I often spend time looking at the different stats on my stories…and what I find funny is that somehow I have more follows than reviews, and I have lots of reviews. Wow! That's a big thank you to all those who do follow this story and especially to those who review. Why, if all who followed reviewed I'd be in the upper 100s by now but no matter. Let's start Chapter 8!

Chapter 8

Ed savored the feeling of premium roast coffee rolling over his tongue as it helped to soothe his nerves. Ever since that first day at East PD, and the horrific coffee he had been forced to endure, Ed had made it a point to head to the nearby coffee shop if he was ever running late to work. Of course, he always forgot to tell Winry about the malfunctioning machine, but he chalked it up to his wide plethora of excuses that ranged from the cheesy "Every time I see your face…" (which he knew wouldn't work) to the fact that he had a lot on his plate when it came to his job.

Though his job wasn't the reason he was strolling around the essentially vacated streets of East City a few hours before he even had to start work. Yesterday morning had marked the beginning of a new regime of habits for the young specialist, as he got up long before it was time for work and went into the office. Doctor Marcoh had been surprised but said nothing, for which Ed was grateful. The last thing he needed was people spreading rumors. Ed could live without rumors. But there was one in particular that he had heard, and was now more than interested in checking out. He saw the building, whose address was on a piece of paper in his other palm, and quickly approached it, entering the apartment complex.

The hustle and bustle of people preparing for the day could be heard behind each of the doors, and more than once did Ed step to the side to allow a late businessman, or an over-affectionate couple who were on their way out of the building so they could take their PDA elsewhere, to pass. Ed glowered at that one as he finally neared the door he was looking for. Hesitation stole his hand for a moment until he leaned it forward to knock. Before his knuckles hit the wooden portal, however, it swung open.

And before him stood Roy Mustang, still buttoning up his white shirt.

"Fullmetal," he greeted coolly and Ed blanched inwardly, wishing he had never ordered the coffee. "What're you doing here?"

"I would ask you the same thing but I know that I really don't want the answer to it," he choked out, his mind still imagining what had gone on behind that door. "I just came here to see Detective Hawkeye."

"She's uh, she's inside," he answered hesitantly, licking his lips as he did so. "Though I'm not entirely sure she's exactly decent." Another shudder, and then the sound of Riza's heeled footsteps entered the hallway.

"I'm always decent, Roy," Riza snapped angrily as she strolled down the hallway. To Ed's observation, he knew that she was indeed telling the truth, although the smaller signs such as flushed skin, a softer tone, and her use of the name "Roy" indicated that she had been altogether indecent just moments before. "Good to see you again, Edward."

"I'd certainly like to say the same." Riza cast him a confused smile before she fully noticed the awkward situation. Ed's eyes flitted to Roy and the female detective seemed to understand the message. Nevertheless, his non-verbal cues did not go unnoticed by the other detective who grunted loudly.

"All right, I can see when I'm not wanted," he observed and Ed stepped aside to let him through the doorway. "I'll see you tonight, Riza." She nodded and the detective disappeared down the hallway.

"What's going on tonight?" Ed asked her, stepping over the threshold of the door as she closed it behind him.

"Ah, just a little get-together between friends. Nothing too important," she said, stepping away from the young man and into her kitchen. He slowly trailed behind her. "The better question here is: to what do I owe this visit?"

"I, uh, well…" Ed mumbled abashedly. It was only now that he was alone with the relatively intimidating detective that he realized his actions might be construed as childish…or just plain awkward. Truthfully, he felt both very acutely at that moment. "I heard a rumor that you were being transferred."

"It's true. I start work at Central on Monday."

"Oh, well…that's…that's great. Central is usually a huge step up for any officer. So, uh, congratulations." His voice tapered off gawkily. Riza let off a breathy laugh, shaking her head at the young man, and he flushed with embarrassment.

"Relax, Edward, I'm not going to bite your head off," she told him before following through, "and besides, I don't think this transfer is about promotion anyway."

"What do you mean?" Riza turned away from the bowl of cereal she was making and turned to look at him. Edward gulped loudly. The female detective's eyes seemed to be sizing him up, and Ed swiftly made sure his face shifted into an impassive one. He didn't want to say aloud the implied threat hanging over the transfer, out of fear that perhaps he'd be saying something he shouldn't to someone he shouldn't.

