Unconventional Love
"Flowers!"
Edward's shout echoed in the dark winter night, hanging before him in an accusing fog, before disappearing into the starlit sky, his shock and chagrin becoming more and more apparent in each reverberation; only later would he think gladly that no one was around, and that it never reached her ears. Frantically, he jammed his hand into his pocket and retrieved the old silver watch, for once able to ignore the inscription. 7:06. He was already late, surely not in possession of enough time to go to the flower shop on 34th street and come back.
His next exclamation was a curse under his breath. No, they weren't like other couples, but the custom of presenting flowers, or some other kind of token, was one he didn't mind adopting into their strange relationship; after all, she, like every woman, impossible as it may seem, possessed the basic female instinct of viewing the act with joy, even if he was the only one she'd allow to know. It would have put her in good spirits, if nothing else, though he knew she already was; he just loved seeing her happy, and knew a gift would bring her more happiness than she would already possess upon opening the door.
Sighing, the alchemist leaned against the railing that lined the small, concrete landing before her apartment. All the shops were too far away, meaning he couldn't try for something else, the nearest patch of soil was in the courtyard at HQ, which was, from here, at least a mile; a walkable distance, yes, but inconvenient where time was concerned.
"Damn," he spat at the pavement. He would have to face her without them, and he could, but it would be hard to forgive himself for neglecting such an obvious detail. He sighed once more, and then heaved himself off the wooden bar, inching towards the door, whose opening he seemed to dread a little now. Would she turn expectant eyes upon his empty hands, eyes sparkling with that little bit of anticipation every woman has before meeting a man for a romantic night? And would she think less of him when her hopes were dashed? Only by turning the knob, he thought, would those questions be answered.
But just before his fingers to could brush the tarnished brass, a powerful wind swept over him, chilling him with its force despite the heavy coat encasing his body. It pushed him against the rail, creaking softly in warning beneath him, causing him to fear for a brief instant he would plunge to the ground a few feet below. As it pushed into his eyes as well, the world temporarily fell from his perception.
When he opened his eyes, the world was still once more, if not more so than before the sudden the gust, and he still shivered faintly beneath the usually-protective garment. He turned his head about in a daze, questioning the powers of nature. That was when he saw them.
Clutched in his right hand was a beautiful bouquet of flowers of every shape and size, with colors from every point in the spectrum. Some were familiar—Roses, Daisies, Lilacs, Tulips, and a few sprigs of Lavender—while most he'd never even seen in books, their multicolored petals creating intriguing shapes within those that were familiar. Aghast, he turned his eyes to the streets, finding it just as abandoned as it had been when he'd arrived.
"They couldn't have come on the wind", he thought, scratching his head with his free hand, as he turned back to the door.
"If you're too much later it won't matter how beautiful they are."
Edward nearly leapt off the pavement, his head snapping in the voices direction. What he found was, perhaps, even more shocking than the alien blossoms in his hand.
A man was sitting on the roof of her apartment, body hidden within the folds of a long, elegant, white kimono with green trim, held to his body by means of a cerulean belt, the likes of which he'd seen only in the history books of a far-off land. Encircling his smug-looking face was pure white ribbon, whose ends protruded to each side of him, its lightness contrasting with his long black hair, while simultaneously enhancing the forest-green hue of his eyes.
Out of all those abnormalities, however, none was so fantastic to look upon as the massive wings stretched out behind him, feathers rustling silently in the faint winter breeze. It was only because he'd encountered so many things that were far from human that he believed them to be real, instead of a product of his often overactive imagination. As if to reassure him, the man grinned and flapped them once, sending a puff of cool air onto his cheeks.
"It was you, then," Edward called to him, "who summoned that wind and gave me these flowers?"
Still grinning, the man nodded.
"Why?" he demanded.
"Because you needed them," the man answered matter-of-factly.
Edward raised an eyebrow, suspicious, "And how'd you know that?"
The man paused for a moment, turning his gaze to the moon, and there came to his eyes a certain thoughtfulness as he regarded the glorious silver orb, as if he saw within it something curious and wonderful.
"I hate humans," he began, eyes flashing to the alchemist with his face still pointed at the moon, undoubtedly trying to see Edward's reaction to the statement; getting nothing in return, he shrugged, but smiled a curious smile as he continued.
