Fragile Reveries
It's a dream. A wonderful day dream, so easily broken yet beautiful as the illusion crumbles into reality. When an dark-haired girl crashes into Ed and Al's lives -literally- that initial encounter in the streets of Central City will lead to the realization that everything comes at a price and things aren't always what they seem.
"Damn it!" It was a cool evening in Central City as a dark haired girl made her way down one of its emptying street. She was staring down angrily into her change purse and mumbling to herself under her breath. "The train fare was more than I thought. I barely have any money left. Not enough to get anything decent to eat, much less pay for a hotel room." She let the hand holding the small purse fall limply to her side and shook her head, frustrated. The movement made the small silver bells tied to her high pigtails ring softly.
The girl silently accepted that she would be spending the night on the street until she could find some money. It wasn't like it would be the first time. No, she was more concerned about filling her empty stomach. She was so absorbed in her plight that she didn't notice the dark clouds gathering above her until a fat, cold raindrop landed on her cheek. Her eyes scrolled upward with an exasperated look in them and then the sky opened up.
"Crap!" Using her small messenger bag as a makeshift umbrella, the dark haired girl took off at a sprint down the sidewalk. Across the street at the next corner there was a store with an awning over its door. It could provide her with shelter from the rain. The girl ran as fast as she could toward that mark, totally concentrated on making it there. She was so focused that she didn't bother to look at her surroundings and didn't notice someone coming around the corner until she slammed straight into them. The force of the impact knocked her onto her back. Almost instantly the cold water on the ground soaked though her clothes and sent a shiver up her spine.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. She had lost hold of her bag, which had fallen open, and she had dropped her purse as well. "Watch it!" She was too preoccupied with the pain in her backside and the wetness of her clothes to remember her manners.
"Watch yourself!" a voice retorted back. This pulled her out of her self-centered thoughts and brought her back to reality. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked toward where the sound came from. On the ground in front of her was a blonde boy, dressed in black wearing a red jacket and white gloves. He was rubbing the back of his head with one of his gloved hands; his eyes squeezed shut in a grimace. Crouching beside him was someone wearing a suit of armor. The unusual get-up confused the girl but she didn't let herself wonder about it.
"Oh. Sorry." She mumbled. "Excuse me."
The boy's eyes snapped open at her change in tone. His eyes focused on hers then widened in realization. His mouth opened to say something but another voice cut him off. "Brother!" The voice came from the suit of armor. "You're so reckless! You just ran straight into this girl." Its voice was surprisingly childlike. The armor turned away from the boy and scurried over to the girl. "I'm so sorry Brother ran into you. Are you ok?" It reached out its hands to help her up.
"Yea," she said, taking the armor's hand. "I think I'm ok."
"My name's Al." The suit of armor said. "Alphonse Elric and this is my brother Edward Elric."
"Ed." The blond boy said. He had gotten to his feet and come over to the other two. The girl looked at him for a long moment. Standing she saw that he was a good 2 or 3 inches shorter than her at least. Her gaze seemed to slightly agitate Ed but he didn't say anything.
"I'm Ava." The girl replied. "Nice to meet you, but it's still pouring rain and I'd rather not get any wetter."
"Oh. Right." Al said.
Ava smiled. She quickly ran her hands over her skirt to try to unwrinkle it then she turned to gather her spilled belongings.
"Oh no." Al said then he bent down to help her collect her things. There wasn't much there. Her bag only had a few changes of clothes, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, a black notebook, a few pens, and some other assorted things.
Ava quickly shoved the now wet clothes into the bag and then grasped the notebook. She pushed it up inside her shirt to try to protect it from any more water damage. Meanwhile Al had collected the rest of the things and handed them to Ava.
"Thanks." She said the looked over at Ed who had knelt down to pick something else up. He held up a book that she had been reading on the history of Alchemy.
"You're an alchemist?" he asked.
"No, not really. I'm just reading up on it a bit. I can't do any transmutations." Ava replied then she turned to collect her purse. She stopped though when she saw that all the coins had spilled out of it and all but one had fallen into a nearby storm drain. She let out a sigh and picked up the purse and the single coin. Then she turned and dashed over under the awning. Ed and Al followed her there.