"You're working with Roy on Hughes' case, right?" she asked him and he nodded, exhaling as he did so. She did know. "Then I think you'll know why I was transferred." Ed couldn't conjure a response to that, and as Riza sat at her table to eat, he bid her words of farewell and left with a finality that said their conversation was finished. Everything was becoming too much for him, too quickly. It had barely been over a week since he had arrived at East and Al had come home. Now, he felt like all he was doing was running around doing stuff on a case that he had little to no emotional investment in. Granted, that's how it was with the rest of his cases, but for this one he was becoming too involved. His hand started to crumple his now empty coffee cup. He didn't have time for this. Maes Hughes, Homunculus, and that jerk of a head detective didn't need to be on his brain. No…his time should've been spent on the dead case from near ten years ago.

His phone rang jarringly in his pocket, and with a scowl he fished it out to look over at who was calling. It was Al. His grimace deepened and with all the force he could muster, he tossed his cup into the garbage bin at the end of the hall, perfect shot. A millisecond of thought later and he pressed the ignore button. He loved his brother dearly, but right now he couldn't give a damn what the lying little minx had to say.

"Well, you certainly seem to be in a fine mood this morning."

"So do you," Ed snarled, hoping he could end the exchange there and then. The streets were starting to fill up and Ed pointed himself in the direction of the police station.

"I was being facetious, Fullmetal."

"I know you were, moron." He knew he was pushing his luck with this, but his mood had considerably worsened over the course of the morning. Antagonizing Mustang was just a way of alleviating his short temper. "What do you want?"

"Just wondering what prompted you to stop by Riza's," he confessed with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I don't think that's any business of yours," he snapped at the older man, "but I'll have you know I was just checking out a rumor I heard."

"Were you now?" Roy's eyes seemed to suggest something otherwise. This forced Ed to pause in his steps and whip around to face the insufferable man.

"I wasn't there to do anything unsavory, if that's what you're implying," he insisted loudly. In a fit of impulsiveness he held up his left hand to display his wedding band. "Let's not forget, I'm married to a wife that I love and don't plan to ever cheat on."

"Hey, there's no need to be so defen-"

"I think the better question here is: what were you doing there? Ever heard of a thing called the anti-fraternization rule?" To the untrained eye, Roy seemed to still hold on to his smug demeanor, but Ed could see the slight agitation his body underwent at the mention of it.

"That…was a one-time thing. Riza and I don't exactly make a habit of it." Ed snorted in disbelief and he could see Roy twitch with anger. Roy sighed, giving the younger man a chance to survey him for a moment, before stalking off with little ceremony. The hurried footsteps that followed behind him indicated the head detective's pursuit. "Hey, when it comes to Riza and I-"

"Honestly, I don't care. Your business is just that." His phone rang again and he fished it out of his pocket, jabbing at the ignore button. "I've broken my own share of rules, so if that's what you want to do, I'm not gonna tell anyone. I just don't want to know any more."

"Fair enough," Roy assented. "Either way, has…has our contact informed you of anything?"

"You mean Greed? Nah." Mustang's body seemed to deflate at the answer. "But as soon as he does contact me, I'll let you know. So just sit tight until then."

"Good. I wanted to make sure you didn't decide to jump ship." Mustang moved in a blur, suddenly standing in front of the surly forensics specialist, forcing his scowl to deepen. "Fullmetal, I need to know how committed you are to this."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I need to know whether or not you'll turn tail and run as soon as the investigation gets dangerous. My team isn't made of cowards." If Ed had still carried his coffee cup, it would have been little more than a pile of crushed cardboard at the detective's words.

"Isn't the investigation dangerous already? I mean, we're dealing with high-up people at Central, right?"

"Good point," Mustang conceded. "Fullmetal, I just need to know how dedicated you are to the cause. You never knew Hughes. You probably don't care what happened. In other words, you have no emotional investment in this case, and I need to know if you're planning on sticking it to the end. If you're not, then I'll just let you go right now." Ed contemplated the man's words a moment. Were it any other question he would have laughed, but this had been his predicament not ten minutes ago. Now was the moment he needed to make his decision, and damned be the consequences that came of it.

"Don't worry, Lord Detective, you have nothing to worry about. I'm here to the end." And there was his decision. Mustang's mouth tightened but he inclined his head to indicate his acceptance. "Besides you're not the only one used to cold cases."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to mean." Ed was full-on smirking now and he picked up his pace, noticing that the detective was not following him. The smirk left his face as he turned to see Mustang walking in an opposite direction. "Uh, you realize that the station is this way, right?"

"Of course I do," Mustang declared, "But it's still early and I have other places I need to be. Later, Fullmetal." Roy turned down another street and was gone. Ed shook his head, as though he were a dog clearing himself of the water, and pushed all the thought of the head detective from his mind. Within moments, he found himself walking into the station and into someone.

