A/N: Hey! Hey! Hi! We're awesome! We updated! :D Okay, that's enough happy-fun-time for Lissa. So...This chapter, as most of our works are, was written entirely over email. So, it's quite beastly. And this chapter introduces a few more minor OCs that really don't matter too much, but we love them anyway. ^^ Oh, and it sorta makes my heart cry that everyone likes Ivy better than Alice... :( I love Ivy too, but Alice needs some loving as well... So if you want to be my favorite person ever, you should review and send some love in Alice's direction. God knows she needs it... ;)
Special thanks to our reviewers. You guys are awesome in so many ways. We love you (not in a creepy way. Okay, maybe a little. ;)): Requiem (Firstly, no problem! I enjoyed it! And secondly, naming animals musical terms is the best way to show band geek pride! :)), chocolvr69 (We just want to say that we love you and we're glad that you enjoy Jean. :D), Fire and Ice (WE HEART YOUR FACE FOR REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! Yeah. And now you don't have to flounder around anymore! :D Well, at least not until you finish this chapter...)
Disclaimer: Look, we don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. We just don't. Sorry to disappoint anyone... xD
Alice hadn't been able to see Roy Mustang the following day, and she didn't on Thursday either. Thursdays were Alice's days to visit her sister, who lived all the way over on the opposite side of Central. It was always a nice respite, or at least it got her out of the house; she felt a little guilty leaving Staccato with Ivy though. Alice wasn't certain she could trust the woman. She would have felt safer leaving the kitten with Roy, but she figured that was too much of a favor to ask; therefore, Staccato went to Alice's neighbor.
Alice's sister went by the name of Charlotte Lauden, formerly Ackerman as her younger sister did. She had married a carpenter named Brent, and never looked back for a single moment; he was Charlotte's very own personal happily-ever-after. Ever since the day they were married, the elder woman had nagged Alice to get a husband of her own, for only then, Charlotte declared, could Alice be truly happy. Despite her high-strung tendencies, Alice really adored her older sister, and visited diligently every single week without fail.
This week, however, Alice knew something was very, very wrong as she approached the door. Charlotte stood in the doorway, staring at her younger sister with an unsatisfied look on her face. Alice gulped, and froze a few steps before reaching Charlotte. The older reached out a hand, and said, "Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly."
With that, the woman had pulled Alice into her home, screeching in tones that Alice was unused to. "Why didn't you tell me you got a boyfriend, Alice?"
"WHAT? I don't have one!"
"Au contraire! That's not what Ivy told me!"
Ivy, it seemed, had called the older Ackerman sister, filling her in on the happenings of the week gone by. Had Alice had a choice, Charlotte never would have found out about Roy Mustang.
"Ivy's a bit of a drunk. You shouldn't listen to her!" Alice replied quickly.
"Well, at least she tells me things! My darling younger sister doesn't talk to me anymore." The elder sister pouted.
"Aunty Alice! Aunty Alice!" her niece and nephew came tottering in from the other room.
Alice gave her six year old niece a hug and picked up her year and a half old nephew. "Brianna, Luke!" she said with a giggle. "How are you two?"
Luke gurgled in response while Brianna (having her mother's aptitude for talking) went on a rampage of what had happened that week. Alice couldn't help but smile at the little girl. It was amazing how alike she was to her mother.
"Aunty Alice? Is it true that you're going to get married?"
Alice nearly choked on her drink. "Wh-What? No, sweetheart. What gave you that idea?"
"Well, Mommy said that you were getting married and you were going to get some little cousins for me to play with."
Well, thanks to Charlotte, Alice apparently had a little explaining to do. "Brianna, sweetheart, I'll get married and have kids eventually; just, it probably won't be any time soon." The girl pouted, and then her brother hit her in the back of the head with a shoe, and she ran off after him squealing loudly.
Alice chuckled, and turned to face Charlotte. "So? Who is he?" the other woman questioned.
