Chapter 17 – The Truth About Love

AJ was seated in the shop, going over one of the weapon designs he was still working on. It was intended to be an improvement on the pre-existing panzerschreck rocket launchers currently in use by the Amestrian military. The weapons certainly packed a punch, but they were slow and cumbersome. His current design was much more elegantly constructed, being a good deal lighter and possessing both a longer range and higher accuracy than the old model. He'd originally wanted it to be an automail arm attachment, but he'd had to change plans. They needed weapons usable by anyone, even those without automail.

He reached up to rub the back of his aching neck. He'd been spending a lot of time going over the diagrams he'd sketched out. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a short break. He rose to his feet and stretched slowly. Judging by the light levels from the window outside it was past noon. He might as well grab lunch before he bothered with anything else. He started across the room to the door of the shop, still turning over different aspects of his new weapon design in his mind. He still found it faintly amusing that the designs he'd messed around with in his spare time as a hobby were actually turning out to be useful.

Before he reached the door it swung open. He blinked in surprise, coming to a halt.

"Mina?" he asked, a little surprised to see her standing there. He hadn't seen her since breakfast that morning. She didn't usually come back to visit him unless she was bringing him meals with his sister. Elmina cocked her head, regarding him through half lidded eyes while a slow smile played across her lips.

"Hello AJ," she replied. The mechanic blinked, a little puzzled by the uncharacteristic tone in her voice.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked skeptically. She didn't usually bother teasing or tormenting him anymore. She'd grown out of it over the last year or two. What was she up to? She began to stroll towards him slowly.

"Possibly," she replied evasively. He raised an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? She came to a stop in front of him, allowing her gaze to trail over him slowly.

"Mina, what do you want?" he demanded, not sure what to make of her unusual behavior. Then he was utterly taken off guard when she reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, bringing her face close to his.

"Three guesses," she whispered. Then she shoved him against the wall. AJ's eyes widened in shock. What was going on here? The expression on the dark haired girl's features highly unusual for her. It certainly wasn't one he would expect her to look at him with. Then the next thing he knew she'd closed the short distance between their faces and her lips met his. His mind went utterly blank. A wave of startlingly intense emotion seemed to pour into him from her sudden physical contact. It wiped out any remaining rational thought. His body responded almost of its own accord. His arm slid around her waist and he pulled her closer. Everywhere her skin was in contact with his seemed to burn with an unusual, electric sort of energy he'd never felt before. He'd always felt something stronger than friendship for the girl in his arms, sometimes to a painful degree as he'd watched her chasing after someone who utterly disregarded her. But this added a new dimension to the mix which took him off guard. There was something unexpectedly intoxicating about the sudden contact of her body against his and the feel of her lips moving with his own. He'd be a liar if he said he'd never imagined a scenario like this before. But he'd never expected it to actually become a reality, and the suddenness of it was unreal.

When her hand slid up to cup the back of his neck, pulling him even closer, an uneasiness surfaced distantly within him. Something about the situation definitely wasn't right. When her other hand slipped under his shirt to roam slowly up his back a warning bell that was impossible to ignore rang clearly in the front his mind, jarring him out of his daze. This wasn't Elmina. He'd never seen her acting like this for as long as he'd known her. And he was painfully aware that she simply didn't like him like this. She liked Titus. She would never do this. It wasn't like her at all. Mustering his shaky self-control he reached up, resting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away firmly, gasping slightly for air as his head spun. He met her wide grey eyes and found she was staring at him with an expression of utter confusion. Whether it was over his rejection, or over the entire situation, he wasn't really sure. The lost uncertainly in her gaze sent a surge of protective anger coursing through his veins. There was no way this had been her idea. And he knew exactly who was to blame.

"Mania you bastard, I know your there," he growled. A moment later the air across the room shimmered and the red headed figure appeared, perched on one of the work benches.

"Your self-control is terribly disappointing," Mania informed him, a slight pout on his face.

