May 25th, 1961
Ethan Elric ignored the weary feeling in his bones as he dropped down onto his bed in his little Xing apartment. They really liked sending him out into the countryside; had for two years. He was personable, hard working, and one of their few alchemical doctors. Where he was needed he went, and without complaint. Ethan had done his best by them, and his hard work had paid off.
Doctor Ethan Elric. His training was complete, as was his time of residency here. As soon as the local school let out, he and Lia were going back to Amestris. He would finally see his family in person again! Ethan was desperately looking forward to going home, as much as he had enjoyed living here. But there was one thing he absolutely had to do first.
Reaching into his pocket, Ethan pulled out a small cloth bag and held up the tiny object he'd been keeping tucked carefully inside of it. Two delicate twists of gold, in the spaces between them alternated tiny, perfect pieces of soft green jade and fire-opals. Only the very top stone, a carefully chosen diamond, bespoke to the Western side of him what it meant. He had chosen the elements and transmuted it himself, of course.
His breath caught and Ethan turned the ring over delicately in his fingers. There was no reason in his mind to put it off any longer; no excuses, and no doubts. He had known for so long how he felt, and Lia had been so patient, so caring. After all this, they were still together. He couldn't imagine anything else now, except that he wanted the rest of it as much as she did. He wasn't going to make her wait anymore for what he had all but promised.
Ethan wasn't entirely sure how he wanted to do it. There was a dinner tonight in honor of him and the other two young doctors who had finished their residencies. He had pondered if there was a way to do it then, but he wasn't sure if such a public venue was appropriate. Or rather, he knew Lia wouldn't care one way or the other, but for such an intimate moment Ethan wasn't sure he wanted to share it with anyone else.
The click of low-heeled shoes on the tiled hallway was Ethan's only warning that someone was coming. He stuck the ring quickly back in his pocket. A moment later a beautiful smiling face appeared in the doorway, followed by the rest of Lia as she stepped inside. "You're back!"
Ethan stood, gathering Lia in his arms as she almost launched into them. This last trip had been longer than most – nearly three weeks; tough too, but he had been very much needed. There had been an outbreak of a very nasty disease that attacked the brain and spinal column and had a fairly high fatality rate. Fortunately, with the availability of alchemical doctors, that morbid number was lower than it would be otherwise. Almost everyone in the village where they had been had recovered.
When the kiss broke, Ethan held her tightly against him for another moment. "And no more long separations," he promised, smiling. "I missed you."
Lia beamed. "And I missed you. Are you all right? I heard it was a really nasty illness."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ethan nodded, though he didn't try and deny the toughness of the mission. "We lost a few though; the worst cases; a couple of old men and… three kids."
"Oh Ethan," sympathy crossed those exquisite features. "I'm sorry."
"Me too," Ethan smiled weakly. He almost never lost patients, though he had learned young enough that sometimes people died no matter what you did. He felt a gentle sorrow, but not the overwhelming grief he knew he would feel if he lost someone close to him. "I'll be glad of a break from it though." It would take them time to get home, and getting settled into the practice with Ren meant dealing, he hoped, with a smaller number of critical patients, and with illnesses with which his studies had made him much more familiar.
"Me too," Lia smiled. "Of course, I get the summer off anyway. Oh! I got a letter from Central Schools while you were gone." From her expression it was clearly good news. "They hired me! In the fall I'll start teaching at Central High."
"Congratulations," Ethan smiled, kissing her again. "I knew you'd get the job. You're an amazing teacher."
"Well you sure spend enough time studying me," she met his eyes with a playful, but gently knowing expression.
"Hopefully that's one subject I'm acing," Ethan replied softly.
"Maybe," Lia said. "Pop quiz, Doctor Elric: what would be most appropriate for a school teacher to wear as your date to this dinner tonight?"
The moment was too good to pass up. Without taking his eyes from hers, holding her gaze, Ethan reached into his pocket surreptitiously and pulled out the ring, bringing it up between their faces. "How about this?"
Lia blinked, startled as she focused on the tiny band instead. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh Ethan it's beautiful! Is it…?" Her eyes darted back to his in sudden realization.
Ethan grinned as he brought his other hand back around away from her back and gathered hers in his, stepping back just enough that he could ask properly. "You've been more patient with me than I ever had any right to hope, Lia. I could never have gotten through the last few years without you there; encouraging, helping….reminding me to sleep. We've known each other forever and I know I'll never have with anyone else what I have with you, and I don't want to. I don't want either of us to have to wait anymore. I love you. Lia, please say you'll be my wife."
