Moxxie: Alright so since I've gotten some excellent feedback for Ready, Steady, Go! I've decided to post another chapter for you guys! This ones kinda short though *Glances timidly at Edward*
Edward: *Seething*
Al: Yay! Brother and Moxxie are getting along now! Now I can do the disclaimer! *Takes deep breath* The writer acknowledges that Fullmetal Alchemist, it's characters and storylines are creative properties of Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix and it's subsidiaries. All OC's and original storylines are, however, creative properties of Moxxie Russo. No Stealing. Thanks!
Johanna had been watching Edward silently since the train took off. Before they boarded, Doctor Marcoh had found them again, and handed Edward a note saying where his research was hidden.
"Brother, what does the note say?" Alphonse asked quietly from next to Johanna.
"National Central Library, first branch." Edward said, frowning.
"I get it… like hiding a tree in the forest." Johanna trailed off. Edward looked up at her, puzzled, and Johanna's cheeks went red. "Finding one book in a giant library would be difficult for anyone, especially if you didn't know what you were looking for." Johanna continued, hoping her metaphor made sense to more people than just her. Armstrong nodded, he understood apparently.
"I'm just glad we finally have another clue about the stone." Edward said happily, now more determined than ever. Johanna half smiled at him. She was worried about what the doctor said about the stone, about how many innocent lives were lost to it. She was aware of the war in Ishval, how brutal it was, but for some reason Johanna felt like he meant something more… "Are you gonna be okay with not reporting him to central, Major?" Edward spoke up suddenly.
"I met a small town doctor today. As far as I'm concerned there's nothing to report about that." Major Armstrong said stonily, a slight smile on his face. Johanna grinned up at him, not really figuring him for the 'don't ask, don't tell' type.
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet. Edward was lost in thought. About half way through, Armstrong pulled out his notebook gesturing for Johanna to take it. There were several rows of dots on the page and Johanna watched him with a raised brow.
"Are you challenging me to a game of Dots and Boxes, Alex?" Johanna asked mischievously.
"I assume you know how to play then?" The Major returned just as lightheartedly. Edward's attention had been piqued and for the first time during the ride he deposited the note in his pocket.
"What is it?" Edward asked innocently. Johanna grinned at him, watching as Alex played his first line, center of the page, how bold of him. Johanna took his pencil, playing a line off of his.
"Each player plays one line per round." Armstrong played his line off of Johanna's and Johanna grinned, completing the square with the final line and writing out a 'J' in the box. "When you complete a square you put your initial in it. The player with the most squares at the end of the game wins. Have you never played before?" Johanna's question was innocent enough; any normal child had played this game. It was always a favorite of her and her father. She frowned as Edward sunk back into his seat sadly, realizing what she said. "Oh, I-I'm sorry." Johanna looked pleadingly from Edward to Al, neither of them speaking.
Slowly Johanna handed the pencil off to Edward. He looked at it suspiciously, glancing up at Johanna, before taking it with his good hand. "It's not going to bite. besides… "Johanna grinned at him, holding out the notebook. "It's your turn, Edward." She told him happily. Edward hesitated a moment, before a big grin spread on his face. Happily he drew his line, staring at it proudly.
"Okay, but don't be upset when I win." He said impishly.
"I want to play, brother!" Alphonse chimed in happily. Johanna smiled at him, taking the pad and pencil back from Edward. Johanna watched the armor, pushing her unsettled feeling to the side. He gave her no reason to feel that way, and she felt terrible for running out on him the way she did. Like it wasn't hard enough on him already, the last thing he needed was her to be afraid of him.
"Just tell me where to put your lines, Al, I'll draw them for you." Johanna told the younger Elric brother.
That's how they spent the rest of their ride, playing meaningless children's games, dots and boxes, tic-tac-toe, and hangman.
"Edward, for the last time, you can't just use alchemy terms for hangman!" Johanna raged as Edward drew the last leg on her hangman. Edward grinned to himself, smiling up at her evilly.
"You've beaten me all day in Dots and Boxes, now it's time for a little payback." He jeered proud of himself. After the first hour of Johanna winning Dots and Boxes, Ed and Al decided to take their revenge at hangman.
