Aureate Bonds
Summary: Inside Gluttony, Edward took a gamble to get him, Ling, & Envy out of the unending dark. He used some of Envy's Stone & opened the Gate. But the equation turned out unbalanced & Ed… died. Yet Ed isn't the sort to be beaten easily & he swore he'd be back.
Ratings and Warnings: Rated "M" for sake of expediency and my typical writing style. Intermittent foul and 'descriptive' language, a bit of sarcasm, gender bending (Fem!Edward), mentions of homosexuality, occasional underage (though non-graphic) sex, etc.
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any other referenced materials, plain and simple. All non-original content is owned by all respective copyright owners. This is not being produced for money but rather for my own amusement.
Chapter Relevant References: N/A
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Reviews: Thanks to Robinfyre, HoboGod, and blaze609 for reviewing. Thanks to athyrarose and Faithk for following. Thanks to blaze609 for favoriting the story and me (and considering the time gap between the two, probably due to you poking at my other stories).
Robinfyre, I've had some experience seeing a person that knew they were going away for a long time or even 'forever'. So, it makes sense to have these regrets. I'm merely exploring them, giving more depth to a female Edward, before sending Evelyn back home. I've been trying to establish Evelyn is Edward but Edward is not her. She's more than Edward. If I do this in your mind, I feel that to be an accomplishment. And I need to express how the people around her are being affected. Honestly, I'd not intended to kill off Calico Cat Winry but I'd realized I'd forgotten her and I had wanted to make her a point of the story more than just Evelyn getting her and naming her 'Winry' to express Edward missing his mechanic/friend/potential girlfriend.
HoboGod, I take a bow and thank you for your kind words. (Also, I'm not a 'sir', but I'll take it as readily as 'ma'am'.) Emotionally charged responses like this are some of my favorites alongside constructive criticism. And, probably, because your story is a crossover it receives more attention. I don't often go for single-fandom stories even though I write them. Also, it being a 'gender bender' fic probably cuts down some of the interest as most gender bent fics tend to be… weakly done when it comes to FMA. I'm not boasting about mine, but I sometimes get irritated when I've read other 'Fem!Ed' fics. But as Le Confidant said to me once, 'quality over quantity'. In this story, it means more work overall. As far as my reviewers, this story has evoked fairly intelligent responses to my words. I'd rather have one of your reviews over ten of 'OMG! More! More!'
Blaze609, to start with… Edward's a stubborn son of a bitch (no offense to Trisha, I mean it solely about him). My theory of reincarnation basically says the soul isn't immediately reset upon rebirth. The person retains some of their personality, traits of a past life… 'Old souls' is what they call it. Edward takes this a step further through sheer willpower. Where Peter slowly regresses into a child save for occasional behavioral quirks and memory flashes (save for his fifteenth birthday), Evelyn forces herself to not forget. It isn't so much about the Gate altering Edward but Evelyn not wanting to forget so long as Al is trapped (see Ch IV). Also, magic, alchemy, and all of that is still a very possible thing but the how of it is lost to us. We've been conditioned to think certain things are impossible (I'm victim as well to a degree). Evelyn, who still recalls her moments as Edward retains her ability to do alchemy and the clapping trick that the Gate allowed Edward to have (and make no mistake, the Gate chooses what it does to its 'victims'). If the Gate really wanted to, it could have merely robbed Al of his entire ability to touch using Homunculus's logic. Killing nerve endings would be far more dangerous than taking an entire body (canon has Mustang losing his vision though his eyes do not noticeably suffer from it, which means nerves were likely cut rather than blood vessels or having the eyes simply removed and history of the Gate shows it's not above taking it's pound of flesh). By the way, I realized these things as I wrote your response, so I'm somewhat freaked out about certain things now. And because Evelyn is so geared onto her memories, her soul behaves as a catalyst. People who should technically not remember or even be able to grasp and hold their memories as anything more than dreams are marginally able to as long as they're bound to her. Hence, Peter and Tiffany having their brief moments. I hope this helps you understand a bit.
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Side Note: I look at Cheezburger regularly and saw an image posted that made me want to slam my head into my palm or perhaps a wall repeatedly. This person, whoever it was, questioned why the rule of not making gold was in place because it was 'obvious' to them that people couldn't transmute gold if there wasn't some kind of gold to begin with or a Stone involved. (See 'cheezburger 8130468608' minus the spaces if you wish.)