"What did you do to her?" the mechanic demanded, blue eyes snapping with fury. Mania raised his eyebrows.

"What did I do to her? I've handed her to you on a silver platter. You really shouldn't waste the opportunity. Who knows if it'll happen again," his tone was casual. AJ stared at the creature in shock, hardly believing what he was hearing. Then he gently pushed Elmina aside, before starting across the room towards the red haired creature with murderous intent in his gaze. Mania rolled his eyes and his form shimmered briefly before he disappeared. AJ came to an abrupt halt, a little taken off guard.

"Can we not resort to violence? She may not be hopelessly in love with you, but little Mouse here would be terribly unhappy with me if I hurt you," Mania's voice came from behind him. AJ spun and his eyes widened in alarm to see the creature leaning against the wall beside Elmina, idly playing with a lock of her dark hair.

"Get away from her," AJ's tone was dangerous. Elmina's gaze flicked from the brown haired mechanic, to Mania and back. She didn't appear particularly upset with the situation, but she was also trembling from head to toe.

"Relax. I'm not hurting her much. And she's enjoying it. Just ask her," the red haired creature smirked.

"You're a twisted bastard. Leave her alone!" AJ snapped, taking a step towards them. Mania held up a finger.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you won't behave then I'll just leave and take her with me," his tone was amused. AJ's hands clenched into fists, but he remained where he was standing.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"I just wanted you two to have some fun. Honestly, I don't understand your problem. I know exactly how you feel about her," Mania raised an eyebrow suggestively, "And here she is, gladly throwing herself at you. You two could have a grand time. There's nothing like hormones to get emotions running rampant. What's so wrong about that?" he asked, a smirk still pulling at his lips.

"Everything," AJ hissed, "What kind of man do you take me for?" If looks could kill then the red haired creature would be very dead.

"A boring one apparently," Mania's tone was bland.

"You seriously expected I would take advantage of her? She isn't in her right mind!" the mechanic's tone was severe. Mania let out a resigned sigh, expression growing unenthused.

"You actually love her. You know, that's just no fun at all," he actually sounded rather put out. AJ raised an eyebrow, expression as unenthused as Mania's.

"What's wrong with love? Is that emotion just not good enough for you?" he demanded. At this Mania rolled his eyes.

"You humans are such a confused lot. I can't decide if it's funny or just exasperating," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" AJ's tone was puzzled.

"Love isn't an emotion. That's such a terrible misconception you all seem to have," the red haired creature's tone was resigned. "I mean sure, there are all sorts of wonderful emotions that can come along with love…but what you humans typically refer to as 'love', is simply a deliciously passionate infatuation that eventually sours over time. And trust me, it isn't the same thing," he informed AJ bluntly. The mechanic raised his eyebrows.

"And what makes you say that?" he asked. Mania huffed, tugging lightly at Elmina's hair before releasing it and crossing his arms, staring at the mechanic.

"True love is just another word for self-sacrifice. It's putting the other person's needs before your own, regardless of how that makes you feel; because you'd rather suffer for them than get your own needs met at their expense. Sure, there can be plenty of fluffy, romantic feelings that go along with it. But there is way too much self-control involved for my tastes," Mania grumbled, clearly not thrilled by the concept.

"I see," AJ's tone was skeptical.

"Mind you, the superficial label you humans call 'love', now that is fun," the red haired creature's eyes lit, and a razor sharp grin spreading across his face. "There are so many wild emotions which stem from it: passion, lust, adoration, jealousy, rage, even hatred in some cases. It brings people together, breaks hearts, destroys families, fuels all sorts of wonderfully inappropriate activities, and has even been enough to start wars. It provides both me and Despair with an absolute banquet…" he licked his lips, an obvious satisfaction in his half lidded gaze. "It's funny really. The word 'love' is often used as just a broad label to cover a whole spectrum of human desires and paint them in a rosy, unrealistic light that gives people an excuse to do whatever they want, whenever they feel like it; at least when it comes to relationships. And it seems the majority of you buy into the idea hook, line and sinker. Not that I'm complaining," Mania's tone was dryly amused.