"Did you lose all you money?" Al asked concerned, he had noticed her reaction.
"Yea, basically." Ava slipped the last coin back into the purse then put the purse in the bag. She also took the book from Ed and put that and the notebook in as well before closing the bag. "It's ok though. Not like it was enough to buy a decent meal or anything." Then as if on cue her stomach let out a huge growl.
"Oh no. You're hungry. And you lost all you money. Let us buy you something to eat." Al fussed franticly. Ava opened her mouth to decline but was cut off by the blond boy.
"Do you even have a place to stay?" Ed said bluntly. That hit a soft spot for Ava and she deflated. She couldn't stand to think of spending the night out in the pouring rain in already drenched clothes.
"No."
Then Ed said something surprising. "Ok, you're coming back with us." His amber eyes stared out of his serious face into Ava's black ones.
"Huh?" The noise escaped her mouth before Ava could stop it.
"We have plenty of room, right Al?"
"Yea." The armor replied.
"And you have no place to stay."
"Yes, but…" Ava started.
"Then it's settled. You'll stay with us. We did make you lose all your money after all." Ed smiled softly up at the girl. Then he took hold of her arm before she could protest and led her out into the rain with Al following behind.
The place where the Elrics were staying was only a few blocks away and the rain had begun to let up when the trio got there. The rain was only a light drizzle when they made it to the building. Ava was surprised by its size. The place was huge, three stories tall, and surrounded by high walls. They came up to the gate and Ava realized what the building was.
"You're in the military?" She asked.
"Uh… yea." Ed replied.
"Brother is a state alchemist." Al explained. Ava looked Ed up and down. A state alchemist? He didn't look much like a military alchemist.
"Really?"
"Yep." Ed grinned proudly. "They call me the Fullmetal Alchemist." He pulled a large silver pocket watch out of his pocket. Ava took it in her hands and ran her fingers over the design on the front. It was an animal that looked like a cross between a lion and a serpent. Yea, he was the real deal. "You might have heard of me?" Now Ed was a grinning fool.
"No actually." That statement let all the air out of him real quick. Ava smirked at her effectiveness and handed Ed back his watch. "I'm surprised. You don't look like you're old enough to be a state alchemist."
That struck a nerve again. "What are you saying?" Ed snapped irritably.
"What I'm saying is you look like too much of a kid to be a dog of the military."
"WHAT? ARE YOU CALLING ME A SHRIMP?" Ed yelled angrily. He took a step toward Ava but Al wrapped his arms around him.
"Brother. Calm down." Al scolded. "I'm sure she didn't mean it that way." Al looked up toward Ava.
"Hey." She said holding up both her hands in defense. "I didn't mention anything about your height. I just said you look like a kid."
Ed calmed down a bit but still seemed a bit peeved. "How old do you think I am?"
"I dunno. Maybe 13." Ava guessed.
"What? I'm almost 16!" He retorted.
"Oh." She said. "Sorry if I offended." She was surprised to know he was her age. "Anyway, let's get inside. I'm freezing." And she was. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to calm her shivering. She wasn't exactly in cold weather clothing. A black ruffled minidress didn't offer much warmth, even with her black tights and engineer boots.
"Here." Ed said as he slipped off his coat. He held it out to Ava. She took it gratefully and slipped it on over her dress. The extra layer made the cold bearable. "It's gonna take a little time to get you inside." He continued. "Civilians aren't exactly allowed to wander aimlessly through government buildings."
"Brother." Al said. "You didn't think this through before you offered Ava a place to stay?"
"Not really." Ed grinned bashfully. He scratched his head with a gloved hand for a minute thinking. "I think we're just gonna have to make a break for it." He peered inside the gate. "There isn't anyone by the door now, we'll just have to watch out for people inside." He turned back to the other two. "Ava try to stay behind Al as much as possible. He's big enough that you won't be seen very well and Al try to block her as much as you can."