"But you're not like the ones I usually see. There's something…different about you I can't quite understand, and it's interesting. So, I decided to observe you for a while. The more I learned, the more fascinating you became. I learned about your work as an…" he frowned, as if working to remember the word, "alchemist! That was it. About your little brother, that man you call Colonel, and about your family back in…Risembool. Did I say that right?"
His head turned utterly in Edward's direction as he took a breath, a wolfish grin spreading across his cheeks. "And about the woman you're going to meet tonight."
Edward flushed, "None of that was any of your business!"
The man laughed loudly, continuing despite the outburst, "You're most interesting when you're with her, you know. You change completely from the human I see with your brother and Colonel. You're simply the prime example of how love changes someone. I may be a goblin, but I know enough about love to recognize the effects; I've seen it before, Edward, so I know what I'm talking about." And then the man winked at him.
More blood flooded into his face, "And that's why y—?"
Click.
Edward and the man straightened at the noise. They knew what was happening, though they hadn't been expecting it: Riza was opening the door.
Panicking, Edward opened his mouth to shoo the man away, to tell him to fly out of here and keep his eyes to himself, and maybe thank him for the flowers; there was no way he was going to let her see him! But it was too late. No sooner did his lips part than Riza appeared through a crack in the door.
"Edward?" she inquired.
Suddenly, as his gaze fell upon her, nothing mattered in the world besides the woman before him, smiling that sweet little smile he was hopelessly in love with. She was the reason he was here right now to begin with, the reason this day had gone by at a snails pace, the reason he'd rushed from Headquarters to the hotel to the shower, the reason he'd taken too long beneath the warm stream of water and had been late, and the reason he was happier at this moment than he had been in a long while. It didn't occur to him, with his mind so preoccupied, where the bouquet had come from, but he didn't care; all he cared about was that they were to serve as a gift, a reminder of the love that overwhelmed his senses every time he saw her.
This he communicated with a smile, and a quiet, sincere apology for his belated arrival, before presenting them to her with a light bow and a soft, "For you."
Riza's eyes widened like he'd hoped they would, that girlish sparkle of joy twinkling in her eyes, as she gingerly took the stems in her hand, "Oh, Edward, you shouldn't have!"
"It was my pleasure," he answered, smiling from ear-to-ear as she threw her arms around him. They stayed this way for only a few moments, before she placed her hands on the alchemist's shoulders, pushing him gently away from her, and then kissed him with all the gratitude and affection in her being. The alchemist was quick to return the gesture, pulling her closer to him as they exchanged passionate kisses in the glow of the streetlamp.
He forgot completely the existence of his mysterious winged stalker, an understandable incident considering his current state, but found the memory of the man came easily when the pair was hit by a strong gust of wind.
When the two at last broke apart, Edward looked to the sky, unsure of what he'd see. Sure enough, an angelic figure was streaking across the sky, large wings carrying him far away from the apartment; it was faint, but could almost swear there was laughter sounding in the chilly atmosphere. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face, or the faint heat that rose in his cheeks, as the phrase the wind had carried to his ears rang clear once again.
"I helped you, Edward, and will again when it's necessary, because I, too, understand unconventional love."
While Riza hurried inside to place the flowers in a vase, Edward looked up at the moon, wondering at the existence of such a kind goblin—he chuckled softly at the absurdity of the word—in this world. If he believed in God, he might've thought him to be an angel, but, as that was not the case, found he couldn't give him a title that made sense of both his appearance and his personality; he must've been some kind of foreign creature, born of some experiment done with technology this country had yet to harness. He did not fear him, though, even if this was the case, didn't wonder if his presence and observation was because of an order given by an evil and unknown organization; his eyes had been far-too kind for that—far-too genuine.
Edward just shrugged and shook his head. "However he came to be," he thought, linking his arm through that of the woman beside him as they walked down the stairs, "his intentions were most definitely pure." And with that, he allowed the image to leave his mind for the rest of the evening.
He didn't see, as he walked away, the little green creature that crouched in the shadows, though its tiny black eyes saw him clearly. The creature tilted its oval-shaped head, scratching its ear with one thin arm, while a curious, "Muu…?" came from its rectangle mouth. It stood like that for a moment, regarding the two as they walked away, and then swiveled on one round foot to face the direction the man had flown in. Had anyone been there to see, it would've been said that the creature disappeared in the blink of an eye.