"Sorry…" Ed apologized, though in truth he couldn't understand how someone could be so stupid as to randomly stand around in the middle of the police department.

"Oh no, my apologies," the man said, forcing Ed to roll his eyes as he looked up at the man. It struck him that he wasn't wearing the usual blue and black that most law enforcement personnel did, opting instead for a cream-white suit that contrasted with his deep black hair. "I was just waiting for my partner. You haven't seen him, have you: black hair, bit on the bony side?"

"Can't say I have." He tried to leave the conversation as curt as he possibly could, but he only got a few paces ahead before the man's sickly voice called him back.

"You know, you look awfully familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"Like I would know." Ed didn't give him another chance, bidding farewell to the unknown man and proceeding into the forensics lab like always. To his surprise, his three other co-workers were already there.

"Oh, Edward, there you are. Your wife called a few minutes back," Doctor Marcoh practically announced to the room and Ed cringed inwardly. Clearly that last call was from Winry and not his broth-Alphonse. That was a call for a chewing out if ever there was one. "She wants you home early today; something about guests for dinner."

"Well, that's news to me," Ed revealed. Heinkel and Darius sniggered at Ed's discomfort and he glared at them. "Don't you go laughing at me. At least I have a wife."

"Great for you, little man," Darius guffawed, "but the bachelor life suits me just fine."

Ed was about to go on a tirade at the bigger man's jab until Marcoh cleared his throat. "Yes, well, in the meantime we all have work to do. Edward, a new case came in, so if you would…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it covered." He had never been more grateful for a new case. It was an ample enough job to take up the rest of his day, along with the various odds and ends he still had to clean up from his journey south. His mind was still fixating on his conversations at Detective Hawkeye's this morning when he pulled into his garage at home in the mid-afternoon.

"There you are!" cried Winry as he entered the house. She looked none too happy, her hands on her hips, and a venomous twinkle in her eye. For some reason, she looked more imposing than usual…maybe she just seemed bigger. "So, you can't even be bothered to give your own wife a phone call, now?"

"I had a lot of work to do."

"You sent my call on your cell to voicemail." There was an underlying snarl to her statement and Ed reminded himself just how often he could fear his own wife.

"To be honest, I thought you were Al."

"You're not still arguing with him, are you?" Ed chose not to answer her, instead sniffing at the air currently permeating the house.

He took a step away from her and towards the kitchen. "That smells great. What is it?"

"Chicken, but don't you dare change the subject!" she snapped at him, easily cutting off his quick attempt to gain refuge in the kitchen. Ed tugged at the collar of his shirt a little as he laughed nervously, surveying his livid wife a moment.

"You know, your stature can become really intimidating when you're angry." If Winry could narrow her eyes any farther, they would have been slits.

"Are you calling me big?" She had said this with such a mixture of hurt and fury that even he recoiled.

"No!" Ed jabbered out, repeating the words a few more times for added effect. Winry didn't seem to diminish her ire and Ed cast his mind around for something that would do so. He ended up settling on the only other subject that could get his wife off his back. "Hey, Al and I are just having a rough spot."

"You and Al don't have rough spots," Winry reminded him and he sank into a nearby chair with a sigh of agreement. "What's this about, Ed?"

"He lied to me. I'm his brother, that he's known since birth, and he lied to me," Ed rattled off and Winry sat next to him, tapping her chin with a stirring spoon thoughtfully. "I asked him and he said he didn't have a girlfriend and the whole time he was with the little bean girl!"

"Like you're one to talk…and besides, Al's never really had a girlfriend before." Now Ed was completely lost, staring at his wife in bewilderment. "Don't you think he'd be nervous telling you the truth?"

"Only because he'd been in love with you for years!" Ed protested and Winry smirked wickedly.

"I knew there was something like that between you two!" Ed jerked as he realized what he had just revealed to her, but Winry gave a tinkling laugh, putting a reassuring hand on his knee. "Look, just talk to Al. We both know he didn't mean to hurt you; he's too kind for that. If you guys talk, you'll work things out."

Ed wanted to gnash his teeth and insist that Winry was wrong, but Ed knew that she wasn't. His wife had always been more of the people person in their relationship. Another sigh and he stood up, crossing over to the hallway, but pausing at the first picture on the wall. "I guess I can talk to him…" Winry said nothing for a moment, merely sidling up beside him to look at the picture.

"Don't you want Al to have that kind of happiness one day?" Ed gave a short laugh, staring fondly at the picture. It was one of the few pictures in the house that had only the two of them: he in his lush, black tuxedo, and she in her mother's old wedding dress, the both of them smiling with glee.

"Yeah, all right," Ed admitted. "Where is he?"