Alchemy is a semi-magical and mostly scientific method of putting nuclear fission and fusion into a regular person's hands. What science says is theoretically possible is made physically possible through alchemy. Using an example from Missing Link's review ages ago, science says putting the egg yolk back in the egg and fixing the shell is theoretically possible. It's physically impossible in everyday life. Alchemy makes it possible. To take this a step further, creating gold. Gold, so long as you know the number of protons required to make it gold, can be easily fashioned using alchemy. Technically speaking, lead into gold is possible (as Edward made culm, trash from the mines of Youswell, into gold) so long as you're a better than average alchemist. Oh, it's easy enough to reformat water into ice or repair things (like small time alchemists typically do), but State Alchemists stand a cut above. Typically, they're doing fission and fusion on a regular basis. Hence why other than those with the Stone on non-State Alchemist levels cannot typically make gold from anything or chimera or any other complex alchemy. And most State Alchemist level alchemists tend to be pure scientists (something that was once very common in our world, which is why so many people look down on State Alchemists). They aren't out for the wealth. They want to learn and give back to the community. Two words. Izumi Curtis. Need I really say more on that front?
Anyway, despite the seeming simplicity of Mustang's alchemy (pft, fire, yeah?), it is complex. (Ed just doesn't bother to learn it because he's a stubborn idiot and doesn't want to do it because Mustang does it.) He's forcing chemical reactions on the fly and running calculations as to where to send his flames. Edward, who can transmute just about anything on the go (again, monumentally impressive), could easily make as much gold as he wants and did at Youswell though he was adamant in saying it was 'fake' gold. Reason that it was 'fake' wasn't because it was pyrite. It was 'fake' because it was 'impossibly' pure. Alchemized gold is often pure gold, which is nigh impossible even with all the processes in the world. Sure, you could put impurities into it, hide the fact it's 'fake', but alchemized gold is purer than the average gold and that's how people can tell it's 'fake'.
But why should there be a rule against making gold? Such an ability can get you untold riches, yes? Everyone saw how excited Yoki got at the piles of gold and that wealth would have gone a long way if Ed hadn't turned it back. The reason is simple. Ethics and economy. Gold is considered a precious metal, yes, but economies are based off of it being somewhat rare. It, sliver, and platinum are all carefully looked after. If you have a sudden surplus of gold, then the value of gold goes down and everyone's trust in money goes out the window. Having the rule isn't because of fun and games but because it could tear the country apart on one of its most basic levels. And with currency being based off of how much gold is actually in reserves under the government that issues the currency and the value of gold at that moment, needless to say it would be destructive if a huge influx of gold hit the markets and devalued the metal utterly. That's why Evelyn's so careful transmuting gold and not doing a lot or making it into items that would be sold off.
Now that I've had my piece, onwards!
(And I seriously did a three-part truncated dissertation over why making gold with alchemy really is possible and the ethics of why not to… Dear God, I'm hopeless.)
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XIV:
The automail plates were a chore to do, truthfully. It wasn't remotely fun or interesting. No, there was a lot of pinching and redesigning and too large of gaps and Truth knew far too many design issues. This wasn't traditional armor and fortunately she could get away with some of the gaps so long as she could get away with not having to take her shirt off. Then again, she would be avoiding taking her shirt off anywhere near people. But design issues cropped up a lot. Parts where plate had to slide against plate just so she could bend her arm didn't move that way on Edward's actual automail.
Actually, save for at the joints and some movement along the shoulder plates, nothing visible moved on Edward's automail.
All of a sudden, Evelyn regretted Edward's pigheadedness when it came to learning more about the very prosthetics that let him move about the world. Granted, he had known the generalities and she was doing something more like full plate armor than automail but it would have been wonderful to understand the underlying detailed mechanics right about now other than 'nerves are sectioned off into the port' or 'oil here and here often' or 'if broken, call Winry and avoid wrenches'. Oh, and 'don't alter automail in sight of Winry or run the risk of being worked over by wrenches'. There were a lot of wrench nightmares she still had, trying to explain away some kind of mess-up or damage she'd done even now. Winry was the kind of girl that left a long lasting impression.
