April 20th, 1943

"Do you have any idea why Roy wants to see us both?" Winry asked Edward as they walked down the hall of Central HQ toward President Breda's office.

"No idea," Ed replied with a shake of his head. He was as perplexed as Winry, but the request made over the phone last night was that he and Roy wanted to meet with both of them first thing in the morning and he would explain everything then. "Mustang may not be President anymore, but that certainly hasn't kept him from keeping his nose in things. It must be important."

"That doesn't explain what I'm doing here," Winry replied softly. "I don't like it."

"Well, we're about to find out," Ed said as they opened the door and slipped inside. It was early, but all of the usual staff was in house, especially a bunch of low ranking aids doing paperwork and fetching morning coffee.

"General Mustang is in a meeting with the President, Sir," a Second Lieutenant informed them. "They said to send you right in, Sir, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Ed nodded, and he and Winry went right into Breda's office.

As expected, Breda and Mustang were both inside. The conversation paused when they entered, then Breda relaxed a little and Roy actually smirked. "Edward, Winry, excellent. Please, sit down."

Winry gave Ed a look then took a seat on the couch.

"I'll stand thanks," Ed declined. "What's with the secrecy anyway?" He looked at Breda.

Breda shook his head. "Better to have Roy explain it. This is an… unofficial matter."

"Unofficial?" Winry frowned.

Roy nodded and looked up at Ed. "So, Edward. How would you feel about going on a little undercover assignment?"

Well, that was unexpected. "Undercover," Ed watched Roy cautiously. "Doesn't the military have undercover operatives?"

"Plenty," Breda shook his head, "But not for this kind of work."

Roy nodded. "We've got a little problem, Ed, and it really needs an alchemist to solve it. Someone with a singularly unusual set of skills."

"Unusual, yeah, that's me," Ed snorted. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going. "What does it involve, Mustang?"

Roy picked up a thick packet of papers and leaned over. Ed stretched over the couch and grabbed them. "It seems there's a gentleman, if you can call him that, operating a smuggling ring out of Aerugo. He specializes in rare and illegal alchemical ingredients and artifacts."

"And he's got something you want," Ed guessed.

"That we need to get out of his hands," Roy replied so firmly that Ed was startled.

"Just what could they have that's that important?" Ed asked.

Roy scowled. "We don't know where he got it, but he's got a hold of one of the stones."

Ed felt a cold stab in the gut at the thought. Stones? "One of the fakes?"

Roy nodded grimly. "Apparently he hasn't sold it. One of our operatives tells us he actually wears the thing constantly. No surprise there; he's an alchemist himself."

"So you want me to go in and take this thing off the man in his own den? Are you crazy?" Or was Ed crazier for even considering it? There was no way they could just let this be.

"We've done some research," Roy pointed to the papers in Ed's hand. "His name is Joachim Arnan. His primary base of operations is a gambling establishment and hotel in the tourist town of Havah, just a couple of days inside the Aerugo border by train; it's called the Blood Phoenix."

"Oh that's a reassuring name," Ed grimaced, flipping through the papers as Roy talked. So far it was mostly the same information with a few more details; like the actual address, and a picture of Arnan himself: a middle aged, dark skinned man with black hair who was reasonably handsome still. "How am I supposed to pull this off? Won't they notice if the Fullmetal Alchemist walks in?"

"That's why you'd be undercover, idiot," Roy sighed.

"Hey, watch it!" Ed glared at him. "You're the one asking me to do this, remember? I still haven't said yes, and you haven't made it an order." Which was good; it was Ed's first major assignment out of Central since Xing, and he was trying to fight the feeling of insecurity that was creeping inside of him.

Roy nodded. "Sorry, Ed. You're right. What else you've got there, is an entire cover story for a role you'd need to play. Arnan has one weakness. Unsurprisingly, given his location of choice, it's high stakes gambling. He apparently can't make himself walk away from a table when he's losing, or even when he's winning until he's taken a competitor for all he's worth. That character profile our intelligence guys have worked up is the perfect target for one of his games."

"So I'm bait." Ed wasn't sure he liked that either.

"No," Roy shook his head, and smiled then. "You're the ringer, Ed. We need a skilled alchemist who can be subtle, who can read other people well, and who's at least a pretty good card player and a fantastic bluff. The plan is for you to walk in there, get him to challenge you to a card game, and get him to the point where he'll put that ring on the table; unless you can manage to just steal it outright, but that's not any more likely a venture. Both are good options. Either way, we need to get that out of public hands and destroy it."

"No argument there," Ed said, flipping to the character profile. "Though this is a pretty big stretch."

"That's the idea," Roy pointed out. "It has to be someone he'd be drawn to play cards with, and all reports say his targets are usually well-offs with a lot of superfluous cash who obviously like to spend it; someone smart enough to make money, but not to keep it. That, and we had to make it different enough to avoid suspicion. There's no way anyone can be allowed to question who you really are, or that you were sent in, or it'll never work."

"So I'm going to play a womanizing drunk who likes to spend his barely-earned cash?" Ed wanted to make sure he had this right. The character profile was thick and very detailed, but so very out of character for him he was beginning to wonder when Roy and Breda had ever decided he knew how to act?

"Throw it around, Ed. Live it up," Roy smirked. "After all, it's all about living for the moment right? I don't care how it gets spent; just make sure it's noticeable. We've already got an appropriate wardrobe and necessary false identification worked up too."

"And this is covered by the military?" Ed offered up a smug grin he didn't entirely feel. This was big, and a little further outside his usual line of work than he had been expecting. Not that he had any problem with lying through his teeth.

"It comes out of your expenses," Roy replied. "If you succeed, maybe there will be a little compensation for that."

"Excuse me," Winry finally spoke up then, looking more than a little annoyed. "But just why am I here? To be able to voice my disgust that you want to send my husband off to pretend to be a playboy for an old stone fragment?"

Roy's smile got even more insufferably smug as he steepled his fingers in front of him. "Oh no, Winry. We need you to go too. Someone needs to play Ed's flavor of the week. It's all part of the character."

"His what?!" Ed winced as Winry shrieked. This was going to get ugly fast!

Roy seemed unfazed. "Would you rather Ed have to convincingly play that role with other women, Winry? Think about the kind of girls who frequent places like this. Do you really want to see what they'd do to dear, sweet Edward?"

Winry snorted. "Of course not. Why do you think I'm pissed?"

"I thought not," Roy replied. "Men like the one Ed's playing often take whatever pretty thing they're interested in at the moment out and blow money. If it's you, he's got someone with brains covering his back, but the body to be dressing for the front too."

"Thanks, I think," Winry was still scowling. Ed thought he knew where Roy was going with this though. He almost found it amusing, but knew if he laughed Winry would kill him on principle.

Roy chuckled. "It means that he's got a reason to keep any real physical attentions to one woman; he only has to pretend to flirt with a few others in passing, and it means he doesn't have to find a way to make it look like he's bedding someone else."

"So I'm his plaything and babysitter," Winry replied, considering.

"Pretty much."

"Hey," Ed objected, but only playfully as he grinned. "I don't need a babysitter, but I'm good with the rest of it."

"Pushing your luck there, Edward," Winry growled, but she seemed a little more rational. She sighed. "There's no way I'm letting him go without me. If Ed goes, I guess that means I'm in."

"Good," Mustang grinned and Breda looked relieved. "That pile of paperwork includes an entire profile for you as well, though it's much less complicated. Can you play a relatively mindless redhead?"

"Red?" Winry cringed; then nodded. "For a good cause, I'm sure I can manage to spend a few days being admired for just my looks."

"No one pays attention to the ones they think aren't," Breda commented then, and shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "Play cards with enough soldiers and you figure these things out. Most men are pretty superficial."

"We'll have a wardrobe put together for you as well once you give them your measurements," Roy continued, now that things were go. "You'll have a few days on the train to really nail the characters, but we'll want you to leave Central undercover to keep anyone on the train from suspecting or recognizing you either; especially not the folks who work on it."

Breda nodded. "Thanks Ed, Winry. I really appreciate this."

"I hope so," Ed chuckled, though he wondered just what he was getting himself into. "Cause this is going to cost the State quite a bit when this is over."

"You agreed awfully easily back there," Ed commented when they were safely back in his office.

Winry rolled her eyes. "Roy was right, Ed. Tell me, honestly, could you really pull off feeling up some other girl you don't know, flattering her outrageously, and then taking her back to bed and doing what you do to me…convincingly, without hesitating?" From her tone, Ed could tell she didn't think so.

"Not a chance," Ed admitted with a sigh. Then he chuckled briefly. "Though this is going to be interesting. We're both going to have to be different people, Winry."

"You could have just said no," Winry pointed out. "But I could tell you were going to say yes the minute he mentioned that damned stone fragment. Whenever anything regarding the Philosopher's Stone comes up, you still jump like you're fifteen and looking for it! I know you still feel responsible for a lot of that." She sighed and leaned against his desk. "How do you think he got a hold of it anyway?"

"My theory," Ed replied, glad to turn the questions away from what he was capable of doing with other women! "Is that he got a hold of it when someone didn't know what they had. I mean we know Lust tried to convince lots of alchemists to make a Stone for them; gave at least one of the fakes out just to fuel the need for it. There's no reason to believe there might not have been others and when that alchemist gave up, lost it, or died attempting to create one, it may have ended up in the hands of a relative, or even a complete stranger; pawned perhaps. Then it's easily picked up by someone who recognizes what it might be, and Arnan figures out that it's an incomplete Stone. No alchemist with that kind of greed would dare let a chance like that slip by."

"That works," Winry replied simply, apparently expecting something less plausible. "So," she flipped through the sheets of paper applying to her character, "We memorize all this, play you up, and get you close enough to either steal the thing or win it in a game of chance." She sighed. "Talk about hair-brained!"

"You could have told me not to take it," Ed pointed out, coming closer and taking her hands.

"I already told you, I know how you feel about this stuff," Winry smiled up at him wistfully. "And…I don't want to let you go off on your own again. You got handed an assignment where I can go with you, keep an eye on things while you're focusing on the mission. I couldn't have said no once you said yes even if I knew this was going to end in disaster."

Ed pulled her close then, kissing his wife. For a few weeks in the near future, she wouldn't be, and that was going to be strange! "I love you, Winry."

April 24th, 1943

All the kids knew was that it was a mission, and that they weren't supposed to bring up the fact their parents were out of town. Sara was old enough to watch the house, and Gracia would be keeping an eye on them, as would Alphonse and Elicia of course, so that wasn't a real concern. They all understood that it was an important secret.

The night before they left, Ed dyed both of their hair. Winry's went to a deep auburn red, and Ed's to a slightly darker, sandier shade that was similar to Al's, but browner. He even added a couple of lighter streaks to it for effect.

"Not bad," Winry commented as she looked at him. "As long as you don't braid it you should be fine."

"I'll just pull it back low," Ed shrugged. It was a style different from even his usual tail, but one he could live with without it distracting him by feeling odd. He grinned. "Though you make a rather ravishing redhead. I almost don't recognize you."

Winry rolled her eyes at him. "Then don't mistake some floozy for me okay?"

Ed laughed. "I wouldn't do that, Winry. You'll be the most beautiful girl in the place without a doubt."

"Even as a red-head?" Winry asked.

Ed smirked. "The color doesn't matter; it's the woman under it. Though," he chuckled. "I'd recognize your body anywhere."

"You'll see enough of it in the wardrobe they picked out for me," Winry rolled her eyes. "All short skirts and plunging necklines on the dresses."

"I think I'm going to enjoy this," Ed laughed. "You used to wear some pretty short skirts as I recall."

"You noticed?" Winry retorted.

"Oh yeah," Ed laughed, pulling her close. "They used to drive me nuts too. It's hard to stay in denial when you have to try not to stare at a girl's legs."

