A/N: Hey you guysssss! It's an update! I'm like, high on life right now, mostly because I tackleglomphugraped Sir Jacob and I'm talking to Mr. Charles. It's a great day. :) Oh my God guys, I read Alice in the Country of Hearts, and it's fan-frigging-tastic. But the next chapter doesn't come out until December 15th... D: You guys should read it. It's amazing. And BLOOD DUPRE IS MY FAVORITE. That is all.
Our reviewers? They're practically star cards. That's because they're better than regular people. Thanks to - 4shadowedice4 (your reviews always make our day. It's because well, you're awesome. :D), Evalyd Yamazaki (The "my Alice" thing was a condition we thought up at the very beginning, to stay away from the boyfriend/girlfriend bit. ;D), chocolvr69 (We love you. There's little more to say. We just... yeah. :D), Charlie (To be frank, Ivy's just dumb. I think ANYONE would know they weren't siblings, just from the way they act. xD), and Fire and Ice (Actually, we loan Alice out. If you'd like to have her, you'll have to check out our prices to see if they're within your range. ;)). You guys? You're BAMFs. :D
Disclaimer: We don't own Fullmetal Alchemist because... umm... if we did... then Lust would've lived. It's a lame disclaimer, but I'm tired. .
Roy awoke to an ungodly loud knocking at his front door. His first instinct was to turn over and ignore the noise altogether. The person would eventually get tired (or break their hand which was probable considering how loud it was) and go away. Three minutes later, he fell out of bed and trudged to his front door. He opened it to find a certain blonde with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"Hey, Colonel. You ready to go? You look awful when you first wake up..." It was true in a sense. Roy's clothes were wrinkly and he had massive bedhead. It was the worst Jean had ever seen the colonel.
"Goddamnit, Havoc! What is wrong with you? It's Sunday! I shouldn't have to see you on Sundays!" Roy yelled at his underling. It was times like these which made Roy want to kill the blonde. "And what do you mean 'am I ready to go?' Go where? What are you doing here anyway? Didn't I give you strict orders to never bother me at home unless there's a direct emergency?" Roy's voice was deep and snarling as he yelled. And Havoc, to be frank, he was a bit frightened.
"Come on, Colonel. We can't keep my darling little sister waiting," he said with an innocent smile.
"Havoc, Alice is not your sister. So quit telling everyone that she is."
Jean merely shrugged with a smile and eventually forced his commanding officer into the car. "I'm not doing this because you're forcing me to, Havoc. You're just lucky that I was heading that way anyway," Roy said defiantly from the back seat. He was still a mess, and the man ran a hand through his hair in a half-hearted attempt to tame his bedhead. Hopefully Alice wouldn't mind the fact that he had literally just rolled out of bed.
Jean stepped out of the vehicle, with Roy right behind. The blonde practically skipped up to Alice's door; had they not been 'siblings' Roy would have been sure that he was entirely infatuated with the pianist. With a rap on the entrance, the woman appeared, smiling widely and ushering them in. With the door shut, Jean gave her a hug, turning to his superior officer. "He's not giving you any trouble, is he, Sis?"
Alice's cheeks turned pink, and she shook her head violently. "N-none at all... and you know, you don't have to call me Sis when Ivy's not around."
Jean's face turned to an expression of teasing shock. "You might as well be a sister, my dear Alice." Roy was still half asleep, and Jean reached into his own pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Alice's eyes widened, and she snatched the thing from his hand, shoving it back from whence it came.
"You will not smoke in my house, Jean Havoc. That is my one stipulation to you being here. There will be none of that; I find it altogether unattractive." The last sentence was a lie, disguising her real reason.
Roy jumped at the random outburst of anger coming from the small woman. After his astonished face faded, Jean could only chuckle and turn to Roy. "Well, Colonel, it's a good thing that you don't smoke. Otherwise, my darling sister wouldn't look twice at you. I'm just lucky that I'm her brother. She has to love me, right Sis?"
Alice only rolled her eyes and smiled at the blonde. She couldn't stay mad at the man. He was really starting to become like a brother to her. "Hello, Roy. You look tired... You didn't have to come so early if you needed sleep..." Alice's face was concerned. The fact that the pianist was actually concerned for him brought a small smile to Roy's face.
"I'm fine, Alice. I'm just sorry that Havoc came along to inconvenience you."
"Colonel! I'm appalled that you would imply such a thing! I would never inconvenience my baby sister!" As if to illustrate this point, Havoc latched onto Alice, causing her to blush deeply.
"It wasn't an implication, Havoc, it's a fact. And get your grimy hands off my Alice," he stepped closer to the two and Jean immediately backed off. Though Jean was the bigger of the two, he wasn't about to pick a fight with the Flame Alchemist.
When Jean let go of Alice, he gave her a small push in Roy's direction. And so it happened that she lost her balance and started to fall. Alice immediately blushed when she saw whose arms she fell into. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"Don't you two look cozy!" Jean exclaimed with a wide smirk on his face.
"Havoc, if you cause any more trouble today, I will personally see that you are demoted! Fuery will be your boss once I'm done with you!"
