A/N: Well, that was faster than I expected :) It's a longer chapter than usual, which is nice. Hope you enjoy!
"So…"
Edward glanced at the casually dressed soldier walking beside him. Cobbler had changed out of her uniform into a pair of slacks and a comfortable collared shirt. The light colours complimented her fair complexion and fiery hair.
"Aren't you supposed to be in uniform while on duty?"
Cobbler turned her grey eyes on him and grinned. "Don't worry about me, Edward. I've got permission. Plus, this'll draw less attention than if I was parading behind you in full regalia" she replied cheerfully. "Anyways, you don't have to think of me as a bodyguard or escort. You can just imagine that I'm an annoying older cousin or something. I can do my job without restricting you."
"You're very laid back" Edward remarked wryly.
Cobbler shrugged. "After years of watching all upstanding, stiff, disciplined soldiers break and fall like piñatas, I figured it would be better to be flexible. Granted, it can get me in trouble sometimes, but I'm as sane as the next person, so I think I'll stay this way."
Ed looked at Cobbler in a new light. Instead of the naïve, young soldier he had thought she was, Ed realized that Cobbler was much more seasoned, savvy and tough than expected.
Cobbler laughed suddenly and slapped Ed loudly on the back. "Ahahaha! Why did you get so gloomy? Cheer up, Edward. I'm alright, you're alright and it's such a beautiful day today!" She spun around, eyes closed, as if trying to soak up as much sun as she could. "We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can."
Ed smirked, obviously amused by his boisterous companion.
"So, where are we headed?" Cobbler asked, falling in step with the young alchemist.
"A bar." Ed gave a predatory grin. "We need to gather some information."
"Are you legal?" Cobbler asked skeptically.
"Yes…" Ed glowered in her direction. "Finally."
Cobbler hid a grin behind her hand, having heard rumours of the Fullmetal Alchemist's notorious insecurity towards his height. "So, is this your local watering hole, or does it have some other significance?"
"According to Captain Broadstone's notes, members from both gangs frequent the bar. We may be able to overhear something or at least find out where their hideouts are." Ed paused, looked down at his feet, and then mumbled something under his breath.
"I beg your pardon?" Cobbler leaned in closer, hand cupped around one ear. The tips of Edward's ears turned pink.
"I said, it might be safer if we pretend to be… to be… you know…" he trailed off, clearly embarrassed at the thought of playing the part of a boyfriend.
Cobbler smiled gratefully and ruffled the top of Ed's hair. When he looked up to glare at her, she laughed and shoved him playfully.
"Thanks for the offer, kid, but this nee-san can take care of herself" she chortled. "You're too much a cherry boy for my tastes; we're better off playing as siblings. No one would believe for a second that we are lovers."
"L-lo-lovers?" Ed stuttered, his entire face turning a violent shade of pink.
"Do you have any siblings, Edward?" Cobbler continued conversationally, ignoring the spluttering coming from her companion.
"Mmm" Ed confirmed, regaining his composure. "I have a younger brother, Alphonse."
"So you're the older one, huh? Lucky. I'm the third oldest, but am treated like the baby of the family. Never quite understood why."
The pair turned into an alley leading to the outskirts of the city. The houses were beginning to look more worn down and the street corners more dingy. The environment could only be described as sketchy. And yet, Sergeant Cobbler and Edward continued to stroll along as if taking a relaxing gander on the beach. The pair exuded an aura of complete confidence in themselves and each other. Any thief would think twice about mugging them. Edward was intimidating in his complete black outfit, his golden eyes and hair contrasting magnificently, making them look even more striking than usual. His well-defined musculature was evident due to his sleeveless shirt and form-fitting trousers. Cobbler was a perfect contrast to him, all light and air, throwing smiles and laughter out freely. Her lively grey eyes twinkled in her freckled face and her coppery hair flew about her head like a halo, having escaped her bun.
"Do you have many siblings?" Edward was asking, uncaring of the attention they were gathering.
"Yup. I have six sisters and one brother." Cobbler hummed a little ditty under her breath as she strode along. "Though I suppose I now have three brothers, if I want to keep my cover story straight…"
Ed looked at her quizzically.
"Well," Cobbler looked a little sheepish, "if we were to go through with the idea of acting like siblings, you and your brother would technically be my younger brothers."
Edward paused and stared at his companion's face. She looked a bit embarrassed and was rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Ed spluttered and then burst out into peals of laughter. Cobbler watched, bewildered, as the Fullmetal Alchemist bent over in half, laughing his guts out.
"Are you quite done?" she asked dryly as Edward pulled himself upright unsteadily.
"Phew, yah… I needed that." Ed turned his golden eyes to meet Cobbler's stormy ones. He studied her expression briefly and then gave a brilliant grin. "Well, what're you waiting for? Let's go, aneue!" He turned and began to walk briskly down the murky street.