"Backyard."

"Okay, then," Ed breathed out and he proceeded down the hallway. "By the way, my boss told me we're having guests for dinner?"

"Yeah, I guess Mei's brother is in the country and wanted to visit." Ed made a noise of disbelief, but quietly left it at that, following the path to his backyard. A loud smacking noise indicated to him exactly what Al was doing. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, he saw Al's leg sweep around and easily knock a log off the plinth it was situated on.

"You know, Winry and I usually use that wood for the fireplace."

"I needed something to practice with," Al responded sheepishly. "I don't want to lose my touch."

"Then how about I be your sparring partner?" Ed hopped down from the stone patio and took a stance in front of his brother. It appeared that Al was trying to size up his brother, but Ed wouldn't let him. His right hand shot out first, towards Al's stomach, but the young man quickly batted it away. Ed kicked outward but his brother leapt back. The older brother stepped forward, aiming his hand at Al's head while simultaneously going for the gut. Al quickly ducked to avoid the upper swipe and pushed the lower one away. His head jerked back up to knock Ed's hand away and his own fist went flying out, but as usual his brother blocked it.

"I don't…know…why you're so mad…brother!" Al grunted out in between their exchange of attacks. Ed aimed a kick with his automail leg outward, and Al sidestepped, aiming a flurry of blows at Ed's side. Ed turned and crossed his arms, blocking the assault.

"You lied to me!" he insisted, targeting his brother's head with another attack.

"I was afraid you'd try to sabotage my relationship because you were still angry at me." Al had to evade another of Ed's attacks, whirling about on his feet. Ed's eyes crossed in thought before he rolled them profusely.

"You think I'd still hold on to that? It's been four years!"

"You have been known to hold on to grudges for a long time," Al reminded him, wiping the sweat off his brow before Ed came at him once again.

"Al…you helped me and Winry get together…at your own expense," Ed told him, his leg sweeping under Al's pair of legs and knocking him over. With a great gasp, the younger brother's back hit the grass. "I wouldn't hold that against you, even if your methods were questionable." Ed's mouth tightened into a thin line and he held his hand out to help his brother up. Al gratefully accepted it and stood up.

"I just really like her, Ed."

"That's great. Don't lie to me about it next time is all," Ed impressed upon his brother.

"Well, if all goes right, there won't be a next time," Al suggested and Ed stared dopily at his brother. Al exhaled and beckoned his brother to follow him inside. The two quickly stepped inside before Al rushed them up the stairs, with Ed only getting a whiff of the smell from the kitchen. Before he knew it, the both of them were in the guest room that Al was using, the aforementioned brother snapping the door shut. He shuffled over to the desk in the room and searched inside it for a moment before pulling out a small black box.

"What is it?" Ed questioned and Al quickly opened the box to reveal a diamond ring in its contents. Shock, or rather astonishment, filled Ed's body and he could only stare at the ring in the box. His mouth was moving, but no sounds were issuing forth from it.

"I know it's not really Xingese tradition, but Mei's confessed that she likes Amestrian traditions more, anyway, so I figured-"

"You're going to propose to her?" His voice had finally found his mouth and had rattled off the question without thinking. Al stopped in the middle of his chatter to blink at Ed and answer him, collapsing on the bed.

"Yeah, I am…before she leaves for Xing, hopefully. I mean, I'm set in my mind and at this point the only thing I don't know is the place." Ed let out a low whistle.

"You'll find it, trust me. You're way better than I am at that stuff." The two brothers chuckled at Ed's observation of the fact. "Does anyone else know your plan?"

"Nope. You're the first." Ed cracked a grin before Winry's loud voice reached them, dripping with an insistence that made the both of them jump.

"Ed! Al! Get down here!" They quickly scurried to obey her command, Al pausing only to stow the ring away. "Al, I know you and Mei said that her brother was coming, but you neglected to mention the army of bodyguards he'd come with!" Al certainly cowered in the face of Winry's anger.

"Yeah, about that…I had promised not to mention it but, Mei's brother is-"

"Ling Yao, pleasure to meet all of you," cut in an unknown voice, causing all three to jump. Ed was the first to turn and face the newcomer. The first thing to appear to him was the man's narrow, more slanted, eyes. Then his words signaled the bells in his brain.

"I'm sorry, did you say Ling Yao, as in the president of Xing?" Ed chuckled out. Ling turned to the woman next to him.

"I was sure I hadn't misspoken…" Ling said quietly, though the other three could very clearly hear him. Ed quickly discovered himself staring at the man's shiny black hair, and noticed how similar it was to both Mei's and the other female next to him.