Havoc shrugged, fairly certain that Roy's threat was empty. Alice immediately removed herself from Roy's arms, standing up with face bright red. "U-uh, Fuery?" Alice asked, floundering to make conversation, "Who's Fuery?"
"Kain Fuery, the lowest of my underlings. He'll be superior to Havoc in my staff once I'm done."
"Oh, come on, Chief, it's not like I did anything you didn't like." Silence ensued, and Alice turned to look at the piano briefly, shooing a fly away from a high F key before addressing the men.
"Would you like something to eat? I don't have much, but my house is your house..." Jean sent a suggestive eyebrow waggle Roy's way, and the colonel rolled his eyes.
Neither actually responded to the question, but Staccato tumbled into the room, mewing loudly. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sweetheart! I forgot to feed you this morning!"
Alice bustled her way into the kitchen, making up the kitten's food before having a seat on the piano bench, facing where the men were sitting on the couch.
"So... what brings you two here? Obviously Roy wasn't aware that he was coming..." The woman sent a bemused smile over towards her brother, thankful that Ivy hadn't noticed the two were here. Had she been aware of Roy and Jean's presence, Alice's neighbor definitely would have come barging in uninvited, just as she always did.
"I can't visit my little sister?" Jean smiled, and Alice shrugged, before speaking once more.
"How is it you've managed to keep Ivy interested, Havoc? You're dishearteningly boring..." Roy jabbed, getting back at the man for having pushed Alice earlier. Havoc rolled his eyes in response, mumbling something incoherent.
Time passed with little regard for itself; they talked, they laughed, they embarrassed Alice. The day went on quickly, or so it seemed.
After a while, Havoc stood up suddenly. "I really need a smoke. Say, Sis, do you mind if I smoke outside?"
Alice tensed up a bit but nodded and said, "Just make sure that you're not too close to the house and that you put it out completely. I don't want to smell it," she thought up a reason quickly.
"You really hate cigarettes, huh? Well, Colonel, why don't you join me?"
"You know very well that I don't smoke, Havoc," Roy wasn't saying this just to get on Alice's good side, it was perfectly true. He only smoked a cigar with Hughes once a year, if that.
"So?" Jean made a 'come on' expression with his eyes.
"If you want to talk to him, Jean, all you have to do is say so," Alice said with a giggle. "I'll go make us some sandwiches."
"She's smarter than what you give her credit for, Havoc," Roy said with a smirk as the two men went out into the empty street. The sun was almost set and there were streaks of orange in the western sky. "So what did you want?"
Havoc took a puff of his cigarette before answering. "I'm impressed, Colonel. It looks like you're winning the bet so far."
"Was there any doubt, Havoc?" Roy smirked slightly.
"I'm just surprised is all. I never thought that you'd get so close to her so quickly. It doesn't seem your style..."
"The stipulations of the bet made me abandon my usual style. I couldn't flaunt my title, I couldn't use my gloves, I couldn't do everything that I always do. And yet I'm still winning, Havoc."
Jean took another drag from his cigarette. "That you are, Colonel, that you are. Though, I'm surprised that you've kept it going on this long. Is there a reason you're drawing it out?"
Roy smiled slightly at a private thought before going into a smirk. "That's for me to know, Havoc, and me only."
"You're a real devil, Colonel..." The two men walked back into Alice's house after making sure the cigarette was out. They thought that their conversation had been private. Little did they know, Ivy had been lurking. And she now knew everything.
Alice gave Jean and Roy their sandwiches and they all ate happily. Though Roy was a bit uneasy due to Staccato seeming to stare into his soul. Soon though, it was time for the men to leave; Alice was getting sleepy. (They made her stay up past her usual Sunday 7:30 pm bedtime.)
Jean managed to hug Alice one more time before going out to start the car. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a day or two," Roy began.
"Yeah, I guess," Alice replied quietly with a light blush on her cheeks.
Alice didn't know what to do. Should she hug him? Should she just stand there? She didn't know. So she decided to do something before her courage failed her.
Alice took one step closer to Roy and went up on her tip toes before planting a small peck on the unsuspecting man's lips. She blushed bright red as she did this and mentally kicked herself for being so forward.
Roy just looked at the woman in shock before smiling softly and brushing his lips on her forehead. "Good night, my Alice," he said with a quiet smile on his lips.
They left, and Alice walked back into her house, a dazed look of happiness on her face. This, unfortunately, was cut all too short by a nosy neighbor who hadn't appeared for a few chapters rushing into her home.
The girl was teary-eyed, as if she had horrid news, and Alice quickly sat her down on the couch, asking what was wrong. Ivy opened her mouth to speak, and the blood drained from Alice's face far more quickly than she had before thought possible.
"I'm... so sorry, Alice."
"W-what, Ivy? What happened?"
"I... I heard Jean and Roy talking outside. I didn't catch the whole conversation, but... he's using you Alice! He's using you, just to win some goddamn bet! It seemed like he was trying to prove that he could stay with one girl for more than a week or so..." Alice's heart sank with every word, as if she could feel her heart breaking as Ivy spoke.
"I think... I think you need to leave, Ivy." For once, the younger woman didn't complain; she stood, giving Alice a long hug, before the pianist escorted her to the door.
Ivy left, and Alice slid down the wall, fell to her knees, and cried.