Cobbler stood still, absorbing the last couple of seconds and then sighed. "What am I, some mafia boss' wife?" she muttered as she strode after Ed, clearly unimpressed by her title. "Who the hell calls their older sister 'aneue'?"
(Somewhere in the Central office, Major Armstrong let loose an earth-shattering sneeze)
"So, what's the plan, otouto-yo? Anyone in particular we need to keep an ear out for?" Cobbler murmured across the low wooden table. Edward and Cobbler sat in one of the corners of the dingy bar, each nursing a mug of foul-tasting ale.
"Just listen for anything interesting, aneki." Ed placed unnecessary emphasis on the title, hoping to dissuade his companion from further conversation.
Cobbler grimaced but, accepting the change in address, returned to eavesdropping. Ed strained his ears to hear anything that could be of use amid the babble of the drunker patrons. He was particularly interested in a group sitting two tables down from him. They had formed a close huddle and were talking in hushed voices, clearly discussing something they did not want overheard. Ed got up to head to the bar, a better spot for overhearing, when he walked into someone standing in form of him. He look up to mutter a quick apology, only to stop and stare. The man he had bumped into was nothing like the other patrons in the bar. Rather than the large bushy-bearded, pot-bellied men or the built, tattooed young adults, this man was thin and of average height. His hair shone like spun gold and his skin was so pale it practically glowed in the dim bar. His hazel-green eyes shone with barely contained mischief, which was also reflected in his perfect crooked grin.
"Uh…" Ed's mouth took some time to catch up with his mind. "Sorry…"
The golden man laughed gaily, his head thrown back carelessly. "Never you mind, young one. I was just heading to your table to introduce myself to the lovely lady."
The man bowed deeply in Cobbler's direction. Cobbler did not look amused.
"But where are my manners?" Gold-boy, as Ed had begun to think of him, exclaimed in mock distress. "I have not yet introduced myself!"
"Please don't" Cobbler muttered, disgust plain in her voice.
Gold-boy ignored her remark and proceeded to introduce himself. "My name is Ryan Rouille, fair lady. May ask for yours in return?" He stepped past Ed, who protested, to take a very close seat next to Cobbler.
"Anne" Cobbler replied shortly, giving a false name.
"Anne." Gold-boy, aka Ryan, seemed to savour the name. "A lovely name for an even lovelier lady."
Cobbler looked past Gold-boy and gave Ed a pleading look. Gold-boy caught the exchange and turned to inspect Ed.
"Is this boy your…"
"NO!" Both Cobbler and Ed protested, Ed turning red in the face.
"This is my brother, Andrew" Cobbler explained, indicating Edward.
"Oh, your brother? Then he won't mind if I steal you away for one night." Gold-boy slid an arm around Cobbler's shoulders.
"Actually, I would" Ed interjected flatly. "Let's go, aneki." He threw some change down on the table as tip and then strode out of the bar.
"Eh? Oi, wait up!" Cobbler quickly pushed Ryan's hand off and chased after Edward.
Ryan leaned back on the bench, elbows resting on the table behind him. "Anne, huh?" he said pensively, watching the golden-haired pair exit the establishment. "What a shame."
"Damn that idiot!" Ed snarled, pacing back and forth in agitation.
After leaving the bar, which Ed later decided was more of a pub, he and Cobbler had stepped into a side alley to discuss what to do next and also shake any pursuers off their trail. Ed then proceeded to call Ryan a bunch of names that, for the sake of the reader's purity, shall not be repeated.
Cobbler chuckled a little at Edward's tired. "While he was an annoyance, I don't think he deserved quite all those names."
"Thanks to him we didn't get any information" Ed growled. "Aren't you irritated?"
Cobbler made a face and shrugged. "I agree: it's frustrating. But these sorts of things happen. We can come back again."
Ed glanced at his companion speculatively. "What were you going to do to him if I hadn't left?"
"Oh, nothing much. Maybe just dislocate a shoulder?" Cobbler gave a savage grin. "Nothing too painful."
Edward raised both eyebrows, clearly impressed by his companion's nonchalance. "I would've like to see his face if that'd happened" he chuckled.
"Ara? Master Elric, what are you doing here?" a voice drawled from the alleyway entrance.
From the corner of his eye, Ed noticed Cobbler subtly reach into her back pant pocket.
"I think the better question is what you are doing here, Carmen" Ed replied, scowling at the red-clad woman posed in the mouth of the alley.
Sure enough, Carmen was there, leaning dramatically against a pile of stacked wooden cases, dressed in a casual off-the-shoulder dress that fit her form pleasingly. She smiled widely, her sharp canines digging into the flesh of her bottom lip.
"I'm man hunting."
Cobbler's brow furrowed as she struggled to tell whether the other woman was serious or not. Edward simply crossed his arms and glowered in the housekeeper's direction.
Carmen sighed, her bare shoulders slumping in defeat. "You folks are no fun" she grumbled. "I am looking for my boyfriend. He tends to frequent the less-appealing types of taverns, especially in this area."
Ed felt a sinking feeling of dread in his stomach.