"It's nice to know you have such a jaded view of my species. Now let Mina go," AJ demanded flatly. Mania sighed.

"You really are a tedious boy," the red haired creature's tone was resigned. Then something seemed to occur to him and his expression shifted. "Still… If you ever manage to get together with Mouse here, be sure to give me a call. I can assure you fun times will be had by all," he smirked wickedly, a mischievous glint in his slit pupil gaze. Then his form shimmered and he vanished.

AJ stared at the place where he'd been for a moment, a heavy silence reigning in the shop. That creature…how could he possibly know about his feelings for the dark haired girl? It was something he kept locked away, a hope that he knew would likely never be realized. His feelings for her ran far deeper than simple attraction. He was content to keep things as they were, so long as he could be there to look out for her. It was something he'd never intended to tell her.

A moment later Elmina's knees buckled. AJ's eyes widened in alarm and he darted forward, swiftly catching her before she could crumple to the floor. He could feel her still trembling in his arms.

"AJ…I'm so sorry," she whispered shakily, clinging to him for a moment as she steadied herself. AJ's expression was grim as he held her.

"Don't apologize. That wasn't your fault," he told her firmly. She swallowed hard, pulling back from him and wrapping her arms around herself insecurely. Her face was pale, and while it might not be overtly obvious to the casual observer, AJ knew her well enough to see that she was extremely upset by the situation.

"I'm sorry…but I think I need to be alone for a bit," she told him shakily, breaking eye contact before turning and walking swiftly away. She slipped out of the shop a moment later without another word. He stared after her, a mix of emotions swirling inside him. It just seemed to be one thing after another for her. Were those creatures ever going to cut her some slack? Their callousness stirred a deeply resentful anger in his core. This wasn't fair to anyone, especially not Elmina. After a moment he shook his head, raking a hand through his bangs. He would have to speak with Adele. Something clearly needed to be done about Mania.

It was a blustery, late summer day in Central City. The wind was unusually strong, whipping up clouds of dust and sending them swirling down the street into the clothes and eyes of unsuspecting pedestrians. Wrath stepped swiftly off the sidewalk into the coffee shop where he usually met with Elycia. This was one of the many times when he was grateful he'd taken to wearing his hair pulled back from his face. He reached up to rub some grit out of his eye as he made his way over to the booth in which they usually met. He slipped into the seat, a little relieved he'd gotten there first. He was running slightly behind and he didn't particularly like making people wait.

A few minutes passed as he stared into space, listening absentmindedly to the sound of muted chatter outside of the enclosed booth. Finally he glanced up when the door opened. Elycia stepped in, looking a little windblown.

"Sorry I'm late!" she apologized hastily, sliding the door shut behind her and sinking into the seat across from him, "It's been a somewhat hectic day," she brushed a loose piece of hair which had slipped out of her braid back behind her ear. Wrath raised an eyebrow at her slightly flustered appearance but made no comment, waiting for her to get straight to the reason for their meeting. There was no reason they couldn't get it over with quickly and go their separate ways. They stared at each other for a moment. Upon seeing his unwillingness to strike up a conversation she let out a sigh.

"Honestly Wrath, small talk really doesn't seem to be your forte," she told him, faintly exasperated.

"I've never seen the need for it," he replied simply. She fixed him with a look.

"It wouldn't kill you to be courteous you know," her tone was flat.

"Am I uncourteous?" he asked skeptically.

"Well…no," she admitted reluctantly, "But you're easily the least friendly person I know, and I know a lot of people."

"I really don't see how my friendliness or lack thereof is any concern of yours," he replied blandly, expression neutral. She rolled her eyes.