"Dot's and Boxes is a basic strategy game. I don't know any alchemic terms, so when you pick Aqua Regis it puts me at a disadvantage." Johanna could feel her eyebrow twitching. She hated losing.
"You guessed deconstruction correctly!" He argued with her, earning him a bitchface.
"Fine." Johanna gritted her teeth. Deconstruction wasn't an alchemic term, it was a basic word, but she'd already lost this argument earlier so Johanna decided not to start again. "Deconstruction is one of few alchemic terms I know."
"Maybe you should learn some new ones." Edward said sarcastically. He stopped for a moment, watching the girl silently, remembering how she transmuted in East City. Johanna crossed her arms, huffing indignantly.
"Maybe I will." She told them stubbornly. Edward and Al shared a look. He had told his younger brother what happened that day and both of them were just as intrigued. She must not remember doing it. Edward thought to himself.
"I could teach you, Johanna." Al offered politely.
"You could try," Johanna trailed off scrunching her nose. "I don't think I'd be very good at it. Science was never my forte." Despite her father's apparent genius in alchemy, Johanna seriously doubted herself when it came to alchemic sciences. Al laughed light heartedly.
"I think we can teach you, right brother?" Edward had leaned back in his seat and Armstrong had taken back his notebook. The oldest Elric sat with his elbow on the sill, chin in his hand.
"Yeah, yeah." He said quietly staring out into the window. This girl puzzled him, from her tattoos to her time spent in The Gate. From the corner of his eyes he watched her as she made small talk with his brother. Al seemed to enjoy her company, now that he was no longer in hiding. Despite himself, Edward let a small smile tug at his lips.
The train whistle blew loudly and the Ticketmaster at the front of the car shouted something about Resembool station. Johanna glanced at the window, seeing that they had indeed come upon a small train station. It was nearly empty; clearly Resembool was a small town.
Edward practically jumped to his feet, ready to get off the train and enjoy his freedom. It was too confining to be trapped next to Major Armstrong any longer. Johanna followed his lead, stepping into the aisle behind him, while the major grabbed up Alphonse.
"It's kind of a walk to our mechanic's house…" Edward trailed off, looking over at Johanna. She stretched her arms to the sky, her back cracking pleasantly before turning to him and smiling.
"Yep, I think I can walk just fine."
"Good, because I don't want to hear any complaining." Edward told her, picking up his suitcase and walking to the station's exit. Johanna glared daggers at his back, following him into town.
Edward wasn't kidding when he said they had a trek ahead of them. After about twenty minutes of walking, the group came upon a large yellow house. It was two-stories with green trim and a large sign out front that read "Rockbell Automail." A large black dog lay lazily on the porch but as they approached he lifted his head, pricking his ears in their direction. An older lady walked out onto the porch, smiling and waving as she did.
"Winry! Winry!" She called back into the house. "Our best customer is here!" Johanna spared a glance in Edward's direction and frowned. How often did he have to get his Automail fixed?
"Yo, Granny!" Edward called to her, waving his good arm. The old lady frowned at them, approaching them, the dog quick at her heels.
"Oh dear, what did you do now?" She sighed. Edward chuckled.
"A lot has happened. Can you fix us up?" He asked, to which he earned another sigh. "Oh, Pinako, this is Major Alex Louis Armstrong." Edward said, introducing the hulking man. He lowered Al's box to the ground, taking her hand and shaking it earnestly.
"I'm Pinako Rockbell." Pinako said happily. Her eyes flew over to Johanna and the woman waited patiently, clearing her throat.
"Oh, and this is Johanna Albrecht." Edward added. Pinako smiled at Johanna, taking her hand as well.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Johanna." Pinako told her warmly. Johanna smiled and nodded at her, feeling awkward. This was their mechanic? "I know I haven't seen you in a while Edward, but you've gone and grown smaller."
"Granny…" Edward seethed, his eyebrow twitching. Johanna watched him through wide eyes, biting her lip. "You got it wrong. You're supposed to say "how big you've grown lately, Ed." Pinako grinned at him mischievously.