"Ok," Ava and Al said in unison. Ava slipped into place behind Al and the trio moved inside the gates of the compound. They slipped into the building easily since there wasn't a guard posted at the door. Thank God for coffee breaks. Once inside Ed led them down the hallway towards the west wing of the building. There weren't many people around and the ones that were, were too focused on their work to notice the girl hidden behind a suit of armor. At the end of the hall was a stairwell leading up to the second floor. Their first problem arose when a door on the second floor was flung open right in front of them. Out bustled a young woman carrying a tall stack of books. She had short brown hair and wore glasses. Ed and Al must have known her because Ed glanced hastily back at his brother who shoved Ava behind him, blocking her from view completely.
"Oh!" She said. "Edward. Alphonse. It's good to see you."
"Hi Sheska." Al said followed by a "Hello" from Ed.
"How have you been doing?" Sheska asked.
"Good. We've been off doing research for the Colonel as usual. We're just back in Central for a little while." Said Ed nonchalantly.
"Oh that's good to hear. I'll have to talk to you again later," Sheska replied. "I have to drop off some of these newly transcribed books."
"Ok, bye." Al said and with that Sheska walked off down the hall.
"Phew." Ed breathed. "Come on. Let's go." And they set off again up the stairs to the third floor. The hall was clear so Ed walked briskly down the hall to the door to his and Al's room and began to unlock the door when a voice came from just down the hall.
"Edward, Alphose." Ed whipped around to face Second Lieutenant Maria Ross and Sergeant Denny Brosh. Ava pressed herself tightly up against the cold metal of Alphonse's armor, luckily she hadn't been spotted.
"Oh, Hello Lt. Ross, Sergeant Brosh." Ed said. "How are you?"
"Good." Ross said. "It's good to see you're back."
"Uh yea. We just got back yesterday and we had plenty of errands to run today so we're really tired. We also got caught in the rain heading back here so if you'll excuse us." He quickly unlocked the door and opened it to allow Al to slip in before him still keeping Ava hidden. "So good night Lieutenant. Sergeant." Ed gave a short salute and slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Ross and Brosh looked at each other for a long moment after the exit of the Fullmetal Alchemist.
"What was that about?" Maria Ross asked.
"No idea." Brosh replied and they continued on their way.
Ed leaned back against the inside of the door and sighed. Then he let himself slide down into a sitting position and looked over toward Al and Ava. The two of them were sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. Al was sitting straight up and Ava was huddled in the red coat, the damp fabric pulled tightly around her. Her bag dropped haphazardly on the coffee table.
"That was close," Al said. Ava and Ed both nodded wordlessly. After another moment Ed got to his feet and locked the door, then he walked over to the other two.
"You probably want to get out of those wet clothes," he said to Ava. "You can take a shower too."
"That would be great." She said and got up to follow Ed to the bathroom. He pulled two towels out of a small closet in the bathroom and handed them to the girl.
"Al and I will get us some food while you're in here. I'll also look for something for you to sleep in." He spoke without looking Ava in the eye. She gave him a nod and he left.
As soon as the Ed had left she set the towels down on the counter and turned on the water in the shower. She took of Ed's jacket and peeled off her soaking wet clothes. All the clothing landed in a pile on the floor. She loosened hair from their pigtails and set the small silver bells and the ties beside the sink. Her black hair fell down over her shoulders, tickling her bare skin. The bathroom was very plain and sparse only holding a sink, a toilet and a small shower. When the water was hot enough Ava stepped into the shower. There was some shampoo on a small ledge inside. She quickly squeezed some out into her hands and began to lather it in her hair. She stopped mid scrub and brought her right hand down to eye level. There wrapped securely around her wrist was a bandage. She had forgotten to take it off. She extracted her other hand from her soapy hair and undid the sodden wrapping. Beneath were many white scars drawn across the inside of her wrist. Ava clenched her fist and threw the bandage over the top of the shower curtain then returned to washing.
Ten minutes later Ava was clean, warm and content. She climbed out of the narrow shower and grabbed the two towels. She wrapped one around her hair and the other around her body. There was a soft knock at the door and Ava wrapped the top of the towel over itself and called "Come in."
The door opened just enough for Ed's head and torso to peak through.
"I brought you some clothes to change into and food's on the way. Al's getting it." As he spoke, the blond boy kept his eyes trained toward the shower, being sure to avoid looking at Ava.
