Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I didn't have access to a computer for a while. Don't worry, I've brainstormed and written down the next few chapters. This chapter includes a lot of Alphonse, since he is one of my favorite characters. And I feel as though he needs a relationship in this story. With who? Keep reading to find out!
Enjoy
I am Here for Good, Darling
Chapter 10
"Wah tickut ta risembool puh-leeease."
The station worker looked down at the young, blond man with a bruised eye, whose breath smelled heavily of alcohol. It wasn't uncommon for the train station to receive drunk men, especially at three o'clock in the morning, but most of them usually slept on the benches. They never bought tickets.
"Excuse me?" The station worker said, unable to comprehend the man through his slurring and mispronunciation. "Where was it that you wanted to go?"
The young man glared at the station worker before saying, "Wha'sa matter with ya? I said, 'I wou like wah tickut tah RISEMBOOL.'" He dug into his wallet and slapped a mess of crumpled money down onto the counter while staring at the woman with impatient golden eyes.
Previously that night, Edward Elric had been kicked out of a bar in Central for starting a fight with a soldier. The bastard was asking it, if you asked him. He had the nerve to come up to Ed while he was enjoying his sixth glass of bourbon, and ask "Hey, aren't you Edward Elric?"
Edward had scowled and said, "Can'cha see I'm tryin' to enjoy my drink?"
The young soldier's eyes lit up. "It is you! Wow, I can't believe it. Everyone thinks you die-".
The soldier was cut off by Edward clipping the soldier in his jaw with his metal fist. For Ed, the rest was a little hazy.
But, what did it matter? Ed wasn't planning on returning to Central for a while. He wasn't welcome.
"Ah'm such a asshole." He admitted to himself, leaning back into the cushioned train seat before pulling out a small bottle of whiskey from his coat pocket. He took a large swig of the bitter liquid and swallowed it as if it was water.
Edward looked at his reflection in the window. Everyone thought he was dead, and he sure looked the part. His empty gaze, his unenthusiastic walk, and he was alone. A walking corpse. He had Winry in his grasp, something he had dreamed about for years, and then he lost her again. Because he was an idiot. What was he thinking? He had no right to blame her for anything or take his anger out on her. He wanted to forget the guilt he carried with him for treating her like that, so he decided to drink himself stupid, but of course it only made him feel worse.
On that thought, Ed took another large drink from the glass bottle.
"Lieutenant Rockbell, maybe if you-"
Winry looked up from the tank's engine and shot her assistant a look of annoyance. "Shut-up! Don't tell me what I should do. You're the assistant. Act like it."
Wide-eyed, the soldier's mouth shut immediately and Winry looked back to the engine. She picked up her monkey wrench and tightened a bolt.
"Alright, try that." Winry ordered the soldier sitting in the driver's seat of the armored vehicle. Nothing happened, and after a moment she yelled, "I said turn the tank on!"
"I tried!" The soldier called from inside the tank. "Nothing happened."
The mechanic let out a large, frustrated growl before slapping the tray of tools off her work table, causing both soldiers to jump. Fixing an engine was usually a simple task for the lieutenant. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she think straight?
"Winry?" Riza Hawkeye's inquiring voice broke Winry's troubled thoughts. "The Fuhrer would like to see you."
The blond mechanic released a sigh and began walking out of the garage, muttering a "sorry" as she passed her assistant.
Winry had never really been to Roy's office before. It was ample, and too spacious for one man. It made Winry's desk in the garage look like a joke. There was a bar that Winry guessed was used fairly often since Roy seemed to always bring his dates back to his office. Knowing that, Winry didn't have to second guess what the couch was usually used for.
"Lieutenant. Come in." Roy's voice sounded unusually inviting, making Winry relieved that he wasn't upset with her. Not that she was frightened of getting fired. Riza wouldn't allow it.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes. Why don't you have a seat?" Roy offered, waving his hand toward his couch.