"But why would I say something so clearly untrue?" Pinako pushed his buttons. Edward snapped.
"I'M STILL TALLER THAN YOU, YOU MINI HAG!" He screamed, his face growing red with fury.
"Edward!" A younger voice rang out over the yelling. Edward hardly had time to look up before a wrench came flying at his head. He ducked, barely dodging the giant, metal tool.
Johanna glanced up in the direction the wrench flew from. Standing on the second floor porch was a young woman, about Johanna's age, with blonde hair hidden under a green bandana, and blue eyes. She was cute, slight and tall but definitely a tomboy. Johanna's mouth dropped open. Is THAT their mechanic? She thought as she looked at the fair-haired girl.
"I thought I told you to call before you came for maintenance!" Edward blinked once, before glaring at the girl.
"Winry! Are you trying to kill me?" He yelled. His anger was focused now on the new girl. Winry paused, laughing loudly at his outburst to which Edward narrowed his eyes, confused.
"Welcome back." She said pleasantly, finally recovered from her laughing fit. Winry paused, looking down at Johanna. Her face grew angry again. "Edward! You brought company and didn't introduce me!"
"Wh-what?" Edward looked between Johanna and Winry. "Are you kidding?! The first thing you do when you see me is throw a wrench at my head and you're mad I didn't introduce you?!"
Pinako invited the four of them inside, where Winry met them in the living room with a smile. Edward cowered behind Armstrong, while Winry set her sights on the newest members of their group. Her smile faded when she saw Al sitting in the box on the major's shoulder.
"So if Al looks liked that…" Winry said sadly, fear evident in her voice. Edward chuckled awkwardly, pulling a bundle out of his pocket and laying it out on the coffee table for her to see. Johanna winced, it looked much worse laid out on a table. "Oh no!" She squealed. Johanna swore she was going to cry.
"Yeah… sorry. It's a little smashed up." Edward said non-chalant, as if his tone would somehow make it better. Winry picked the pieces up, cradling them gently in her hands.
"A little smashed up? A LITTLE SMASHED UP!" Winry raged at Edward, turning around with a fire in her eyes. "Do you see what you've done to my beautiful creation?! I slaved over this!"
"It's basically the same, just in smaller pieces." Edward pish-poshed her. Something snapped in Winry and Johanna took a few cautious steps away from Edward. It happened so fast, in mere seconds Edward hit the ground, his cheek red, and Winry flexed her fist, glaring down at him. Holy hell. She just decked him! Johanna thought to herself, barely able to contain her shocked amusement.
Johanna looked over at Al cautiously, who stared at his brother. If she wouldn't have known better, Johanna would have thought his eyes were wide with fear. Winry sighed, turning to Al.
"What kind of trouble have you been getting yourselves into, anyways?" She asked him. Johanna shook her head at the suit of armor, warning him not to say a word. Al didn't heed her warning however, and when he went to speak Winry kicked his metal head. "You idiots! All you ever do is worry me!"
Winry looked over her handiwork happily, Edward still practically unconscious on the floor and Al sobbing to himself in his crate. She turned to Johanna, her angry face replaced with a big grin. Winry outstretched her hand to Johanna, who nearly flinched before taking it.
"I'm sorry we haven't been properly introduced, Edward can be so rude sometimes, the name's Winry Rockbell." Carefully, Johanna took her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. Johanna peered over Winry's shoulder. Edward still lay motionless on the floor, cupping his cheek. She frowned at the boy, shaking her head lightly.
"My name is Johanna, Johanna Albrecht."
Yay! Winry! There's not too much interaction between Winry and Johanna on her first visit to Resembool. (Sorry Winry fangirls.) Also, keep in mind this will be a Johanna/Edward slow burn so... there is also that. (I'M A HUGE WINWARD FAN SO NO FLAMES PLEASE)
ALSO
I'm gonna do my thanks here for my awesome reviewer and PMers. you brighten my day when i get a new review, it makes me want to write more! I'm so happy that everyone enjoys Johanna! I tried to make her as realistic as possible, she is my pride and joy OC right now and I love writing her!
Stay Beautiful!