Granted, some of her violence had been inspired by Ed and Al's rough housing. She was a tomboy with a veneer of girly. Tough enough to handle even Edward at his worst. Smart enough to manipulate the hell out of him, too. And damn if Evelyn still admired her for it even after all these years.
Her mother had become incredibly fascinated by the work she was doing from an engineering standpoint, asking questions about automail that Evelyn couldn't even begin to explain. The purpose for the work was obvious, but it was as though her parents were ignoring the elephant in the room for the moment. It weighed on the golden-haired teen constantly. These were the fine touches. The bits and pieces required to ensure her costume was complete. This was the evidence that she was coming to the end of her time as a 'normal person'.
And that meant she'd soon lose all those nice 'normal person' things.
Well, if everything went to plan.
Almost every day, she spent time re-verifying her equations. It was something she'd persistently done over the years, but now…
Her thought process basically said 'might as well check it all one more time'. It was like the finals in school, only a lot more final. It was part of the reason she decided to leave in September. Not only was it closer to the time in his life that Edward did die and thus her age would be more 'perfect', but it also permitted her the entire summer to work and a little time of August and September to quietly disappear. Besides, all her equations were set for a specific date and that date was when she was going to do it. And she was going to rely on the connection she hoped she still had with Alphonse to drag her right to where she needed to be.
Bringing up the current jointed gauntlet, she carefully slid her hand into it and flexed. The back of her hand was covered with articulated sheet metal all carefully bent and connected to not slice her open at first provocation. Second provocation, however, basically meant she was fair game. That is, if the armor was damaged. Her palm was far trickier and she found she couldn't put metal on it or lose her dexterity completely and she ran the risk of cutting her hand in two with one foul move. The closest she could get was a snug steel gray leather glove with a metallic finish carefully stitched to have the same lines as automail that she attached the gauntlet over. It meant she would have to rely on the talisman to hide some of the issues with the faux automail, too. The arm was easier, fortunately, but not by much. Again, movement would be limited while her arm was encased and the joints that had obvious hinges or the like had to have those made to keep the continuity. And then there was the means of bolting it all into place.
The harness and straps that went about her chest were simple enough once the design had been worked out. Thankfully she still had alchemy to make this all actually better.
Slipping her arm into the armor, she felt at the fit and the ability to rotate. Shoulder maneuverability covered the need for more elbow flexibility and a slight redesign in the wrist joint allowed for twisting it and maintaining a little bit of what looked to be 'normal automail function'.
It still pinched a bit.
Grumbling, she tugged her arm free. "Maybe it's just gonna pinch," she snorted. Rolling her shoulders, Evelyn realized her entire body was tense as hell. Not much of a surprise as so much rode on pulling off a convincing 'Edward'.
Debating, she thought about her options and then moved to sit on the floor. She thought meditation might help. It took time to settle her mind out and let it sort of breathe in a metaphysical way. And then she opened her senses a little. She could feel the sense of life running about her general vicinity in the form of insects that invariably found their way into a human dwelling, rodents, birds, and other animals. There was the subtle and soft 'green' presence of plants blended in, too. Where the animals twitched and moved constantly, it was plants that really played the dominant role of life. If she tried, on a sunny day she could almost feel them clawing skyward in a desperate bid for sunlight just as she could feel them dig down for water and nutrients. Animals were in many ways less vicious than plants. They were also far less patient.
Truth be told, plants and animals were essentially only a scum of life on the planet. After a certain point, there was no more 'life' like worms or bacteria, though she couldn't feel bacteria life force and worms were like wisps of energy, hard to discern as they were so simple. But there was still an energy that was life in and of itself. On a smaller scale, that energy was like a tree. Slow moving, aware, breathing, and patient. It did not measure time like humans measured time because, for it, human 'time' was instant.
Really, the furthest she could reach with her odd chi sense was not 'up' or 'forward' or even 'out'. It was 'down'. And 'down' was where she found a sentience that seemed to shrug off the day-to-day or even the year-to-year. It lived in seasons far longer than the customary 'summer', 'autumn', 'winter', and 'spring'. It didn't care about things like 'pollution' or 'ecological awareness'. It simply was. Or, rather, Evelyn amended, 'she' simply was.