"Uh," Winry grimaced slightly, looking down at the seemingly clean couch. "No thanks."
"Very well." Roy said, shuffling through the papers on his desk, probably to make it look as though he was just hard at work. Riza was at his side as usual. "Tell me lieutenant, how have things been at home?"
"Home?" Winry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What's this about?"
Riza and Roy glanced at each other, causing Winry to feel like the world was keeping a secret from her.
"Winry," Riza started, her voice somewhat soothing, which really made Winry nervous. "Your behavior lately has been a little...different."
The lieutenant let out a nervous chuckle, "I don't understand..."
"You missed work two days in a row without telling anyone why, you've snapped at soldiers, and you've been falling behind at work." Roy folded his hands in front of his mouth and stared into Winry's eyes. "You're not in trouble, lieutenant, we're just worried about you."
Winry could have broken down right then and there, cried, and confessed everything, but she was afraid. For Ed's sake. What would they do if they found out that Ed was really alive for all these years, doing God-knows-what?
"What's troubling you? Is it a man?" Of course Roy, the relationship expert, would guess right.
"It's nothing, really. It's just-"
"Sir!" The doors of Roy's office slammed open, and Lieutenant Fuery ran in, nearly tripping over his own feet. That's when Winry noticed the line of dry blood starting from his swollen lip and trailing down his chin.
"What happened to you?" Roy asked, standing up from his seat.
"You're never gonna guess who I ran into," He began, breathlessly.
"Lieutenant, calm down-"
"Edward Elric!"
The entire office went quiet, and Winry bit her bottom lip before turning to Roy, who was already staring back at her.
"Well, now I know what's been bothering you."
Alphonse Elric always enjoyed taking walks with Den in the morning. Every Wednesday, he'd pick flowers from one of Risembool's many sunflower fields and bring them to his mother's grave. Up until recently, he'd stop by his brother's grave, too.
Al had tried to convince everyone that digging Edward a grave was unnecessary, but every time he suggested waiting, everyone told him it was time to give up his hope. The younger Elric wasn't one to say "I told you so", but he was right. Deep down, Al knew he would see his older brother again. Alive, not just in his dreams.
And it was true, Edward had returned, but Al didn't sense that energy that his brother had always emitted. It was almost as if his motivation that kept him going had dissolved. Al guessed it had something to do with where Ed was for the past couple of years.
In that place. The lonely place.
Al snapped out of his trance once he heard Den bark loudly. "What is it?"
Den barked again before taking of, running as fast as his old legs would allow him, into the cemetery. Al followed, almost losing the old dog in the sea of tombstones. "Where are you, boy?" Al whispered, before looking up at the highest grave on the small hill, his mother's grave, where a figure sat, perched up against the cold stone.
He stopped dead in his tracks, watching as Den ran up to the man and examined him before licking his face. Al knew exactly who it was.
"Edward?" The younger Elric said faintly as he approached his brother slowly. Before he reached Ed, his foot bumped into something on the ground, making a small tink. Al looked down and picked up the small glass bottle.
Alcohol?
What a sight that was for Alphonse. There his older brother was, passed out from drinking, in front of his own mother's grave. With a black eye, no less.
Al swallowed his sudden rush of anger and knelled down in front of Ed, placing a hand on his shoulder, and shaking him until he got some kind of reaction. Edward let out a frustrated groan and squinted, unable to open his eyes completely because of the morning sun's excruciating rays.
Now that Edward was up, Al decided to say something. "What were you thinking, Ed, huh?"
Edward cringed and placed a hand hand on his forehead. "Fuck Al, quit yelling." Although his younger brother's tone was no where near loud.
Finally Edward opened his eyes once Al roughly grabbed his coat. "Don't you dare curse in front of our Mother's grave."
It took Ed a moment to realize where he was, or what even happened last night. All he knew was that he was hungover, freezing, and his eye was killing him.