If Ethan had ever had any doubts that Lia would change her mind, they were laid to rest in that moment as she squealed and kissed him again, her arms going around his neck once more. When the kiss broke, she was beaming, eyes wet with tears of joy. "Of course…" she almost choked on the words, "Of course I will, Ethan."
"Thank you," Ethan whispered in her ear before they separated again. "Did I really surprise you that much?"
Lia looked a little embarrassed even as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "I know it's been all but promised for a while," she admitted. "I never doubted but… it's nice to finally be asked."
"I'm just sorry you had to wait so long." The ring looked perfect on her hand, just as he had known it would.
"I'm not," Lia surprised him. "I wanted you to be sure too. You've had so many things you wanted to accomplish, and now the things you were worried about getting the way won't. Now we're both ready." She looked down at the ring again before winking at him. "And I think I know exactly what to wear in my closet now."
"Oh really?" Ethan asked curiously.
"Oh you'll see it tonight," Lia teased. "Let's just say it's perfectly appropriate for the fiancée of a new Doctor, and it will match this perfectly."
Now she had him wondering! "Well then, I look forward to seeing it." She was his now, absolutely. No one could claim otherwise. A thrill ran through him. Lia was his!
May 26th, 1961
"So how did we get invited to this party again?" Charisa asked Tore as they walked hand-in-hand down the street towards the very large house at the end of the cul-de-sac. "Or rather, how did you get invited," she amended her statement. Charisa, just by virtue of her own popularity and who her father was, got invited to parties by pretty much everyone in the school, even people she barely knew. Of course, she politely declined in those instances usually.
"Me? Oh, Randy owes me for his science grade," Tore shrugged and grinned, admiring Charisa's choice of outfit for this, the first after-school party of summer vacation; a simple short violet skirt and a white tank top with a ruffled v-neckline. It was too warm for much else.
"Owe?" Charisa looked suspiciously over at him. "You didn't cheat did you?"
"Me?" Tore pretended to look offended. "Of course not; I just helped him study a few times is all." Randall Adkins was one of the wealthiest kids in Central. His lived in a large house in one of the neighborhoods that held houses nearly as immense as the Armstrong's in-town home. The one thing money didn't buy him, however, was grades. He was smart but he was, Tore had found out this term, abysmal at sciences. Tore, given all his study of alchemy, was acing those classes almost without trying.
"Well all right," Charisa smiled. "Can you blame me for asking?"
"Hey, I can get in on my own merit," Tore teased, "At least as much as you can. Well here we are." He looked up at the huge gabled building with ivy climbing the walls and the sounds of a party already under way going on around back in the gardens. A garden walkway gate was open and marked with a couple of balloons and an arrow that clearly said party this way.
"Nice place," Charisa agreed as they went around behind. It was by far bigger than either of their own houses, even though Tore had always considered both houses fairly spacious, and also in very nice parts of town.
As they came around the corner into the garden lined with thick trees, shaped topiary, and paper colored lanterns that would surely brighten the place up when it got dark in an hour or so, Tore paused to take in the scene. The truth was, he hadn't been to a lot of school parties. Mostly cause he wasn't into the shallower end of the social scene. He hung out with his friends and they had parties from time to time. Charisa always invited him to hers – unless they were girl only – and he'd been to a few as the date of various girls.
That had been before Tore's long-term restriction, which had ended in November. Since he and Charisa had started going out a few months back, his life had been a little different. For one thing, with Charisa it was exclusive or nothing. Not that Tore was objecting! He'd wanted to go out with her for so long that he wasn't dumb enough to miss the chance. Their friendship had shifted with surprising ease into the new one, perhaps because they already knew each other so well. There was no need for flirting games, playing coy, or trying to impress each other.
Still, Tore had never seen a party like this. The Adkins' had a pool and tennis courts in the distance, and a large layered deck that led up to the back of the house, where massive double-doors were open into the house's interior.
Tables were laid out with a huge spread of snack foods in every flavor and variety. This was the first clue that it was definitely a party for teenagers. Tore knew that Randy, now a senior, had also only invited the older two classes in the school. The party itself was already in full swing. Tore was pretty sure almost the entire upcoming junior and senior classes were in attendance, as well as what looked like the entire recently graduated class.
