A/N: this time, the delay was not my fault. I had this chapter typed and edited on Friday, but fanfiction wouldn't let me upload the document.

Blackjack is a real poker game. It's better known as "Twenty One", though, because the object of the game is to get a hand as near to twenty one in value as possible without going over. In the event of a tie game, the dealer wins automatically.

I hope you enjoy it despite the lateness.

21

This had to be the wettest spring Eastern Head Quarters had seen for a decade. No—a century.

It was pouring…again. It was lightning…again. It was flooding…again.

Oddly enough, however, this time everyone was in the small office of one Roy Mustang.

The storm had begun after everyone was at work, and the torrents soon grew to a deluge and the thunder became a cacophony of the heavens. Though crowded together in the small workplace, no work was accomplished. The men sat at the central desks, playing, of all things, blackjack.

Havoc had found a green poker visor in one of his many cluttered drawers. In combination with the cigarette dangling from his mouth, he certainly looked the part of 'dealer' in their little game. Falman's shifty eyes made him the ideal cheater, perhaps the reason he was sitting farthest away from the dealer. Roy proved to have great luck, though he was occasionally bested by his lieutenant. After all, she had the world's best poker face (perhaps rivaled by Edward's, which could easily be nullified by comments about vertically challenged people). Many of Riza's bluffs made Roy fold hands that would have won.

Sadly, Fuery, an absolute newbie in this genre, was losing all his rent money, and rapidly at that. Within four games, he had been forced to withdraw and minimize his losses. He sat among the empty seats watching his comrades bet their week's wages.

The only things lacking from this poker game were booze and faulty lights.

The generator groaned and, for a tense moment, the power went out throughout headquarters. In a few seconds, however, the lights were up and running once more as if nothing had happened.

Check that. The only thing missing from this game was booze. Considering the downpour outside, though, there probably wouldn't be any easy solution to that problem.

Bored (and hoping to prevent his friends from seeing him slide cards up his sleeve), Falman launched on a long tirade on the traditions surrounding poker. He listed the common variations, the rules, the background, the cultural differences, and a great many other facts that no one else knew or particularly cared about.

"That's all well and good, Falman, but as for me, I'd rather hear some of Boss' numerous encounters with Grace." There was some measure of hostility in Havoc's usually relaxed voice.

"Who?" A bored Colonel Mustang shifted slightly under Riza's stern glare.

"The girl from the flower shop."

No enlightenment.

"Pretty brown hair. I was dating her. You took her to the movies."

"…"

"Oh, that girl. Yeah, I remember her. So what?"

The tension was great. As if on cue, a flash of lightning cut Havoc's retort off, momentarily blinding the officers with its brilliance. Then, as if on cue, the office door was thrown open to reveal a large shape, water dripping off its surface. Before any of the team could identify the form, the generator gave a feeble groan and shut down.

Fuery squeaked. Falman stood, mouth agape and eyes wide. Breda dropped his sandwich. Roy, motivated by his pride and sanity, somehow resisted the urge to hide beneath the desk. Riza shivered (Though her cause was not that of the others, but of the fierce weather. Yet that is the story of another time). Reluctantly, the lights flicked back on with the generator.

In the doorway, in all his metal-clad glory, was Alphonse Elric, looking as sheepish as possible for a six-foot armor.

"Err…sorry, but do you have any spare wrenches?"

The entire room blinked at the same time.

"Winry kinda broke hers…or rather, Ed broke it with is alchemy after she hit him with it. He refused to remake it, and forbid me to make her one…"

The group of friends blinked simultaneously again.

"So…I need to borrow one, but nii-san can't know about that until Winry finishes repairing his automail."

This time the officers just stared.

"Please?"

"…"

"Hey, Alphonse-kun, do you know how to play poker?" There was a manic gleam in Havoc's eyes. Some might have called it greed.

"No."

"Excellent!" Most of the males exclaimed as one, each one considering what they could do with the Full Metal Alchemist's spare change.

Wrenches forgotten as well as gambling limits, the rest of the day progressed until, perhaps fatefully, the entire pocket money of Jean Havoc, Vato Falman, Heimans Breda, and Kain Fuery was sitting in front of Alphonse. (Roy and Riza refrained from most of the later rounds involving the younger Elric).

Who knew that Al's steel prison was an ideal bluff for poker games?

A/N: Oh yeah, in regards to Siacatmesecat's question: no, I have never read Ouran Highschool Host Club, though I have heard good reviews about it. Maybe I should look into it...? (Is it good?)

Well, on that note, please review.