Today was the bane of Erika Havoc’s existence - Valentine’s Day. Having handed out her purchased giri choco to some of her closer colleagues (Mustang, Havoc, Falman, Fuery, and Hughes) she made her way to the Elric brothers’ room and, after a silent argument with herself, knocked on the door. The door opened after a few moments to reveal Alphonse, who let her into the room. As soon as she had situated herself on the sofa, Edward walked in from the adjoining bathroom and Erika almost felt her face go red. The Fullmetal Alchemist was wearing nothing but his pale blue boxers and was in the process of towel-drying his damp hair.

The air suddenly felt heavy as Edward paused, realizing that there was someone in the room besides his brother. He recognized their guest as a friend and fellow State Alchemist, whose face seemed to be competing in color with the elder Elric’s coat. She managed to quell her embarrassment and began rummaging around in the pockets of her cropped jacket. She pulled out two boxes, the larger box was white and tied with a silver ribbon and the smaller one was black with a red ribbon. Erika handed Al the larger box with a smile.

“I know you can’t eat, Al, so I got you this,” she said. She giggled while he carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the top off of the box.

“Eeeeh?! Thank you Erika!” the younger brother exclaimed as he lifted a plush cat out of the box. The fabric was light brown and had some darker brown stripes on its back. The small toy also had a silver ribbon with a bell tied around its neck. Al swooped the girl up into a nearly bone-crushing hug, making Ed laugh at her expression. After being released Erika turned to Edward, the smaller black box in her hands. He took it from her and opened it with less delicacy than his brother. The contents of the box made his eyes widen a fraction.

“Erika, you didn’t have to-”

“Happy Valentine’s Day boys!” Erika cut Edward off before he could say something about the homemade chocolates that the box contained. She hurriedly said goodbye and rushed out of the room, and Ed swore he saw the hint of a blush on her face again as she closed the door. He popped one of the chocolates into his mouth.

“Hmm…not bad.”

Erika walked down the darkened streets of Central towards the hotel she was staying in. As she passed the alley right around the corner from her hotel, a hand yanked her into the shadows by her right arm. Before she could retaliate to her attacker she felt a blade pressed against the side of her neck. She found herself pressed into the cold stone of one of the buildings lining the alley, the rough bricks scraping her cheek. She felt the man’s breath on her neck and shivered. He leaned in closer and licked her ear.

“Be quiet and don’t struggle and you’ll live to see tomorrow, missy.”

-------------------TO BE CONTINUED-------------------