"You certainly fooled me." Winry didn't seem too upset now though. She was clearly just teasing him. "Though we'll have to change how we interact too," she frowned. "This kind of thing isn't going to work if we aren't supposed to know each other that well."

She had a point. "You're right. We can't call each other anything too obvious either. I can't even be 'Ed' with the auto-mail."

"True," Winry replied. They had aliases on the paperwork: Larred Allen, and Winifred Shelagh. Awful names, Ed thought, that surely Roy must have come up with to torture them, though he had been assured otherwise. "I guess I'll have to come up with something fun to call you," Winry smiled.

"As long as it's not something that's going to make me cringe," Ed replied, sensing the wicked humor Winry often had about to come out.

"Awww," she pouted. "And here I was so looking forward to calling you Eddie."

"Hell no!" Ed shook his head emphatically.

"Lard?"

"That's even worse!" Damn she was being evil!

"Well I can't go calling you Hohenheim," Winry smirked.

"Thank goodness!" Ed replied to the last. "Just go with oh, Lar, okay? Or call me some less offensive pet name or something."

"Okay, pooky," Winry batted her eyelashes up at him with the most vapid smile Ed had ever seen. He shuddered involuntarily.

"I said less offensive," he shook himself then smirked. "Or you'll be Winnie."

"And you'll find that hotel bed a very cold one," Winry retorted, glaring at him immediately. It was a nickname she had never liked derived from her own name either. "Larry."

"I can live with that, Win," Ed chuckled, trying something a little simpler. He could remember that he thought. He patted her cheek playfully with one hand. "Win; my good luck charm, how appropriate."

Winry gave him a very pouty glare, then her expression returned to normal, and intelligence returned to her eyes. "Good. I'm glad we'll have time to practice though. You're a lousy flirt to be playing this role!"

"Hey!"

April 25th-May 2nd, 1943

Both of them were very glad for the several days on the train to perfect their characters and get used to each other in them; as well as get used to the clothing! They had already poured over the character profiles for days, quizzing each other on the information to make sure the stories matched. Larred Allen was a veteran of the Drachma border dispute, having joined up in the military not long before it began, looking for excitement, and deciding after getting rather blown up, and needing two limbs amputated, that perhaps the military wasn't the excitement he was looking for. He was born into money, and he went back to that lifestyle to which he was more accustomed, inheriting it all when his Dad took ill and died suddenly – his mother having died when he was young, and him the only child.

Larred was relatively shallow too. He liked fast cars, loose women, hard drinks, and lived a fast lifestyle. He also loved gambling; cards specifically. Okay, shallow wasn't even enough of a word. He was shallower than an empty bird bath.

Miss Winifred Shelagh was a pretty little thing who had grown up without a lot of money, raised by good family, but her body was her best attribute – not a lot between the ears. A permanent hook-up with the dashing millionaire would definitely solve her problems!

Simple enough. It was all the little details that took time, especially memorizing the facts about their target, and where they were going. Ed could close his mind and imagine the layouts of the Blood Phoenix they had looked at. He also ran over the information that was relevant for them to know about Aerugo itself.

Politically, the place was always a little unsteady. The government, made up of a cabinet of men, was at least mildly corrupt, though they had not broken with trade agreements with Amestris since the cessation of violence after Bradley's overthrow. Still, Ed knew there was a lot of dislike between the majority of the country, which was fairly poor, and the rich upper-class that mostly got that way by preying on tourists and keeping the rest of the country poor. There were some remnants of old blood families that remained from an older age and a long-dead monarchy, but they were only wealthy now, having less influence in some ways than the Cretan old houses did as family, but more because of their wealth. Sometimes violence broke out. Either way, it was a good thing they would be in Havah, which was a long-time tourist location and even the poor in the city knew their survival depended on rich tourists squandering their money on vacation.

The train was a good place for them to practice being shallow and flirtatious in public too; but they could spend a lot of time in their first class private car out of view. By the time they arrived in Havah, they were pretty sure they could do a convincing act in public, as long as they didn't have to keep it up twenty four hours a day.

Larred and Winifred sauntered into the lobby of the Blood Phoenix, leaving the poor bell hop with their entire set of luggage weighing him down. Larred looked bored, and Win vapidly impressed. Larred smiled and got the room key for the room he had reserved for the week, and they vanished up stairs. The fairly short exchange hadn't been difficult. The hotel employees would see what they expected to see; in this case, another worthless money-man with his toy out for a good time.

"Do you think we can pull this off?" Winry asked as they changed into appropriate attire for the first part of their plan: make yourselves known quantities. She pulled out the deep red dress and slipped it on. It was very fitted; with a skirt that was just barely long enough not to flash her underwear when she danced, but not a thread longer! The neckline was a deep plunging V that showed off her cleavage more daringly than anything she had really ever worn; held it up and pushed it out a little more too! A little flashy jewelry and matching red heels completed the outfit. Winry put her hair up in a sophisticated twist and then, trying not to cringe, adjusted the make-up that Win always wore. Winry rarely wore any, and the heavier eye-make up and dark red lipstick was a dramatic change.

"I think so," Ed replied, sounding a little nervous himself. His ensemble consisted of high-end khaki pants, a bright green button-down polo shirt, expensive brown shoes, and the most over-priced watch the team had been able to get a hold of and a couple of rings, as well as a small gold chain around his neck. There was also a pair of shades that he had been wearing 'for effect' a lot. They did a nice job of hiding his golden eyes too; a trait Larred got from his mother because his father liked exotic looking women. He tucked the shades in the pocket of the shirt and smirked at her. "How do I look?"

"Disreputable, but rich," Winry laughed. "Me?" It was way, way too much for her but it was perfect for Win.

"Desperate," Ed retorted, "And way too sexy to be out in public."

"Perfect," Winry smiled, turning it into a simper. "Can we go down to the casino, Larry honey? Baby's bored."

Ed schooled his expression to one of careless enjoyment. "Let's go stir up a little excitement then." He offered her his arm in a way that was more a 'show' of chivalry than actual politeness and Winry grabbed it like a devoted puppy. Trying not to cringe or laugh, together they went downstairs.

The gaming part of the Blood Phoenix was unlike anyplace Ed or Winry had ever been before personally, but they felt like they already knew it; expensively decorated, a little over the top in style; falling not too far short of tasteless.

They strolled into the dining area first, where the dance floor and the bar were. The room was reasonably full in the early evening, with games at a few tables and a lot of people eating, or sitting at the bar with drinks. There was a house band in their own stand, playing a slow dance at the moment. Several couples were out on the floor.

Larred paused at the bar with her first. "Double Scotch," he ordered and looked at Win. "What do you want, Sweets?"

Nothing quite that hard to start with, or Win knew she'd never last the evening! She prayed he knew what was he was doing and went with something in an appropriately fruity cocktail, planning to sip it for as long as she could get away with. When it came, she proceeded to do just that, aware that Larred took down his first scotch in a few seconds then ordered a second; that one he sipped a little slower.

As they watched the dancers the slow song ended and something faster picked up. Win's ears caught it; it wasn't a waltz, it had a bouncier feel, with a kick to the beat and more drum. It sounded like what she and Ed had heard in Europe that he had called 'Big Band' several years before. It had a much more swinging step to it. They had it in Amestris too, but it wasn't as popular. Apparently here it was very popular. The couples immediately spun into a much more open, moving dance style that involved more hips, more swinging, and some pretty interesting footwork!

"Come on, doll," Larred was suddenly up in her face, dragging her forward. "Let's dance!" Before Win could object, he had deposited both of their drinks on the bar top and had her out on the dance floor, pressed up hard against her with a roguish grin on his face. "It's easy," he promised. "Just follow my lead and try to keep up."

And that was really all she could do. She had no idea he could move like that, but apparently she had been rather mistaken! He seemed cool, confident, and he was good too; a real surprise. He led her through the same moves everyone else seemed to know so well, spins and turns and drops, and then flipped her! Win was a little dizzy within a few seconds. Fortunately, he could lead and it didn't take her long to figure out the rhythms of the dance, the most common steps, and just how to give in and follow.

The band played two fast numbers back to back and they danced through both until, panting a little on her part, they returned to the bar and got their drinks. "That was incredible," Win smiled up at Larred, slightly simpering. "I didn't know you were such an accomplished dancer!" At some point he was definitely going to have to tell her where he had learned that and why he had never told her.

"Call me a man of mysteries," Larred grinned just a little too wide and finished his drink. "Shall we dine?"

"Please," she replied. Simple conversation to start; set characters, don't do anything obviously out of persona but still try and get generally noticed. Well, from the looks she'd been receiving the dress did that well enough.

Larred ordered another drink and then led her over to a table, where he ordered the two most expensive things on the menu for them: lamb and lobster. He had surprisingly good manners, though with the casual ease of someone who had been forced to learn them and did so out of habit rather than out of any care for his behavior.

"It's so sweet of you to bring me along like this, Larry," Win smiled at him as they ate.

Larred nodded, finished his bite, and flashed another grin. "No problem, doll. I hate traveling alone. Like it?" he motioned with one hand toward her food.

"Very tasty," Win chuckled. She tried to eat with the same relaxed ease, but was sure she looked like she wasn't used to fine dining. That was fine though; she was learning a lot about Larred this evening. After all, he was not a man she had known long, or knew well yet. She'd had no idea he could dance like that, or that he drank quite this much. Neither were a problem really; just things she now knew.

When they finished eating, Larred wiped his mouth and grinned again; he did that a lot. "I think I'm going to try my luck at the tables," he informed her, then stood. When she didn't stand immediately, she was surprised to get a well come on look of mild annoyance from him. Win jumped – perhaps a little quickly – from her seat and was rewarded by another of those smiles as Larred wrapped his left arm around her waist. She squeaked slightly when she felt his hand slide down and squeeze her rear! That was a new experience.

Larred led her over to the card tables, where he scoped out the options, spotted one with a game that looked like it was just starting, and sauntered over. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, though his tone sounded more like he expected to be included than a real question. Win was sure they'd turn him down, but both men looked up at him speculatively, eyed him up and down once, and then the larger one shrugged. Larred dropped down into a chair, set his scotch on the table, and waited while the thinner of the two men shuffled and dealt the hand.

Win was not invited to sit down, so she stood behind Larred trying to look pretty and mildly interested. She rested one hand on Larred's shoulder as he studiously focused on his cards and drank his scotch. It was actually pretty interesting, she found, to watch him work, even as she practiced looking like she barely understood what he was doing. The first round, Larred actually won with a straight. The second, he folded. The third he won again with a royal flush. The next he bluffed them both into folding against a fairly low two pair, winning again.

"Hey, doll." She blinked when he spoke and smiled at him only to realize he was holding out his hand, empty glass in it. "Be a sweet and get me another." He sounded like he was barely paying attention.

Suppressing the urge to get huffy and smack him, Win batted her eyelashes, smiled through an "Of course, Larry!" and took the glass. As she walked off, she heard Larred comment, "She's a little older than I usually like them, but she's quite the good luck charm! Can't argue with that body either."

The men he was playing with chuckled and there were several rather suggestive comments of agreement.

Win continued to smile as she went back to the bar, got Larred his next Scotch, and got herself one more cocktail. She got a lot of looks from other men in the room and if they happened to catch her eye, she gave them a smile, but nothing more as she walked back to Larry. That subtly seductive walk had taken days of work to look right. Apparently, it definitely did. She was getting a lot of attention. Not necessarily much more than a lot of the other ladies in the place – most of which seemed to play a similar position of good luck charm and decoration. "Here you go," she leaned down past Larred as she set the glass down – on of those full view maneuvers.

He actually looked at her this time. "Thanks, babe. You're an angel." He picked up the glass and drank.

"Well you work so hard," Win simpered, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind briefly, her chest pressed into his back.

The other two men looked slightly envious. Then poker faces went back on as the games continued. Apparently Larred had won another while she was gone. He really was good at this. Though she supposed she shouldn't be surprised; really, it was all probability. There was logic to it if you knew how to reason it out.