The girls were almost entirely in short skirts and cool tops that accounted for the heat and the eyes going in their direction as they passed. Tore was pretty sure that was the point. The guys were having a blast. A few folks had apparently brought swimsuits and were diving and splashing around in the pool. A radio was blaring rocking music from somewhere near the porch, and an area in the middle had people dancing.
Inside, there were more people and it looked like that was where most of the seating was, though a bunch of tables had been set up outside for that as well.
"Talk about epic party," Tore grinned.
"Thought you'd like it, Closson," Randy grinned as he sauntered up. "Welcome to the place. Evening Charisa," his smile widened a little.
"Thanks for the invite," Charisa smiled back. "How did you ever talk your folks into letting you throw a bash this big?"
Randy shrugged casually, as if he did it every day. "Well I just asked if I could have some friends over tonight now that school was out and they said sure. They're cool like that. Besides, they're out of town this weekend. They said as long as the house was clean when they got home, I could invite over whoever I wanted."
"Lucky dog," Tore chuckled. The Elrics would never have made such an open ended offer. "So what's the highlight of the evening? Anything you'd recommend?"
"Well I gave the cook the night off," Randy looked positively smug. "But there's pizza, Xingese, just about anything else I could send someone out to pick up. You want it, we probably have it. If you're looking for a real thirst quencher though, try the coolers under the center of the chips-n-dip table." Most of the drinks were in coolers under the tables, with cups and ice available if someone didn't want to drink it out of the bottle.
"Thanks for the info," Tore replied.
Just then a couple of girls waved Randy's attention away from them, and Tore and Charisa wended their way through the crowd towards the food. It wasn't all junk; there was plenty of fruit too, especially cold melon, and even a veggie tray or two for the ones who would actually eat it. Lots of hors d'oeuvres. Friends called, waved in their direction, and interrupted their wending several times. It took almost half an hour to get to the table, though Tore was highly enjoying himself.
"What would you like to drink?" Tore asked as he reached under and opened a cooler.
"Grape soda please," Charisa said.
Tore rooted around and found one. "Here you go," he passed it up. Then he grabbed what looked like a cream soda and pulled it out too. The moment he did though, he realized it wasn't. So that's what Randy meant.
"What is it?" Charisa asked when he stopped moving.
Tore hesitated a moment longer, then stood, turned, and showed Charisa the bottle.
Her eyes widened a little. "How'd he get a hold of that?" They both knew you had to be eighteen to buy anything alcoholic in Amestris.
"There's plenty of adults here," Tore pointed out with a shrug. "I'll bet the graduates brought it. They can have it after all."
"True," Charisa sighed. "Still. Put it back, Tore."
Somehow he had known she was going to say that. "I don't think so," Tore replied easily. "I've heard this brand's good."
"Terrence Closson," Charisa hissed. "Do you want to get in trouble?"
"With whom?" Tore asked glancing around. Now that he knew what to look for, he wasn't the only one in the place who had figured out that some of the coolers held more than soda and fruit juice. "No one here's going to tell. Randy's folks and cook aren't home. Besides, my uncle used to let me have tastes when he'd watch me when I was a kid."
"That doesn't make it all right," Charisa replied pointedly.
"No, but it means I already know what the stuff is," Tore said calmly. "Look, it's just a beer. My uncle was an idiot and a lush. I'm not stupid." He uncle had been worse than that, but long and short, it wasn't the first time Tore'd had a drink. He wasn't afraid of the stuff, but he had no intention of downing it carelessly either. "Or are you going to tell?" He hadn't thought of that.
Charisa looked momentarily torn, then sighed. "I should," she replied. "But I guess if nothing comes of it than there's no real reason to make a fuss. But if you do something stupid you better believe I'll tell the Elrics everything."
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't," Tore grinned, relaxing. Charisa was pretty strict on right and wrong and rules, but she could loosen up from time to time. "I take it you don't want a taste then?"
"No!" Charisa replied vehemently. Tore decided it was best to drop the subject.
"All right. Hey, you want to dance?" He looked out at the group of guys and girls in the center of everything.
Charisa looked over at them and smiled. "Sure, it looks like fun."
Setting the bottle down unopened, Tore took her hand and they headed out onto the dance floor as another fast number picked up. One thing Tore had to admit about all the physical activity involved in learning alchemy Fullmetal's way; it made dancing pretty easy in comparison! He and Charisa stayed out on the dance floor for nearly an hour. The sun set and the brightly colored lanterns around the place began to glow.
