Open Up
Sorry everyone for not updating until now! I've been pretty busy lately, I was in a play and had to bust out as many rehearsals as I could, but in my spare time I wrote this up and I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed because they were really encouraging so keep them coming! Ha. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy
Typical Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own Cecelia.
The morning had just begun and Al was skimming through an Alkahestry text book at the dining room table when Edward made his daily entrance unusually early. On a typical day it was Al who woke up first, followed by Cecelia and eventually Ed would make a brief appearance before scurrying off to work. But Ed had a little surprise for Cecelia and he willingly sacrificed those precious extra hours of to sleep to see his plan through. After a good two weeks of making various calls to publishing companies, Cecelia finally managed to land an interview and Ed wanted to give her a 'special' awakening to prepare her for her big day.
"What are you doing up so early brother?" Al asked, offering a piece of toast to his brother.
"I've got to do a little something for Cecelia," Ed accepted his offer and began eating, "you might want to go to your room though, because I don't think she's going to like it very much." He warned in between bites.
Sighing, Al shut his book and shook his head. "I should probably stay so I can stop her from killing you."
Ed finished off the toast before donning his signature smirk. "Get ready for a show Al."
He quietly tiptoed into the living room where Cecelia slept soundly on the couch. Although Al offered numerous times to take the couch and let her have the spare room, she insisted on taking the couch. He peeked over the couch's back and saw her sleeping figure. Looking back, he winked at Al before grabbing onto the back of the couch and vigorously rocking it back and forth until the young woman was dumped onto the floor.
Cecelia was pulled from sleep's grasp when she felt herself collide with the floor. Startled, she sat up and checked her surroundings, everything seemed to be intact.
"Okay…so it wasn't an earthquake…"
Laughter erupted from behind her and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Ed doubled over and clutching his stomach.
"Stop laughing you troll, that wasn't funny I was trying to sleep, are you crazy?" she stood up and put her hands on her hips, "I have my interview today so I need as much sleep as I… wait…oh my gosh my interview is today."
She hurdled herself over the couch and dashed past Edward, making sure to throw an elbow into his stomach before locking herself up in the bathroom. Ed seated himself at the table and wiped away a stray tear.
"Oh that was priceless; she thought it was an earthquake."
"Brother, that's no way to wake someone up when they have an important day ahead of them."
"Whatever, she'll be fine," he reached across the table and swiped another piece of toast from Al's plate, "she needed to get up and shower anyway."
The two continued to share breakfast when Cecelia appeared from the bathroom with a cloud of steam behind of her. She was wrapped up in a fluffy white towel and scurried to the couch where her suitcase was. Ed and Al looked away embarrassed. Ed wasn't used to seeing a half naked woman parade around his apartment in a towel and the first sight of skin always sent Al into a tizzy. She grabbed what she needed and returned to the bathroom.
"You should really talk to her about taking her clothes with her into the bathroom." Al suggested.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that."
Cecelia used her towel to rub off the perspiration from the mirror so she could evaluate her outfit which consisted of a beige colored blouse with black trousers. One of the more sophisticated outfits she brought with her for her trip. She twisted her damp hair into a bun at the nape of her neck and pinned it down, small wisps of hair coming undone to frame her face. Giving herself one more review, she exited the bathroom and presented herself to her audience of two.
"What do you guys think?" she asked.
"I think you look very nice Cecelia." Al said while Ed offered simple thumbs up.
She took a seat at the table and accepted the last piece of toast that Al offered. With one hand she held her toast to her mouth and with the other she punched Ed's arm.
"Ow, what was that for?" he rubbed his arm and scooted his chair away from her.
"Don't think I forgot about you making me fall off the couch this morning and I plan on getting you back."
The rest of the morning was uneventful. They all sat around the table until Al had to go and make another round of toast. Ed was the first one to leave for the day. He wished Cecelia good luck before heading to his place of work. When her interview came closer and closer, the nerves began to settle in. She was pacing the living room and Al had to remind her numerous times not to bite her fingernails. He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her from moving around.
"Calm down Cecelia, everything will be alright," he smiled and patted her head, "now let's get going. We don't want to be late."
After pulling on their coats and making sure Cecelia had everything she needed in her portfolio, the duo stepped out of the warm apartment to face Central's cold winter air. Al led the way to the interview, taking shortcuts to ensure they get there early enough for Cecelia to run through her game plan. He'd insisted on coming so he wouldn't have to stay cooped up in the apartment. It took a lot of convincing, but Ed managed to get his little brother to agree to stay in Amestris at least until the new year passed so the younger Elric was left with nothing to do with himself. So he took any opportunity he could to get out of the apartment. They weaved through Central streets and alley ways and in no time arrived at a plain and simple café.
"Umm, you're sure this is where they told you to go right?" asked Al, perplexed with the interview's location.
"Yes, the paper said thirteen hundred Summit Lane," she passed on the directions, "take a look for yourself."
He took a brief glance before giving it back.
"Well, I don't know of any other Summit Lane in Central so this has to be it, let's head in."
Al held the door open and they both entered the little café, grateful for the warmth that it provided. Cecelia went to find a table while Al took care of ordering coffees and after a few minutes of waiting they were both seated in a cozy booth with hot cups of coffee in their hands. Cecelia took a long whiff, enjoying the trails of steam rising up to tickle her nose and the scent instantly relaxed her.
"You don't think was some kind of prank, do you?" asked Cecelia a few sips later.
