A/N: Good morning everyone. It's like 1:08 am right here, right now and we're about to publish chapter 13 of this here story. Can you tell that I'm tired by my lack of enthusiasm? But to be fair, I was running around with my three year old cousin, Nia, for a good three hours. As it turns out, really shy kids love me. Babies hate me. But shy three year olds and six year olds love me. So yeah. I'm tired. I'm so glad that I'm not a parent... Kids are cute and all, but they can be WAY too energetic... Okay, so I should probably talk about the story now, huh? Well, this is chapter 13. If you like it, don't like it, hate it, love it, you should um, I dunno, tell us? Yeah, that seems like a good idea. You should tell us if you like this story. Via review. Or message. Or however else you want to tell us. Shout it from the rooftops if you'd like. But a review would probably be easiest. ;)

Special thanks to our favorite (only) reviewers: chocolvr (You'll find out about the stove soon enough. Be patient, young grasshopper. ;)), Shadow (Well, it wasn't as quick, but I think you'll like this chapter for certain qualities that I wish not to spoil. ^^), Charlie (How could anyone forget about my darling Benji? ;) He's the minor OC that I'm most proud of. He's not exactly in this chapter, but still. :) And who knows if it'll be a happy ending? Bwahahaha...), Evalyd Yamazaki (We haven't put too much thought into that quite yet. But we'll get to it. :))

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm just trying to hurry up and publish this because I just discovered a scary looking worm less than a foot away from me. *shriek*

Wednesday was library day. Seeing as how Roy hadn't shown up recently, Alice figured that she may as well get back in the swing of things as she used to do; that meant, as it was Wednesday, she would go and pick up new books and sheet music. Staccato loudly protested at being left home, but Alice couldn't bring him into the library; there was a strictly no pets policy there that was impossible to get around, no matter how much the librarian liked the pianist.

At a pace that was slower than her usual, Alice stepped out the door, locking her feline inside despite him mewing obnoxiously. The woman took a step towards Ivy's door, thinking of inviting her before deciding that it was better to go alone and perhaps collect her thoughts.

With every step, Alice's mind and tossed and turned; she really wanted to believe Havoc, but with what Ivy said about the bet, it was hard to think he had done anything but use her.

And goddamnit, why did he have to be so damn persuasive? All it would take was one heartfelt apology to make her come running back, and she very well knew it.

Alice went about her day. She taught piano lessons, played with Staccato, and made sandwiches. Because, well, that's what Alice always did on Wednesdays...

There was a knock on Alice's door around eight o'clock. She opened it slowly to find Roy Mustang with a sheepish smile on his face holding a small bouquet of flowers. Alice just stared at the man, not knowing if she should slam the door or not.

"Alice? Can I come in?" It was obvious that the colonel was a bit tipsy. But he wasn't nearly as drunk as Ivy was upon their first meeting.

Alice sighed and stepped aside from the door. "Come in, Roy."

"Thanks." He hung up his coat and handed Alice the flowers. "These are for you."

"Thank you. But Roy, are you drunk by any chance?"

"I swear to Drunk; I'm not god," he said with a wink and an amused smirk. Alice only sighed and motioned for him to sit on the couch. She sat on the piano bench, not wanting to be close to the man quite yet. "I'm here to apologize, Alice. I was an ass for not telling you about the bet. But everything was real, I swear." Roy's eyes lolled around the room as the alcohol coursed through his veins. "The truth is, I'm a bit of a coward. Hell, I had to get my courage to even come here from a bottle of booze."

With a sigh, Alice stood up quickly before taking a step closer to the man. Even in that state, all she wanted to do was forgive him; but she couldn't. She couldn't let herself do that, not after everything that she'd heard.

"How drunk are you?"

"Not that drunk, really. I only had a drink or two. I hold my liquor better than some."

"Hold on a second. Don't do anything stupid." Alice retreated into her kitchen, making the man a sandwich to go with the alcohol she was sure was eating away at his stomach.

In the meantime, Staccato had waddled into the living room to come upon a buzzed Colonel Roy Mustang. Upon sighting him, the kitten fluffed up into a mass of fur twice his normal size, spitting at the man that was on his beloved Alice's couch. Leaning forward with a sigh, the man confronted the ball of fuzz. "Okay, look. I understand that you don't like me very much. But, for God's sake, pretend to like me. I need all the help I can get right now. I screwed up in a terrible way, and I need Alice to forgive me, otherwise, I'm not going to be able to sleep ever again. I was a jerk, and I have accepted that. Just, please, dear God, cat. I need all the help I can get."