Finally they took a break. "I'll be right back," Charisa promised as they reached the edge of the dance floor.
"Where are you going?" Tore asked.
"The girl's room, nosy," Charisa smiled then ducked through the crowd, appearing briefly once more as she climbed the stairs to the house.
Left to his own devices and thirsty, Tore headed back towards the food tables. The bottle he'd left unopened was long gone, so he fished around in the coolers for another one. He popped open the lid and took a small swig. It wasn't a cheap beer and, he found, it was as good as he'd heard; at least, if you liked beer. Tore nursed it down while he listened to some of the recent grads recounting the harrowing tale of the prank they had pulled on the track and field coach during the last meet of the year.
Half an hour later he dropped the bottle into a trash can and turned around to see Charisa coming back out. "That took you a while," he commented.
Charisa smirked. "Line for the ladies, as usual. By the way, I'd avoid the punch bowl. Lainie Johnson says she saw Ted Yellers spike it with something earlier."
So it was what Tore had always heard a typical parent-free high school party would be like; or a college party. He chuckled. "You want another grape soda then?"
Charisa nodded. "Thanks."
Tore couldn't remember having a better time at a big social event. The jealous glares of the other guys as they watched him with Charisa were worth it! Even with the guys he normally didn't get along with, he could smile in their faces, knowing they were fuming inside. Still, Tore did his best to avoid anything that might turn into a scuffle. Most of them seemed to remember at the last minute that Tore had a lot of martial arts training they didn't. It didn't matter that he was still shorter than most of them. He wasn't as short as he used to be, and he was more muscular too.
Perhaps the jealousy wasn't all because he was actually dating Charisa now. Whatever it was, Tore enjoyed mingling with their friends, hanging out, snacking, dancing some more. He kept an eye on the time though; he'd sworn to Fullmetal and General Breda that he'd have Charisa home and be back by midnight.
The party got wilder as the night wore on. Some kids vacated and went home earlier, as curfews or boredom dictated, though Tore found the ones who stayed were more often ones he liked hanging out with.
Later, as he came out of the bathroom himself, he noticed another amusing trend. An awful lot of couples had drifted inside, where there was comfortable furniture and quiet corners that seemed made for making out. If they were doing more anywhere…he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Though it didn't look like a bad idea! He went back outside, picked up a drink, and went to hunt down Charisa again.
"Hey beautiful," he snagged her hand when he found her, caught up conversation with a few of her friends.
"You're back," Charisa smiled.
"No line for the men's," Tore teased, kissing her. "You want to… sneak off?" The idea of a little private time alone seemed better all the time.
"I'd like that," Charisa smiled, following him away. It didn't take long to get back into the house and find a quiet spot downstairs where there weren't too many folks in the way. "It was getting pretty raucous out there," she smiled at him. "It's quieter in here."
"It is," Tore agreed, pulling her in gently. She seemed to get the message, and kissed him back willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Tore pulled her close against him and leaned back to brace himself against the wall –
- And missed! With a startled laugh, he fell backwards into an open closet, landing on a couple of old winter coats that cushioned their fall.
"Well that was interesting," Charisa giggled, lying on top of his chest, her red hair falling around her face and tickling his neck.
"It was," Tore laughed, pulling her down against him. "But I kinda like the result."
"You would," Charisa rolled her eyes, but a moment later they were kissing again, and Tore's hands were under her shirt, pressed against the supple, firm flesh of her sides, and for a while he could think of nothing consequential. He knew better than to push too far, but as long as he didn't do anything she had forbidden, there was still a lot of fun to be had.
Tore completely lost track of time. It had only been about nine when they ducked inside, but distracted as he was, he wasn't sure when he first registered that the sounds upstairs had gotten even louder. "Must be some party," he chuckled around a kiss at one point.
"Sounds like it might be a fight," Charisa replied, pausing to listen. "You think?" Something slammed upstairs then the noise went back to its regular level.
"It's over if it was," Tore shrugged, irritated by the distractions. He tugged the closet door closed with his foot. "Don't worry about it."
Perhaps if he'd been less interested in the immediacy of the moment, Tore would have thought it suspicious when there was a shout upstairs, and the sounds of feet running, and then solid footsteps and other barked statements. But sound was muffled and he was enjoying himself. Apparently Charisa was as well, because the first clue either of them had of danger was when a there was a sharp rap on the door of the closet and a "Come on out of there."