"Look at yourself, Ed." Al said, his tone a little more calm, "You're a mess. What would Mom think?"
Ed mumbled something, condensation from the cold February air escaping his lips.
"Wh-" Al started, but hushed once he saw a single tear roll down his brother's cheek.
"I'm sorry." Ed's quiet voice shook and he felt goosebumps form on his skin. He wouldn't have cried in the presence of anyone else besides Al, but the fact that he was crying, and showing some kind of emotion, made him feel alive again.
After a hot shower, food, and and ice pack for his bruised eye, it was safe to say that Edward was feeling a great deal better. Physically. He still felt terrible about degrading himself in front of his mother's grave, and about the whole ordeal with Winry. Thank god for Alphonse. Edward probably would have caught pneumonia if it wasn't for his little brother.
The two Elrics were now sitting in Al's room, which used to be the room the brothers stayed in when visiting. It was clean and organized, something that didn't surprise Ed, and it had a very wide variety of Alchemy books on his bookshelf and desk. There were two beds, one of which Ed claimed as his own for the time being.
"Brother, tell me about it."
"About what?"
"The place." Al hesitated. "Where you've been. The other side of the Gate."
Ed laid back onto the bed, folding his arms behind his head. "You mean, the other world."
Al swallowed. "Another world? What was it like..?"
"Well..." Ed started as he tried mustering up interesting facts about the God-awful world he had just been confined in. "For one, technology had taken a different path than it had here. There were these flying machines used for traveling and war." Ed looked over at his brother, whose eyes were bright and concentrating as if he was being told a bedtime story. "And, there was also..." Ed paused, trying to think of a way to best explain the next phenomenon, "A double for everyone from this world. They all shared the same face, but their personality didn't make the part. There was someone who looked almost exactly like you, Rose, Hughes...Winry..."
The room fell silent before Ed decided to speak again. "And there was no alchemy."
"No alchemy?!" Al's adolescent voice broke out into the solemn atmosphere.
Ed couldn't help but chuckle. "Man, I would have reacted the exact same way about six years ago."
Al smiled. "You haven't lost your touch, have you Brother?"
The older brother sat up on the bed again and stretched his arms out. "Wouldn't know. I haven't tried using alchemy since I've got back."
"But, you were one of the best alchemists out there. Maybe if you got back into it, you could get your State Alchemist title back."
"There ain't no way I'm joining the dumb military again. Not now that there's no reason to."
"But you have a family now."
Edward felt his face flush out. It was embarrassing to think about, but Ed did have a family, no matter how dysfunctional it was. Having a child seemed so unreal, and it scared Ed.
"Thanks, by the way." Ed said, as he stood up and began walking over to Al's bookcase.
Al tilted his head slightly to the side. "For what? ...Ow!" Al moaned as one of his books pelted his forehead.
"For letting me walk into that...that death-trap!"
"What?"
"You let me go back to Winry's house without letting me know I had a kid. A kid, for chrissakes!"
"What's wrong? Don't you like Elizabeth?"
Ed sighed. "It's not that..."
The room fell silent for a moment, making Al feel uncomfortable, until the door opened slowly. Rose peeked her head in, oblivious to Ed standing by the bookshelf. Edward watched as she smiled down at Al before saying. "I'm going into town to get things for your party. Would you like to come?"
And then Ed couldn't believe it, but Al blushed and said, "Y-yeah. I'll be down in a moment..."
With that, Rose closed the door and began walking down the stairs.
Now Al was really uncomfortable. It wasn't just the awkward silence that sat between the two brothers, but it was also the ridiculous grin that Edward was giving him.
"What?" Al scoffed, flustered, as he threw the book back toward Ed. Ed dodged the book, bolted toward his brother before he could escape, and caught him in a head lock.
Above Al's protests and whines, Ed laughed and said, "You like her, don't you?"
"Do not!" Al squeaked, unsuccessfully squirming to get out of his brother's hold.
"Oh, my baby brother's in love."