At the end of the night, Larred had won eighty percent of the games. He grinned at the other men, who were a lot lighter in the pockets, and stood. "Thanks for the entertainment this evening, gentlemen. If you'd like a chance to win it back, I'd be glad to join you again tomorrow. For now though," He leered at Win, "I think it's time to turn in."

The other two men nodded, and smirked as Larred took Win's arm and led her out. She did notice, as she left, that the other two did not leave without women themselves. Larred's hand rested on her backside all the way up to their room. That, at least, they were going to have to have words about!

As soon as the door closed behind them, Edward felt the tension leave his spine. The act wasn't complete though; not just yet. He grabbed Win spun her and slammed her hard against the door, pressing his mouth to hers with a sexual heat that required very little encouragement.

"What the-?" she managed before he shushed her.

"Part of the act," Ed whispered as his hand slid around behind her, undoing the zipper on her dress so that it puddled on the floor. Then he dragged her toward the bed in a much less gentle manner than he usually would; leaving clothing strewn on both of their parts by the time they hit the bed hard enough that it jumped. Larred was not a gentle man. He was not a tame lover… the folks in the rooms on either side, and below, would know it. "Forgive me," he added as he ran one cool auto-mail finger right along her midriff, under the breasts, eliciting a gasping squeal on her part. It was strange, he had to admit, to try anything while looking at her. The hair just threw him every time. But as long as he closed his eyes he knew Winry's body better than perhaps even his own and things felt right.

Not that Ed was anywhere near as rough as it sounded to folks outside the room. Though they did tumble off the bed at one point; landing with a thud that knocked a lamp off one of the tables. Fortunately, it didn't break. When it was all over, they cuddled up under the covers, Winry looking a little shell-shocked and Ed panting. "You all right?" he asked her softly, a little worried.

Winry nodded up at him; then smirked just a little. "I can handle anything you can throw my way. Though if you keep grabbing my ass we're going to have words."

Ed chuckled. "Sorry; character quirk. You have to admit it was a pretty good act."

"I didn't know you could move your hips like that," Winry commented. "When the heck did you learn to dance?"

"Oh that," Ed blushed a little. That was one little secret gone. "It's easy if you watch other people do it. They had that style of dancing starting in Europe remember? And the popularity of it here too," he shrugged. "I just kind of picked it up."

"So you've been dragging me through slow waltzes for years and you've known how to do this?" Winry sounded exasperated more than anything else.

"You know I don't like to dance much," Ed said in his own defense. "I never said I couldn't." She had seen him dance – over his own objections – with the Roma after all.

"You should do it more often," Winry laughed. "You're good at it."

"Only with the right partner." Ed kissed her again, but much more gently than earlier. He was pretty spent. The acting job took a lot out of him, all parts of it! The scotch hadn't helped either; another part of establishing character. "You were amazing."

"I was vapid and curvy," Winry quipped when their lips parted. "As long as I didn't look intelligent it wasn't that difficult. Though if I wanted to fetch drinks for a living, I'd have taken up waitressing. I'm surprised you were able to walk back up here under your own power, let alone the rest of it. You must have had what, eight glasses of scotch?"

Ed nodded, grinning. "Technically." Alchemy was a beautiful thing; especially when it was subtle.

Winry's slender eyebrows rose questioningly. "I watched you down them."

Ed nodded. "Of course. I couldn't really do otherwise. But a little slight-of-hand," he brought both of his hands up together, palm to palm to make his point, "is good for neutralizing the alcohol. I could only do it when folks weren't looking, but I managed it on about half of them." Otherwise he'd be a lot more drunk than he knew he had been earlier; still was, if less so.

"Good," Winry snuggled in close to his chest, sounding relieved.

Ed smiled as he hugged her. "Don't worry. I know this guy's kind of like me with all the filters off," he chuckled. "And worse. But I have no intention of letting this do anything that's going to change us."

"I know," Winry whispered. "I just feel like I've leaped in over my head this time, even more than when we were kids. I don't feel like I'm good enough to back you up if something happens. What good am I in a fight if this gets bad?"

"Are you kidding?" Ed chuckled. "The way you can swing a wrench, you could use just about anything as an effective weapon. Though your body's the best one we have right now," he added. "You keep them distracted, off-guard; relaxed. It makes my job a whole lot easier and… really, Roy was right. I couldn't have pulled any of that off with another woman. I'd be too self-conscious, and you'd be on my mind the whole time." The idea of grabbing someone else's backside, or kissing her, or the rest of it… no, not a chance; he possibly could have done it – with a lot more scotch in his system. But the guilt would have haunted him forever.

"Glad to know I'm needed," Winry yawned, her eyes drooping closed; obviously worn out.

"Always," Ed replied gently. "Just hold on, beautiful. This should only take a couple of days. I didn't see the target in there tonight, but that's all right. Building the reputation is key right now, and a little easier if it's established here before he finds out about me anyway." Ed had never played high-stakes cards; but he was glad now for all the times he'd joined in on games with Havoc and Breda, and sometimes Falman, Mustang… Feury was terrible; his face revealed everything. Ed had played against enough soldiers over the years; and in Europe too. He'd picked up a lot of tricks, but there had never been anything at stake in those games before; nothing this critical. Aside from their target – that stone needed to be grabbed and destroyed – if anything went really wrong, his life and, more important in his mind, Winry's would also be in jeopardy.

"I hope so," Winry murmured as she drifted off. "I don't like you when you're a jerk."

"Neither do I," Ed whispered, closing his eyes. Neither do I.

May 3rd, 1943

Ed awoke slowly, groaning as the throbbing in his head assured him that he had gotten what he deserved for yesterday's successful acting job – or at least, what Larred Allen would have deserved; except that Larred probably rarely got hung over. He wasn't sober long enough.

"Morning, lover boy," he heard Winry's voice chuckle from somewhere above him. Ed peeked his eyes open, wincing at the light, looking up at a blur of long red hair that fell down to partially conceal the fact that his wife was completely naked.

"Why are you still naked?" Perhaps it was a stupid question, but at home, normally Winry preferred to at least be in underwear and a bra if she was lounging around their bedroom, pajamas most likely. She was rarely completely naked for a long period of time; but he knew she had slept that way last night.

"Have you seen what they're calling 'undergarments' in my luggage?" Winry snorted, sounding much more like herself. "And the lingerie leaves less to the imagination than my hair does."

"I'm good with the hair," Ed replied, happy to just agree. He had seen what the team in charge of putting together their clothing had found and, while Winifred would probably have adored all of it; even Ed found it more than a little tasteless. "Not so good with the head this morning." He closed his eyes again, and then felt a light brush as Winry's lips touched his forehead.

"Sleep it off," she suggested. "You're supposed to be the indolent laze-about-in-the-morning night owl type anyway. Though it is after ten, so you might consider ordering up breakfast."

The very idea of food made him a little queasy at the moment, but he knew she was right. Besides, he would want it in a little bit. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Bathe" Winry replied as she headed into the bathroom. "No offense, but Larred makes me feel dirty."

"None taken," Ed agreed, chuckling weakly. "I feel the same way." He lay still for several more minutes until he adjusted more to the light, then made himself get up and lean over to the hotel's internal phone system and called down for room service; ordering up breakfast for two, coffee, and a gin and tonic. Not that he intended to drink that down without a little alchemy, but it would have seemed out of character if he didn't order it.

Ed sat up long enough to pull on the pair of brilliant emerald green silk shorts that were on the top of his options in the suitcase, then spent a couple of minutes contemplating standing up. He hated hangovers. They had been a pretty good deterrent against drinking too much the last couple of years. That and his own sense of self-preservation! If nothing else, he figured out that he was definitely also going to need a nice long, hot soak; though he would probably opt for a shower over the tub given the option.

It was just about the time he heard Winry getting up out of the tub that there was a knock at the door. Larred got up and strolled over to the door, opening it with a lazy smile. He thanked the man outside, tipped him well, and then closed the door once the cart was inside.

The smell of food was not as unappealing as he had feared, though the first thing Ed did was pour a cup of coffee, mix in cream and sugar, and drink it down. It definitely helped. He was nursing down a second cup more slowly when Winry came out of the bathroom, now wrapped in a fluffy bright pink bathrobe. Another one of the little character pieces that had been in her luggage, but at least it was comfortable material. There was a similar one, more male appropriate, in Ed's luggage in the same green as the silk shorts he was currently wearing.

"That smells good," Winry smiled – looking much more like herself when freshly washed – and came over to the tray. She frowned momentarily at the gin and tonic, and then sighed, obviously figuring out for herself what it was doing there. "Are you actually going to drink that?"

"Sort of," Ed replied. "It doesn't take much to smell like a drunk. The rest, well you know the trick I used last night." He'd neutralize the rest of it. As long as he smelled like he drank a gin and tonic every morning no one would consider otherwise.

Winry looked relieved and Ed didn't blame her. He wasn't thrilled with the character flaws he had to pull off. She came around and sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "How long do you think we'll have to do this?" she asked softly.

"Until we get a hold of it," Ed sighed, sipping his coffee. "Hopefully just a couple of days." Not that he really believed it would be that short and, he suspected, neither did Winry.

The afternoon was spent around the swimming pool. Ed lazed about and actually napped, or pretended to ogle the ladies that walked by and nursed down three glasses of neutralized scotch over the course of the afternoon. Winry spent the time sunning beside him in a bright purple string bikini that left very little to the imagination.

That evening played out much the same as the one before. Larred and Win made their appearance early in the evening, had dinner, danced, and after Larred had a few drinks, he inevitably wound up at the tables. Their target didn't make an appearance that night either, but Larred won most of his games, coming out with a good bit of cash, and a promise to come back again the next night to give folks a chance to win their money back!

May 5th-6th, 1943

It was two more days before Joachim Arnan actually made an appearance at the Blood Phoenix. From general talk, Ed had learned that he was out of town on business, so he was glad when the man finally showed up.

By now Larred Allen had quite a reputation. Ed's skills had sharpened up even more and he won most of his games, but not all. Good enough to be noticeable, but not perfect; a good mark for someone who prided themselves on their skills when it came to games of chance.

It was early in the evening when Arnan came in, easily noticeable by a small entourage that consisted of a couple of men in suits and several women, all as scandalously dressed as Win, whose attire this evening consisted of a dress that was fitted, with a high collar, but a cut-out in the center of the chest that somehow seemed more revealing, and a tight skirt that stopped only half-way down the thighs, and had slits that came up high enough she had been forced to forego undergarments entirely if she didn't want them to be visible, or wear the uncomfortable things she'd been given as 'costume.' The dress was a vibrant, deep blue. Her auburn hair was up in an elaborate twist again tonight instead of down. She had gotten used to the ridiculously high heels that seemed to accompany every dress.

From watching other women in the place, Win was more convincing as well. Fortunately, hovering around Larred like a love-struck –or at least desperate- kitten seemed to be relatively common; the kind of girl likely to get dumped to the side within a few weeks when her sugar daddy got bored and found another plaything.

From the way some of the women watched her, Win suspected that they were anticipating that event and ready to pounce the moment it looked like Larred was interested. She had already had to put up with three women who had, on different occasions, dropped themselves right into Larred's lap when Win was 'fetching' his drinks. It had made her cringe to watch him flirt, give them a squeeze, and send them off with a 'sorry ladies' that was accompanied by a lingering pat on the ass with his right hand. He'd better not be enjoying it! She would be glad when this was over; she was beginning to worry that maybe Edward was getting a little too into his role.

She watched Joachim Arnan stroll across the room, his drink ready by the time he reached the bar and his table ready before he even arrived, a meal coming out piping hot and ready as he sat down. They treated him like a king. Perhaps, she thought, they treated him better than that.

