I had a little bit of a mental block with this chapter and it really came out a little BLAH, but I can't bear to fiddle with it anymore. I ended up going my cousins wedding in washington d.c. over memorial day and on the ride I managed to bang it out with much difficulty. I don't know if it was my cold, or the stress of travel, or maybe the fact that my sister was like BE GIRLY WITH ME! and my inner tomboy was screaming in pain as I got a mani-pedicure. Not that its not pretty but at the same time I'm like "$50 to put paint on keratin? That seems excessive." And then we got to the wedding and I felt like such a shrub. Put it this way, I'm 5'8" (173 cm) and I am the shortest of all my cousins, girl and boy, and then the girls wear 5" heels and walk around like real life amazon barbies with hourglass figures and natural blonde hair. And I'm standing in my homemade dress and flats like "so this is what Ed feels like." So yeah. Now that I'm done ranting on with the show.

Chapter 8

"I cannot BELIEVE this," Edward said appalled. Riza had come by the shop after work bringing with her the latest piece of news. "How can they possibly justify closing down the state alchemist division?"

"They say it's become unsafe," Riza explained. "In a way they're right. Remember Shou Tucker? Not to mention the many other alchemists who used state money to fund illegal experiments."

Edward scowled at Tucker's name. Oh she knew only too well the horrors his alchemy had wrought. "You don't have to tell me," she reminded Riza. "Who do you think cleaned up the majority of those messes? But dissolving the division isn't going to solve the problem. It'll only exacerbate it. Who'll stop the crazy alchemists if there are no state alchemists?"

"And that is exactly the question Roy brought up at today's meeting," Riza explained. "You should have seen it Ed, I really thought some of the generals were considering civil war if the Fuhrer didn't recant."

"But they're still going to do it?" Ed asked amazed.

Riza nodded. "Harbring has already announced that this is one of the clauses of the new peace treaty. In exchange, the Drachmans are agreeing to bring both their and our scientists together to collaborate. They're hoping to start moving away from using alchemists as weapons and start using alchemy to create weapons."

"Well that sounds wonderful," Edward huffed sarcastically. "And if we have peace why do we need weapons in the first place?" The teapot sitting on the stove started to whistle and Ed got up to retrieve several mugs for her and Hawkeye. "So what's going to happen to Roy and the other state alchemists?"

"They'll keep their titles, but they've already started collecting watches. Roy's been ordered to stop wearing his gloves at work too," Riza explained before taking a sip of the cup Ed offered her. "Since Roy is a Colonel he'll continue his job as such, but other lower level alchemists are being assigned to laboratories."

"Sounds like they're cooking up something big," Ed said softly. She glared down at the tea slowly revolving in her mug. "It almost makes me wish I was still enlisted so I could do something."

"Actually," Riza said. "The Colonel did ask me to give this to you." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and pushed it across the table to Ed. She unfolded it and frowned at the alchemy circle on it.

"What is it?"

"We're not sure. Falman managed to smuggle it out of a top-secret folder linked to this new lab Harbring wants to build with the Fuhrer's assistance," Riza explained.

Ed sat down and looked the circle over. It was oddly familiar yet the designs near the edge seemed like a foreign language. The symbols for the five elements and the human body were all written into the design, and the flow of energy looped around each as if drawing from them like a tap. But there was no release. It was like the circle was made just to create energy with no transmutation to release it.

"I'll work on it," Ed said her old solider side kicking in as she was handed a new mission.

Ed was delving into the snare of alchemy when they were interrupted by a jingle of the doorbell downstairs. Seeing as Ed was already a thousand miles away, Riza stood up and went downstairs to answer. She hesitated when she saw the colonel standing outside the shop window. He was still in his uniform and were those…flowers?!

"Sir?" Hawkeye wondered as she stepped outside the door and joined him on the street. "If you were coming to see Ed why did you give me that 'letter?'" she asked, using code to refer to the alchemy circle.

"Well I didn't think I was coming myself," Roy said as he stared down at the flowers helplessly. He'd wandered by the florist on the way home and had inadvertently bought them, not even knowing how he could give them to Ed or if he should give them to her. "Maybe you could…" he held out the flowers to Riza who shook her head.

"Sir this is between you and Ed and I am not going to become your messenger pigeon."

Roy gave a sort of wistful look at the door. "Riza what do I do?"

"I suggest you bring those flowers in," his Second Lieutenant proposed. Before Roy had a chance to argue Riza had taken his arm and steered him into the little shop. She wasn't meaning to play match maker, but knowing Roy he would stand outside the shop for hours before finally coming in. Her colonel might play the womanizer but years had taught her that if Mustang was actually serious about a woman he became a shy mess of nerves who never got anywhere without a good shove.

"She's upstairs," Riza said and grabbed her coat.

"You're not staying!"

"Nope. Good Luck." She exited the shop and sent out a quick prayer to Hughes. He had always been pressuring Mustang to get a wife after all.

Roy watched Riza walk down the street before turning and facing the stairs. He took a deep breath and started up them slowly.

Ed was seated at the kitchen table with the alchemy symbol in front of her. In a short amount of time she'd already amassed several books from her shelves and a personal journal filled with numerous notes. She muttered something to herself before cracking open one of the books and flipping through it quickly, her other hand already jotting an idea. Then her pen slipped into mouth and she sucked on it as she pulled the circle closer to her, tracing certain lines with her fingers. She hummed and smirked as if the puzzle before her was a game.

