At long last, a new chapter. I have several pieces written but they're out of order and I've just been trying to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, these three are a lot harder to write than you'd think at times. Oddly enough, though, this one took me about half an hour to write, with an extra hour for editing.

Go fig.

We get to see in the next few just what Gracia's revenge from the last chapter was. This is just the lull before the storm.

As always, the characters and situations associated with Fullmetal Alchemist are not mine. I'm only borrowing them for a little while.

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Morning Meetings

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"Why, Roy Mustang," Gracia Stern drawled in an atrocious southern accent as her friend set his tray down across from her, "are you trying to get me alone?"

Roy dropped into his seat and stared at her incredulously for a moment. "That has to be the worst accent I've ever heard," he said. "What gave you that impression?"

"I thought," she said, grinning at him over the rim of her coffee cup, "that I was having breakfast with you and Maes."

He took a bite of his eggs, paled, and pushed the tray away. "That was the plan, yes," he said. "By the way, don't try the eggs. I just found a beak."

Gracia nodded and jabbed at her own plate, only half-surprised that the food didn't try to grab her fork. "So, where's Maes?" she asked. "This was his idea, after all."

Roy scanned the dining hall for a moment, then started counting down on his watch. "...Three...two...one...and there he is."

A tall figure in a cadet's uniform lurched across the room towards them, precariously balancing a tray and somehow managing not to spill anything or walk into anyone.

All Gracia could do was stare. "Is that...?"

Roy smirked, an expression she would come to be very wary of in the future. "Oh, yeah..."

"...Maes...?" she said as the zombie in question dropped the tray on the table, then dropped into the chair next to her.

"I must have forgotten to mention that he isn't a morning person," Roy said as his friend toppled face-first onto the table and started to snore.

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