"Ivy blew things way out of proportion, Sis. This girl's so stupid that she's actually under the impression that I have a brother." Alice smiled at the long-running joke she had with Lieutenant Havoc. Seeing the look on Charlotte's face, Alice sighed, and began to tell her of her 'boyfriend' who wasn't really anything of the kind. "He's in the army, a colonel, and he was over at my house a couple times. It's not like he stayed the night or anything, Charlotte. It's nothing serious at all."
Charlotte cocked an eyebrow, clearly not believing the younger woman. "You know, I wouldn't be against you having a boyfriend anyway. It would be really quite good for you, I think."
"Roy's just a friend, Sis-"
"Oh, his name's Roy? Good strong name, Roy. When will I get to meet him?"
"Never, if I can help it," Alice mumbled under her breath.
"I don't think you understand the magnitude of the situation, Alice. Your youngest years are running out; you need to snag a man while you still have your looks about you!"
Alice blushed. "I'm not that old yet, Sis."
"No, but you aren't that young either! Look at me, I'm almost twenty-seven, and I'm already gaining weight like no tomorrow!"
"That's because you're pregnant, Charlotte. If you weren't gaining weight, that would be a problem."
She considered this for a moment. "Well, that may be true, but still! You, my dear little Alice, need to at least bring me a picture of this strapping young lad if you won't invite him over!"
Alice had no choice but to consent to her request. It was around that time that Brent came home from work. "Alice! How's my favorite sister-in-law?" He gave the woman a crushing hug. "And how's that new boyfriend of yours? I hear he's a real looker," he added with a wink. "Hey, Lottie." He took Charlotte in his arms and gave her a kiss. Alice blushed slightly at their display of affection and averted her eyes.
Charlotte looked over at her sister and said, "See, Alice? You should get married. If only for moments like these." The couple broke apart. "Alice, are you going to help with supper tonight?"
"Uh, um, in the kitchen?" Her sister nodded. "Uh, no thanks! I think I'll just stay out here with Brianna and Luke," she laughed nervously and practically darted into the living room.
Charlotte followed slowly behind her. "Still afraid, huh?" Alice nodded in shame. "God, Alice, that happened nearly twenty years ago, and you still let it control your life. I could understand being afraid for a few months, maybe a year, but not twenty years!" Alice continued to stare at the floor, her green eyes wide as if she were re-experiencing the event. Her sister sighed and retreated into the kitchen.
"Aunty Alice?" She looked up to find her niece with a concerned look on her little face staring at her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry, Bri. I'm fine," she lied placing a hand gently on the child's cheek. "I'm...fine."
That was the furthest thing from the truth she could possibly say, but the last thing Alice wanted to do was concern Brianna in the fiasco that was her psyche. The fewer people who knew about that whole bit, the better.
It wasn't like she hadn't tried to get over it; Alice knew she was being irrational every time she cringed in fear. It was just that, it had happened when she was so young that the event had been burned in her mind. Charlotte clearly didn't understand, but there was little the younger woman could do to cure the terrible phobia that plagued Alice's existence.
It made Alice feel like a little kid again, though, to know she had absolutely zero control over any part of her subconscious. Brianna continued to stare at her concernedly, and Alice faked a smile, trying to set the child to rest. She began to stand up from the chair where she had sat, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she would attempt to help Brent and Charlotte with the meal regardless; Alice froze the moment she began to take a step towards the kitchen.
"Aunty Alice, do you want to come play with me? Miss Dolly missed you while you were gone..." Brianna pulled a small plaything from behind her back, and when Alice nodded, the girl grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her into the other room. Alice willingly followed, picking up Luke and taking him with her.
"Awwh, Aunty, I don't want Luke to play! He's not very good at playing imagination!" Brianna pouted at her younger brother.
"Now, now," Alice smiled kindly, "he has to learn, Bri. If he doesn't, he won't ever be able to play with you; and that's the last thing you want, isn't it?"