Alice, of course, had finished the sandwich halfway through Roy's 'conversation' with Staccato, and had been eavesdropping the whole time; she was torn between hysterical giggles because he had been talking to her cat, and tears, because he'd seemed so utterly sincere.

"And I promise you, cat, that if Alice actually takes me back, I'll take care of her. You won't have to worry about her again. I'll protect her, I swear." At this, Staccato went back to his normal size and looked at Roy curiously before cautiously sniffing the man's boot. Once he was satisfied that it was indeed safe, the kitten jumped right into Roy's lap and began purring madly. The colonel looked surprised at first before a quiet smile crossed his lips. "So now you like me, huh? Well, I guess I wasn't too nice to you before I brought you here. But to be fair, I was upset that that pipsqueak and his tin can of a brother pawned you off on me..."

Alice chose to walk in at that particular moment. She handed Roy his sandwich and sat down again. "Thanks, Alice. But I didn't come here to get a sandwich."

"I know why you came, Roy. Though I don't know why I let you in. I guess a part of me wants to forget that you ever hurt me and take you back. But the other part wants me to throw you out of my house and never think about you again." Roy nodded with a grimace. "You hurt me, Roy. You damaged a part of me that I thought was untouchable. You were the closest thing to an actual romantic companion I've had in a very long time. And you ruined it. I know that the only reason you ever spoke to me again was because of that damn bet. I know that, but I still can't really force myself believe it. I thought we had something, Roy. No, we did have something. Before you ruined it." By this time, angry tears had made their way to Alice's eyes and were flooding down her cheeks.

Roy sighed; buzzed or not, he still wasn't a big fan of women crying. He had noticed that, in general, when the quiet ones had the emotional dam break, it was the most dangerous; they had all that pent up feeling inside that they didn't ever talk about. Had he not come over for the sole purpose of making up (and had it not been Alice), he probably would have got up and left right that minute.

"...This would be so much easier if you just called me an ass and were done with it." Roy's voice was exhausted, as if just watching her eyes fill with tears made him tired.

"Sure, next time I'll think of your feelings on the matter..." Alice retorted, sarcasm getting the better of her due to the emotional roller-coaster she was on. The military man smirked gently.

"You know, it's about time you stood up for something, Alice. I had hoped you would, but I never imagined that it would be because of something I did." With a sigh, he stood up, getting closer to the smaller woman. Their proximity was a ploy on his part; she had said that she wanted to forgive him. Why not use it to his advantage?

"This isn't fair, Roy." She placed a hand on his chest, pushing the man back slightly, surprising him. "Why don't you just leave me be, since all you wanted me for was a bet?"

Roy smirked once more before taking a step back as it seemed she wished him to. "I told you, Alice. You're the best distraction I've had in a very, very long time. And if I didn't like having you around, then Havoc would have flat-out told you. He's a lot of things, but he isn't a liar."

Alice sniffed. "Funny, he said nearly the same about you. Except he said that you weren't a total jackass. That seems like a lie to me."

Roy couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm glad you're finally letting your true feelings about me out."

"Those aren't my true feelings, you idiot. I really liked you, Roy. And you ruined it. Just like how Willa ruins the joy of music every Friday at two. You both ruin things, very good things, in the most painful way possible. Except she only forgets that the F is sharp. But you, you missed the coda, added a B flat, and your piano was out of tune."

Roy looked at Alice and took a half a step towards her without thinking. "I'm going to have to admit that I don't know what any of that means. I understand that I hurt you though. I don't know how or if I can fix it. But if you would let me at least give it a shot, I promise that you won't regret it." His dark eyes bored into hers with sincerity.

Alice looked towards the floor in thought. Staccato had caught her attention. The kitten stared intently at his owner with eye full of innocence and let out a quiet mew before glancing at Roy and back. Alice took this as a sign, seeing how the kitten only moments before had despised the man.

She sighed and looked up at Roy. "Eat. It will help you sober up," she said quietly.

"Why do I need to sober up, exactly?" Roy challenged with a wink.

Alice blushed slightly before saying almost inaudibly, "Because I don't want people to think that my boyfriend's a drunk."

"Ah, my Alice..." Roy stretched once, taking a step forward again and leaning down so his nose nearly touched her forehead. "Your neighbor is Ivy. I'm the last thing on anyone's mind." He kissed the woman's forehead gently, and watched as her face was engulfed in red.

In response, she told him once more to eat; he gladly complied. "It seems Staccato doesn't mind me so much anymore." The feline purred in response, sealing his point.

Alice smiled lightly. "Yeah. I guess he doesn't."

"Damn good thing, too, because I'm pretty sure he was what made you let me off the hook."

With a laugh, and a tone that was only half-joking, Alice said, "Yeah. You're pretty lucky."