Aiden hummed and spun in the chair much like a child would when they were bored and had nothing better to do. She paused momentarily to let Black Hayate hop on her lap and continued to spin at a much slower pace. The canine was a welcome source of heat in the cool office and Aiden tilted her head back and rested it against the back of the chair, closing her eyes for a much-needed nap. The chair slowed to a stop facing the rest of the room.

"You could help you know," a voice sounded.

She opened her eyes and frowned at the two men in the doorway. Maes was grinning in his usual fanatical manner and Roy was to his right, smiling at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well I mean I could, I just don't want to." She shrugged and returned her own satisfied smirk. An object reflected the sun into her eyes and she winced before glaring at the camera in Maes's hands. "You didn't."

Roy lightly elbowed his friend. "We did."

Upon entering the office both men were drawn to her sleeping form. She had looked peaceful with Black Hayate in her lap, guarding her, ready to defend at a moment's notice. Hawkeye had trained the dog well. Without blinking Maes had raised his camera and snapped the shot in a well-practiced movement before Roy could react.

Aiden groaned and buried her face in her hands, swearing at them. She had never been one for candid photographs especially the ones from Maes. He had a way of getting her during the weirdest moments, yet the man always defended himself by saying that pictures taken without knowledge often showed who that person truly was. The man was an odd duck; one minute he was more hyper than a child on a sugar rush and the next he was as wise as a man twice his age.

Riza walked in then, followed by the rest of the team, Jean being the last person in. Aiden wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke coming from the man's cigarette.

"I'm just saying Hawkeye," Kain said, "Warehouse Thirteen could exist."

The woman sighed and shook her head. She went to speak when she was interrupted by a series of loud, sharp barks. The team turned in surprise to stare at Black Hayate as he jumped from Aiden's lap and ran at Jean. Breda backed up quite a few steps to put distance between him and the dog and Jean too took a step back in surprise.

"Black Hayate!" Riza commanded. "Quiet!"

Much to the shock of the team, the dog ignored the command and continued barking. Jean backed a few more steps and stumbled over a box. His cigarette fell from his mouth as he went to catch himself and landed in front of Black Hayate who started growling at the cancer stick. Maes quickly walked over, picked up the cigarette, and put it out. Black Hayate fell silent and trotted back to Aiden's side feeling accomplished. 

The team watched him and sat in silence before Aiden broke it. "Wow Jean," she said. "Even Black Hayate thinks you should quit while you're ahead." She swiveled in her chair to stare at Riza. "Exactly how smart is your dog?"

The woman didn't reply and Maes burst out laughing which in turn sent everyone else into hysterics at Jean's expense. When the commotion died down the team set back to work. The Brigadier General - Roy not Maes - was switching offices for a reason unknown to Aiden and she had walked over to help, but when there was no one present she took up residence in the chair and waited for them to come back.

Work progressed and Aiden and Black Hayate stayed in the chair, watching the team work efficiently as they always did. She would have helped except she didn't feel like moving; her lazy streak had come around full force and she just wanted to crawl into bed and lay there until the next Millennia had passed. The conversation between Breda, Falman (who was visiting for a while), and Kain drew her attention and she shamelessly listened in. Not that it was hard - they were talking too loud.

"Are you serious?" Breda asked.

Falman nodded, "As a heart attack."

"Those rumors aren't rumors - they're true!" Kain finished.

"Stop!" Breda scratched at his head in denial of whatever the two were claiming. "Why are you telling me this? I won't be able to walk home tonight."

Aiden raised an eyebrow as she saw Jean nod and point out the men to Riza as if he were making a point as well.

"Something I'm missing?"

From the corner of her eye, she could see Roy roll his eyes. "They claim to have seen the fabled Warehouse Thirteen." He sighed. "Idiots."

Aiden nodded in understanding. From what she'd heard, Warehouse Thirteen appeared on the old execution grounds every once in a while. With the Warehouse came the sounds of those who were executed scratching at the surface, clawing their way over fellow victims to seek vengeance on the soldiers that had taken their lives. The story was quite popular among the soldiers in Central. Personally, she'd never put much stock into the legend, but it didn't stop her from avoiding the dark path that led to the location of the ghost warehouse. Real or no, walking home in the dark through a supposed haunted location gave her the creeps.

It wasn't like being an extreme scaredy-cat when supernatural creatures were involved helped in the least. Not to mention the horror movies she had endured where the nights ended in sleeping with the lights on. She'd seen and remembered all too well what kinds of creepy shit could be lurking in the dark. There'd been a time when she thought Amestris was fake only to find out differently. Aiden could only imagine what else was real and she was not taking any chances.

