Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. Me no own, you no sue.
Chapter 2
The Flame Alchemist twisted the door open.
A chorus of "Good Afternoon" and one "Yo" was his greeting. Ed slipped in, grinning at Fuery who gave him a wave. Next came Adrian, then the Brigadier General himself, who shut the door behind him.
"Everyone, this is Adrian."
She waved. Roy moved along to each, introducing them by their name.
"There's Falman," a sharp salute. "Breda." He chuckled, and grinned. "Fuery." A bright smile. "Hawkeye," the woman nodded, eyes softening briefly. "And the last… Havoc."
Havoc, the only one who'd greeted in an unceremonious 'yo', finally looked up from his paperwork. He blinked at Adrian. "Who's this, Boss? Your sister, or something?" He put the paper down.
"Why yes, as a matter of fact."
"Hah!" Havoc jumped up from his chair. Ed smiled in amusement, realizing why. Adrian, as Roy's sister, was one of the few women he could get a chance with without the threat of Mustang "stealing".
"Calm down. Adrian, take a seat. You too, Ed. I need to get some paperwork done—" Ed nearly choked. "—and Alphonse said he'd stop by with some research."
The younger Mustang grinned. "Oh? The real Alphonse Elric." She gently nudged Ed with her elbow. He turned red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"Yeah, Al's my younger—"
"And taller!"
"—brother." Ed glared heavily at Breda, who simply shrugged the look off.
"Sorry Little Boss."
Ed grumbled.
"All in good fun," Adrian chimed. She leaned back on her chair, and seemed to be watching someone out of the corner of her eye. He followed the gaze to find Havoc doing exactly the same thing. He sniggered a bit before slumping into his chair. He'd rather be elsewhere.
Ten minutes passed by. Adrian started a game of tic-tac-toe with him. He was winning overall. Seventeen wins for him, ten for her, and three ties. Tic-tac-toe didn't take that long to play.
Finally, the door opened, and he grinned as his brother walked in. Ed turned to say something to the Alchemist beside him, but she was already gone.
"You're so cute!" For the umpteenth time, he felt the need to heave a sigh of exasperation. Al was squirming in Adrian's tight hug, and was blushing furiously.
"Brother, what?"
She suddenly released Al, and looked him over. "Wow. You really are taller than him."
Ed twitched violently. A few officers hid their smiles behind their hands.
"Brother," she called brightly. "Alphonse Elric, right? Though not officially a state alchemist, he's known as the Soul Alchemist."
Al looked startled as Mustang nodded. "How'd you know that? Brother, what's going on?"
"Alphonse," Roy started. "The woman pulling on your cheek no doubt read your files. Sneaky little…"
Adrian grinned, sheepishly. "Guilty."
"Al, meet Mustang's sister."
The younger Elric froze. "You had a sister?"
"Still do," Roy said off-handedly.
"Oh." The Night Alchemist had returned to her seat next to Ed, allowing Al to continue with the reason he'd actually come around for.
"General, I have the information." He lay down a manila envelope on the desk. Al like research, and it wasn't unusual for Roy to ask him to look something up for him every now and again.
Ed finally thought of something, and looked at Roy. "Oi, Colonel-Bastard. Didn't someone say that our alchemy battle was the first?"
Roy hesitated, then admitted the answer. "Fullmetal, our 'alchemy battle royale' was the first public battle, and the first on the record. Otherwise it's simply pass or fail and continue with your career."
"In other words," Ed read between the lines. "It's all off the books."
Mustang nodded. "There's that too."
"I think I know who I want to battle this year, too," Adrian mused, eyeing Al as Mustang took his files.
"If you think," the short alchemist growled. "That I'm going to let you battle with my brother, you're wrong."
She turned her attention to Ed, a look of calm coming over her face. "It's not up to you to decide. That's for the Fuhrer and the challenger alone. No outside interference."
"She's right Brother," Al quipped softly.
"I'll be…" He twitched. "Around." Ed stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Havoc burst into laughter, and Al heaved a sigh of exasperation. Roy smirked, and Adrian watched in interest. "Oh dear, I think I made him angry."
Al took Ed's vacant seat, taking a few of Fuery's papers to help with. "I wonder what he's thinking now."
"You know," Roy commented. "Ed may have gotten it into his head to challenge you. Maybe he's going to try and look through the records for your specialty."
She made a smirk that reminded Al of her older brother's. "Perfect. Let him try." She looked at Al, and her smile softened. "I couldn't challenge you, anyhow. You're not a state alchemist. I wonder if he's realized that."
X—X—X
Ed collected his papers, angry over that—that woman's words. No doubt she was a good alchemist. But if he planned on fighting her, he'd need to know how she fought. An alchemy battle with Roy had not given either of them an advantage. They both knew the other's tactics.
On the flip side, Ed knew that Adrian didn't actually know how he fought either. But she'd read his file—surely she'd read his if she'd read Al's. And besides, he was bordering world famous—most people had heard of his tricks.
He knew the book that listed every current state alchemist and what they'd been named for. Ed pulled the book off the shelf, and flipped through the pages. He came across Mustang, and grinned as he looked automatically at Roy's first.
Mustang, Roy (The Flame Alchemist)- Uses pyrotex gloves to create sparks. Alchemy extends the flame.
He glanced up one name.
Mustang, Adrian (The Night Alchemist)- Classified.
Ed blinked. Nothing. 'What the hell?'
X—X—X
Adrian was a bit taller than Hawkeye. Havoc didn't mind. He didn't believe in love at first sight—oh hell, he wasn't sure he really believed in love. But a girl that Mustang couldn't take away? Well, he was in love with that.
She seemed sweet, and cheerful enough when they'd met. Of course, every chick had a serious streak—and when hers came out she'd looked quite like the Brigadier General. Could he live with that?
Yeah. If it worked out, he could live with that.
OMG. Fluff next chapter. Yay!
