeye wouldnt derail his rise to the top. Or would he be in Liore, trying to help Rose rebuild her home town with Al (He knew he had had a crush on her)? Or maybe he would be settled back home in Risembool with Granny and Winry. With this last thought he stood up and slammed his fists against the desk. Enough was enough, thinking like that wasnt doing anything but holding him back. The past was the past, and here and now was the future. He glanced between the papers O'Malley had left behind, and the small dent his right fist had made in the cheap wood. With a sarcastic smile he clapped his hands together and slowly layed them on either side of the indentation.
"Well Ed, you're not getting any younger. Guess it's time to move on." He smiled weakly but ernestly, sat down, and began to gather up the papers in front of him. Before getting to work, he lost his smile and leaned back in his chair. "And don't refer to yourself in third person."

The hours flew by without Ed even noticing. He had surrounded himself with books as well as his and Al's own research, all the while scribbling notes and sketching diagrams in a bound notebook. It was getting well into the evening when Al finaly made his appearance, properly clothed and not fliching when he entered the fully lit office. Ed looked up from the book he was reading and smiled.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't sleeping beauty, deciding to grace me with her presence." Al smiled sheepishly.
"Actually, i've been up for a few hours, but Claire told me you've been down here all day, so I figured you were on a roll and I didnt want to disturb you." He looked around at the mess his brother had created. "Did O'Malley get us something big?" Ed nodded and handed him the file.
"The military calls again, and we must answer." Al slowly sat down in an armchair and began reading over the files before comming to the same conclusion his brother had.
"Another war?" Ed nodded. "Ive heard horrible things about the war that took place before we got here. Are you sure you want to get involved in this one?" Ed laughed a little.
"I was thinking the exact same thing, then O'Malley had to go and kick me straight in the teeth." Al looked alarmed as Ed stood up and stretched. "Metaphorically of course." He shook his head at glanced around the small office. "Man, what time is it?" He yawned. Al checked his gold pocket watch.
"7:30. Jeez Ed, you've been down here all day! Have you even eaten?" Blue eyes once again made their way into Ed's mind and his stomach did a somersault. His research suddenly took a back seat and he started for the door.
"Actually, I haven't. Plus i've been cooped up in this room all day. I think I'm gonna go out for a while. Will you be ok taking over where I left off?" Al smiled and nodded.
"Sure brother, no problem." Ed felt a pang of guilt at betraying his brothers trust, but he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, telling me he had to go. So he returned his smile and handed him his notebook. He took one more look at his brother before closing the door and bounding up the stairs.

He found Claire in the kitchen with a mixing bowl in her hands. She looked up with traces of concern on her face.
"He finally emerges! Je commençais à m'inquiéter." He smiled.
"We just got handed a huge job, kinda got sucked into my research." She nodded before setting down her bowl.
"Well you must be hungry. I'll make you something to eat, Asseyez-vous asseoir." She wiped her hands on her apron and started for the pantry before Ed stopped her.
"Actually, I think I'm just gonna go out." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him in a way that made him shifty.
"Out?" He nodded and headed for the door.
"Yeah! I've been in that tiny room all day and you know I can't sit still for that long." Her eyes followed him as he donned his coat and reached for the door. "But I bet Al would appreciate some dinner, he's got a long night of work ahead of him. Thanks Claire." He winked at her before bolting out the door and down the street before she could protest.

As Ed made his way through the darkened streets of Paris, he realzed that he didnt have a heading. The fact that he wanted to find the mysterious woman, was all well and good, but it didn't exactly give him any leads. So he dicided to start at the only place he could, The Dixie Club itself. He quickly made his way through the busy streets filled with nightlife until he found himself on the same corner he had stood on the night before. The building itself was 4 stories high. The bottom floor being the club, had no windows, just the red door, but the floors above had quaint balconies and windows. He assumed they were living quarters but he couldn exactly climb the side of a building on a busy street corner, so he opted for the alley behind, praying for a fire escape. Quickly checking behind him, he made his way down the alley. Lucky for him there was a fire escape and he easily shimmied up to the second level. He peered into the window which was just a hallway, the next floor being two empy rooms, he quietly began climbing the last set of stairs when he heard angry voices emmiting from the top floor window.

"Dont you dare send him in here. I can't stand to look at him." Ed stopped in his tracks and crouched down so as to avoid being seen.
"Stop being so dramatic precious, all he wants to do is to talk." another woman spoke.
"He can go to hell. And you can go right ahead and tell him I said that." Ed heard a slap and the sound of someone hiting the floor.
"You watch your mouth! I don't ever want to hear you say something like that again! The General is the answer to our prayers! He's our ticket to the top! You got it?" There was a pause as the woman waited for a response that never came. He heard footsteps and then the sound of a door opening. "Fix your face. We'll be back in 5 minutes, so make yourself presentable." The door slammed and then silence. Ed tried to move but he wasnt sure what he should do next, untill he heard some rustling before the window was thrust open, and then there she was. As she swung her legs over the window sill she looked back over her shoulder and mumbled,
"I never asked to go to the top." In her hurry to get out of the room, she wasnt looking where she was setting her feet and she slipped, letting out a slight yelp. She landed on her hands and knees, and when she looked up, blue eyes met golden ones, their faces only inches apart. Neither moved for a minute in complete shock before she sat back on her knees, pointing a confused finger at him.
"You...?" Ed opened his mouth to speak (And say what? Your guess is as good as mine.) but the sound of a door opening deterred him. She frantically got to her feet and started pushing him back down the fire escape saying. " Go go go!" He quickly obeyed and when they were back on solid ground she looked at him again as if trying to decide something, before grabbing his right arm and saying. "Follow me." For some reason, Ed didn't feel as if he needed to think about following the strange girl into the night. He had questions that couldnt go unanswered for much longer, but as he looked sideways at her flawless face as they ran throught the streets, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomache that his queries werent the only reason he had sought her out that night. He wasnt sure what it was, but the fact that her eyes haunted his dreams the night before, made every step he took even more eager then the one before.

And here you go! Chapter 2 finally done! :) I'd like to thank BuggyNess and InSanityStorm for not only reading my little fic but reviewing! You guys are awesome :)
Chapter three coming soon...ish lol