How Izumi and Sig Met
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 2: Izumi's Crush and Denial
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction. Any similarities to people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Izumi's Crush and Denial
Izumi slowly opened her eyes, the lights slowly appearing like there were curtains rising and slowly revealing bright orbs. It felt like someone was taking small sewing needles and piercing her eyes, the pain threading around her skull like fire. She bit back a groan and closed her eyes again. She started to sit up until she felt two very large and calloused hands at her shoulders applying a slight pressure.
"You shouldn't get up yet," Sig said, pushing her back down on the couch gently. She then felt something wet on her forehead and reached up to feel that it was a cold compress. She opened her eyes slowly again and made out a slightly blurry vision of the huge man that helped her in the alley. He was sitting on a chair that was pulled up to the couch she was resting on.
"What happened?" she questioned, honestly having no memory of what caused her to end up in her current predicament.
"You ran into a lamppost on the way to Olaf's store," he said. There wasn't' the slightest bit of humor in his voice as he spoke, which surprised her greatly. Any other man would be laughing and making fun of her for being such a klutz. Hell, she was cursing herself out. She'd been in so many fights, took pride in never being knocked onto the ground in any of them, and here she lost to an inanimate object used for lighting a street. Her world really was turning upside down.
"Where am I?" she questioned.
"My house," he answered. "I would have taken you to the doctor but he's out of town getting more needles and bandages."
"Oh, I see."
She watched as he picked up a piece of paper from the table beside him. "This list fell out of your pocket so while you were resting I went to the shop to have it filled for you. Olaf is gone with the doctor and won't be back for three days."
"Oh that's just great," she said, slowly sitting up while holding the cold compress to her forehead. "Now I get an earful from Dante."
"Dante?"
"My alchemy teacher," she said.
"I see," he replied.
She offered him the best smile she could muster. "Do you have a phone?" she questioned.
"Over there," he said, motioning to a table pushed back against a huge bulletin board covered in various papers that looked like receipts and order forms.
She handed him the cold compress, thanked him, and walked over to the phone. She picked it up, lifted it to her ear, and frowned when there was no dial tone.
"I think there is something wrong with your phone," she said.
"I never said the phone worked," he said flatly.
Izumi stared straight ahead, her eyebrow twitching and her eyes narrowed into small slits, displaying her annoyance. Her face soon turned expressions from frustration to bewilderment like the changing of masks during those drama plays. She turned to him letting her expression shine through fully. "Why do you have a phone that doesn't work?"
"I think the company on the end of that phone now is better than any that would be on the other end if it was working," he said. She stared at him, her gaze met his, and the room went so silent she almost expected to hear a cricket chirp. "Phone lines are down," he said breaking the silence, and then added, "that first answer is called a joke."
"Why didn't you say the phones were down before I walked over here?" she questioned, not bothering to address his joke comment.
"You never asked," he stated.
His comment made her chuckle. That man was something else. He was so simple yet at the same time frustrating in his answers. If she didn't ask the question directly, then he wouldn't say more than what was needed. She never realized until now that it was a characteristic she found quite sexy. Then again, in the past she never thought about what she found sexy in the opposite sex. She really didn't care much about dating and the like, however, this man seemed just the type for her. She then gave herself a mental slap, trying to rid herself of the thought. The last thing she needed was to get involved in the love bull that so many people were caught up in.
"I really appreciate the help so much. If you could direct me to an inn where I can stay the night, I'll get out of your way," she said, ignoring slight unfamiliar pain that shot through her body. She actually felt horrible when she said that and actually didn't want to leave the guy.
"There's one at the corner of the town about three miles from here," he said. "I have a spare room here that you are welcome to," he replied.
"I wouldn't want to get in your way," she said.
"You aren't in the way," he replied. "I'm downstairs in the shop most of the time anyway."
"Shop? What is it you do?"
"Butcher," he said.
"I see. All right then," she looked around, feeling quite awkward for the first time in her life. "So, what is the running fee for inns here and I'll pay you the same amount," she said, reaching in her pocket for her moneybag.
"No need for that," he said. "You can stay for nothing."
She looked up at him, surprised that he would say such a thing.
"Are you sure?" she questioned.
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure," he stated. "I don't say anything I don't mean."
She smiled softly at him as he stood from his chair and took it back to, what she guessed to be, its previous location.
"That's good to see in people," she said.
He offered her a smile, and her heart started to speed up. She blamed it on the experience she went through that day and stubbornly ignored the real reason.
"What do you like to eat?" he questioned, walking into the next room. She followed him and watched him walk to the fridge. "I have just about anything you want."
"Why don't you let me cook? To repay you for letting me stay. I'd like to do something. Surely you have something better to do right?"
He stared at her for a moment drilling his gaze into her. This time she felt like melting on the spot, though her outward posture betrayed no signs of her feelings. What was it about his gaze that caused her to feel like a stick of melting butter? What was so damned special about this man that had her crushing like an adolescent girl with her first love interest?