"Does your boyfriend happen to look like he stepped out of a fashion magazine?" Cobbler queried, straightening from her defensive stance.
"Well, that's one way of putting it…"Carmen replied, bemused by the description. "Why?"
"He's in the pub at the end of the main road." Cobbler indicated the direction with her chin, keeping her hands and arms free at her sides.
Carmen sighed with a bit of irritation. "Again? That makes the third time this week."
"Anne, my beautiful angel, was that your voice I heard?" To everyone's dismay, Ryan's voice came drifting around the corner.
"Whatever are you doing in thus dark alley – eee…?" Ryan's voice trailed off as he entered the alley and found himself face to face with a less-than-impressed Carmen. "M-m-my sweet!" Ryan stuttered, beginning to sweat and back away slowly. "What are you doing here?"
Carmen's green eyes had narrowed into slits until she was glaring intimidatingly at her hapless boyfriend. "Well, darling," she practically snarled, "I was looking for you when I ran into an acquaintance. The real question is, Ryan, who is Anne?"
"Umm, well, it was just a joke, my swan. You know, old habits die hard and all?" Ryan gulped as a murderous glint appeared in Carmen's eyes.
"Ooh?"
The word was drawn out so long that essays could be written about all the meanings hidden in that single syllable.
"It's not like I meant it, right?" Ryan looked pleadingly between Ed and Cobbler, eyes begging them to help him out of the metaphorical hole he had dug.
"I don't know, aneki," Ed drawled with a malicious grin, "He seemed pretty serious to me."
"I think you're right, otouto-yo." Cobbler nodded with mock deliberation.
Carmen shot the pair a confused look before returning to the matter at hand, glaring down at Ryan in righteous fury. "I have every mind to tell Mistress Raveneye about this!"
Ryan recoiled, obviously shocked. "Over such a small matter? My sugar, I'm sure the Lady has more than enough on her plate…"
"Which is why you should behave yourself for the foreseeable future!" Carmen snapped.
Ryan hung his head, conceding his defeat.
"No, apologize to the nice lady!"
"What is he, her boyfriend or her pet?" Cobbler muttered as she warily watched Ryan recover himself.
He strode over to her and gave a polite bow. "I apologize, dear lady, for any insult I may have given you."
"Apology accepted." Cobbler nodded her thanks to Carmen, "Now, if you would excuse us, it's getting late." She and Ed stepped around Ryan and began to make their way back.
"Master Elric," Carmen called after them, "the Mistress invites you to join her for lunch in her office tomorrow."
Ed paused and, after a moment's deliberation, called back.
"I'll be there."
"Aneki, where are you staying in Central?" Edward asked as they walked back to the dormitories.
"Oh, I'll be staying in the dormitories as well. I think the Brigadier-General arranged for me to live next door to you" Cobbler replied cheerfully.
Ed nodded, but then paused as a thought struck him. "But 'next door' you mean the women's dormitory, right?" he asked carefully.
Cobbler laughed. "No, Edward. I meant 'next door' as in the room beside yours. What good would I be across the street?"
"What?" Ed shrieked. "I live in the men's dorms. We have public bathrooms, you know!"
Cobbler sighed and rolled her eyes. "Boys" she muttered in disgust. "The room next to yours in the dorm master's room, which comes with an attached bathroom. He very nicely gave it up when the Brigadier-General asked" she explained to Ed patiently.
"Oh…" Ed scratched his head, feeling a bit silly for overreacting. The conversation paused as the pair strolled along amicably, side by side.
"What do you think of the two we met earlier?" Cobbler asked suddenly.
Edward tipped his head back to look at the sky and thought about it. "There's something off about them. I just can't tell what" he replied thoughtfully. "Why?"
"I feel the same way." Carmen pondered for a couple moments longer. "How often do you see the woman outside of work?"
Ed look a bit surprised. "Today was the first time. I've only seen her at the Lieutenant-General's house otherwise."
"Hmm…" Carmen made a pensive noise and then continued in silence.
"Do you think she may be the stalker?" Ed asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Hmm? No, I don't. She's definitely involved, but I'm not sure how." Cobbler frowned as a yawn passed her lips. "Well, I can't expect the case to solve itself this early on; it's only my first day on the job after all." She grinned down at Ed. "You can count on this nee-san to get to the bottom of this."
"You're supposed to be helping me…" Ed replied a tad petulantly.
Cobbler just chuckled at that and ruffled Ed's hair. The two spent the rest of the trip back to the dormitories bickering playfully, Ed chasing Cobbler as she fled from his mock wrath. With all their tomfoolery, neither of them noticed a pair of green eyes trained on them from the shadows.
Note: 'Aneue' is a very formal way of addressing an older sister figure. 'Aneki' is slightly less formal, but still on the more respectful side. 'Nee-san' is more casual. 'Otouto' means younger brother.
Thanks for reading :) Please feel free to review, comment, rate, follow, favourite or even criticize! Any response is welcome :)