"Alright ice-cube man, here are the letters Roy wants you to deliver," she set a wad of envelopes on the table in front of him. He stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Ice-cube man….?" It was a bit of a struggle to keep the smirk which wanted to rise to his lips firmly under control. She pointedly ignored him, reaching into her purse to grab something. He was a little taken aback when she pulled out a book, sat back in her chair, and opened it, beginning to read as if he was no longer even there. He stared at her for a moment, puzzled by the unexpected reaction. There was a brief silence.

"Is that everything?" he asked finally. She nodded, not even glancing at him. He let out a resigned sigh. Coldness from Elycia was terribly uncharacteristic. It really didn't suit her.

"Alright, I get it, I'm sorry," he muttered, not even sure why he was bothering. Wasn't it a good thing for her to start ignoring him? She glanced up at him skeptically.

"No you aren't," she retorted, but she seemed to relent, closing the book and setting it on the table.

"I am," he frowned, mildly affronted that she would doubt him.

"Then prove it," she replied.

"How…?" his tone was puzzled. She rolled her eyes.

"Ask me how my day has been," she replied simply. He stared at her blankly before his expression grew flat.

"How has your day been?" he deadpanned. She blinked, staring at his expression for a moment before a grin crept across her face and she giggled softly.

"Well that was easily the least convincing attempt at small talk I've ever seen in my life. You could at least try to sound like you're interested," she told him, eyes dancing with laughter. He stared at her, slightly taken off guard. Her amused expression and the warmth of her tone were actually pleasant. It was a moment before he managed to string together a response.

"You've already stated that small talk isn't my forte. What were you expecting?" he demanded dryly. She smiled.

"I suppose you have a point. And I can't make you interested in my life, so I suppose we might as well leave it at that," her expression was bemused. He frowned slightly.

"Well it's not like you bothered asking me about my life," he pointed out, slightly defensive.

"Would you answer me if I did?" she inquired blandly. There was a momentary silence. Damn. She had him there.

"Well… Fine, ask me something," he ordered firmly, determined to get this whole situation out of the way. She leaned back in her chair with a smirk, studying him for several moments before responding.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked. He blinked, utterly taken off guard by the random nature of the question.

"Uh…blue?" he answered uncertainly. She grinned.

"Are you asking me or telling me?" she raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes.

"Telling you. Why on earth would you want to know that?" he demanded flatly. She shrugged.

"Just curious. You know, if you want to keep the conversation going it's considered polite to ask me a question in return," she pointed out innocently. He let out a sigh.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked, the resignation in his tone somewhat amusing.

"For heaven's sake Wrath, you're so unoriginal," she grinned. "It's purple," she replied. He narrowed his eyes at her. Unoriginal huh?

"Alright then, what's your favorite….drink?" he demanded. Huh. That was pretty unoriginal too. He'd never bothered coming up with questions for people like this. It was harder than he'd expected. Really, what did he want to know about her? He'd never been into asking questions because it was generally assumed that the asker would be willing to open up about themselves in return, which he most certainly wasn't.

"Hot chocolate," she replied. He raised an eyebrow.

"I would have pegged you as a coffee drinker. You're so energetic," he pointed out.

"That's just my normal personality. If you find me overwhelming now I don't recommend seeing me on coffee. It just gets worse," she smirked knowingly.

"I see…I'll keep that in mind," he replied, a little disturbed by the prospects of what the woman sitting before him would be like on a caffeine high. At that moment there was a knock on the door of the booth and it slid open to reveal a waiter standing there.

"Hello. Can I get you two anything?" the lady inquired. Wrath responded without missing a beat.

"Two hot chocolates please," he replied, glancing at the woman.

"Alright, coming right up," she nodded, sliding the door shut once more. Wrath turned back to Elycia, a pointed expression on his face. He could be courteous of he put his mind to it. He was faintly surprised to find her staring at him with a small grin.

"What?" he demanded skeptically. She shook her head.

"You're cute," she informed him, amused. His eyes widened slightly, a little flabbergasted.

"Cute?" his tone was incredulous.