It was sort of mesmerizing to watch.

Finally he cleared his throat.

"Who was it Ri…oh," Ed stopped as she looked up and pulled the pen from her mouth. "Uh…hi Mustang." She immediately sank a little further into her chair at the sight of him. "Where's Hawkeye?"

"She left," Roy said, as he awkwardly stood at the top of the stairs. "May I come in?"

"Yeah sure." Ed's eyes gave Roy a once over before she could stop herself. She flushed. Damn those uniforms. She'd seen Mustang in one plenty of times and yet suddenly for some reason the sight made her chest fuzzy. "What are the flowers for?"

"For you?" Roy said as if even he was astounded by his answer.

"Me?!" Ed said standing up. Roy's eyes instantly dropped. Dear god the woman was wearing those tight leather pants again…and a thin little tank top. He forced himself to look back up at Ed's eyes and regretted it almost instantly. It was like he was hypnotized by big beautiful balls of gold.

"You brought me flowers?" Ed repeated taking the bouquet from him. She handled it delicately as she inspected it. The card attached read daffodils. "Huh…well thanks." She moved to the kitchen and fumbled around in the cupboards. Using some water glasses, Ed clapped and morphed the glass together to form an elegant vase with a spiraling dragon twirling around the outside crowned with glass daffodils. She inspected her handiwork before plopping the flowers and some water inside.

"How do you do that?" Roy asked as he checked out the vase.

"Alchemy?" Ed asked astonished. "Um…I'm pretty sure you know unless all that fire just leapt out of your ass."

"No I mean how did you do the dragon? I can always tell when you make or remake something because always add little artistic flairs," Roy explained. "I would never think to do that."

"That's 'cause your boring," Ed joked and shrugged. "I don't know. Teacher always did stuff like that so I just do it too. Makes it more interesting."

"Why don't you do that for your shop?" Roy suggested.

"Make vases?"

"Not just vases. You could do jewelry and sculptures," Roy embellished. "And you could do it for cheap while still being originals."

Ed was surprised by how much the idea appealed to her. She hated repetitive things, and it might be fun to run a sort of Alchemy Art shop. "I'll think about it." She leaned on the table and crossed her arms, inadvertently pushing her breasts together. Roy realized with a jolt that she wasn't wearing a bra. "So why are you here?" Ed questioned.

"I just thought we should…that we needed to talk." He gestured to the living room. "Can we sit down?"

Ed sized him up a minute before walking over to the couch and settling down. Roy placed himself gingerly on the opposite end, leaving an entire cushion as a barrier between Ed and the thoughts running through his head.

Roy floundered for a minute as the words caught in a place right below his throat. "I…um…I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," he answered truthfully and watched as Ed's eyes widened. He tread carefully least she bolt. "I really…"He covered his eyes. "This is complicated. I really like you…like I've always liked you as a friend and a subordinate. I didn't think of you like this when you were a man, but I still had strong feelings for you. And now that you're a woman…uh…they're still strong only different strong I guess," he rambled unable to stop now that his mouth had finally started moving. "And like last night I couldn't stop thinking about your hair."

"My hair?" Ed repeated bewildered. She flushed bright red and was sitting still as stone as her heart beat wildly willing her to flee yet unable to move.

"Yes!" Roy blurted and then looked away as his brain realized how ridiculous that sounded. The night before he'd imagined the way her hair might feel falling freely in waves against his open palms. He'd stroke the curls, moving slowly upwards to the back of her neck where he'd tilt her head back and… "Well I wasn't just thinking about your hair," Roy admitted sheepishly.

"Wow…okay…um," Ed stood up and started pacing around the coffee table. "Let me get this straight…you like me. Like me like me." Roy nodded. "Like think about me like me." Roy nodded again. "Like bring me fucking flowers like me." Roy glanced at the daffodils and nodded one last time. "Oh my god." Al had been right.

"Ed calm down," Roy said softly as he came over and reached out. She shrunk away from him, hugging herself. "I know," he agreed. "I was kind of surprised too. It's fine if you don't like me too." Ed looked at the floor, her brows knit together and her face drawn.

"I…I don't know if I like you," Ed said and Roy's heart sank. "But I've been thinking a lot about you too." She stared at him challenging and jutted out her chin as if daring him to laugh at her.

Roy smiled. "You have?" he said softly and reached up unfold her arms from her chest. He held them gently, her pulse trembling against his thumbs as he rubbed soft circles into her palms. Her hands felt like they were on fire as her nerves jumped in response to the skin on skin contact. Ed shivered. It was like he was a different person, alluring, tempting, and tugging at her reserves.

"Then maybe we could go on a date?" Roy wondered.

Ed swallowed dryly. "Yeah we could," she whispered. Why the hell was she whispering!? She mentally smacked herself and repeated, "Yes. I'll go. When?"

"Tomorrow. I'll come pick you up at five?" he offered. She nodded and he smiled again. "I'll see you then?"

Ed showed him the way out, Roy acting shy and Ed still feeling shocked. After she had locked the door, she went up and sat back on her couch. She was going on a date with Roy Mustang…she was going on a date with Roy Mustang...She, Edward Elric, was going on a god damn date with bastard Roy Mustang!

She grabbed the couch cushion and screamed into it.