"There's nothing idiotic about being aware!" Breda huffed.

"Especially when there's a bunch of ghosts out there," Kain added.

Maes hummed thoughtfully. "Last I checked there were only twelve warehouses. You wouldn't happen to have seen any others, would you Aiden?"

She avoided haunted places like the plague. "No."

Jean shook his head. "Sorry but I have to side with the guys on this one. There are too many stories about it for the Warehouse to not exist!"

"There are also stories about demons and super-powered people, yet I haven't run into one of those as of yet."

Jean opened his mouth to retaliate only for nothing to come out. And then, "Just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they're not real." Jean continued, his voice dying away as Aiden tuned him out.

She looked down at the dog in her lap. Almost as if he felt her stare he turned and looked back at her. Aiden smiled and patted Black Hayate's head, whose tail wagged at the attention. "So what do you think, boy?" she mumbled to the dog. "Do you think Warehouse Thirteen exists?" Black Hayate blinked and sneezed causing Aiden to grimace at the snot on her arm and nod. "Yeah, I didn't think so." 

She raised her head as Roy's voice became louder than the small conversation with the canine ever would. "You superstitious nitwits need someone to give you a reality check and it might as well be me!" The man sounded vaguely annoyed.

"Wow! Really boss?" Breda grinned and turned to the other men in the room, minus Maes. "Did you hear that guys? The Brigadier General's volunteered to help us with our midnight stakeout!"

"He's a noble leader, always looking out for his men!"

"What a relief! If the Brigadier General's with us there's no way we'll be impaled!"

Roy stood in silence as he processed the words and then snapped out of his reverie. "Now wait a minute! What stakeout?" 

"Our mission is to prove whether or not Warehouse Thirteen is real. And you said you'd give us a reality check..." Breda trailed off in uncertainty.

Roy grimaced. "Well, yeah. That's what I said, but-"

Kain came skidding to a halt in front of him with large, watery eyes. Aiden smiled to herself, that expression used to work on her in the beginning, but she'd grown immune to his puppy-dog stare. "I have to go by there every night on my way home and it's eating away at my insides and soon there'll be nothing left! Please help me!"

And Roy was sold. He sighed and pushed a hand to his face to hide his annoyance. "Ugh, fine. Whatever. If it will end this then fine!"

Maes laughed and shook his head. "Well have fun without me! Gracia and I are going on a date!"

Jean raised his hand. "Riza and I are going on a date too, count us out."

The blonde woman nodded and Aiden felt betrayed she didn't mention it in their earlier conversations. She was also being dramatic but sometimes she needed a little drama. Even if she caused it.

Roy gaped at them. "So you're all going to leave me to deal with this alone?" he asked incredulously. Aiden almost felt insulted he didn't ask her. Almost.

Maes sprinted around the room and grabbed the chair Aiden sat in before wheeling her from the desk and to Roy. She jolted at the sudden movement and the dog in her lap seemed surprised. He growled in warning but let Maes wheel them around the desk and to Roy's side. "It's dangerous to go alone," he said seriously. "Take this."

"You'll come with me," Roy commanded.

She didn't try to argue, sighing and nodding. "Yay."

That night, the group assembled at the beginning of the sidewalk that would lead them to where Falman and Kain had seen the ghostly warehouse. Their boss was still none too happy about the ordeal. Aiden was right alongside his sentiments.

"This is ridiculous! A group of adults trying to sneak a peek at a ghost on their night off."

She was fairly certain that was how some paranormal-horror stories began. A group of people, mostly made-up of idiotic white men or teens with the occasional female. One by one they would be picked off. Maybe their innards would be strewn about and left for the others of their group to stumble across and further insight panic. Aiden shivered.

"By ridiculous you mean scary," Kain said. Little brother or no, Aiden felt like whopping every one of Roy's subordinates over the head for dragging her along. After that she'd find Maes, the man who'd volun-told her presence.

"Well, it means a lot to us, you two coming out," Breda admitted.

"Let's just get this over with so I can sleep," she said irritably, rolling her eyes.

Roy nodded in agreement though he didn't see her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Why was she so irritable and moody lately? Maybe it was stress or frustration. Or maybe she was going to be early this month, it did tend to happen.

They slowed to a stop as the trail continued in complete darkness. Was the air getting colder? Aiden shivered once more but steeled herself. She was a grown woman and a soldier! She'd seen far worse things than dark alleys! 

Shit did that shadow just move?

"Oh yeah," Kain laughed nervously. "Did we forget to tell you that the lights are out from this point on?"

"What the hell has the maintenance staff been doing?" Roy demanded.