"Yep. Cute," her expression was a little smug, clearly finding his reaction entertaining. He stared at her, once again taken off guard. The emotions her friendly amusement stirred up in his core…far from feeling offended…he was actually slightly amused himself. When had she become tolerable company? Was he actually enjoying the little go-arounds they had with each other? That was unexpected… He shook his head.

"Alright, I asked you something. It's your turn," he replied bluntly, tossing the ball back into her court. At his response her eyes actually lit up a little, rather thrilled at his willingness to continue. She raised a finger to her lips, tapping them thoughtfully as she mulled over the possibilities. Then a wicked smirk crept across her face as she met his gaze.

"What about me scares you the most?" she demanded darkly, though there was a knowingly teasing edge to her voice. Wrath's eyes widened and his expression went totally blank as he stared at her, utterly taken aback. That was not what he'd expected her to ask. Hell. How was he even supposed to begin to answer that? There were so many levels to the question, some of them downright uncomfortable. At his shocked reaction she let out a peal of laughter, raising a hand to cover her face as she chuckled. He watched her attempt rather unsuccessfully to pull herself together. Each time she seemed to be getting a grip she took one look at his still shocked appearance and cracked up again. "Sorry," she told him between chuckles, "But the look on your face is priceless," she snickered softly again. His expression slipped into a flat glare and he slowly shook his head. This woman... He was never going to understand her.

-Author's Note-

Holy moly! Wrath and Elycia actually got a little screen time, despite it being rather slow. I sat down and wrote that scene on the spur of the moment as an afterthought quite a long while after I wrote this chapter and I loved it when I wrote it and now….eh….it's….ok…kind of boring… I hope it was a least somewhat amusing for you lol. Actually, for those of you waiting in utter resignation for some progression to their relationship, fear not! The next couple chapters are mainly centered on them (finally). Here's where I cross my fingers and hope you don't find the POV switch boring… x'D A lot of stuff starts happening right away here, so I don't think you will…but bear with me if you do. It'll get better! I kind of shocked myself with the abrupt turn things took. As a writer I wait with bated breath as much as my readers 'cause a lot of times I haven't got a clue what's coming next. XD

Mania is such a creep lol. I've said it before, I'll say it again, he can get you into some very awkward situations. If you're wondering what on earth that whole go around had to do with bipolar disorder, look up hypersexuality. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. *bemused* Poor Elmina. Good thing AJ is a chivalrous sweetheart. For those of you thinking "….uh….aren't they…you know…related?" allow me to put your mind at ease lol. Technically, Envy is no longer genetically related to Edward since his human body isn't his original body. So…genetically speaking they aren't half-brothers anymore x'D so no, AJ and Elmina are not related by blood.

Huzzah! I finished my final Spanish exam yesterday so aside from piano I am free! I'm considering finishing a little omake I started writing a while back starring our very own red headed troublemaker as he does what he does best and makes his authoress's life difficult. I could tack it onto the end of one of the upcoming chapters if anyone is interested. He wont be getting much in the way of screen time for the next two chapters so for those of you that like him I figured that'd be a perk. Let me know if you're interested. ;)

Penelope Jadewing: Frightening indeed o.o I'm not sure which would be worse…. *chuckles* My best friend has the very same feelings about Mania. He's…yeah. He's special lol. I'll just leave it at that for now. ^^;

nettlesnitch92: Haha! You hit the nail on the head! XD

Kashagal and Natures Ruler: Tell me about it! I'm not quite sure myself and I'm the one writing it *sheepish*. I'm still settling on the details of how the various relationships will pan out in the end. I suspect I'll be as surprised as everyone else by the end result of this story lol.

In The Forest: LOL! Ok, that gave me quite the laugh XD no offense taken in the slightest. I was actually wondering if anyone would take that opinion. I can't really say much without giving away what happens later but…that would be a highly unhealthy/dangerous relationship for poor Elmina. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. :P And yes! I play piano. I've always wanted to learn violin or viola, but never had the time sadly.