For a moment, Win froze when Arnan glanced in their direction. He leaned over to ask the waiter a question; the man whispered something in response – likely explaining who Larred was. When he was done, Arnan looked contemplative then met Win's eyes. He gave her a smile that was likely meant to be debonair but to her seemed sleazy, despite the fact he looked only a little older than they were, and handsome besides. Win smiled vapidly back at him and giggled before turning back to look at Larred's game. It was safer.

As Larred won the game in front of them, the waiter approached and nodded to him and the other men he had been playing. "Excuse me, Mister Allen, but the proprietor, Mister Arnan, would like to invite you to join him and his associates in a friendly game."

As if the game was likely to be anything but friendly, Win thought. Larred grinned. "Well I sure can't turn down a polite invitation from the boss can I?" he chuckled. "Sorry, gents. I guess we'll have to finish this later." He stood up, gathered his winnings, pocketed them, and picked up his scotch before strolling across the room. Win could do little but follow and try to look properly flattered, interested, and clueless.

Arnan stood and smiled at Larred, offering him a friendly handshake. "Welcome Mister Allen, to my home. I am sorry I was not here to welcome you when you arrived, but I hear you have made yourself at home in my absence."

"It's my kind of place," Larred chuckled, responding with a similar handshake. "It's difficult not to feel at home here."

"I am glad you're joining us for tonight's game," Arnan grinned, white teeth a contrast to tanned skin. His dark hair, up close Win noticed, had a smattering of gray amongst the black, but in that well-aged way. "It livens things up to have a little new company."

"Then I am most happy to oblige," Larred sipped his scotch, so cool, so relaxed.

"We'll leave the distractions here however," Arnan gestured to the girls surrounding him. A couple of them pouted, but the others seem to be used to it.

"Leaving my good luck charm behind?" Larred sighed. Then he shrugged. "All right then. I can't go against house rules, not with so gracious a host. Have a little fun, Kits," he turned and handed Win a small wad of his cash winnings. "I may be a while."

Winry wanted to smack him; Win just smiled and giggled. "Sure, Larry. Have fun!" At least there wouldn't be other women in there either. She watched as Larred followed Arnan and two other men into one of the back rooms.

It had been all Ed could do to keep smiling as he shook Joachim Arnan's hand. The man wore several large rings – like a lot of the men here, including Larred – but one of them he had recognized on sight: the stone. Arnan was no fool apparently; he kept it on him.

He followed Arnan into the back room that was apparently reserved for Arnan's use only; him and whomever he felt like inviting into his inner sanctum. It was much more tasteful than the rest of the place, though almost as ostentatious: dark wood paneling, accent lightning, large artworks, and several interesting items that Ed was sure were illegal to own in most countries. "Nice collection," he commented simply as they all sat down.

Arnan seemed pleased. "Quite a trick to acquire some of them I assure you. Are you a patron of art, Mister Allen?"

"Larred, please," he chuckled. "My home is full of pieces, but I'm afraid that while I appreciate them, I don't know as much as I'd like. My mother was the collector in the family. My interests lay in…other areas in those days." His knowing smile was matched by Arnan's. Girls, booze, and cards; those were Larred's favorite pleasures, plain and simple.

"Call me Joachim. We are kindred spirits then," Arnan laughed. "Your good luck charm as you call her is quite ravishing. Surprisingly so for a woman of her age; she has to be what, thirty?"

Larred managed not to laugh. He would tell Win that one later. She might actually be pleased enough to forgive him the expedient dispatching of girls who seemed to think his lap was a nice place to land. "I like them with a little experience," he smirked. "She's got quite a few tricks to match the treats." He sipped from his drink.

"Please, join us," Arnan gestured and sat down. Larred sat down across from him – the only chair left available at the table. The other two men waited patiently until Arnan made introductions. "My business partners, Enri Ferneze and Paolo Tyron."

Larred Allen enjoyed the evening tremendously, though Ed found it quite the opposite. He learned a lot though. Ferneze was actually the business manager for the Blood Phoenix, but Tyron was Arnan's partner in the less legal aspects of his business practices. He wasn't an alchemist that Ed could tell, but he didn't dare try anything in their presence. He was fairly certain that Arnan would notice. That meant he couldn't alter his drinks though, and it meant carefully balancing the image he had to keep up with drinking just slow enough to keep to where he could focus on the game.

They played rather late into the night, though it was actually a fairly friendly game. They chatted, and once it came out that Larred might be interested in some of the kinds of things Arnan prospected in – and perhaps making a large investment – things got downright chummy! The men completely bought Larred's background story of deciding to get a little adventure in the military, and his rather quick change of mind after getting his limbs blown off on the Drachman front.

Larred didn't win every game, but he won a lot considering, a full half of the hands, including a few skillfully played bluffs. Arnan won most of the rest, with his business partners combined taking maybe a tenth total.

"It's been a long time since I played someone with your talents," Arnan chuckled when they called it a night, though Ed was pretty sure the man was not nearly as pleased about losing so much as he seemed. "We shall have to play again."

"It'd be my pleasure, Joachim," Larred grinned, shaking his hand again as they left the room. "Wouldn't be sportsman like to not give you a chance to win it all back right?"

"A gentleman after my own heart," Arnan smiled. "Tomorrow night then."

Larred wasn't about to turn the opportunity down.

Ed's head was swimming as he made his way back up to the hotel room. It was late, very late – nearly four in the morning. He hadn't been at all surprised to find out that Win had gone up to the room a couple of hours before. Frankly, he was surprised she'd waited around for him that long! But then, he supposed that Win would, while Winry most certainly wouldn't.

The room was dark when he got in, and he could see Winry's form already curled up under the covers; naked likely. She really did hate most of the wardrobe she had been given and only wore what was necessary when she was going to be seen by anyone other than Ed. Maybe she had gone to bed to avoid the last bit of play-acting that usually followed their jaunts downstairs. Even Ed had to admit, he would have much preferred their usual love-making to the more rambunctious exertions that Larred and Win enjoyed, even when half of it was faked noise for show.

Ed stripped and climbed into bed, too tired to care about finding his own shorts either in the dark. He rolled over and tried to snuggle up to Winry, but she shifted away from him. Ed felt a pang of hurt, then annoyance with himself. She was asleep; he shouldn't wake her. He closed his eyes and quickly passed out.

Winry felt guilty, but she wasn't in the mood to cuddle or to talk, so she let Ed think she was asleep. When he gave up immediately and fell asleep, she chided herself for feeling worse. Still, she already regretted coming on this mission, and things just seemed to get more difficult as time went on. Each day, Ed seemed a little more into character and, while she knew that was the plan; it was a little frightening how easily he played the part.

Being separated from him tonight had been agonizing. She'd had to really play up Win without Larred to play off of, and that had been more difficult and frightening than she had imagined it would be. She hated Win; everything about her. Her character was everything girly and weak that Winry despised. But she had sat at the bar, nursed down a couple of drinks, and made flirtatiously charming small talk with over a dozen interested male parties, all the while apologizing with a pout for not going off with them because Larry would be so disappointed!

By two in the morning she had wondered if maybe Larry had just forgotten she was waiting outside. Even if he hadn't, she couldn't risk going in there and getting him. Finally, she had just gone upstairs. Casually of course, with a chuckle to the greeter who asked if she'd had a good evening that she had, but she desperately wanted a bubble bath.

Really, what she wanted was to give up and go home and be with Edward; just Edward Winry knew she should have more faith in him. He was normal in the privacy of the hotel room for the most part, but being Larred for most of the day was taking its toll on him, she could tell. Ed never did anything half-heartedly – unless it came to following orders he didn't like, or drinking milk – but this seemed to be his element: this subterfuge, this high-tension high-risk world. It wasn't a clean fight, like she was used to with him, but something much more complicated and subtle. She had never seen Ed be anyone other than himself and it scared her. And yet, she needed to be here; there was no way Ed could have pulled this off without her was there? He couldn't have convincingly seduced any of those beautiful younger women who seemed so eager to fall into his lap… right?

Winry blinked, realizing then that tears were flowing down her cheeks. If anyone ever tried to talk her into something like this again, she'd tell them exactly where they could stuff her wrench!

The room was way too bright. Ed buried himself further under the covers, well aware that it was late but not willing to open his eyes. His head was pounding, his stomach turned, and his tongue was thick and foul tasting. He had to get up though. He needed to tell Winry what he'd discovered last night and the plan he had worked out. At the moment, he was almost tempted to use the method Larred would have to get rid of the hangover, but he wasn't that stupid. "Hey, Winry?" he asked weakly without peeking out. "Is there coffee?"

There was no response.

"Winry?" Ed tried again, forcing himself to unbury his head from under the blankets and look around, ignoring the rising nausea. The bed beside him was empty, but that didn't surprise him. What worried him was the lack of any kind of answer. There was a breakfast tray but it was empty save for a couple of slices of cold toast. He sat up, grimaced, swallowed, and had to wait for several seconds before he could see straight. This was pathetic. He had a stronger constitution than that! Ed forced himself to stand up and walk over, taking down the toast in a few bites. He didn't hear the shower running. Then he noticed the note tucked under the coffee pot – the contents of which turned out to be lukewarm sludge.

Gone shopping, darling! Back before cuddle time! Win

Cuddle time? Ed cringed. At least it was in character. Shopping? Why the hell would Winry go out without him? And today of all days. He had to tell her what was going on tonight, this was their chance to get this whole thing taken care of and over with!

Havah was actually a beautiful city, Winry thought, if she ignored the obvious tourist traps, the hotels, the casinos…okay, most of it. But there were a few little spots that were actually still charming and held some of the flavor of what she suspected was the real local culture. Not that she could spend much time in them, not without breaking character. Oh well, she would just have to deal with not seeing them. She had no intention of ever coming back to visit.

When she had woken to find Ed still out cold and snoring – a rare, unpleasant thing – she had known he wouldn't be up anytime soon. That was fine with her though; a plan had started formulating in her mind last night, and she wanted to put it into action. If she could do anything to get this over with sooner, she would definitely look into it. Besides, she just needed a little time by herself to sort things out in her head.

She also picked up a nightgown she was willing to sleep in, joking with the lady in the store that it was for her 'older sister' who was just far too conservative and needed to learn to have a little fun! At least it had as much fabric as one of the dresses she'd had to wear lately, and it wasn't see-through or made of some impractical fabric.

Winry had gotten away with the most conservative dress in her suitcase today as well – an emerald green dress that was just decent enough for walking around in daylight, with a skirt that fell to half-way down her thighs –more the length she had worn as a teenager – and a top that would have been quite comfortable if not for the plunging v-neck that still showed more cleavage than she preferred in public. And it wasn't like she was that conservative, though she was certainly beginning to feel like it.

She picked up a couple of dresses, a pair of shoes, and a smattering of other accessories that she could get away with, putting anything that might be 'un Win-like' at the bottom of the bag. In the early afternoon she stopped outside a café, contemplating if she should get lunch or go back to the hotel and check on Edward.

"Miss Shelagh, how fortunate to run into you on this lovely afternoon." The exquisitely accented voice made her freeze momentarily. Winry turned and realized that Joachim Arnan was standing right beside her!

She blushed, startled, but was glad when he seemed to take her reaction as one of pleasant surprise. "Mister Arnan," she smiled shyly. "The pleasure is mine."

"Please, call me Joachim," he smiled charmingly, taking her hand and kissing it with a surprising confidence and gentlemanly air. It was much less sleazy than the other night. Or perhaps that was the natural light, the more public surroundings, and the lack of a cloud of women surrounding him.

Her plan had just gotten simpler. "All right, Joachim," she giggled. "But please call me Win. Miss Shelagh is so formal!"

Arnan chuckled. "Your paramour is not with you. Doesn't he escort you when you go out? It's not safe to wander in places with which you are not familiar."

"Oh Larry's never up early," she shrugged; making it sound like this was nothing new. "He does need his sleep though." She tried to sound sympathetic.

"Of course," Arnan was still smiling. "But I would do him a great disservice if I did not make certain you returned to him safely."

