Madness, as you know, is a lot like gravity.
All it takes is a little push.

-The Dark Knight

The McKittrick Hotel on the lower west side was a true hidden gem of Manhattan. It wasn't truly an Inn, but a dark and lavish setting for a live, dream-like re-telling of Shakespeare's Macbeth that made both tourists and locals question whether they were cognisant or hallucinating. The shadowy halls wound like a labryinth all over, from the lobby to the great room, upstairs and downstairs, in and out of secret passage ways and through dimly lit lounges. This playground holding the show known as 'Sleep No More' was presented as a decadant building of luxury condemmed and locked in the late 1930s at the start of the the second World War, and then re-opened to the public in present day.

The parties were Gatsby-esque in their excess, where only top-shelf liquor poured at all of the 10 bars throughout the hotel and prepared Absinthe was kept in massive crystal decanters for the guests to help themselves. The attention to detail rivaled that of Disney Imagineers, with long hand-carved mahogany bars and dimly-lit lounges boasting red velvet-tufted walls and enormous chandeliers dripping crystals. There were narrow passage ways leading from one smoky lounge to another, and a massive great room featuring panels of red and purple chiffon draped from the ceiling, obscuring any on-lookers who might be creeping along the cat-walks and balconies suspended above. Roaming the building from the front desk all the way up to the rooftop deck transported you to a world merging the 1920's speak-easy social scene with the haunting suspense of Stephen King's The Shining.

This dark and twisted living fairytale world served as host for this year's gathering of the New York Charitable Society's annual fundraiser, an prestigeous event that the Military attended and donated to each year. This year was special though, for the charity in which the fundraiser was being held was the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project was a non-profit started not long after 9/11 for the purpose of raising awareness and enlisting the public's help for severly injured military members. It continues on to also help injured service members aid one-another, and provides unique and direct services and programs to wounded service members. Since this year's benefitting non-profit hit so close to home, Mustang saw to it that every available Active Duty member be in attendance. He also informed Edward that there would be certain soldiers present that may not be trust-worthy, and could possibly give us information about my stalker.

Elric moaned and groaned of course, complaining that he hated being forced to clean up. But for someone who claimed to do it so infrequently, he sure cleaned up well. He wore an expensive and expertly-tailored suit of black on black, and opted to leave the tie behind at Central, favoring a open collar instead. His long golden hair was pulled neatly into his usual ponytail, and for once seemed free of knots. His strong jaw was clean shaven and when we walked in the McKittrick's great room many of the hundreds of heads followed him. The women's out of lust, the men's out of envy.

As we mingled with faces both familiar and the contrary, I began to notice many of the lingering looks Ed had gotten earlier had now been bestowed upon myself. It made me a little self-consious, and I wasn't sure if I was getting stared at out of admiration or shocked offense. Having been roped into this last second, I put on the only dress I owned that was fancy. An impulse purchase that sat in the back of my closet with the tags still on for years, until today. It was strapless white chiffon and it fit me through the bust and torso like a glove. The layers of chiffon floated around my hips like softly billoughing clouds as I walked, and I was nervous about the dress because not only was it strapless and fitted with a low-cut back, but it was dangerously short. Edward wasted no time in asking why I was wearing a dress smaller than it's 'how to wash' tag. I had no other options and very little time, so I threw on what little makeup I owned and ran a boar-bristle brush through my long buttery hair to fluff it and add some shine. As we ran out the door and headed to Central so Ed could change I slipped into 4-inch peep-toe heels and put on the only precious jewelery I owned. My Mother's and Father's wedding rings, strung on a simple silver chain to lay on my chest where they would be close to my heart.

I was relieved when I was taken by the arm by Rebecca, a pretty soldier with long brown hair and large, happy eyes who had been a friend for years.

"There you are!" She exclaimed as she pulled me away from my escort for what I could only suspect would be girl-talk. She stuck her tongue out at Edward and winked playfully, and he grinned in response as he ordered a Glennlevit 15 and struck up conversation with 2nd lieutenant Hymans Breda. I was ushered across the great room and down a dark hallway that lead to one of the many lounges, and was met with the smiling faces of Riza and our friend Sheska. The four of us sat across from eachother on tufted loveseats of emerald velvet and a tray of Hendrick's martinis was set on the table between us.

"Okay Winry, spill." Rebecca said as I sipped my gin martini nervously. The dripping tapers on the table only enhanced the sparkling mirth in the eyes of my three companions. "What's it like to live with one of the hottest guys on the planet?"