Charisa sat up with a gasp.
Tore looked up as the door opened and he saw a Central Police Officer glaring down at them. "O-officer…"
"Party's over kids," he frowned. "Get up and let's see some ID."
ID…. Maybe that had really been a fight they heard earlier? Tore couldn't imagine why the Central police had been called, but he knew one thing, a lot of kids were in real trouble! He stood up and helped Charisa to her feet. He pulled his wallet out and handed over his school identification as Charisa did the same.
The officer took them both and his eyebrows rose a little as he looked at Charisa's. Tore's got no unusual looks, though given Tore's last name wasn't Fullmetal's he wasn't surprised. "Well Miss Breda, I suggest you both come upstairs with the rest of the lot." He looked uncomfortable, then he sniffed the closet. "Have you been drinking?"
"No officer!" Charisa looked scandalized, "Of course not."
He leaned in and sniffed her breath. Satisfied, he nodded. "You may go upstairs. We've got a few cars on scene and will be giving anyone who can't get a ride home from their parents a lift ourselves."
Before Tore could move he leaned over and sniffed Tore's breath. Silently cursing, Tore wondered if he'd spilled any either. He wasn't drunk; far from it. But the cop was still frowning. "Come on, Mr. Closson. I'd like to get this over with. Talk about a bust. We got called in on a noise complaint."
A noise complaint! They were getting busted because of the noise? This wasn't fair! Still, Tore followed the officer upstairs, Charisa meekly between them.
Upstairs about a hundred teenagers were still milling about. Tore noticed that a lot of the graduates had managed to split. Probably gone to the bars or home to screw their girlfriends in private, he thought unkindly as he waited with the others. He frantically wondered what he'd tell Fullmetal when they made him call the house.
Tore realized too soon that he was out of luck. Charisa dialed her home number, and as soon as it started ringing the police officer – his badge read Jenkins – took it out of her hand. "Good evening. Is this General Breda? This is Officer Jenkins." There was a pause and Tore could not hear what was said on the other side. "I'm at 505 Elm Lane, Sir, investigating a noise complaint which turned out to be a party at which your daughter is in attendance this evening." It only got worse from there. Tore knew Breda would want a full understanding of the situation and by the time Jenkins got off the phone Breda knew exactly why the party was being busted instead of given a warning to quiet down. Everything, including finding Charisa in the closet with him! Charisa looked mortified as she was led outside to wait for her father's car.
Tore's stomach continued to sink into the vicinity of his shoe soles as the Officer handed him the phone next. Several other kids had obviously already done so, and several more were waiting around. Tore thought wildly for a moment of dialing another number, but he knew there was no getting out of this. He dialed the Elrics' number, and waited.
"Good evening. Is this the Closson residence?" Officer Jenkins' face went slightly pale as Tore knew that mistake was being corrected on the phone. "I'm sorry Fullmetal, Sir. Does a Terrence Closson live with you?"
This was it. He was dead. Tore felt resentment bubbling inside. He hadn't started any fights. He hadn't gotten drunk. He hadn't violated Charisa in any way. He tried to keep his cool as the Officer explained the situation then hung up the phone. "You can wait with me." He handed the phone off to the next officer with a group of upset and worried looking teenagers and led Tore outside.
Tore sat down on the front step, a few feet from Charisa, though he felt like they might as well be miles apart. He didn't dare say anything with Central police all over the place.
Charisa's father arrived first. The General, still an imposing figure, got out of the car and came right up to the steps. "Thanks for the call, Jenkins," he spoke to Jenkins first, without looking at either of them. "You said there are no adults on the premises?"
"None other than those we've identified as recent high school graduates, Sir," the officer replied, saluting smartly. All of Central police were military police, Tore remembered. That wasn't good either. "We found alcohol on the premises, Sir: several cases worth of beer, and there's definitely Drachman vodka in the punch bowl. There were also a few students in possession of opiates and cannabis. It seems there was an argument that got out of hand. That's when we got called in. The fight was over when we got here though."
They'd busted some of the kids with drugs? Shit! Tore kept his mouth shut and his eyes averted from the conversation.
"I see," was Breda's reply. "Let's go home, Charisa."