"Ok. Thanks." The girl replied. Ed pushed the door fully open and took the few steps across the small room to the girl. In his arms he offered a white t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Ava reached out and took the clothes from the shorter boy. The feeling of her hands on his during the transfer caused Ed to finally look at the girl. He looked first at her pale face. He noticed the small wisps of dark hair escaping the makeshift turban around her head; the contrast of dark on light was very drastic. Her eyes were a dark hue that very nearly matched her hair color. After a moment Ed's eyes trailed down her figure. When he noticed how little the towel actually covered he quickly averted his eyes, a deep blush darkening his cheeks.
"They uh… they're brand new. So you don't have to worry about wearing a stranger's clothes…" his voice trailed off. "So uh… yea. Come out when you're dressed." With that the blonde bid a hasty retreat, barely remembering to close the door.
Ava chuckled at the boy's flustered state. Eager to get some food in her empty stomach she finished drying off and pulled on the clothes Ed had given her. The boxers fit well but the shirt was a bit small. The fabric was a bit strained across the chest even though her bust was relatively small; Ed really was a bit of a shrimp. She peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was messy but she didn't have her brush with her. Her hands reached up to straighten her raven locks when she froze suddenly. In the mirror she noticed the scars on her right wrist. She'd forgotten to cover them up! Luckily Ed hadn't noticed.
Ava quickly began to look in the bathroom cabinets for something to cover the wounds. Underneath the sink she found a first aid kit, inside there was a roll of gauze and some medical tape. With practiced precision, Ava had the wound securely wrapped up in less than a minute and replaced the supplies to where she found them. She collected the pile of damp clothing from the floor and finally left the bathroom.
Out in the main room she found Al sitting alone on the couch. On the table in front of him were two cafeteria trays, one filled with food, the other holding only an empty plate and glass.
"Hi Ava!" The armor said in his childlike voice. "Here's some food for you." He gestured toward the full tray.
"Oh my god, thank you!" The girl exclaimed as she raced over to the table, tossing the clothes she was carrying onto the floor next to the couch. The plate before her only held some average looking stew and biscuits but to Ava it was the most delectable dish she had seen in a while. The girl grabbed up the spoon beside the plate and began to feverously stuff her face. With her other hand she snatched up a roll and took a huge bite, barely giving herself time to chew. Her feeding frenzy was interrupted by laughter from Alphonse. She looked over at him with her cheeks bulging with food.
"You eat like Brother does," Al commented.
Ava swallowed the food in her mouth in one big gulp that hurt her throat as it went down. She gave a quick cough, embarrassed by her atrocious manners. She may have spent some time on the streets but uncivilized she most certainly was not.
"Ah!… Excuse me!" she apologized quickly. "I don't usually… I'm not usually such a pig. Sorry."
"Oh!" Al was surprised by Ava's abrupt apology. "That's fine! I don't have a problem… I didn't mean to say… You're not…" The armor struggled to find the right words. "It's just… Brother always eats too quickly. He never has any manners. I always tell him but he never listens."
"Figures. He seems like one to do that." Ava said lightly. Suddenly she remembered the clothes piled on the floor. She looked down to see Ed's red coat lying on top. "Speaking of which," She picked up the coat. "Where is Ed?"
"He went to change a little while ago," Al replied. "He's in the bedroom." The armor pointed toward a door beside the bathroom.
"Thanks."
Ava made her way to the closed door and knocked twice before letting herself in.
"Hey Ed. I have your-" Her sentence cut off when her eyes found the blond boy. He was sitting on one of the beds in a dry pair of black pants and a sleeveless black shirt. He was leaning forward with his arms resting on his knees, his face turned up toward the girl. His golden hair was loose and hung half-dried around his shoulders. The expression on his face was slightly surprised, questioning, and his amber eyes were wide and clear. The boy's overall appearance was contrasting with the Ed she had seen before, softer, less intense, maybe even sweet. The contrast wasn't what held Ava's attention though. What drew her focus was Ed's right arm; it was completely metal.
"Automail," Ava breathed.
"Huh?" Ed stood up to face the girl completely. After a moment his brain registered her soft speech. "Oh yeah…" His left hand moved to grasp his right forearm. "Isn't something you see everyday is it?"