"Umm it's okay I guess." This clearly wasn't a satisfactory response.

"Does he snore?" Rebecca asked.

"Does he leave the seat up?" Riza inquired with a nibble on her olive. Sheska's brown eyes narrowed to slits and she waggled her eyebrows above her large square-framed glasses.

"Have you seen him naked? How's his butt?"

I nearly shot gin out of my nose. The girls howled in laughter.

"Oh come on Winry, you've gotta give us something here." Sheska added. "The only people who've ever lived with Fullmetal are the soldiers who go on missions with him, and they won't tell us a thing. Bro code, you know? What happens on tour of duty, stays on tour of duty." Sheska was a mousy girl of 30 with short brown hair and a photographic memory unlike anything the military had ever encountered. She was naturally smart and addicted to the written word, and could retain countless amounts of information buy simply reading it once or twice. She was a powerful asset to the records department. Her closest friend was Rebecca, a weapons expert like 2nd lieutenant Jean Havoc. Rebecca was classically pretty with long brown hair that fell in waves, and her playful nature and fearless attitude made her quite the flirt. Her two favorite things in the world were bazookas, and gossip.

I composed myself and began twisting a lock of my long blonde hair around my finger in nervous contemplation.

"Well...there's not much to tell really. He always wakes up before I do, he's usually on his phone, and he works out in the guest bedroom alot. I haven't heard any snoring and we have seperate bathrooms so I don't know if he leaves the seat up. And I wouldn't know how his butt is because I haven't seen it." This of course, was a lie.

Riza eyed me speculativly, before cooly replying. "You're full of shit. You've definitely seen him naked. Your face looks like a tomato."

"It was an accident." I quickly caved, seeing that it would be useless to try and pull the wool over the eyes of a hawk. The three of them squealed in delight. "He was showering and left the door open a little, and I was walking past and just happened to look up. It didn't end well."

"But I bet it was spectacular view right?" Rebecca added animatedly, and she and the other two giggled and launched into chatter about some other topic, leaving me to ponder Rebecca's assumption. Edward Elric could be considered comparable to summitting a mountain. Since seeing him that night I had been opened up to many new sides of Ed that I wasn't expecting. While I was happy to have a few answers, I couldn't help but notice that every question answered only led to new questions about other unusal things. When Ed moved in, I had wanted us to become friendly. I wanted us to get to know eachother. And I was itching to uncover more of his secrets. But with every mile-marker I hit on the way up Mt. Elric, I found baggage. And the baggage became heavier with each step. I couldn't help but wonder. When I reach the summit, will the view really be spectacular? Or will the weight of the baggage make the destination not worth the difficult journey?

We continued to chat for awhile longer, when I realized I was starving and excused myself to go find catering or at least a waiter walking around with a tray of bacon-wrapped scallops. I made my way down the narrow and shadowy hallway towards the great room when I found my path suddenly cut off by a tall man wearing a white, three-peice suit with inky straight hair slicked back in a low ponytail. His black eyes shone mischieviously, but in a way that made my stomach turn, and his smirk didn't hold the boyish charm of Edward's. His expression was undoubtably sinister in nature.

"He's dangerous you know. You should be afraid of him." He stepped closer to me and squeezed my arm. Liquor seared over his breath, and his sharp eyes melted in his innebreation. "I mean sure, I knew they wouldn't send me to look after you because I'm not the most popular choice either, but him? He's a ticking time bomb."

Solf J. Kimblee was a seasoned soldier same as Ed and Mustang, but his dominant nature and controversial actions made him a square peg in the round hole that was the State Alchemist program. Over the years I hadn't failed to pick up on the whispers of others whenever he was around. He preferred working alone, an unusual trait for a soldier seeing how the military intensely promotes teamwork. I had encountered him many times, and his stare always seemed to linger far too long and in areas it shouldn't travel to anyway. Master Sergeant Kain Furey was always very nervous around him, and Jean Havoc was never one to sugar-coat his distain for the Crimson Alchemist. Havoc had told me repeatedly over the years that Kimblee was a deceptive snake who was rumored to have had involvement in truly horrific actions from back when I was still a child. The only reason he hadn't been dis-honorably discharged years ago was because of lack of evidence against him. The higher-ups also wanted him around in times of war, for he had proven to be ruthless in battle; unafraid to do whatever necessary in assuring the success of his mission. This only added to his controversial status; I heard he had slaughtered a bystanding child who crossed his path in the middle east and -according to him- posed a threat.