"You're so kind," Win batted her eyes lightly – not too much. It was an art she had practiced for hours before it looked natural. "I was just enjoying a bit of shopping though, and I was going to have some lunch. Where would you recommend?"

"If you will permit me," Arnan held out his arm. "I will treat you to the finest cuisine in the city."

Yes, her plan had just gotten much simpler. Winry took Arnan's arm, trying to look flattered and pleased instead of cringing the way she wanted to. Arnan was almost as good as acting genuinely charming as Ed was at pretending to be a womanizing good-for-nothing. Getting closer to him, hopefully she could find out something that would make things easier for Ed, and get them home faster. For that, she could spend an afternoon with Joachim Arnan.

Ed didn't bother trying to go out before late afternoon. He ordered up a very late breakfast – it was after noon – and napped on and off until his head stopped pounding. He needed to find a way of altering his drinks without Joachim noticing, or drinking less. He'd managed to avoid getting hung over again after the first night until now, but he needed his wits tonight; he needed to actually win. He still wasn't sure how he was going to get that ring off of Arnan's finger, but either he had to win it or destroy it and hope to get out alive. He didn't want to put Winry at risk though, so he hoped plan A would work.

Food, more sleep, and a long hot soak finally had him feeling human again. Ed was just pulling on clothes when he heard the door unlock and saw Winry enter, a large bag in her arms. "There you are," he stood up. "I was beginning to think you'd…." he cut off, realizing what he'd been about to say without thinking.

"I'd what?" Winry asked, her back going stiff and her expression turning immediately into a frown. "I can take care of myself you know."

"I didn't mean that," Ed replied, frowning now, confused. "Where were you?"

"Shopping, like the note said," she sighed, exasperated. "I would have been back sooner, but Joachim took me out for lunch."

"Oh… what?" Ed stared at her. He had to have misheard that!

Winry smirked. "I ran into him and he thought a girl shouldn't go unescorted in a dangerous city, so he treated me to lunch at La Cabana." It was the most exclusive club in town; even using Ed's alias they hadn't been able to get in.

Ed's throat went dry. "Did he now?" And she'd gone with him? He wasn't sure what to make of that. "I needed to talk to you about tonight. The ring…"

"Is the one on his right hand, second finger right?" Winry cut him off. "I noticed. It looks just like you described. He said you two have another game tonight, just the two of you."

"Well weren't you two chummy," Ed tried not to sound petulant, but failed miserably.

Winry smirked. "He invited me to be there."

"How did you manage to swing that?" Ed asked incredulously. This was just getting more and more bizarre. He didn't like being out of the loop; he hadn't even been consulted on any of this.

"Apparently he thinks a little distraction might improve his chances," Winry shrugged. "I need to get ready for this evening. Was there anything else you needed to tell me?"

"Well, no," Ed admitted. She seemed to have found out everything important on her own.

"Good." She crossed the room and brushed past him, heading for the shower. Ed watched her go, feeling very much like he'd just been brushed off. Whatever was going on here, Ed didn't like it!

May 6th-7th, 1934

Ed did his best to put Winry's odd behavior out of his mind that evening. He needed to focus on the game, but having her in the room did make it tougher on him; mostly because of how in character she was tonight. He'd never seen her play it up so much, and it bothered him. What bothered him more was the fact that she kept shooting glances at Joachim when she thought he wasn't looking. What had they talked about?

He knew the acting shouldn't bother him, but it did. Because it was too much like how she had been earlier in private; a little strange and distant. Was she mad at him? If so, he couldn't imagine why. It wasn't like he enjoyed this!

The card game lasted well into the night, and Larred was on tonight, fortunately. He focused on the cards, only taking drinks when he was being watched, and did his best to look like he was more focused on the game than anything else. They went back and forth for a while on who won hands, staying fairly even but as the evening got later Larred started a winning streak that he definitely needed. There was too much on the line, and he focused in on the cards, the possible combinations, and the likelihood of what would come up next on the deck. Sometimes he won by bluffing and others by the barest of margins, but he was coming out ahead. He drove the stakes up, and he played with an outwardly relaxed air, as if it were really still just a game to him.

As long as Larred was winning, Joachim Arnan wouldn't quit. That was the theory, and it proved to be correct. As the night went on, Arnan won the occasional hand, but not nearly enough. Win's flirting seemed more of a distraction for him than Larred, and he silently hoped that she was doing that to throw him off, and not for some other reason. He trusted his wife, but it was still disconcerting.

Finally, Joachim lost the hand that put him out of ready cash. Larred was impressed; he'd won millions in sens at this point, enough that it would nicely line their bank account for decades if he kept it up. Any other time, Larred would have walked away clean, but money wasn't what he was after. In fact, it mattered almost nothing. "I guess that's it then," he commented, allowing a smirk to come to his face.

"Not yet," Arnan shook his head. He was less friendly now than he had been yesterday. There were guards at the doors. Larred knew that from when they'd come in earlier. There would be no cheating, but he knew that Arnan wasn't cheating either; a surprising point of pride. "One more hand."

"What are you going to put up?" Larred chuckled.

"You see anything here you fancy?" Arnan offered motioning to the collection of priceless items in the room.

A nice, convenient opening. "Actually," Larred smirked. "There's that rather unusual ring you've been wearing." He didn't have to say which one, the rest were enough like the ones on Larred's hands that he could only be referring to one.

Arnan scowled, but seemed to realize that Larred would be happy to stop here and walk out; but for Arnan it wasn't about the money either. He shrugged, and smiled then, though Larred was sure it cost him a lot. "Why not," he pulled off the ring and tossed it on the table. "But there's something specific you'll have to put up to match it."

"Other than cash?" Larred arched an eyebrow. "What do you want from me in exchange?"

Arnan shrugged. "Your good luck charm."

Ed screamed in his head, but outwardly kept his face calm, composed, and it turned slightly amused. Larred wasn't all that attached to Win as anything more than a temporary toy. "You're the opportunist aren't you," he chuckled. "Though perhaps we should see what she thinks of the idea." He couldn't imagine her saying yes. When she said no, then he didn't think Arnan would insist.

Win looked between them, and chuckled. "Sure, why not? Sounds like fun! Two handsome men fighting over me."

What? It took all of Ed's willpower to keep his face straight. What the hell was she thinking? If he lost… "Sounds like you have a deal then," he smiled at Arnan. "Last hand then?"

"Last hand," Arnan agreed.

It was Larred's turn to deal. When he got a look at his hand, he almost cried. It was the worst he'd had all night starting off! He kept his face neutral though, and couldn't read anything about Arnan's hand from his either. Not that he really expected to; the man was a professional and it had been that way all evening. Larred discarded two the first time, leaving himself with something that almost resembled a hand. He discarded two on the second as well, and found himself holding a Full House. Not fantastic, but not bad. Should he risk it for something higher? The right cards –there were a couple of options – would give him four of a kind. There was no way he would get a higher hand. But if he risked it, he might lose the hand…and Winry.

He didn't take the risk. "Full House," he announced, laying out his cards with a smirk.

His heart sank as Arnan sighed, then grinned. "Four of a kind," he replied, laying out his own cards for Larred to see. "It seems I win."

"I guess you have," Larred shrugged, even as Ed wailed inside. This wasn't happening. The only hand that really mattered and he'd lost! Surely Winry was going to object to this?

But Win giggled, sauntered over, and ran her hand playfully down Joachim Arnan's cheek. "I think I like being the prize," she chuckled in a sultry tone. "I have a little present for you. Your room, twenty minutes?"

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He wanted to grab the ring and Winry and run, but he couldn't do either. Larred stood, picked up his scotch, and finished it off.

"Of course, my dear," Arnan grinned. "I never keep a lady waiting."

Win giggled again when he called her a lady, and slipped out the door.

Arnan stood then, slipped the ring back on his hand, and grinned at Larred. "Tell you what. You're welcome to any one of the ladies at my table this evening. You should try the blonde, she's quite the gymnast."

"Thanks," Larred laughed through gritted teeth. "You're a pal." He watched Arnan leave the room, counted to twenty slowly then followed. He timed it right. Win and Joachim Arnan were nowhere in sight.

Good, that meant his next response was something he could get away with. He'd won a lot of money, but no one out here knew that. All they probably knew at the moment was that Arnan had won again, and probably what the prize was. Larred strode up to the bar, asked for a refill on his scotch, took it down in one long drink, then left the glass on the bar as he headed back up to his room.

If he timed it right, hopefully he could catch Winry before she did something they would both regret. What the hell was going on? He intended to find out.

Still, he couldn't run. He opened the door of their room and stopped dead, jaw dropping. He barely had the sense to close the door behind him before losing it completely. "What the hell is going on?!" he snapped.

Winry stood there, completely decked out in the flimsiest lingerie that had been in that suitcase, just about to pull the pink robe around her might-as-well-be-naked body. "Just business as usual," she replied stiffly.

"Bull-shit," Ed crossed the room and reached for her arm, but she pulled it away as she tied the robe. "Winry, what are you doing? I—"

She leaned briefly in, getting right up in his face. "Don't blow this, Edward. I'll distract him and get the ring off him; you just get it and destroy the stupid thing. Got it?" With that, she turned and flounced out the door, leaving Ed standing there dumbfounded.

Had she planned this? It sure looked like it, and he could only hope that was the case. Still, in that outfit, he could only think of one way to distract a man enough not to notice someone breaking into his place, and the idea of Arnan laying a hand on Winry's body made him so furious he was actually starting to see red just thinking about it!

Well then, he'd just have to get that done fast, wouldn't he? But Winry was going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do when this was over. Ed changed out of the obvious 'Larred' clothes, slipping into something more fitted and less visually loud. He pulled on better shoes, and silently slipped out of the bedroom window onto the balcony. From there, he knew where Joachim's place was. It was the penthouse apartment at the top of the building, just a few floors up. "Time to climb," Ed muttered to himself, and he carefully started scaling the wall, glad that this side of the building faced streets usually empty this late at night.

Winry was more than a little nervous as she rode the elevator up to the top floor of the Blood Phoenix. She couldn't imagine actually living this life; somebody's temporary lover at best, a call girl or whore at worst. Yes here she was, wearing the tackiest and most uncomfortable thing she had ever seen, set on trying to seduce a man she found personally revolting; not because of his body, but his entire personality was one big fake lie or, rather, he was just really that creepy.

This would either be the greatest acting job of Winry's life, or the biggest mistake ever. She hoped it would be the former, or she wouldn't blame Ed if he never forgave her. She probably wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

It had been a simple plan to get information, but Joachim had been more forward than she expected, offering Win a lot more, he was sure, than Larred could, and promising her more stability if she would come work for him. She had feigned interest to keep him talking, and that was how she had noticed the ring and learned about tonight's game. Winry had hoped that Ed would just manage to win the thing as planned, but that had fallen through when Joachim had put forth the challenge for her against the stone instead of money. It wasn't Ed's fault. No one could win every game, and she knew he would have played his best. She'd just have to prove that she was as valuable to this team effort as he was.

The elevator stopped, and she plastered a cool smile on her face and stepped out into the small hallway that was the entrance to Joachim Arnan's apartment suite. She knocked on the door which opened at once, Joachim grinning broadly at her, already shirtless. "Welcome to my humble abode," he chuckled. Winry was getting tired of the fake gallantry, but she giggled and stepped inside.

"It's beautiful," she gasped. Really, it wasn't that tasteless, just more ostentatious than she would have ever preferred. Over-luxurious indulgence seemed to be the purpose of his place; meant to impress even in his most private spaces: marble floors and even the walls, with thick fur rugs. There were leather couches and a fully stocked bar.

"Only the best for lovely ladies," Joachim closed the door behind her. "Would you care for a drink?" He was also, she noted, wearing only a pair of silky black shorts.