"Brother, stop it."
"Fine," Ed chuckled as he released his brother from his grasp. He didn't know if Al's face was ruby red from anger, or embarrassment, but it was hilarious to him. It brought Edward an abundance of joy to see his little brother's reactions, rather than just hear.
Even with Al's piqued face, Ed ruffled his little brother's hair.
"How's Edward doing?"
Al took Rose's heavy grocery bag from her arms. "He's fine. He still seems a little empty, but he's much better than when he got back." The two were now almost back to the house from a day of grocery shopping. Just the two of them.
"Well, that's good." Rose enthused, "So, what would you like for your birthday this year?"
Al smiled, "Oh, you don't have to get me anything Rose."
But, now that Ed's home, there's just one wish that I want to come true.
"Such a typical answer for you, Alphonse." Rose looked down at the ground, trying to hide her reddened cheeks. "You're too good to me, sometimes."
Al swallowed, hard. "You deserve it, Rose." He reached down, opened the door and took a step inside. "You deserves someone who..." Alphonse had no idea where all of this new-found confidence was coming from, but the words were practically spilling from his mouth.
"Someone who...what, Al?" Her voice had become intrigued in what the young Elric was confessing to her. "What is it, Al?" Rose urged.
"Someone who cares...about you..." The two were now face to face, and Al always took time out of moments like this to admire Rose's perfection. Her olive skin, dark eyes, and natural beauty. She was a woman who never took anything for granted and Al truly respected her. Even through the eyes of an armored shell, Al had always had a deep desire for Rose. Well, he had a body now. It was time he put it to use. After five long years of doubt and timorous thoughts, Al finally felt that it was his moment to shine.
She was right there, in front of him, pulling her face closer to his own. The beating of his heart was almost unbearable by the time he felt her hot, sweet breath on his lips.
"Hey, Al? That you?" Ed called from the top of the stairs, before he began descending down the steps. "Thank God, I'm starving." And Ed noticed, by the time he reached the bottom of he steps, just how irritated his brother looked, and Rose didn't look much happier. "Uh, am I interrupting something?"
"Eat this!" Al yelled, picking up the heavy bag of groceries and flinging it across the room at Edward.
It had been a tough week for Winry at work. There were a lot of questions and not enough answers. None that Winry could provide, anyway.
I knew it. I should have asked Ed more about where he was.
Roy had really given her a hard time about it, but she convinced him not to search for Ed right away. She thought it would be more ideal to reunite with Edward casually, and not with a team of military soldiers. Which was why Winry decided to invite Roy and Riza to Alphonse's birthday party. They would be arriving on the day of the party, but Winry always showed up a day early every year.
"How old is Uncle Al turning this year?" Elizabeth asked happily, her face pressed up against the train's window.
Winry always had to think about this question before answering. Mentally, Al was turning twenty-one, but physically, he was turning eighteen.
"Is this seat taken?" A familiar voice said, catching Winry off guard. Elizabeth squealed with joy, but Winry wasn't so thrilled.
"Russell...what are you doing here?" Winry sighed as the tall blond took a seat next to her.
"Don't act so surprised," Russell answered, putting on the usual, handsome smirk. "I come with you every year to Alphonse's party."
"You only came for two years, Russell."
"I don't want to break the chain, I suppose." He shrugged and pulled out a chocolate bar. "And I have a gift for my favorite little girl." Elizabeth was delighted.
"Well, where's Fletcher?"
"He was busy. So it's just going to be me and you." Russell had always been so damn persistent.
Winry leaned her head back against the seat and groaned. Not only was it going to be difficult dealing with Ed herself, but the military had to stick their noses in. And now Russell?
This is going to be one hell of a party.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought. And about Den, I couldn't remember whether he/she was a boy or a girl, so sorry if I was wrong. My next update won't take so long and I hope to include more on Al and Rose's relationship, as well as another relationship. Don't forget to review!