Ava shook her head, eyes still trained on the mechanism. Her dark orbs twinkled with excitement.
Ed, not unused to stares, recognized that glimmer. It reminded him of a certain mechanic he knew. Slightly concerned he tried to lead the conversation in another direction.
"Those clothes fit okay?"
"Yea…" The girl's voice sounded detached. Her mind wasn't in the conversation.
"If you get cold I also have long sleeve shirts."
No response.
"You brought my coat?"
"Um… yes," Ava held up the red coat, her gaze not wavering. "Thanks again." She walked across the room and laid the article on the bed. She then gestured toward the boy's arm. "May I?"
Realizing there would be no deterring her Ed sighed and replied, "Sure." He held out his right arm.
At Ed's okay Ava abandoned all formality and promptly grabbed the boy's outstretched limb. Her fingers trailed over the smooth metal, expertly manipulating the joints. Her onyx eyes observed her hands with excited interest as she worked her way up his arm.
"Amazing," she mused. "Such wonderful craftsmanship. It's so light and it moves so fluently. Your mechanic must be a genius!" Her eyes flickered up to meet the his.
"She is," Ed said. In his mind he could see the blonde girl back in Risembool, with wrench in hand and a grin plastered across her face. "She's a childhood friend of ours. She knows everything there is to know about automail." He tightened his prosthetic hand into a fist for a moment then let it relax. "It's all her own design."
"What's her name?" Ava asked noticing the fondness in Ed's voice.
"Winry," he replied. There was a short pause. "How do you know so much about automail anyway?"
"I've read a few books on the subject. It may not seem like it but I can be a bit of a bookworm at times. If something catches my interest I read up on it." The girl smiled. "I've also met a few people personally who have automail limbs." Her hands moved up to his shoulder and after the joint her fingers finally felt the warmth of the boy's skin under his shirt. "There you are." Her black eyes once again rose to the boy's amber ones. "This is pretty extensive."
"My left leg's the same."
Ava's expression faltered for a moment.
"Really?" Her hands dropped down to grasp only Ed's metal fingers. She lowered her gaze to the floor to look at his bare feet and sure enough his left foot was automail as well. Ava couldn't help but wonder how a boy of only 15 had lost both an arm and a leg. What caused such terrible injuries to someone so young? And before she could stop herself she asked him outright.
"What happened? How did you-?" The instant the words left her mouth she regretted them. Ed's eyes hardened for a moment. It was only for an instant but Ava caught the immense sadness behind those golden orbs. She realized something horrible had happened to this boy standing before her and she felt a connection to him. That connection scared her. It was like looking into a mirror. She carried those same sorts of feelings inside of her everyday. She suddenly dropped his hand and took a step back.
"Nevermind. You don't have to tell me." Her pulse was beating in her ears. "I mean… we did only just meet each other today." She turned abruptly and walked quickly toward the door. She had almost made her escape when Ed's voice broke through the pounding in her head.
"I guess you have some wounds of you own too."
Ava froze, her right hand hovering over the doorknob. Her mind started racing. Had he noticed something? Had all her defenses given way? Had she let something show? All of those memories and emotions she worked so hard to conceal, had this boy seen them?
After a long moment of silence the boy spoke again, his words slicing through her inner turmoil.
"Your bandages."
Ava glanced down at the wrappings on her right wrist and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Inside she was partially relieved but her concerns still plagued her. She'd gotten too familiar too fast; she had to be more careful. She had almost opened up doors that shouldn't be, on both sides.
"Battle scars I suppose you could call them. Living on the streets isn't easy." Her voice was grim.
"I get what you mean." Ed's last statement seemed to draw the whole encounter to an end. Ava took that moment of closure to wrap her fingers around the doorknob and turn it. Just before she slipped outside, she heard the boy speak once more, softly to himself this time.
"Battle Scars." He played with the words on his tongue. He looked at the closed door where the girl had disappeared for a moment longer before turning to pick his red coat up off the bed.
Outside Ava pulled the door of the bedroom closed and paused for a moment before turning around. She almost ran right into Alphonse as she did so. He had come up behind her, obviously heading into the bedroom.
