Yay! Updates are good for the soul! Sorry it takes me so long to update stuff, I get really easily distract--ohhh shiny.............
The sleepy after-dinner quiet had already settled on the travelers and the family. Ron was sitting in the armchair, little Rosie cuddled safely in his arms. Roy and Riza were in the dining room talking quietly. Eric and Al were reading books by the fire, and Winry was chatting with Ron's wife, Mariana.
Ed was sitting in the bay window, far away from everyone else, watching the snow fall lightly. He was lost in his own mind, fiddling absentmindedly with the necklace Rei had given him remembering the day he left........
He got up quickly, and quietly. He got out of the bed softly, trying desperately not to wake Rei, who stayed peacefully asleep. Collecting himself, he snuck quietly into the bathroom, where he showered and then dressed as silently as possible. As he put his hair in his signature braid, he thought about the last two years he'd spent with Rei. It was the happiest he'd ever been, and he loved her so much.....but he couldn't afford to put her in danger as he had before. This was going to be the hardest trip yet--he couldn't risk it.
He threw on his jacket, let out a sigh, and sat back and looked at her for a second. He walked softly over to her side of the bed and kneeled by her, watching her breathe, and seeing her tiny smile as she dreamt.
His heart began to gnaw at his consciousness, telling him not to leave. He reached out and touched her face lightly, then kissed her on the forehead. He never wanted to lose her.
Which is why he had to do this.
"Psst, Brother! Are you ready?" Al whispered from the door, which was only slightly open. Ed stood up, fighting back the urge to cry, or at least wake her up and say goodbye. He put a little box on her bedside table, in which was a ruby bracelet he'd picked out especially for her.
"Happy Anniversary." He whispered. "I love you. I'm sorry." He turned and walked out, closing the door ever so softly behind him....
Ed squeezed his eyes shut, and blocked the memory out. He couldn't think about it now--he'd expected things to be okay, hadn't expected things to turn out this way. There was almost no way he could compete with......HIM. She loved him, and Ed was just a friend now.......
"....ey......Hey! Earth to Edward!!!" Ed snapped out of his stupor and looked up at Rei, who was standing by him with her head cocked to one side.
"Oh! Rei! What's up?"
"Well, I was trying to see if you wanted to go into town, but you were way far off in LaLa Land."
"Into.....into town? With you and Elliot?"
"Well, Yes and no. Elliot's coming with us, but he's branching off to meet up with some of his friends in town. I didn't want to just wander around by myself, and everyone else was half asleep."
"Oh. Yeah, sure, I'll come with you." She smiled a huge smile.
"That's so great! I never did get to bring you here before, and I've got so much to show you! I did grow up in Rookston, after all." She ran off upstairs to get ready. Ed watched her go and sighed.
"You love her, don't you?" Startled, he looked over to see Eric standing there, book in hand, his brown eyes showing he knows more than a kid his age should.
"Wha--I don't--She has Elliot, and--"
"I know she has Elliot. But I also know you love her. Believe me, my mom's made me watch way too many chick flicks for me not to see the signs."
"So I still have feelings for her. Look, you don't have to tell me it's not right and that she's moved on. Believe me, I've figured that one out already."
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Then what?"
"You should never give up." Ed looked at him, eyes wide. "She loved you more than life itself--that much was obvious by the way she told her stories. If you think it was meant to be, you should never give up. Show Auntie Rei a great time tonight." With that, he turned and walked , into the kitchen.
"He really does watch a lot of chick flicks, I guess."
"Hey, Ed! come over here! This place is the best!" Ed followed her slowly, hands in the pockets of his jacket, his hair down for once because his ears were cold. "I used to love this place when I was little, even though it's only open in the winter."
Ed looked up to the sign above the door: Rookston Ice Skating Rink
"Um, I don't think this is such a great idea. Remember me? The ultimate clutz?" Ed protested playfully.
"Don't be such a chicken! Come on!" She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him inside, laughing. They rented their skates, which took a while because Rei was chatting with the guy behind the counter, who was apparently a childhood friend of hers. Then Ed couldn't figure out how to lace his skates us, leaving Rei to do it for him, after which she helped him get up and balance. Just as they were going to get on the ice, the cashier she'd been chatting up ran up and asked if if she'd do her 'signature' move. She promised she would, leaving Ed rather confused.
"Signature move? What signature move?"
"You'll see. But that's later, now we're teaching you how to skate." Ed went to get onto the ice.
"Skating! How hard could it beaaaaaaaaah!!! Ouch." Rei giggled as she glided past him.
"Apparently pretty darn hard, huh?" She helped him up. "Here, take my hand, we'll take baby steps."
"But then if I fall you'll go down with me," he argued.
"Nah, I'm good enough not to have that problem. C'mon, take it!"
He took her hand and she began to teach him that it's not so much sliding as it is little steps. She spent half an hour giving him the lesson, and then let him try on his own. He raced off, less than gracefully but at least he wasn't falling down. She laughed when he did an unintentional spin to avoid hitting a little girl, and then smacked into the wall. She skated over to him and helped him up again. He started going again and she went in front of him--backwards. She waved a little, then turned around.
"Oh, it's on!" Ed said and skated a little faster, attempting to pass her, instigating a race. They raced for about fifteen minutes until Rei glided up next to him.
"Now I'm going to do my signature move." With that, she skated off into the middle of the rink where nobody was, and began to do a series of intricate twirl-moves and things. It took Ed a second to realize she was creating a transmutation circle, and by that time it was finished. she glided at a sharp angle and touched her hand to the ice.
The ice quivered, and then threw her in the air like a trampoline. She twisted and spun in midair and landed with a twirl and her arms in the air. The ice returned back to normal and people applauded wildly as she skated back to him.
"How in the hell did you master that?" He asked in awe.
"I was always practicing alchemy when I was younger. Always. I wanted to be the youngest, remember?"
She skated away from him, singing some showtune, and as she did he caught a glimmer of red from her wrist--the ruby bracelet.
OMG there's the bracelet thing again! Except now we know when he gave it to her and the circumstances of his leaving her. Awwwwww and Eric believes in them :3
Remember, No Reviews no new chapter! Unless I'm really bored, although even then maybe not.....