"I'd love one," she batted her eyes playfully. Anything to stall a little and give Ed more time to get in place; she just hoped he understood the plan. If she had paused to explain further, he would probably have stopped her. "Whatever you're having," she said, hoping it wasn't a mistake. "I'm sure you have excellent taste."

"I'm told I do," Joachim's fake modesty was no more amusing than his fake sincerity, even if he was a fantastic actor. "Please, make yourself comfortable," he gestured to the bedroom.

Win – not Winry, she had to force her own natural responses to the back – winked, giggled, and went into the bedroom. The bed was huge, king-sized and covered in a thick white-furred cover that, when she felt it, was silky and soft. Rabbit perhaps? If so, it must have cost a fortune. Talk about a waste of money.

Comfortable though. With a sigh, she took off the robe, revealing her body in the sheer, flimsy, black-fur edged undergarment that was apparently Win's favorite. It stopped right below the panty line, and really didn't hide much of anything. She could see her reflection in the entire wall of mirrors that lined the other side of the room, and cringed, realizing that the other wall was entirely glass as well; windows out onto the top of the building. She draped the robe out on the bed and lay down near the pillows, angling so she didn't have to look into the mirrors.

Joachim joined her a couple of minutes later with what looked like margaritas. Apparently he had noticed Win's preference for colorful, fruity drinks. "I hope you find this to your liking," he said as he handed her a glass and sat down on the edge of the bed. His body wasn't bad really but, even biased, Winry felt he had nothing on Ed. The man was trim, but obviously no fighter; at least, not the way Ed was. He could probably hold his own in a brawl or fistfight though. He didn't look weak. She'd have to be careful.

It was a little too late for caution now though. Win sipped from the drink. "Very tasty," she smiled, making a point of licking a little bit from her lips. That got the desired effect as Joachim's eyes dilated just a little and she could tell that she held his attention, at least for now. The trick would be keeping it. The angle she had put herself at set them where she could see out the windows, but Joachim couldn't. He could still see some of the outside reflected in the mirrors though, and that worried her.

As soon as Joachim had finished his drink, she made her move. If she didn't control this scenario he would, and that was the last thing she wanted. "You were awfully impressive this evening," she smiled as she ran one hand slowly down his arm, then back up. "So calm and collected; I really like that." Win's voice dropped to a sultry whisper.

Joachim turned to her and ran a hand up her thigh, not even trying to be coy. She forced herself not to stiffen, and the slight shudder that came seemed to please him. He leaned over and his hand began to move higher.

"Ouch," Win jumped, feigning discomfort, but she put a pout on her face. "I have sensitive skin. You wouldn't want to hurt me with these would you?" she laid one hand lightly on the rings on his fingers.

Joachim snorted, but the easy smile returned to his face quickly. "Of course not, bunny. Let me put them away. Don't go anywhere."

Win giggled. "Thanks so much. You're a darling! Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it."

Ed squirmed as he watched Joachim Arnan leave his bedroom, walk through the equally glass-walled living area, and pause at the bar, refilling his drink. He was peeking over the edge rail to the rooftop, waiting for a clear moment to make a break for the balcony doors to Joachim's living room without being seen. As it was, it had been all he could do not to bolt the moment the man's hand had touched Winry's leg. She didn't seem to mind either. She had to be acting, really. Winry was far too classy for the things she was doing tonight! While waiting for Arnan, she positioned herself carefully, and drank from the glass he had brought her.

Arnan, he should be watching Arnan. Ed turned his head back in time to see the man remove the rings on his hand – all of them – and set them down on the bar. Then he turned and made his way back to his bedroom. Ed cringed as Winry – no Win, Win! If he didn't think of her as Winry… no, it really didn't help at this point. That was his wife Arnan's hands were touching as they fell back onto the bed, and he could barely see her as they kissed.

Furious, Ed shook himself; this was their only opportunity, and if he moved fast enough, he could get in and out without being noticed. It seemed far too heavy a price to pay for the stupid stone, but if Winry was doing this to assure the success of their mission, he wasn't going to let this be for naught. If he was quick enough; she might not have to take it any further, though he had no idea how she'd get out of it now!

While Arnan's back was to him, Ed lightly leapt the rail and ran the distance to the living area door, and carefully opened it. He almost wished the place were more soundproof; and not because of his entrance, which was practically silent. He could hear sounds coming from the other room; female giggles and almost purring noises, and the uttered groans of a man who was being strung along, his desires mounting, but not satisfied.

Ed shuddered, but made his way quietly over to the bar, snatching the ring with the stone on it up in one hand. Quietly, he pulled a bit of metal and a small red rock out of his pocket and transmuted a fake. It wasn't perfect, but it would be enough to delay the realization of what had happened. Then he backtracked as fast as he dared. He silently closed the door again, and slipped back towards the rail, glancing back only to make sure Arnan didn't see.

The two of them were tangled in sheets. Turning away, his stomach churning, Ed dropped down to the next balcony below and began a much quicker descent than the climb that had brought him up in the first place. He couldn't take seeing any more.

He wasn't sure how he'd face going home either.

Win spotted Ed as he vanished back over the railing, and relaxed. Good! Mission accomplished. Or at least, that part of it. She still had to untangle herself from what was otherwise going to quickly turn into an unwanted liaison. Creative foreplay was a useful tool, and getting them wrapped up in the sheets merely a successful delay tactic. She kissed Joachim with a passion she didn't feel at all. "You know what," she whispered breathlessly as she reached back subtly toward her robe with one hand. "I think this is a night I will always remember."

Ed knew he should get out of the Blood Phoenix now, make a run for the train, and get out of town before Arnan discovered that the stone was a fake, but he couldn't make himself do it. What did the damned stone matter now, when Winry was upstairs in bed with that…. He cringed, shuddered, and tipped the bottle of scotch Larred kept in the room up, taking a long swig. Damn it. Tears stung his eyes. This wasn't right! This wasn't how things were supposed to work, and when he got back to Central, he was going to give Mustang and Breda an ass-kicking they would never forget; President and former President or no.

He looked down at the little ring in his hand; an incomplete philosopher's stone, the first he'd seen in many years; flawed, imperfect, but powerful none the less. So many times in his life, he had wanted the thing, even long after he knew what it was, and why they had to be destroyed. He'd wanted it to save his family; Al, then Sara when she was little, Winry when she'd almost died in the accident, or maybe fixed Ethan's hand when he was born missing two fingers. If he'd had the stone, he could probably have mowed down the invading Xing soldiers, and none of what had been done to him, or Havoc, or his team, would have ever been a problem. Still, somehow, even when they had managed to get the real Stone, it hadn't been enough to fulfill Ed and Al's wishes. The stone was never enough.

And here it was, lying in his open palm, waiting for Ed to do what he'd been ordered to: destroy it. The stupid stone had never been worth the trouble it caused, but somehow, Ed couldn't bring himself to do it. Not just yet. It was as if, if he stared into its red depths long enough, he might find the answer to the pain that was threatening to rip him apart from the inside out.

A subtle knock on the door made him jump and Ed leapt to his feet, ready to fight or flee as needed, until he saw Winry slip inside, once more wrapped in the bathrobe. He froze. He wasn't ready to deal with this yet. "That was quick," the bitter words left his mouth before he even realized they were forming. "Not much staying power to him is there?"

Winry looked hurt, then angry. "I can't believe you!" she hissed, at least keeping her voice down.

"Me?" Ed stared at her, disbelieving. "I'm not the one jumping into someone else's bed!"

"To save your hide," Winry countered, storming across the room. "I didn't sleep with him, Edward!"

"What did you do then?" Ed snorted, glaring. "It sure didn't look like charades."

Winry smirked. "I knocked him out with a wrench."

That was not the answer Ed had been expecting. He floundered until his mind absorbed her words. "Where the heck were you hiding a wrench?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She grinned, and winked at him in a way that was, entirely, one-hundred percent Winry. "Though kissing that man has to be the foulest thing I have ever done. I wish we had time for a shower, but I don't think he'll be out long." She glanced down at his hands and Ed realized he was still holding both the ring, and the bottle of scotch. Her expression turned to one of sad guilt. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything before hand. I was just…well I figured you'd stop me."

"Damned right," Ed retorted, looking away. "That was reckless, and dangerous, and…"

Winry slipped into his arms before Ed could move and gently removed the bottle from his hand. "It was absolutely terrifying," she admitted softly. "But I've been scared for days. Watching you be Larred was almost worse than when we thought you might be dead." There were real tears in her eyes. Ed reached up instinctively and brushed them away with one finger. "Seeing other girls drape all over you and watching you flirt with them I…"

"You were afraid I might like it," Ed guessed then. He should have figured that out sooner. It seemed so obvious now that she said it. His mouth quirked involuntarily into a small smile. "I guess you didn't notice but…I only touched them with my auto-mail. I never really felt much of anything."

Winry gave him a startled look, and then immediately flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't," she admitted. "But I think you already know how I felt."

"You think?" Ed snorted then pulled her into a warm hug. "Watching you tonight, part of me knew you had to be acting – it just wasn't you – but the other part wanted so badly to go in there and beat him bloody for even looking at you like that. You're mine and I'm yours, and I'd kill anyone who tried to change that." The last came out more fiercely than he intended, but he meant it. Winry shivered a little in his arms, and he straightened up. "Get dressed in something suitable for making a quick getaway." He was still wearing the clothing he'd slipped into for climbing around earlier. It would do. He had more than enough money in cash now to get them tickets for Central tonight. Hell, they could have bought the whole train with what he'd won off people this week; multiple times over. "We can talk more about this later, let's get out alive first."

"Right," Winry nodded, clearly glad for something to do. She grabbed the most sensible thing she had – which wasn't saying much really, given it was still a dress with a short skirt – and started changing at once. Ed stuffed all the cash from the week into his pocket, the necessary fake IDs into another, the ring going down deepest into the bottom of his pocket. None of the costuming was really necessary at this point. He hated all of it and never wanted to see any of it again.

"I'm ready," Winry said softly, and when he turned, she was indeed already dressed. "How will we get out past the desk?"

"The same way I got out earlier," Ed replied, gesturing to the doors to the balcony. "We'll just have to be careful."

It was a very tense and hurried walk to the train station. Winry kept expecting to hear shouts from behind them at any moment. The wrench had been hidden in the folds of her robe, and she had smacked Joachim as hard as she could in the right spot. She knew from experience where to hit that wouldn't knock a man out – Ed's head had been excellent practice over the years – and where to hit that would. She was sure Joachim would be awake soon if he wasn't already and, if he remembered what happened, he would be in an uproar, especially when he discovered that he was missing the ring!

It occurred to Winry, too late of course, that she probably could have knocked him out earlier in the ordeal and stolen the ring herself, but she had to admit she hadn't been thinking things through entirely at the time. This was not her usual line of work after all. A little phone tapping and such hardly made her a master at undercover work.

Guilt threatened to overwhelm her too, and had only gotten worse when she'd made it to the room and discovered she'd interrupted Ed in the middle of what would have almost certainly been a rather lengthy bout of drinking. He had come so far in the last couple of years, that it was easy to forget – or at least willingly put out of her mind – how emotionally fragile and unstable Ed had been when he had first come back from the hands of the Xing; tortured with horrible hallucinations and physical torments that made Winry want to cry just thinking about them. It had been a long time before he had been able to really trust again, to stand being touched; being intimate the way they had been before.

And she might have just unwittingly wiped out a large part of that. She tried not to cling to him as they walked, trying to look casual, to the station.

"Hold on," Ed stopped her at one point, then edged up to a corner and looked out. Winry stayed behind him until he led her back down a block and took another route.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

"They're already between us and the train station," Ed replied, scowling, obviously thinking furiously. "We need to find a way out of the city without getting caught. Obviously they've already figured out we've got it and will be trying to leave."

It was too late in the night to find a store where they could buy new clothes. Winry felt her heart pounding. They were in real danger now. Even if they weren't found out, they no longer had anyone in the city that probably wouldn't turn them in.