Aiden held up the lantern she'd been carrying and shoved it into Breda's arms, silently daring the man to not take it. They didn't have time for dilly-dallying. Her mission was to get in, get out, go home, and sleep with the covers over her head. On second thought, she wouldn't mind skipping to the "go home" portion. He gulped and nodded. They lit the flame and once more they had light. Suddenly Kain screamed in fear at his shadow on a warehouse wall. Roy reached up and slapped his head.

"It's just a shadow, moron." 

Falman laughed. "Yeah, calm down. These shadows can be your friends Fuery." He held up his hands to create a basic shape of a dog. "Look, I'm a cute little puppy-dog. Woof!"

The flame blew in the breeze and distorted the shape into something vaguely terrifying. That something having red eyes, sharp fangs, and quite possibly a thorny body. Breda, Falman, and Kain screamed once more while Aiden covered her ears and glared at the men.

"Stop freaking out!" Roy shouted.

"Easy for you to say!"

"We'll stop being jumpy when things stop being scary!"

"I wanna go home!"

"How did I get such a pathetic staff!"

"Well Kain was mine but the rest is all on you," Aiden droned. The irritated and bored look on her face made Kain step back and cower behind Falman.

"Come on! We'll prove to you that there's no such thing as ghosts!" Roy took the lantern and they marched down the walkway in unison, all the while ignoring Kain's pleading to not leave them behind. They stopped at the end of the sidewalk and pointed at the warehouse labeled with the number twelve. "This, children, is the twelfth and final warehouse!"

Aiden looked to the right and nodded toward the empty plot of land. "And right over there is nothing but dirt! So tell us, where is your fabled Warehouse Thirteen?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

Kain stared at the dirt. "Maybe it's a werehouse like a werewolf and it needs a full moon."

Roy slapped him over the head again. "Give it up, Fuery!"

Breda rolled his eyes and paused to stare at something. "Hold on, I think I know what you guys saw the other night. Take a look over there." He pointed at a warehouse. "That letter B, doesn't it look a lot like..."

"The number thirteen!" Falman finished. 

"I guess I can see how you'd make that mistake."

Aiden popped one of her knuckles and Kain jumped a bit. Roy was less than impressed with his staff. "Great, so you misread it thanks to the darkness and your own fears. I told you it was a figment of your imagination."

"But what about the ghosts?"

"They don't exist either, Fuery."

He visibly drooped in relief and held a hand over his beating heart. "Oh good. Starting tomorrow night I can take my normal route home."

"And we're all happy for you," Aiden said as she turned around and started walking the path back to non-supernatural civilization. No ghost is no problem and she could go home and eat her worries away. "Can we go now? I missed dinner to meet you here." 

She'd been planning on making spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. Roy was a garlic bread enthusiast just as she was and fighting over the last piece of garlic bread was as fun as it was habit.

Kain turned and followed her out of the alleyway, the rest of the men behind him. "You know, now that some of my nausea is settling down, I could eat."

"Yeah, I could go for some grub," Falman nodded.

"Dinner's on you guys," Breda said.

Kain whipped around. "What? But I'm broke!"

It was due to a heavy bet earlier this month on how Jedediah's date would go that he lost his money. Aiden and Maes put all their money on a yes. Breda said Jed would chicken out. Kain bet the date wouldn't happen.

That day the team witnessed Jedediah busting open the door to Roy's office and screaming, "He said yes!"

Four days after that Jedediah and Alan from the cafeteria went on a date and from what Aiden heard from Jed, it was perfect.

"Consider it payment for causing this trouble."

Aiden's eyes narrowed at Breda as she looked over her shoulder. "All three of you are the ones who drug Roy and I along. If anything you're paying for our food." She turned back to the path and glanced down a particularly dark area between two warehouses and gulped when she saw something move. Fuck that shit, she was out.

"Hold up."

"No thanks Roy, I am out of here," she said, continuing to walk forward. "I need food and sleep." And a nightlight.

Aiden ignored his answer and walked into the darkness, immediately feeling a chill run up her spine. The light was back with the men and the distance between her and the functioning lamps was far. She shuddered and gulped. On one hand she could go back and wait for the men, wait for said men and scare the crap out of someone, or book it like a madman to the lamp and hope the Boogeyman or the girl from The Ring didn't get her first.

So like a true soldier she took a deep breath, readied her legs, and turned around to join the men. It was scary enough as a child to turn off lights in her house and run up the stairs like the hounds of Hell were snapping at her feet. She wasn't going to take any chances in the dark, let alone on flat ground. A good soldier always knew when to retreat!

She took up residence by Roy's side and strategically placed him between herself and the place where she may or may not have hallucinated something slithering away from where she had been standing. Roy was staring at something in his hand while the other three were freaking out. 