"If you want to," he finally answered, causing her to break from her pondering.
"All right then," she said. "What do you-?"
"What is your name?" he questioned, interrupting her.
"Didn't I tell you that?" she questioned.
"I wouldn't be asking if you did," he replied.
"I suppose not," she said with another chuckle. She'd never been so amused before in her life. Well, except that time Dante ate those berries that gave her diarrhea. She'd never seen the old lady run so fast. "My name is Izumi."
"Spring," he said.
"What?"
"Your name means spring."
She was surprised to hear such a thing come from him. "I didn't know that," was all she could think of to say.
"It suits you," he replied then turned to go down stairs, leaving Izumi to think about what he meant by the comment.
She had an easy time fixing dinner when it came to the cooking, but she didn't know exactly how much he ate, so how much to fix was more difficult to figure out. It was obvious that he was a very big man and even smaller men tended to eat a great deal. She shrugged; if he didn't eat much then he would just have leftovers.
Much to her surprise, she fixed a bit more than needed. He ate a lot, but not as much as she thought he would. The dinner was pleasant as they ate in companionable silence. During that time, a strange feeling of familiarity washed over her. She felt like she knew the man before her for much longer than a few hours.
----
He insisted that he wash the dishes since she was a guest, and no matter how much she protested on the matter, he wouldn't give in and let her do it. Finally, she got him to agree that she could dry them, even though he clearly displayed his displeasure at the idea.
"What is your last name?" he questioned, as they began their work on the pans and dinner dishes.
"Honestly?"
"I wouldn't hav-"
"I know, I know," she said with what seemed like the millionth chuckle she made that day, "you wouldn't have asked if you didn't mean it."
"You're learning," he said, laughing as well.
"As far as I'm concerned, I never had one. It's just Izumi. I've grown to just go by my first. "
"Hum…" he replied, deciding not to further inquire.
Izumi welcomed his uninquiring attitude. The last thing she wanted was to tell him about her dysphoric past. She didn't like relaying her sob story to anyone.
"How about you?" she questioned. "Don't you have any relatives living with you?"
"No," he said. "I don't have any relatives in this part of the country."
Izumi recognized the tone he used in answering his question so she didn't inquire further on the topic. If he wanted to say more, he would have said it. She laughed inwardly; she was growing used to him already. Whether that was bad or good was yet to be seen but she was leaning toward bad. Nothing good ever came out of what she did.
They finished the dishes and he showed her to the spare room. Luckily, the place had nice warm running water and she was able to clean up quite a bit before laying down on the soft mattress. She moved around a bit, growing accustomed to the different hills and valleys of the bedding. Despite some of the lumps, it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the bed she had back at Dante's home.
She closed her eyes and sighed quite confused at the turn of events happening. However, the events that occupied her mind weren't the external ones such as the environment around her. They were inside her body, making her feel so many things foreign to her.
When she came to Dublith, she never thought she'd end up crushing on a man. He wasn't the type that the typical woman would go for, but then again, she wasn't exactly the typical woman. These feelings were bombarding her so quickly that it threw her normally functioning brain completely out of whack. Was this how it was supposed to be when one started falling for someone? Was it supposed to happen so quickly that you can't pinpoint the exact time when the feelings started? It felt like she was on a carousel and couldn't remember getting on it. Her feelings weren't something that gradually built up; they just hit her like a punch to the gut (for lack of a ladylike term).
She really needed to cut out the nonsensical thoughts that drifted in her brain. Sure, she found him attractive, kind, gentle, and different from most of the men she'd met. Most men she met were only interested in one thing and it didn't take an expert alchemist to realize what that was. It was rare to meet a genuinely good guy like she knew Sig was. She could just feel it.
Of course, despite her feelings for him, nothing would come of her little crush for two good reasons. One, she didn't plan to tell him about her sudden feelings, and two, he couldn't have fallen for her the way she did him. She just wasn't the type that any man fell for. She was too outrageous, was too much of a bitch, and could actually read.
She closed her eyes and sighed. No one would ever see her as anything but a raving harpy and she dealt with that fact long ago. She would be content learning all she could about alchemy then doing something with it, though she had no clue as to what it would be. Perhaps she would go around the country helping people or perhaps she would teach it like Dante.
She suddenly got a scary mental image of herself with gray hair and wrinkles, sitting in a chair with a blanket over her lap, drinking tea. Sometimes her imagination got the better of her. She honestly hoped if she got as cantankerous as that woman was that she would have a student that would put her out of her misery. Yes, she would only take on students that would be willing to kill her if she ever got anything close to resembling her crazy old lady alchemy master.
She sat up and hit the side of her head with the palm of her hand trying physically to rid herself of the vision. She growled and lay back down roughly. She pulled the soft covers over her body, deciding to try to sleep away the figment of her imagination.
AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please give a little review if you wish.