"Oops! Sorry." The two said in unison.
"Oh Ava!" Al exclaimed suddenly. "I saw that all the things in your bag where still all wet so I set them out to dry over there." He gestured over toward a desk by the window. Sure enough all her things where spread out over it and the surrounding area. "I hung up your clothes too." She saw the different articles hung over the couch and desk chair.
Ava was slightly taken aback and when she looked back at Al she felt a feeling of warmth well up inside her. On the outside the armor made him seem hard and cold but now she was beginning to realize that inside he was just a kind-hearted boy. She couldn't fathom why he wore the knight's garb. The question stayed at the back of her mind, weighing slightly on her thoughts. It wasn't really any of her business though; she was starting to see the real Alphonse as the kid he was.
"Thanks." The girl said smiling. "That's so nice of you Al." She stepped aside to let him past.
"No problem," he said. The girl was sure if she could see his face he'd be smiling back at her. Then he opened the door to the bedroom and went inside calling to Ed as he did.
After the door closed the dark-haired girl could only hear the low murmur of voices on the other side. She wandered over toward the desk. Her fingers ran over the damp fabrics hanging over the back of the couch as she passed by. She picked her hairbrush up off the desk and began easing it through her half-dried locks as her eyes looked over the cluttered desk. Alphonse had even propped up her few books vertically with the pages spread open. She was playing with one of the water-warped pages when something caught her eye, obscured mostly the upright books. A piece of black fabric poked out to one side. She leaned forward and looked at all her panties and bras laid out to dry, hidden from sight. She laughed at Al's cute attempt to protect her modesty. She felt a slight tinge of embarrassment at having him see the horribly lacy things but it passed quickly.
Ava finished brushing her hair and set the brush back on the desk, then went back over to the table and ate the rest of her stew.
The girl had all but licked the plate clean when the brothers joined her back in the main room. She had fallen back against the couch with a contented sigh when Ed came out of the bedroom with Al trailing behind him. They came over to stand by her before the blond spoke.
"It's pretty late, I guess you want to get some sleep." Ed buried his hands in his pockets. "You can sleep in the bedroom and I'll take the couch. Al usually stays out here anyway."
Ava was about to protest but then thought twice about it. Ed wasn't one to be swayed easily. Instead she decided just to accept his kindness.
"Thank you." She pushed herself to her feet and grasped Ed's left hand in both hers. "Really, I mean it." Her eyes locked onto his for a moment before she dropped his hand. "'Night boys. See you in the morning."
The boys returned her goodnight and she disappeared into the bedroom. It felt good to slip into a real bed after a long day of traveling and Ava found herself asleep before she even realized she was tired.
Ava awoke the next morning in a fog. She felt as though she had been sleeping for a week and had didn't have a clue where she was. A cold fist of panic took hold of her throat for a moment before her head cleared enough for her to remember the previous night. She was at the Central Military Headquarters. In the personnel only dorms. In the room belonging to the 15-year-old State Alchemist Edward Elric. And she was sleeping in his bed. Now this was a first.
Ava kicked off the blankets and rolled up into a sitting position. A rumbling growl resonated from her stomach, causing the girl to wonder what time it was. I wonder if Ed and Al have had breakfast yet. She mused. The girl swung her feet to the floor and flitted across the room. She paused at the door, hearing the murmur of voices through the panels. At least she knew the guys were awake so Ava flung the door open and burst into the main room.
"'Morning Boys!" she exclaimed. "Got anything to eat? I'm famished!"
The girl's excitement fell flat to the floor when she saw who had been talking. Ed stood at the door with Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc and Alphonse was nowhere to be seen. Ed and Havoc's eyes widened collectively and took in Ava's state. Her hair was mussed and Ed's t-shirt was small enough that it showed every curve of her body and left a small strip of her pale skin exposed just above the waistband of the boxer shorts. She stared back at the two men as an awkward silence stretched out for several excruciating seconds. Then the moment was finally broken when a grin broke out across the second lieutenant's face. He let out a quick laugh and clapped a hand on Ed's shoulder.
"Way to go Boss!" Havoc hollered. "Just wait until the Colonel hears about this!"