"In here," Ed grabbed her arm hard enough she squeaked, as he led her into a nightclub; one of the few things still open. "This way." They made their way through the crowds; the darker, smoke-filled atmosphere and loud music making good cover. Winry followed him as he led her toward the back, and into one of the bathrooms. "Okay, let's make this quick," he said and before Winry could ask what he meant, he clapped his hands together and grabbed her dress.

The fabric glowed, and it felt strange as it slid and reshaped itself. Winry didn't dare move in case she did something to interrupt the transmutation! It lasted only seconds, though it felt like much longer. When it was done, she looked down. It had turned into fitted pants and a fancy shirt with a much less revealing neckline, and actual sleeves. It was the same color, but the shape of the silhouette was entirely different, and it was something she could run in. "Nice work," she smiled. "I don't suppose you can do something about these ridiculous shoes?" She kicked them off.

Ed rolled his eyes, but he smiled as he bent and transmuted them into flats instead of outrageous heels. "Now wash that stuff off your face while I change, then we'll deal with your hair."

"With you around, what girl needs to go shopping?" Winry couldn't help teasing. It was better than crying, which she wanted to do, she was so nervous. She quickly scrubbed the make-up off her face.

"Might be cheaper this way," Ed agreed with a shrug. She could hear him doing other transmutations, and when she looked back, he had turned the pants and shirt into a lighter colored pair in a different style. He had also removed the dye from his hair, returning it to its usual golden color, and just let it down, which always made it look pretty different and completely changed his silhouette. Winry had the impulsive urge to run her hands through it. It had been a couple of weeks since she had seen that wonderfully familiar shade. It felt like years. "Your turn," he said, coming over and laying his hands on her hair.

It tingled, and she watched the color fade away as it ran down into the sink and vanished. Winry looked in the mirror and smiled at her own reflection. "That's better," she said softly.

"Much," Ed agreed, appearing behind her. "Let's get it up and out of the way, and then we'll get out of here. We'll catch a ride to the next town and get on the train there. They probably have the train station crawling with Arnan's men by now."

Winry nodded as she watched in the mirror as Ed deftly braided back all of her hair into a long, tight blonde braid that looked more like the one Sara wore at home. Then he coiled it up on top of her head. It was pretty, but very much not what Win would ever have worn; thank goodness!

"There we go," Ed finished up then kissed her neck briefly before stepping back. It was weird to notice that he hesitated before doing it. She felt another flash of guilt. "Let's get out of here."

They slipped back out through the crowd, entirely unnoticed as people drank and partied and laughed and danced, and headed out down the street toward the more populace part of town, but away from the Blood Phoenix. Ed rested his arm around her shoulder, and Winry leaned into him the way she naturally would; it was as different from their personas as they could be after all. Though his arm felt a little stiff, and Winry hoped it was just the angle.

Ed hailed a taxi when they got to the thick of town, and paid cash for the ride to the next town over. It was easy enough, and safer – he joked with the driver – than trying to get back to a friend's place that late after the fun of an evening's drinking. He sounded a little like someone's country relative come into town for a little adventure, and that worked.

The next town over wasn't big, but it had a train station. It was late though, and they were informed the next train wouldn't be coming for a couple of hours. Fortunately there was a little late-night diner next to the station. Ed walked up to the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. "You want anything?" He asked Winry. She just shook her head. Ed paid for the drink and they sat at one of the corner tables.

Ed dropped into the booth and leaned against the table, his head resting in his hands, elbows on the table as he looked down into the steaming brown liquid. He wasn't really that thirsty, but he was running out of reserves at the moment. Running high on adrenaline and rage and having to think fast through the alcohol, dealing with highly conflicting emotions; it was draining. Worse so, perhaps, was trying to look calm and in control in front of Winry. Even knowing that she hadn't actually 'been with' Arnan, had never planned to, didn't wipe the images from his mind of the two of them, the rage he felt, the confusion and the hurt. Emotions didn't turn off just because he knew the reason for them was no longer a threat.

"Are you all right?" Winry finally asked him quietly, sounding worried.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah," he replied noncommittally. He didn't want to get into it now; not in a public place, and not when they were practically the only people there. Anyone would be able to hear their conversation. "Headache," he added; that much at least was true.

"Oh." When he looked up, Winry looked worried, uncertain, and frightened; it made her seem unusually delicate. She obviously knew there was more to it than that, but she wasn't going to press here either.

They sat in silence for most of the next two hours. Eventually, Ed finished his coffee – with the addition of a lot of sugar – and just rested. He wanted the heat off their backs, and to get them safely back across the border into Amestris. He wanted some sleep, and time to absorb – and then forget – everything that had happened over the past few days.

When the train arrived, they went straight to the private berth Ed paid for and closed and locked the doors. Winry seemed to relax a little, sitting down near the window as the train began to move away from Havah, toward home. She looked up at him expectantly as if she wasn't sure how to say something. He knew that look.

Ed hesitated, then lay down on the bench across from her with his face to the wall. "We should get some sleep." He wasn't ready to talk yet. He didn't want to fight, and he still had too many conflicting emotions to sort through before he could coherently discuss them.

May 7th, 1943

Winry felt hurt, and irritated, when Ed simply rolled over and went to sleep, but she didn't try and force the issue. She recognized this particular mood, and she wasn't going to fight it. When Ed was overwhelmed, sometimes he just seemed to shut down. Today had been an incredibly difficult one for them both – the last few had been really – and it was obviously catching up with him.

Still, part of her screamed that it wasn't fair. She had suffered through this whole ordeal as well! Watching him fondle girls – even if he had been using his auto-mail – and winning game after game. Ed had a competitive nature, and she wasn't convinced that part of him hadn't enjoyed the excitement, the energy, the attention, and the risk. The question was which part of him? Little fears nagged at her. What if Ed was really mad at her for what she had done? Was it more strain than he could take in their relationship?

She worried all night and barely slept; watching Ed's back as his side rose and fell in the familiar rhythm that told her he was out cold. Winry doubted he would be any more talkative in the morning. When his mood dropped that low, he usually spent a good bit of time depressed and inward focused. It was best to let him be in those cases, unless she really wanted a fight. Usually she would try and cheer him up; but right now she knew full well she was part of the problem too. She did give in to the urge to pull down two blankets from the rack above them and cover Ed with one of them. She wrapped the other one around herself and cuddled up again near the window.

As Winry expected, Ed didn't wake early. He slept long past sunrise. When it seemed clear that he wasn't going to stir for a while, she chanced getting up and going to the dining car to find something to eat. She hadn't eaten much the night before, and her stomach was telling her she needed food, even though she really didn't feel much like eating for all the worry. There was still the chance they would be caught. They weren't out of Aerugo yet. Fortunately, no one seemed to care who she was. She didn't eat there, but brought food back to their berth and picked at it. She was more interested in the water and glass of orange juice. She hoped she never had to so much as look at another fruit-flavored alcoholic beverage again!

Ed stirred once or twice, but didn't speak. She wasn't sure if he woke. Finally, as it neared lunchtime, Winry bent over him. She was getting more than a little concerned. "Edward?" she spoke softly, resting one hand on his arm. He twitched, murmured something unintelligible then jumped awake suddenly, his arm swinging out so fast she barely dodged it as he sat up with a shout, then fell off the bench onto the floor.

Heart pounding, Winry took a deep breath as Ed blinked and seemed to realize what had happened. His face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," he mumbled, pulling himself up.

"It's all right," Winry replied, feeling stupid. It was hard to startle Ed, but his reflex was still to strike out sometimes if he was asleep; rare, but it happened when he was under stress. "I just wanted to see if you were hungry."

Ed sat down on his bench again. "Not really," he shook his head. He still seemed rather out of sorts.

Winry scowled and stood up, reaching out with one hand. He flinched away, and she hesitated; then put her hand to his forehead anyway. He felt a little warm. He'd had a headache last night, and she knew it had been too early for a hangover at the time. "Here," she poured a glass of water and shoved it into his hands. "Drink."

"I'm not thirsty," Ed growled, looking down at the cup he was now holding.

"I'll bet you're dehydrated," Winry snorted. "Drink it, Edward, or I'll pour it down your throat."

"Pushy," Ed grumbled, but he took a sip, then upended the glass and drained it down.

"That's better." Winry filled it again. This time Ed didn't hesitate before draining it. "You should eat too. There's toast and jam."

Ed sighed, leaning back against the wall. "You're not going to leave me alone are you?"

He sounded so annoyed; Winry froze, surprising herself as tears welled in her eyes. "Do you want me to leave you alone, Ed?"

The heartbroken tear-edged tone in Winry's voice made Ed go pale. She sounded as if she thought he was asking her to leave. Damn it; that wasn't what he'd meant at all! "Of course not, Winry," he replied, struggling to his feet and grabbing her shoulders with a sudden urgency that seemed to startle her. His head hurt, and even aside from the inner conflict – and some rather disturbing nightmares – his mind was still a little fuzzy, but her reaction cut him deeply. "Never. I couldn't make it without you. I just want…" words failed him.

Her blue eyes were full of unshed tears, and they seemed to beg him to understand, and to explain and make things clear. "What do you want?" she asked softly. One silent tear escaped, running down her cheek, then another. "After this week I… I'm not sure I know anymore."

"Aww hell," Ed pulled her close and kissed her, the way he had wanted to ever since this whole mess had started; warm and deep and real. It was the only way he could think of to really express everything he was feeling. Winry stiffened briefly then seemed to melt into his arms, responding with as needy and desperate a kiss as he gave. "You," he whispered when their lips finally parted slightly. "All I want is you, Winry; you, and our kids, and our life. How could I ever want anything else?" The fact that she even thought he might filled him with guilt.

Winry bit her lower lip, a sure sign of doubt. "You just…it seemed to fit you better than I thought it would," she admitted. "The challenge, the excitement…"

"The women?" Ed hazarded a guess, and watched her face flush. He sighed. "I told you, I only touched them with the auto-mail; because I didn't want to touch them." It had made playing the part that much easier. He dared a small smirk. "Yours in the only backside I'd ever want to feel with the real thing."

Winry's smile was a little bittersweet. "That's kind of what I mean," she pointed out wryly instead of taking the compliment like he'd hoped she would. "What bothers me are the parts where you didn't really have to act. It was kind of like watching you in the extreme."

What could he say? That was part of how he'd managed to pull off being Larred; tapping into his baser instincts, the more impulsive, egotistical elements of his personality that had been tempered over the years by patience, experience, and love. "I can't deny that," he sighed. "But I can promise you that I didn't enjoy it. There's a reason I'm not like that if I don't have to be; I really wouldn't like myself very much. That's no life for me, Winry." His arms tightened a little around her. "Hell," he chuckled softly. "I felt like I was cheating all week even though it was you I was with." He loosened his grip enough to run one hand down the side of her head, his fingers tangling briefly in her silky golden hair. "I've wanted to look into your face and see you so badly it hurt."

Winry's lower lip trembled, the tears fell, and Winry leaned against him, crying. "Thank God," she whispered.

Ed cradled her in his arms, one hand stroking her back as he tried to sooth her sorrow; her tears always got to him. She calmed eventually, and the tears stopped. "I need to lie down," Ed said finally. His head was starting to swim and he wasn't sure how much longer he could remain standing, let alone hold them both upright!

"Oh," Winry lifted her head from his shoulder and took a good long look at him, then promptly sat down on the bench he had occupied. "Come here," she smiled, patting her lap lightly. "They don't have much in the way of pillows." It was an apology and an offer for continued contact all in one; Ed wasn't about to turn down either!

Curling up under a blanket with his head resting on Winry's lap was a definite improvement over sleeping alone on the seat. "If I ever needed proof I'm not sixteen anymore," he commented depreciatingly. "Or that that is definitely not the life for me, this was it." Not if a week of it put him this low: the odd hours, lack of sleep, rich food and too many drinks, and the whole scene really. The lack of physical activity had been driving him crazy too; all that laying around and indolence had been hard to pull off convincingly just because he wanted to get out and do things!

