I do not own FMA, or Phantom of the Opera.

However, I do own Ken Pierce, Joseph Alsvid, and Elizabeth Tridae.

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Maria Ross waited eagerly in line. Her fingers absentl-mindedly running over the glossy cover, tracing the bubbled letters of the words Military Affairs for the twelfth time. Her bright eyes were focused on the author now that she could see him.

Denny frowned at her excitement. What was so good about him anyway? He'd go as far as to bet a whole week's wages that his red hair was dyed. Then his moustache, the thing was hideous and unkempt. It looked like it was going to eat his upper lip. Denny rubbed his finger over the skin above his lip and deepened his frown. He couldn't even grow peach fuzz in said area.

Denny was brought out of his thoughts by a timid tug on his sleeve. She was smiling at him. "Come on, we're holding up the line."

Denny looked past Maria, and sure enough there was a two foot space in between them and the woman standing in front of them. He apologized to the crowd of men and women behind him and moved forward with Maria. "So, what's this guy usually write about?" he asked.

Maria, and a few people surrounding him, looked at him with wide eyes, "You've never read his books before? Why'd you come?"

Denny shrugged. "I just thought he must be good if you like him so much," he said dryly.

Maria smiled again. "Yeah, he's great. He usually writes action and suspense, but there is a rumor that he put a bit of romance in this one," Maria explained waving up her book.

Denny flipped over the copy in his hands and read the synopsis on the back to himself.

When Armestris faces the forces of the Drachman Army General Joseph Alsvid, the Liquid Alchemist, becomes the hero of the valiant struggle to keep our country safe. When the war ends everything seems to settle down, that is until a group of Drachmans attempt to kill Joseph. For his safety he is relocated to Southern Headquarters and assigned a bodyguard, but the vengeance of a Drachman is hard to escape. Soon Joseph and his steadfast bodyguard, Elizabeth Tridae, are traveling in disguise through Drachman territory to rescue his kidnapped niece, the only family he has.

Denny held back a laugh and almost snorted. It sounded horrible, but he would read it, so he had something else to talk to about with Maria.

"Next in line please," a man's voice called.

Maria pulled Denny's sleeve again and whispered, "I can't believe I get to meet him." Denny made his lips form a forced smile at her enthusiasm and followed her up to the table.

"Hi Mr. Pierce, will you sign my book?" Maria asked unable able to look directly at him.

"Sure, but call me Ken," he said and flashed her a smile. "Anything special you'd like me to write?" he asked as he took the book from her. Their hands met momentarily, and she blushed like a schoolgirl. Ken found her adorable with her nervous smile, red cheeks, boy-cut brunette hair, beauty mark on the apple of her cheek, and eyes the color of his favorite drink. He couldn't help but flash his best smile at her again. She giggled. He couldn't contain himself, "Do you have any questions? I'll answer anything for you," he said smoothly and winked at her.

"I…I…uhm…could you just write for Maria Ross and sign it? And…if you don't mind I do have a couple questions. I heard this is the first of a trilogy, is that true? Also, there's a rumor that the two main characters are based on real people, is that true too?"

Denny held back a growl, but glared at Ken Pierce with all the malice he could muster. How dare he flirt with Maria so ruthlessly. How dare he use her infatuation for his own personal gain. Denny's eyes followed Ken's hand as he scrawled an inscription onto the inside of the front cover—his well trained military eyes didn't miss the phone number written under the signature.

"You seem to have good sources Maria. This is going to be a trilogy, and all three books will be released by the end of the new year. As for your other inquiry, don't tell anyone else I told you, but I don't actually know the two Joseph and Elizabeth are based off of, but I heard overheard a brief interaction between them in a café while they were on break, and," he motioned for her to lean in closer, and when she did he continued in a whisper, "they're two military officers."

Maria leaned back, and blinked her wide, brown eyes at him in surprise. "Really?"

Never before during any of his book signings has he ever been so captivated and attracted by a woman. Maybe it was the way her eyes conveyed naïve innocence and a killer's instincts at the same time. When he added that to her pixie-cut he knew she was a woman of the military. He liked the contradiction he saw in her personality, tough yet frail. He nodded in answer to her doubt and gave her his award winning grin again. When he handed the book back to her he let his fingers skim hers for a brief moment longer than the first time. "Thank you for your time Maria Ross. I really hope you enjoy it."

"I always enjoy your work. Thank you Ken," she replied hugging the book to her chest.

Denny intensified his glare at the red-head and ushered Maria away. She only turned to look back at Ken once, and the despicable man winked and waved at her. Denny was strangely reminded of the scene in Phantom of the Opera where Christine is lead away by the Phantom to his lair under the opera house. Denny halted, had he just compared himself to the Phantom of the Opera? He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Maria felt the absence of his hand on her back and looked at him. After a few seconds of strange silence, in which he stood in the strange daze that he had been falling into all afternoon, she realized he didn't even speak to Ken. "Hey, why didn't get your book signed?" she asked.

He wanted to tell her, but he only had the courage to halfway say it. "I didn't come for his signature," he answered.

Maria was confused—she didn't know how to reply. She ducked her head and changed the subject, "Did you hear what he told me?"

Denny frowned, he wanted to go find a dark cave and die. He couldn't believe she had just brushed off his confession like a bothersome fly. He felt a primal urge to go back and hold his pistol to Ken's head. Instead he imagined watching the man's blood spatter onto the blow-up picture of his book.

When he didn't answer Maria assumed he was waiting for her to continue, so she did, "He told me they're built around officers he saw in a coffee shop. They have to be from Central."

Denny's only response was a quickly grunted, "Must be." Denny continued on with his homicidal reverie until Maria asked if he wanted to grab lunch with her.

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A.N.-I've decided to break up the chapters based on the time lapses. This one takes place about 3 or 4 months after the scene at the coffee shop. I've tweaked Denny's character a bit, so he is a little more aggressive than his role in the anime/manga. For all the MaraixDenny lovers out there you'll see more of them in the next chapter. As for you Royai fans, they make an appearence in the next scene. Were the pov changes between Denny and Ken confusing? Do I need a pagebreak to alert you to them? So what do ou think so far? Review and let me know!

Thank you for reviewing: Dailenna, WinglessFairy25, Animeluvr8, Bizzy, Mirage992, and MoonStarDutchess.

Shall we play the name game again? JosephJoey, sounds like Roy. As for his last name Alsvidone of the horses that pulled Sol's(the Norse Sun Goddess) chariot. In Norse mythology it is said that the sun did not give off light, but instead it came from the manes of Arvak and Alsvid. ElizabethRiza's code name in the manga. Tridaethe last half of the scientific name(accipitridae) for the hawk species. Joseph Alsvid's title, Liquid Alchemist, is credited to Dailenna. His specialty is liquid, which he has learned to control, and he, like Roy can manipulate the air around him to change the temperature of liquids. He can do anything from freezing a liquid to make it so hot it evaporates.