"Hello Mr. Kimblee. Good turn-out this evening, I heard even Donald Trump is here. Wounded Warrior should raise a lot of money don't you think?" My efforts to steer the subject into neutral territory proved to be futile, for it seemed he never even heard me.

"You have no idea what he is, do you?" He suddenly shoved me against the wall and we were bathed in shadows where no one would see. My fearful heart hammered in my chest and his putrid, liquor-soaked breath fell across my ear. "You don't know that he's a freak. Sure, people say that I'm bad, that I can't be trusted. But I'm not like him. Even Roy Mustang, his biggest fan, doesn't trust him. Not completely."

I figeted under him, desperatly wanting to run but being held by brute force. I felt his fingers dancing along the hem of my dress, skimming my thigh as his grip maintained on my arm. He pulled back slightly to see my face but I couldn't look at him. I turned my face from his and squeezed my eyes shut, but the self-deprivation of vision only forced me to hear his words more profoundly.

"Hell, Mustang fought tooth and nail to see that he wasn't the one to be your gaurd." My eyes shot open at this and I turned to him as he continued.

"The only reason he's with you and not out fighting the enemy is because of orders that came from over Mustang's head. Mustang keeps him traveling for a reason. He's perfect in the field but when he sits home for too long his mental screws get loose. I know Havoc told you to stay away from me, but what has anyone told you about the Fullmetal Alchemist? Have you heard about his limbs? How about the fact that he's been a State Alchemist since he was fourteen? I bet you don't even know what a State Alchemist actually does."

I couldn't take anymore. I could feel the panic rising in me as I shook my head and begged, "Please stop. Please leave me alone."

"We kill people Winry. We're trained government assasins. He gets paid a handsome price to slaughter people. Has he told you that? Judging by the way you look at him I'd say not. You look at him like he's so fucking perfect but you wouldn't think that if you knew what he's capable of. If you only knew what he did when he was just a kid. He's the living example of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He seems fine on the surface. But deep down, he's a monster."

I slapped him across the face and broke free of his grasp, running back down the dark hall in the direction I came from. His sinister chuckling echoed behind me and I ducked into the womens bathroom to collect myself.

I emerged ten minutes later, exhausted from the onslaught both physical and mental. Kimblee's warning echoed in my mind over and over, and my rational brain knew that all rumors were rooted in some truth. Kimblee was right, I shouldn't be so trusting of Edward because really I barely knew him. It all made sense now. The bags of guns in his room, the expensive sheets and clothes, the black Aston Martin he drove us here in, the reason he could fight the way he did, the reason he slept with a gun under his pillow. He was a government assasin. Every fiber of my logical brain screamed that this had just gone from bad to worse, and that I needed to find a way to get Edward Elric out of my life.

But my heart. My ridiculous, non-sensical heart. It fluttered like the rapid beating wings of the butterflies in my stomach whenever I saw him. Any attempt my brain would make to convince me to sleep in every morning was rebuffed by my heart, blooming with joy at the sound of his steady voice on the phone as it carried from the kitchen. This most vulnerable of organs was reduced to a squeezed pulp of bled emotion during any adorable commercial or thoughtful card from my Grandmother, and yet one flash of his dazzling grin was the charge that shocked my heart back into rapid living.

I took a deep breath to collect myself and went on my mission to find Edward so we could talk. Kimblee may have claimed him to be dangerous, but the eyes of the man who took me gently by the wrist and told me I needn't fear were not the eyes of a monster. I made my way once again down the hall where I had encountered Kimblee and turned the corner leading out to the great room. It seemed that while I had been pre-occupied the number of people in attendance had tripled, and now included not only members of the military, but also members of the press, representatives of affiliated charities and causes, celebrities, politicians, even the Mayor of the city of New York. I weaved between people, searching for that flash of golden light against the dark and decadant setting of the evening. A hand slipped around my elbow and I whirled around to find his glimmering eyes and devious smirk.

"I was about to send a search party." He joked calmly. I couldn't help but beam at the sight of him.

"Sorry," I exhaled with relief. "I got lost, this place is huge and dark. I think we can get out of here if you've got a flashlight and google maps."

His smirk became a thousand-watt smile, and he downed the remainder of his amber liquid and left the empty glass on the nearby bar.

"We might as well. My bid won at the silent auction which means I'm out 12 grand. I think I've had enough excitement for one night." I could sense that he had the same idea I did; sweatpants and the sofa. We made the goodbye rounds as quickly as we could without seeming like we were rushing, stopping for his handshakes and playful jabs with the guys and my hugs with the girls. We walked out onto the city street as snow began to delicately fall from a blackened sky and Elric stopped suddenly.