Tore looked up as Charisa stood, smoothed her skirt, and followed without looking at him. General Breda did however; a smoldering look that told Tore rather plainly that the General was not happy with either of them.
Ten minutes later Fullmetal pulled up. He didn't bother to get out. He rolled down the window and motioned him over. Tore stood and, with the officer following, walked down to the car, opened the front door, and sat down. Fullmetal had a couple of quiet words with the officer, and then he pulled away, heading towards the house.
Tore didn't dare speak, almost afraid to break the silence. He knew, when it did, that his Teacher was going to explode. The tightness around Edward's eyes and mouth made that clear. If he'd been angry about Tore's going out with a lot of girls before, he was probably about to go apoplectic.
Edward managed to keep his temper reigned in until they got back to the house. He had been stunned, honestly stunned, to get a phone call from the police saying Tore had been caught smelling like beer at a party. Being in a closet with Charisa wasn't much of a surprise at all honestly. The worst part had been the call about a minute after he hung up the phone, from Breda, wanting to know if Edward knew about the whole mess. He hadn't heard Breda that angry in a long time. "Can't you at least pretend you have a shred of common sense?" They were the first words to come out of his mouth as he closed the door behind them.
Tore glowered at him. "Are you even going to let me tell my side of the story before you convict me and lock me up again?"
"I'd love to hear it," Ed turned around to face him squarely, arms crossed. "Did you know Randy's folks were out of town? Did you know there was alcohol at the party?"
"Not until after we got there," Tore responded, looking offended. Well, let him.
"And you stayed?"
"Well it wasn't like I was planning on getting myself potentially arrested!" Tore retorted.
"You were in a closet with Charisa Breda." Edward pointed out. Did the kid have no idea how that looked?
Tore's face had gone red, his fists clenched. "I was kissing my girlfriend! We fell into the stupid closet on accident!"
"That sounds a whole lot better," Ed snorted. "You're lucky you were both dressed."
"Or what?" Tore asked snidely.
"Breda called as soon as the cops did," Ed went ahead and informed him. "I think he'd like to take a piece out of your hide at the moment."
"We didn't do anything!"
"But the two of you and one cop are the only people who know that." He had to keep calm a little or this was going to be a row they didn't need to have. He pushed on with the rest of the questions that were nagging him. "I'll assume you didn't know about the drugs."
"Didn't even see anyone with them," Tore confirmed, slightly mollified. "Missed the fight too."
"The closet, I know," Ed finished. "Officer Jenkins said you'd been drinking." Much as Ed wanted to hit himself for the uptight ass of an adult he sounded at the moment – he sure would have as a teen himself – that bothered him the most.
Tore didn't even try to deny it. "I had a couple of beers the whole night," he came right out and said it. "So what? I didn't get drunk. I'm not stupid."
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Ed felt his nerves slipping again. The edge of his voice hardened. "It doesn't matter what you think, Tore. There are laws about it in Amestris and you just broke them."
"You're over-reacting," Tore shrugged, slumping backwards against the wall and stair banister. "Just because you can't handle your liquor I -"
"That's not the point!" He hadn't meant to start shouting again, but the kid had gone too far! "You broke the law! This isn't about getting caught. This isn't about what you think you can handle. This isn't about me. It's about doing something stupid. You should have left the party the minute you found out what was going on."
"And what?" Tore snorted. "Ratted out my friends? Like you haven't broken rules and laws; loads of them! Why the hell should I listen to you now?"
"For just that reason," Ed replied, crossing the space between them. "I did all sorts of reckless things as a kid. Yeah, I broke some of the biggest laws there are; laws of nature as much as Amestris'. You don't think I don't know how lucky I was to end up in the military instead of prison? But it all comes around in the end. There's always -"
"Equivalency right?" Tore waved one hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah. You've done that talk to death."
"Well you obviously haven't been listening to much I've said, or you'd be smart enough to know when to leave a potentially hostile situation!"
Tore actually laughed. Laughed! Sarcastically, but still. "Shut up, old man. You're not my father."
"No, I'm your teacher—"
"Yeah well who says I need you to teach me anymore?" Tore asked, staring him straight in the face. In that moment, Ed realized they were almost exactly the same height. The kid wasn't the shrimp he'd been when Ed had found him on the street. He'd seen this face before too…on that angry kid. Obviously a lot had changed, but some things were quite the same.
"You don't want my instruction, than fine!" Ed shrugged. "There, done. You don't have to train with me anymore. Happy?"