'She' was the earth. It had shaken her the first time she'd felt something like that and truthfully she had not touched that presence in years. It wasn't that she was malevolent or even benign. She just was a being that lived in a lifespan so great that she had time to be on so many levels. Her attention was global, pardon the pun, but it was also minute. And as Evelyn touched her, she touched back ever so slightly as if to say 'hello' before returning to whatever she was doing before. Not that she'd been diverted, but the earth did at least give a tendril of attention to the alchemist that had touched her before moving on.
If one ever wanted to feel young, all they had to do was look at what was under their feet and think of the billions upon billions of years that being has lived and changed and all the different forms of life she had supported.
It actually made Evelyn want to crack up about how people seemed to freak out about 'global warming' or other such things. Technically, there was no other alternative than global warming because they were still in the last Ice Age. Pollution? Did the human race ever consider that oxygen was a corrosive and toxic gas? At one point, it was pollution itself! The only thing that the human race had to be worried about was itself. The planet could and probably would develop beings that could survive in less oxygen-rich environments or could stand a little more ultraviolet from the sun. Darwin was essentially right. Evolution was more or less real though it was not because of the 'survival of the fittest'. It was more along the lines of getting used to changes and just rolling with the punches. Question was: how far could evolution go before a species became obsolete?
Theoretical discussions were fun, but messing with heads was more fun.
Tugging her chi sense back, she sighed and flopped back to lie on the carpet. "Introspection is a bitch," she mused aloud to the uncaring ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of yellow and turned her head to look. On the floor by her bed was an old, worn toy. It certainly wasn't her first toy, but it was, she recalled, her first Christmas present. Reaching out, she took up the stuffed cat and smiled. It really was worn. The fur was somewhat matted from years of sleeping on it and general abuse. The stuffing had shifted over time, giving the feline a somewhat worried look. About its neck was a strip of red ribbon she'd tied there when she'd been two, though the bow had long ago come undone and the strip of colored ribbon had long become somewhat bedraggled by general wear and tear. Even now, though, not a stitch had been replaced on her stuffed toy, Al.
Her other favored present, though, had died in her arms.
Evelyn's smile slipped into a sadder one. Tucking Al the Cat against her and folding her arms about him, she wondered at herself. 'Introspection is a bitch, indeed,' she thought. After a while, she sat up, and then she stood. She took her toy and set it on her bed. Suddenly, she realized this was the only toy that she'd placed any real value in and that she would miss it when she went back.
"Al," she muttered, poking at the stitched pink nose. "Gonna get back to ya no matter what. You know that, right?"
The stuffed cat just sat there on the bed, giving that patient and almost worried look to her.
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It took her a few more days before she realized that Peter hadn't yet come over for the summer. Being elbow deep in all her various projects, especially her efforts to create a false automail leg that didn't actually hamper anything, kept her from being on the uptake immediately, but she did eventually realize it. And then she realized her phone hadn't even been buzzed with texts or a call from him. Taking up the flat device, she selected his picture on her favorites list and called him herself. It took three rings for him to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Hughes," she returned over the line. "How have you been doing?"
"Just this and that. Nothing much really. Why?"
"Just realized I'd not seen you, that's all." There was a slight pause, and then Evelyn asked, "Are you all right? You sound… off."
"Nothing's wrong." She could practically smell the lie on that but wasn't sure if she ought to call him on it. "Just thought you were busy and didn't want to bother you."
That she could call him on. "Since when do you decide I'm too busy to bother?"
"Well, you're doing all that stuff, right? To… go back to wherever it was that you died?" Golden eyes closed at these words. "I just didn't want to bother you."
"Hughes…" Running a hand through her bangs, purposefully ruffling them, Evelyn sighed. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Upsetting you. Do you want me to come over? We could hang out. Do stuff." She shrugged despite the fact he wouldn't be able to see. "Watch a movie? Play a game?" There was an extended silence on the other end of the line.
Her heart ached a little when he replied finally. "Sure. That sounds great."
"I'll be there in a bit. Okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
Moving the phone away from her head, she hit the disconnect and hurried to get her bag and sent a message to her mom, who was at work, that she would be going over to Peter's. Fortunately, it wasn't like she had to cross the city to get to her best friend's place. They lived close together, after all, and within a few blocks.
Arriving at his house, she rapped on the side door and was met with the door opening a minute later. Peter gave her a long look as he stood in the partially ajar door. "We don't need a roof or a vacuum cleaner or want to know about your God. But if you have Girl Scout cookies, come on in!" She snorted.
"Wrong season, dork."