"What'd you find?"

"I thought you were leaving."

"You're my ride home?"

He was silent for a moment. "We found a bone." 

Roy dropped a dirt-covered bone in her hand and she was almost shocked at how light it was. A human bone so small would be light but this one weighed almost nothing, which struck her as odd. It appeared to be brittle as well. There were small indents along the surface that almost looked like... bite marks. Aiden felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her neck. She was holding a chicken bone.

As she stared at the bird bone a malicious idea began to form in her mind. She never wanted to go out so late or go anywhere near the ghostly Warehouse Thirteen, but she'd been drug along by every one of these men. Why couldn't she have fun while she was at it?

So Aiden kept her mouth shut about the origins of the bone as Roy ordered his men to come back early the next morning with shovels so they could begin a search for the rest of the unidentified body. 

And boy did they get up early. The bed was only slightly warm when Aiden woke up. Roy left a note that he left early to gather shovels for their investigation. The pettiness she felt from the night before resurged and she only felt slightly bad about saying nothing. It was still not nearly enough to say anything as she walked up to the group digging in the dirt.

"Our mission is to identify who our victim was, where they came from, and if we can, how they died. Don't miss personal effects. And it may not all be buried in one spot so spread out!"

"You got it!" the team chimed.

Aiden was leaning on the side of Warehouse Twelve, trying not to grin as the three dug into the ground looking for what wouldn't be there. She had almost wanted to show up early and place items but that would only get her into more trouble when they found out it was only a chicken bone. The idea was still entertained until she noticed a certain black and white dog approach. 

"So you're our little murderer." The smile on her face turned into a nonchalant gaze when Roy glanced her way as Hayate passed.

The little dog walked past the Brigadier General and his supporting team only to stop in front of Falman's hole. Hayate dropped the bone he'd been carrying and buried the thing before walking proudly away from his work. As the dog left, Aiden burst out laughing at the looks of exasperation, annoyance, and shock that were sent in the dog's direction. Then she walked away, leaving the men to their own devices as she headed for her own office to start the day.

Jedediah was immensely amused by her tale and even Sheska laughed. Later on in the day, lunch arrived and everyone left the office. As usual, Aiden grabbed her lunch, forever fearful of the cafeteria food, and made her way to Roy's new office. Riza and Jean were just leaving as she neared the door.

Aiden grinned. "Is he still mad?"

"Care to explain?"

"While inspecting the mysterious Warehouse Thirteen they found a bone in the plot of land next to Warehouse Twelve. I had to have some fun somewhere... so I didn't tell them it was a chicken bone. Black Hayate buried one in front of them. Right when they'd gotten up early to search for a body."

Jean snorted and shook his head. "I was wondering why they were giving him dirty looks. Have fun!" 

He and Riza waved as they parted ways with Aiden, leaving her as the only person in the new office aside from Roy himself. The others had already left to get food. Aiden skipped across the office and knocked on the personal office before walking in and closing the door behind her, not pausing to wait for an answer. 

Roy was sitting at his desk, frowning at the paperwork on his desk. He almost wanted to burn them but Hawkeye would find the ashes and then he'd be dust, and that didn't bode well for his career. Without much further thought on the matter he shoved the papers aside and finally turned his attention to the woman that entered his office, food in her possession.

"I'm only going to assume you knew."

Her smile turned into a mischievous grin as her tone took on a teasing lilt. "Of course I knew." She walked over, tossing the food onto one of the couches, and sidled up to his side. "I had to get my revenge for keeping me up so late somehow."

A smirk replaced his frown. "As I recall, you weren't exactly protesting in the end."

Aiden met his gaze with ease, raising a teasing eyebrow. "How was I supposed to know that you look so good in a towel?"

He flicked his eyes between her mouth and her dark green eyes. "You've only seen me in one a dozen times."

Aiden hummed and pouted, jutting her lip out ever so slightly. Roy's eyes darted down and returned quickly. "Hmm, I guess that was my mistake."

Abruptly, she stepped away and walked over to the couch, laughing to herself at the frustrated groan that left Roy. In one swift movement he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, placing her between him and the desk. A look of shock passed over Aiden as she stared up at Roy and he laughed.

"Did you think you were the only one who could play this game?" He placed a chaste kiss to her lips.

Aiden's face had gone red and her eyes were wide, but there was a hint of lust behind them that he could easily make out.

**********

Ah, yes, couples. We all love the Things While At Work AU. You know the one. I know you do.

I've had this chapter written since July because episode 37 of the 2003 series is my absolute favorite. So while this is a filler chapter it also works as a prelude to the next one. Side note, if there are any grammar mistakes I will cry because I've been over this so many times.