Tore didn't move. "I'm not afraid of you, Ed. I'm not intimidated by you and I don't give a damn that everyone else is!"
"Did I say you were?" Ed let Tore take the conversation there. "If you're not, why bring it up?"
"Because it bears saying!" Tore screamed, losing it completely. "You're a sarcastic, know-it-all, pushy, over-bearing ass hole! Everyone thinks you're something frickin' special because of things you've done and they don't give a shit that you've run roughshod all over the law to do them! Then you stand there, like some smug bastion of knowledge and expect me to take that crap like everyone who goes through your little Elric-fan-club State Alchemy Program!"
"Now that's enough!" Ed bellowed, his hand out and socking the kid in the jaw fast before he even realized he'd reacted. He was momentarily shocked; despite Izumi's training, Ed had never been as flash-fire violent with his students. He might drill them mercilessly, but he'd always given them warning first.
Tore, to his credit, almost dodged the blow, but slammed into the wall and couldn't quite get away. "Oh yeah! Beat me up over it! That'll teach me to mind won't it? I told you, Ed, you don't scare me! You don't impress me! Now get the hell out of my face!" He bolted, and darted up the stairs, feet pounding.
Ed stood in the entry way, panting, trying vainly to get a hold of his temper. Stupid kid. Stupid, ignorant… Stubborn….
"Edward!" Winry appeared at the top of the stairs in her bathrobe, hair up in a towel. She'd been just getting into the bath when Ed had left. "What's going on?"
That took the worst of it out of him. Ed sighed. "We were discussing Tore's little misadventure this evening, that's all."
"Discussing it loud enough I'm surprised we haven't had a noise complaint," Winry frowned slightly in concern. "What happened?"
Ed stalked into the living room as Winry came downstairs. "Not only was he caught in a closet with Charisa," he explained in brief, "he was one of the underage kids drinking at the party. He admitted it; wasn't upset about it at all." The whole mess was giving him a headache.
"Did you ground him again?" Winry asked.
"We never got that far," Ed admitted. "The argument's not over yet I don't think." Still, he had to get a hold of himself first. If they kid cooled down, maybe they could still talk this over reasonably. It always happened eventually.
"Calm down." Winry hands rested lightly on his back on the shoulder blades. "You're trembling, Ed."
She was right, he realized. His whole body was shaking from the tension and fury he was trying to get rid of. Ed closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, trying to think of one of the reflective relaxation techniques Old Bao had taught him in Xing. "Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to me," Winry replied. "But you're going to have to find a way to make peace with Tore."
"I know," Ed sighed. "He's just so hard to understand lately. Though he's been so much better since November I figured this kind of thing was done."
"Would a cup of tea help?" Winry offered.
"Tore doesn't seem to like tea," Ed pointed out.
"I meant for you," Winry chuckled, moving towards the kitchen. "I'm not happy either, Ed, but exploding never seems to solve anything in this house."
Well that was the truth. Ed started to follow her into the kitchen when he heard a door slam upstairs and feet in the hallway. So Tore was coming back down already? Ed turned around and balked as the kid came down the stairs with his jacket slung over one shoulder and his school bag over the other. "Where do you think you're going?"
Tore didn't stop moving as he vanished in the hall. Ed reached the corner as he heard the door open. "You said I'm not your student anymore right?" Tore paused in the open door way. "Great! That means I don't have to take your shit. I'm gone!" He slammed the door without waiting for a response.
He…what? Ed shook himself, unfreezing, and ran for the door and ripped it open, but Tore must have started running, because he was already out of sight. "Damn it, kid!" After another moment of indecision, Ed closed the door. He was shaking again.
Winry caught up with him a second later. He heard her slippered feet on the wood. "Ed?"
He swallowed an odd lump in his throat. "I'm scared for him, Winry. I just don't want to see him screw his life up over something so stupid."
"So aren't you going to go after him," Winry asked?
Ed shook his head. "No. He'll cool off. He'll probably bunk in at a friend's house and come back in the morning… if the police don't pick him up for loitering." But given how good he'd been at hiding out in the streets as a kid, Ed suspected that wouldn't happen. "I just really figured his days of running off were over." Tomorrow. If Tore wasn't back tomorrow Ed would start calling around and find him. Right now he was pretty sure any further confrontations would only make the situation worse. "I'll…I'll have that tea now."
It was going to be a long night.