"Perhaps next time you should introduce yourself with your title, Your Excellency," the woman chastised him and he frowned at her, tapping his left hand.

"Lan Fan…what have I said?" Lan Fan sucked her lips in and blushed triggering both Ed and Winry to look at each other. The woman's previous tone had been as cold as ice, yet here she was, blushing like a schoolgirl.

"Brother, you're here!" came Mei's high pitched voice and Ling turned to his sister, both of them greeting each other in typical Xingese fashion. The two started rambling off in a conversation in Xingese, which only Al seemed to follow before Mei walked off to the kitchen with Lan Fan.

"My apologies; Lan Fan served in my father's secret service for years, so she's not quite use to thinking of me as a husband," Ling said with a grin that forced an awkward laugh out of the married couple. Al stepped past the frozen couple to greet the president. "Alphonse, always a pleasure. So, you must be Alphonse's relatives?"

"Win…uh, Winry and Edward Elric," Winry answered for the both of them and Ling beamed even brighter than before.

"Splendid! And that excellent smell must be dinner!" Without even opening their mouths to answer, Ling had slid into the kitchen, dragging Al along with him. There was an ephemeral silence in the hallway as Winry turned to her husband.

"The president…of Xing?" Winry gasped in exasperation. "Now I hope my chicken dinner doesn't offend him, for some religious reason or otherwise."

"Your chicken dinner is out of this world, Winry…and besides, Al's told me they eat dog in Xing. I don't think chicken will offend them." He patted her on the back and she nodded, though Ed imagined that she didn't even know she was doing it.

"Let's not go to Xing, then."

"We'll stick it to the postcards." Winry breathed in deeply, affixing a bright smile to her face.

"Well then, Ed, you go get changed and I'll, uh…well…just go get changed." Ed made sure to act on Winry's order and the families soon found themselves awkwardly sitting at the dinner table. Ling was greedily shoveling in food while Lan Fan was staring suspiciously at each one of them, giving Ed the chance to glare right back at her. Ling noticed this and ceased his consumption for a moment.

"Oh, come now, Lan Fan, they're not going to try and assassinate me at the dinner table. Eat, it's delicious!" Winry gave a small smile at the mention of her food, and Ed tore his eyes away from Lan Fan to view the president.

"You look like you're our age. How are you the president of a country?" Ed asked rudely, an action which resulted in Winry elbowing him underneath the table.

"Mmm, I wash emperor…but our fasher…eshcushe me," Ling cleared his throat with an internal belch, "our father was making a move towards democracy. Before that act was fulfilled he died and I was named successor. Really, at the moment, I'm just a president in name only, but part of the reason I was so willing to hold the treaty signing in Amestris was actually to study your own brand of democracy. Do either of you work for the government?"

"Ed's probably the closest of the two of us…"

"Barely," Ed scoffed at the mention. "The only member of the police department that works directly for the government is essentially Bradley."

"Fascinating," Ling said, his eyes alight with a gleam of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. "I've been meaning to get a better police department, and here I already know a member. I think I'll tag along."

"Bad idea, Ling!" Lan Fan snapped at her husband. "We must be in Central by Sunday; we don't have time to go gallivanting all over this country! On top of that, what if your life is put in danger. This is not Xing, and we are not just here purely for a gala event!"

"Lan Fan, you act as if your grandfather never taught me to protect myself. I'll be fine. Besides, isn't that what we have bodyguards for?" Ling smiled at her sweetly, as though that settled the manner.

"But-"

"I'll be fine. Today is only Friday, anyway. There's no harm in it." Ling sat back in his chair as his wife relented. Ed grimaced inwardly, angry that he hadn't said anything to dissuade the man from his intended action. Then again, doing so would probably earn another elbow from Winry, or worse. He figured he could always find a way to lose the young president at the police station. They wouldn't just let him poke around everywhere, even if he was a president. "Speaking of Sunday, though, your President Dante has decided to throw a ball welcoming us foreigners here. Since we're here at your house, I figure we're all as good as family and would be most pleased is you'd join us for the ball in Central. We'll get you the tickets, of course."

A stunned hush washed over the table before Winry yammered out their words of grateful acceptance as Ling smiled in anticipation once again. Meanwhile, Ed just turned to Al and whispered, "I think we've found your place."

Author's Note: So finishes Chapter 8. I know it seems like not a lot is going on, but I'm still building up. Something important happens in every chapter whether it be character-wise or plot-wise. On that note, I'm very much looking forward to the next three chapters and have already started on Chapter 9. I hope to see all of you reviewing this chapter and I look forward to each one of your responses. Just remember, Dare to Be Silly.