Brianna thought for a moment before agreeing, and she and her aunt played with the youngest child while Charlotte and Brent (or rather, Charlotte) cooked. It killed her to not be able to help, but... at least she could keep the young ones occupied. That was an accomplishment in itself, no?
Soon enough, supper was ready and Alice picked up little Luke and took Brianna's tiny hand in her own. Alice inwardly gaped at the spread. To a more well-to-do family, it would seem like a mundane meal, but to Alice, it was far beyond her cooking abilities.
"Wow, Charlotte. This looks great!" Alice exclaimed as she sat her nephew in his highchair. Little Brianna took a seat next to her aunt. Alice's nose rejoiced at the smell of warm, freshly-roasted meat.
"You say that every week. You know, I don't think you're getting enough to eat. Perhaps you should stay here until Sunday night. Then we can get some good, hot meals into you."
Alice took a bite of meat and replied, "But I have students, Charlotte. I can't just abandon them. What kind of piano teacher would I be?"
"Ivy offered to tell your students that you're away with your darling elder sister."
"Yeah, Alice," Brent began, "why don't you just take a vacation?"
"Because I have an obligation to teach those kids."
"I'm sure they'll understand."
"Well, it's not just that, Charlotte. I have other obligations too!"
"Like what?" Charlotte raised her eyebrow and smirked at her sister's uncomfortable expression.
"I have to return my library books."
"Ivy offered to do that," the elder sister retorted.
"I've got to feed my cat."
"Ivy's taking good care of him."
"I need to practice piano."
"No you don't. You've never had to practice a day in your life. You just chose to."
"Well, I, uh, I just have things to do!" Alice fired back. The dialogue between the two continued to pick up in speed and intensity.
"Like what?"
"I told you, I have an prior obligation."
"With whom?"
"Roy...Ah shoot..." Alice put her head in her palms. She couldn't believe that she actually let her sister get the best of her.
"Is that so!" Charlotte squealed with joy. "My sister has a date with a military man! I'm so happy for you, Alice!" Alice decided not to even bother with it. She just shook her head and redirected her attention back to her meal.
"So? Come on, fill me in! What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, Charlotte. He just said that he'd see me Friday, and he's never said something he wouldn't do yet." To be fair, Alice thought, she'd only spoken to him a few times; it seemed fairly obvious that he was
pretty true to his word, though.
"Oh, come on, Alice! You have to know! Are you going to go out for dinner, go see a play?" Brent had lost interest in his wife's conversation, and had begun entertaining the children by making funny faces. Alice, however, was preoccupied with her sister.
"Well, we're probably going to fornicate..." Alice mumbled, Ivy's teasing getting the better of her. Charlotte's jaw dropped in shock, and the woman threw a spoon at her sister that Alice just barely managed to dodge.
"Alice Ackerman! Don't you dare speak like that in front of my children!"
"Mommy, what did Aunty Alice say?"
"Nothing, Brianna, go back to eating. And Brent, don't play with your food," Charlotte reprimanded her husband, who was drawing smilie faces in his mashed potatoes. Brent looked up innocently, and gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek, at which she smiled.
"I really am happy for you, Alice. And he had better treat you well."
"Charlotte, it's not like we're dating or anything. I only have a few friends at home, and Roy's one of them. Between him, Ivy, and our 'brother', whose name is Jean, by the way, I'm quite comfortable without a boyfriend." Alice tilted her head to the side and smiled as if to emphasize the point.
"Is our brother at least moderately attractive?" Charlotte stabbed at her food, momentarily forgetting the subject of Roy.
"Oh, Jean? I suppose so... Ivy, at the very least, seems infatuated with him. He's in the military, too. He's a, um, lieutenant I think, under Roy. Roy's a colonel." Alice smiled slightly, proud of herself for having remembered all the military jargon.
"You've snagged a colonel, Alice? Well done!" Brent sent her a wink, and Charlotte playfully slapped his arm.
"No. I'm the only one here allowed to tease the anti-social pianist."
Brent chuckled. "Sorry, dear."