Somehow, she was not surprised when the door shut in her face. Rapping on the door again, Evelyn called, "I can make cookies, you know!" She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when Peter snapped the door open again.
"What kind?" asked the dark-haired teen, blue eyes dancing in amusement from behind glasses.
"Depends what's in your pantry." He considered that and then nodded.
"What do I have to pay?"
"I dunno. We can hash prices inside, yeah?"
He gave her a faux serious look. "Tryin' to rob me blind?"
"I don't want your glasses," the teenage girl returned drolly. He shrugged and moved aside. Slipping through the door, Evelyn found herself within the kitchen and she flashed Peter a grin as he shut and locked the door back. Unsurprisingly, she was engulfed in a hug. One thing Peter had been for his entire life was a very tactile person. She wasn't sure if it was a carryover from his previous life, but he just liked to touch. Allowing the contact was more of a formality than anything because Peter did it whether or not his chosen target liked it. It had gotten him termed a love bug, but he didn't seem to mind the callout. "Hey," she mumbled under the weight of his arms and felt it as he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder. Being shorter than him meant he had to lean over in order to do so, but her height had never seemed to bother him.
"So…" A golden eyebrow arched at the leading sound. "Cookies?"
"Sure. Let me at your cabinets." Peter complied and let his quasi-girlfriend go though he did continue to hover.
"How is the whole project going?" Flicking her eyes towards him as she checked the freezer for pre-made cookie dough, Evelyn gave a sound in the back of her throat. Finding none, she tugged out some semi-sweet chocolate chips and some pecan halves.
"Well enough," she replied as she moved on to get flour and eggs and sugar and all the other things she needed. "The equations have been rechecked, my fake automail's being a bitch…" Punctuating it with a shrug, the golden blonde sighed.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's just pinching all the time." As she set about to work on the dough for chocolate chip pecan cookies, Peter leaned against the cabinet just behind her. The silence that ensued was easy and without any tension. Digging out the hand mixer nearly earned her head a good ram into the cabinets when Peter got fresh and grabbed her ass. Apparently the damn armor wasn't the only thing pinching. "Hughes!" squawked Evelyn, spinning about and coming upright with a flush reddening her cheeks. "The hell?!"
He gave her an unrepentant grin. "It was available?"
"Yes, I know, but not when my head's down and I'm rummaging in a cabinet!"
"Fine!" Peter said in a half-apologetic, half-exasperated tone with his hands thrown up. "Fine! Won't do it again!" Watching him carefully, she worked to ascertain whether or not he was telling the truth before returning to her offered duty of cookies. The dough wasn't a difficult thing and she knew it all by heart, so once it was ready to mix, she did so. Doling out the dough onto one of two retrieved cookie sheets took little time and Evelyn ordered Peter to preheat the oven. He filched a wad of dough as he did so, chewing happily on the uncooked cookie.
"You're not gonna have any cookies if you eat all the dough," scolded the reborn alchemist though there was no heat in her words. As she spoke, Peter swallowed and smirked.
"Cookie dough is the best."
"Won't disagree with you on that." He stepped closer to her and crowded close. Evelyn was still a paltry one hundred and fifty-two centimeters (or, more conventionally, just under five feet) and with Peter standing at one hundred and seventy centimeters (five-seven, approximately), he definitely loomed head and shoulders over her. As Maes Hughes, he had over Edward, but it had been more marked. Peter was still growing and Evelyn was taller than Edward had been. That height was something he used on her often, taking advantage of the difference to pick her up or corner her. And he was definitely cornering her now.
The shrill beep of the oven's digital interface alerted them to the fact it had finished preheating. "I need to put the cookies in the oven," Evelyn said, looking up at the in-her-opinion overly-tall teen. He hummed at her, obviously not interested in backing off as hands began to roam until they encircled her backside just below her ass.
"Y'know, Dree asked if we could do something over the summer," he murmured as the shorter teen found herself hoisted onto the counter. Seated on a level that was a little higher than Peter's head, she frowned. "As in, me and her… Like a date."
"Well, she's had the hots for you for a long time," Evelyn returned as she found her button down shirt being plucked at.
"I already knew that. I just wasn't interested." The response made the golden female blink in surprise. Blue eyes regarded her seriously. "Didn't think I could tell? I'm a teenager. Every time she brushed on me, I noticed it."