"So, do you think you could have turned out like that though…if circumstances were different?" Winry asked softly, almost as if she had been reading his thoughts.

Ed groaned softly. "You don't let up do you?" Of all the questions!

"I'm a woman," Winry smiled and shrugged. "We think about these things."

"Sounds like torture," Ed sighed. Pondering the what-might-have-been was something that often depressed him, especially when it came to looking too deeply into himself. "Not exactly, no, but I could have turned out kind of like that I guess. I'd like to say otherwise, but without you, and whether or not I'd gotten Al back, yeah, it's possible."

"Al was already starting to worry about you when I found you," Winry said softly, one hand stroking his hair gently.

Ed closed his eyes; that felt good. He continued to speak, more thinking out loud than any form of coherent explanation, but it was easier than arguing. "I like to think I'm stronger, but even looking at where I am now, I know better. In either world, given the conflicts we had here, and the war that I know was coming on the other side, I'm not sure I have the inner strength and integrity to hold up against those kinds of things alone. And there's no way I wouldn't have gotten involved." He knew that much about himself. Even again his own best interest he had proven time and time again that he'd jump into the fray on other people's behalf. "Assuming I survived this long, I'd have run myself ragged, and I'd probably drink too much, act like a jerk sometimes and spend a lot of time bitterly wondering why my life turned out the way it did."

"What about love?"

She really knew the mean questions to ask didn't she? Never the easy ones. "I'd have made myself move on, I think," he admitted quietly. "But even if I found someone else, it wouldn't have been the same. It wouldn't have been fair either." He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "No matter how much I could learn to love someone else, I know I'd never be able to feel the same way about them that I do about you; there's just no comparison." It wouldn't have been fair, especially not to another woman.

"Don't tell me you'd die a lonely virgin," Winry chuckled, but Ed could see the sadness in her eyes even as she said it. What was it with women and these heartbreaking questions anyway?

Ed shook his head. "Another one of those 'I'd like to think I'm a better person than that' questions. Probably not; eventually some woman would catch me in a weak moment, or get under my skin enough to make me think about something more long term. Hell, maybe more than one in a lifetime; but I'm human. It'd be like some great epic romantic tragedy to say I 'lived and died never knowing a woman's embrace because my feelings for my long lost love never faded,' but I doubt it would have been accurate in the long run." It wasn't pleasant to say it, but it was realistic. He'd had far too much time to think about the same things Winry had apparently been considering in depth while it had been hard for them to really talk.

"Until I found you, I hoped you'd be happy," Winry replied after a long, silent minute. "But I couldn't really move on either, and part of me didn't want to; a selfish part that never wanted to give up on something we never really had, even though we were just kids and I had no idea what could come of it. That was what gave me the strength to take that risk in the first place." She was still stroking his hair as she spoke. "Now that I know what we would have lost out on, I'm glad I was selfish."

Ed chuckled tiredly. "Me too. But it's cruel asking a guy these things when he's sick you know."

"If I don't hit you when your defenses are down, I never get anywhere," Winry countered, but her tone was gentle, and less playful than usual as she tried to coax things back toward normal.

"That's true," Ed admitted. "But if you don't let me rest up, I'll be incoherent before long, and then what will you do?" His stomach growled then, a surprisingly distinct sound in the privacy of the car.

"I'll feel terribly guilty about it," Winry chuckled – not sounding guilty at all - and reached over and picked up the plate from earlier. She picked up a piece of toast and held it above him.

Without hesitation, Ed grabbed it in his mouth, only then reaching up with one hand to pull it away once he had a bite. He quickly wolfed down the rest. "Keep that coming and I'll forgive you."

He was rewarded for his impudence with a piece of jam-laded toast to the face!

May 9th, 1943

Once they crossed back into Amestris, Ed and Winry both relaxed. Nothing untoward or suspicious had happened since they got on the train, and being back inside their own borders was a relief. A couple of days of proper rest and food had put Ed to rights again – the rest more than anything else. Really though, what helped most was Winry and their conversations; the ability to just be themselves. The further they got from Havah, the more Ed felt like himself.

It was after they crossed the border that Ed actually remembered that the ring with the stone was in his pocket; not destroyed already thanks to their hasty departure. Winry was out of their berth getting them lunch when Ed thought to pull the ring out of his pocket again, looking down at the little red stone.

It was such a small thing really; always had been. If he didn't know what he was looking at Ed suspected most people would think it was rather unimpressive, if kind of pretty. And yet these small stones had been more trouble than he had ever imagined. That quest had consumed him for four years of his life. Man that sounded like such a short time now but then, it had seemed like an eternity! Every day that Alphonse was stuck in that suit of armor Ed had been haunted by guilt, pushed to find a way to get his brother back to normal; desperate and driven to find a way to get a hold of or make one of these things. Now, he knew better, and when he thought of all that as long in the past, another one showed up in his life.

"What's that?" He heard Winry ask as she paused just inside the doorway.

"Nostalgia," Ed replied wryly.

Winry closed the door and set down their lunch, her eyes going wide as she got a look at what he was actually holding. "I thought you destroyed it already."

Ed shook his head without looking up. "I didn't have time." It was true, if only because he had been too caught up in his own misery for a while to care. "And now, I'm thinking I should give it over to Roy and Breda first as proof that we got it."

"You don't think they'd believe you?" Winry frowned.

"No," Ed replied. "They'd believe I got it, but I'm not sure they'd believe I actually destroyed it."

"I see." Winry sat down across from him. "Why is that?"

Ed sighed and looked up at her. "Because I'm not sure I can. Despite the trouble and chaos that always seems to come with it. There are so many times in my life I've still craved it; still wished I had even one of this fakes, because there are things I couldn't do on my own." He didn't need to elaborate. Winry knew the very limited number of things Ed couldn't do with alchemy.

Winry's expression grew considering, than sadly understanding. "But you didn't need it," she pointed out. "Everything worked out didn't it?"

"That didn't make it easier," Ed shrugged. Simple as it should be; his mind always seemed to want to complicate matters. "So much pain and heart-ache could have been avoided. Intellectually, I know you're right, Winry, but I'm only human, and an alchemist at that," he smirked. "So I'm doubly flawed. There are things that I still wish had never happened, that I regret even though they were outside my control. It's not something that consumes me, but they are part of me now; my hesitations, my weaknesses."

"We all have events and situations we wish hadn't happened," Winry replied calmly, in that matter-of-fact way she always did when he needed to hear it. "You are one of the strongest people I have ever known. Even though I know what your weaknesses are, I know how strong you really are."

"Only one of them?" Ed grinned at her, teasing to cover the slightly awkward feeling he had.

Winry chuckled. "Sorry Alex Armstrong's got you beat."

Ed laughed. "And here I thought we were discussing strength of character," he said with good natured sarcasm. "I guess I'm lucky that my greatest weakness is you."

Her eyes sparkled impishly. "Aren't you though?"

His greatest weakness and his source of inner strength; Ed smiled gently. "Totally."

May 14th, 1943

The rest of the trip back to Central was thankfully uneventful, and some much needed time to be by themselves. By the time they arrived back, they were both more than ready to report in and get home. Hopefully the house hadn't been too chaotic in their absence.

"There you go," Ed declared less than a half an hour after their return to Central, dropping the fake stone ring on Breda's desk in front of Breda and Roy, whose eyes were appreciatively wide. Riza happened to be there today as well, and watched with her usual unflappable calm. "One fake philosopher's stone procured as promised."

Breda, unsurprisingly, was the one who reached out after several long moments and picked it up. "Such a small thing, yet it can cause so much trouble," he commented. "Good work, Ed. Having one of these out there in some maniac's hands would have been a real problem."

"So the reconnaissance went all right," Riza asked. Ed could see in her eyes though a definite hint of doubt.

"Well enough," Winry replied stiffly. "Though I'd like to file a few complaints with the costume department, and whoever's hair brained idea this was in the first place."

"Just put it all in the full report," Roy replied, though Ed noticed he looked slightly uncomfortable. Well good! This mission could have gone a lot worse, but for Ed, it had been more difficult than it had sounded.

"Oh you'll be getting the full report," Ed replied. "Next time, you can do it yourself, Mustang." Though he knew that Riza would not have been nearly as convincing as the female counterpart, and Roy wouldn't have been able to pull off the womanizer role any more than Ed could. Ironic given his past, but Ed knew Roy wasn't any more capable of cheating on Riza then Ed would have been able to do with Winry.

Roy's eyes hadn't left the stone. "Hopefully there won't be a next time," he said in reply. "You should have destroyed it as soon as you got a hold of it."

Ed scowled. "Yeah, I know. But tell me Roy, can you do it?" He motioned to the ring in Breda's hand. "Go ahead. Destroy it, Flame Alchemist."

Roy glared at him then hesitated and, as Ed had expected, he sighed and shook his head. "Pathetic, predictable," he murmured, and Ed knew he wasn't just talking about himself, but all alchemists.

"Well if you boys won't," Winry snorted, walking over to the desk. "May I please?" she held out her hand.

"What? Oh, sure," Breda handed the ring over. Winry walked over to the table, and Riza followed her. What were they up to?

Winry set the ring down and then pulled a wrench (where the heck did she keeping getting a hold of those?) out of her pocket. She offered it to Riza. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Riza hefted the wrench, looked down at the stone, and smiled. "With pleasure."

Home, Ed had decided, was the best destination he could ever want. Sara, Aldon, and Ethan had been ecstatic to have them home and, now that the mission was over, very interested in hearing all about it! Ethan only heard the highly edited version, and even Sara and Aldon didn't get the full story, which was probably wise, considering their reactions to what they did get! Sara obviously knew there was more too it, but she was too mature – and too aware of what a lot of it likely entailed – to say anything. They also caught up on what had been going on at the house which was, fortunately for them, very little. It had been mostly the usual chaos for the last couple of weeks, and no one had said anything to them about their folks being gone.

After a long family dinner and a lot of explanation, Ed and Winry were finally allowed to escape to their own bedroom for the night. They could hear Sara still downstairs, but Ethan came up and went to bed, and Aldon went into his room not long after. Ed and Winry showered together, then Ed climbed into his preferred sleep shorts and sprawled out on the bed, enjoying the feel of a good firm mattress, his own blankets, and none of the exorbitance he had been forced to endure in Aerugo!

"Well that looks inviting," Winry grinned wickedly at him, standing above him in one of her favorite nightgowns – it was a soft blue one that Ed liked on her quite a bit, though it would almost pass for a conservative dress after what she had been wearing around in public lately. "Almost tempting."

"Don't tell me you want to?" Ed gave her a startled expression. From her tone, he wasn't sure she wasn't in the mood for something a little more intimate than sleep. For once, Ed was actually thinking that just cuddling up would be more than enough for him!

"No," Winry shook her head and smiled as she lay down, snuggling into his side and draping one arm across his body. "I just want to enjoy knowing that I'm in bed with the real Edward Elric, not his evil, sleazy counterpart."

"Would it help if I ate pie in bed?" Ed teased. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. It felt so good to have her there again, the way he liked it!

"You know," Winry chuckled softly, "it just might."

Author's note: Mmm…I love a good James Bond style adventure. ;) And every good spy needs a Bond Girl! Coming up with a title was a pain though. I wanted to pun Casino Royale, but it seemed too obvious and was surprisingly hard to do to my satisfaction. The title I got had a meaning that fit the story better though and I am happy with it!

Here are a few of the fun failed titles however that I did not go with!: Golden Eyes, The Man with the Mechanical Hand, The Man with the Crimson Stone, You Only Die Twice, You Only Live… a lot, From Aerugo With Love, A Night at the Blood Phoenix and (without having to change it) The Spy Who Loved Me. grins