"No one would do someth-"
He was cut off by the bells on the door jingling and an older man in a suit came in. The man went straight to the front counter and whispered something to the attendant.
"Is there a Cecelia Wheelright in the building?" the attendant asked.
Cecelia sat dumbfounded and didn't react until Al's foot collided with her shin. She shot up, nearly knocking the table over as she did and scurried over to the older man. Hesitantly she held out her hand, it took all the willpower she had to stop it from shaking.
"I'm Cecelia Wheelright."
"Pleasure to meet you," he gripped her hand and gave it a good shake, "we spoke over the phone. I'm Mr. Walton and I'll be evaluating today, let's get a table and we'll get started."
"Yes sir."
She trailed behind him as he led the way, grabbing her portfolio from the table she once occupied as she passed it, and when he found a table she sat opposite him. Here goes nothing.
Al tapped his fingers on the table top while he waited on his companion. Occasionally he would look back to steal a glance of her and each time he felt bad for Cecelia, her nervousness was visible on her face. He lifted his now cooled off coffee to his lips and took a drink while his mind jumped from one thing to another. He thought about how Ling and May Chang were doing back in Xing and how he would tackle the task of Christmas shopping as well as hiding the presents from his snooping brother. After waiting around for thirty minutes, he began to regret not bringing a book to read. He couldn't just leave because Cecelia wouldn't be able to find her way home and it would be a hassle to go all the way to the apartment and have to turn back around to pick her up. When he finished off his coffee as well as Cecelia's, he stood and made his way to the trash can. Just as he threw away his garbage, he heard the jingle of the door and directed his attention there, just barely catching a glimpse of the older man's back. Smiling, he turned around and spotted Cecelia, but the smile fell from his face when he took in her demeanor.
"Oh no…"
He hurried over to her table and rested a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head and Al's eyes softened when he saw her green eyes brimming with tears that were ready to spill over.
"Cecelia what happened?"
"H-he was being so nice at first, it looked like he r-really liked it," she hiccupped and wiped at her eyes, "but when he finished looking at it he just started tearing it apart…he said that women have no business doing things other than housekeeping and that working s-should be left to the men."
"I'm really sorry Cecelia," Al picked up her portfolio and helped her up, "let's get you home so I can cheer you up."
She nodded and with a hung head, followed him out of the coffee shop and shuffled behind him while he walked ahead. Disappointment didn't even begin to describe the way she was feeling. She'd worked so hard and to have Mr. Walton tear her work to shreds didn't do much for her pride. I've been working on this book for over two years and I couldn't even get one compliment from a real publishing guy. While she was lamenting on her failed interview, they arrived at Ed's apartment and she plopped down on the sofa as soon as the door was unlocked. Everything was perfect, what went wrong? The rest of the day was spent with Cecelia lounging on the sofa while Al studied or worked on prepping for dinner.
It was evening when Edward arrived home, hoping to hear how great Cecelia's interview went, but he was instead greeted by her somber face. He kicked off his boots and slipped out of his jacket, hanging it on its post before going over to stand in front of her.
"So how did the interview go?" he asked.
She huffed in response and turned away from him.
"Well…okay then."
Ed left her alone and joined his brother in the kitchen. Al was cutting cooked chicken breast and greeted Ed as soon as he noticed his presence.
"So what's up with Cecelia? She seems really grumpy."
"Her interview didn't go so hot; the guy told her that women should stay at home and leave work to men."
Ed scoffed, Riza and Winry immediately coming to mind. They were both very successful women who were getting along just fine, even doing better than a lot of the men he knew.
"That guy is an idiot and she shouldn't let him get to her."
"You try telling her that, she hasn't really spoken to me since we got home." Al said with a small frown.
"I'll go and talk to her."
"No brother wait, maybe she will cheer up during dinner."
She did not cheer up during dinner like Al had expected. She simply sat at the table and pushed her food around her plate, keeping her head ducked down and she stayed silent throughout the meal. Her attitude was really getting on Ed's nerves. He didn't like how depressing she was being, just seeing her made him want to curl up into a ball and sit in the corner by himself, she looked that upset. They all cleaned up after dinner for the most part in silence, Al would occasionally bring up something to try and start a conversation, but it would quickly come to an Ed.
"I think I'm gonna go to turn in early tonight." Said Cecelia after everything was cleaned up.
She turned on her heel and began to walk towards her make shift bed, but was stopped when a hand latched onto her arm. Looking back, she scowled at Ed who returned the look, but with less malice than what she had.
"That man is wrong Cecelia-" He started, but was interrupted.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just listen; women do belong in the work force. I know a lot of very successful women who have gone through hell to get where they are today and they are still pushing forward. So just because some idiot says something dumb and bashes on your project, doesn't mean that you're a bad author and artist."
Hesitantly, he reached up and patted her head, a rare treat he enjoyed back in his state alchemist days.
"It just means that he's blind, so keep your head up and keep trying."
Ed couldn't help but grin when a small smile broke out on her stoic features. She pulled him in for a quick hug and scurried off towards the bathroom, but not before stealing one more hug from the stunned blond. He wasn't expecting that sort of reaction and his cheeks had a tint of red on them. She slipped inside the bathroom, but a few moments later she poked her head out and offered a petite smile.
"Thanks Ed."
She pulled her head back into the bathroom and shut the door. Ed and Al stood there, unsure of what they should do next.
"Well…at least you cheered her up Ed."
"Yeah, I guess I did."
See you all in the next chapter and I appreciate the reviews!