"Shit, I forgot." He stated. "I never closed my tab. Gimmie just a sec, wait inside it's cold out."

I smiled softly and said I'd be along in just a moment, and he dissappeared back inside. It was nearly 3 a.m., and the city was suspended in the rare, beautiful silence of a quiet winter night. The cold air was invigorating to breathe, and standing alone on the street was a welcome release from the swarms of people inside. My peaceful reverie was short-lived however, when I heard the boisterous laughter of two men walking towards the entrance as they tossed aside their cigarettes. We made brief eye contact as they walked by, and that's when one of them stopped.

"No way. Winry? Winry Rockbell? Holy shit it IS you!" The taller man said. I recognized his messy brown hair and cocky grin, always paired with his shorter friend's spiky red hair and distracting lip ring. I went to high school with these guys. I didn't remember their names because I didn't really have friends in high school, but I knew them as the ring leaders of the circus of absurd boys who would whistle at me and murmur vulgarities as I walked by. The crimson-haired man chuckled and added,

"Oh my god I can't believe we almost walked past you! I didn't think you could get any hotter but damn you proved me wrong. We just scored some more coke, wanna party?"

"Thanks for the offer but I'm good." I was praying that Ed would come back outside. Just then the tall one put his hand to his mouth in stunned realization.

"Oh snap I just remembered! Hey, was all that stuff we heard about you true?" Dread krept in my stomach, and I knew what was coming. There was a familiar shift in the air, and I felt the door open next to me. Edward was walking toward me when the smaller guy piped up.

"Yea! Like all that stuff about you having Perfect Blood or whatever?" I closed my eyes in frustration because my parriferial vision had witnessed Ed stop in his tracks at hearing this. I didn't have a chance to even ponder how to respond because they just wouldn't shut the hell up.

"So doesn't that mean you can't get diseases? Or like, STDs and shit? That's gotta be so awesome, you can fuck whoever you want without a condom and no worries!"

My mind screamed at them to stop. I would've given anything to avoid Edward from finding out my secret and these two inconsiderate fools were dragging me through the same hell I went through as a child. Their obnoxious laughter cut through the quiet night, and my blood boiled.

"Shut up." I whispered gravely. "You don't know what you're talking about."

They looked at me with mock surprise

"Oh come on Rockbell, everyone was talking about it." The scruffy brunette announced. "I don't get what you're so upset about. Every guy in school was obsessed with you and are you really that surprised? I mean look at you! No wonder the girls didn't like you."

I hugged my arms around myself and turned away from them, partially to sheild myself from the biting cold and also in a pathetic attempt to shut them out.

"Edward can we go?" He sent an icy glare at the two men and strode forward to walk me to his car, when one of the men spoke up.

"Ahh forget you. You were a prude then and you're still a fucking prude now!" Just when I thought my humiliation could never soar to higher reaches, we heard the other add loudly,

"She's not a prude man, Daniel Lawrin told me he stuffed her from behind in the locker room Senior year! He said you must've had Perfect Blood because you had the most perfect, tight pussy Winry!"

Edward screeched to a halt next to me, his eyes turned down to the sidewalks which were now dusted with fine white powder. He pulled off his suit blazer and I felt it slip over my shaking shoulders. After pulling the key fob from his pocket, he pointed it at his Aston Martin V12 Vantage, unlocked the car and pressed the fob into my hand.

"Lock yourself in and don't open it till I get back." He ordered. I could feel moisture brimming my eyes and my throat began to tighten as I looked into fierce eyes.

"Let's just go, please?" He exhaled forcefully like an angry bull and barked at me.

"Get in the car NOW!" I stumbled back in shock, and took off running towards the vehicle. When I slammed the passenger side door and locked it, I looked up to see him stalking back up the street towards the disgusting pair who were doubled over laughing at their callous words and not paying attention to their surroundings. That was when I first saw Ed truly change. His steps were reminisent of panthers in the wild, steady, fluid and unhurried; waiting for opportune moment to strike. His hands began to flex in preparation and he removed the glove from his right hand exposing the steel fingers that started cracking the knuckles in his left. His hardened gaze held on his target and he smiled wickedly. At that moment I turned away and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't bring myself to watch. In his anger Edward Elric had become something else entirely. Kimblee's words of warning echoed within me.

'He's a ticking time bomb...you should be afraid...he's a monster.'

I believed I had witnessed the transformation of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. My protector had become a predator.

I was frightened.