"Teenagers are also denser than average sometimes, too," she returned drolly.
"True," he smirked.
"Why don't you?" Evelyn sent her fingers through his short product-spiked dark brown hair, so very much like it had been in his previous life. It was funny to see such things resurge. To see him pick things that related him more to Maes Hughes. She knew that he didn't know he was subconsciously reacting to memories he no longer could recall. She did know he knew enough about their past lives from her carefully disseminated information that she was the likely reason of certain behavioral quirks.
"Don't I what?"
"Go do something with her." Skimming hands down the sides of his face and wondering if he'd ever choose to wear a scruffy short beard along his jaw again, she watched as he snorted and pulled away. Evelyn dropped her hands to her sides and rested them on the counter while her longest friend moved to stick the cookies into the oven and set the time appropriately after getting a confirmation from Evelyn as to the amount of time needed.
"What's the point?"
He came back about to lean on the counter between her knees, his back to her. Evelyn encircled his shoulders with her arms, leaning against him a bit, and rested her head on the side of his head. "Well, there's lots of points. You could find that you really, really like her. You could have fun. You could-"
"Refuse to go to someone else while you're still here." Evelyn frowned as his words were uttered, cutting hers off.
"Hughes," she sighed. "I'd rather you didn't stay hung up on me after I'm gone."
"You're not gone yet."
"No, but is it such a bad thing to explore?" He shrugged, sending her arms rising and falling. Hugging him tighter, she kissed him on the temple. "I'm not jealous of Adriana, you know. And I also am realistic enough to say she won't be your 'forever after'. Have fun."
"Don't wanna." The childish return made her giggle and she practically felt his amusement in response to her humor. He dropped his head back to rest on her shoulder. "If I could have anything, I'd follow you back to help you out. It'd be amazing to see a new world. Or an old one that would be new again." She hummed in agreement.
"It'd be nice to make everyone happy again."
"I'd miss my mom, though." Peter continued speaking as though she'd not spoken. "And it wouldn't be very fair to her. Unless we brought her along. But if we could, then that'd mean we'd have to tell her everything about you and then-"
"And then," interrupted Evelyn sharply, "find a hidey hole that the people who are trying to kill me won't find you and her."
"And your parents." She paused at that before allowing a wistful tilt to her lips.
"Yeah, Al would love them. And they'd love him."
"Think he'd like my mom?" asked the other teen. And then he asked another question before she could respond. "Think he'd like me?"
Aware of the fact he couldn't remember how he'd known her brother and all the things he'd done as Maes Hughes for Edward and Alphonse because of careful words on her part, Evelyn already knew the answer to his queries. "There's no question, Hughes. He'd love you both."
"Tell me about him." She thought about it, dredging up everything she could remember. A soft smile slid across her face.
"Well, he's incredibly kind and a complete worrier. He always was making sure I wasn't running off too far ahead or getting too far into trouble, though we both wound up diving off into situations that got us in over our heads." Hesitating slightly, she allowed her smile to fade. "I can hardly remember his face."
She knew that Edward had seen his body before the Gate, but it was an almost alien face. The face she was finding it harder and harder to remember was the little boy Edward had lost. It had been about twenty years for her soul since the accident and time did blur things. Al's various expressions ranging from his standard sweet one to his irritated one to the one where he looked angry or when he was hopeful. Those were the faces that Edward had clung to, reminding himself harshly of the fact those faces weren't able to be seen anymore because of his grand foolishness. Evelyn recalled the overall sensations of them still, but it was faded. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she began to talk more about Al, bringing up stories that were innocent and young and didn't involve telling Hughes's reincarnation about others, slating references as 'my mechanic' or 'my boss'. Talking about Mustang even superficially and in a round-about manner brought up the memories of Peter telling her about Hughes and Mustang and their unconventional relationship.
Homosexuality was not something talked about because it was something that was a form of 'taboo'. Liking someone that was the same sex was, simply put, not flaunted. The closest Edward had ever seen to an out-and-out screaming queen was Garfiel, the man that had taken Winry on as an automail apprentice. Granted he had been a queen, but the evidence of homosexuality was pretty much hidden as a general rule and odd sorts had a tendency to pop up in Rush Valley anyway.
The biggest reason it had blind-sided her so badly was because Hughes and Mustang had never hinted at being anything but straight and had behaved far from anything resembling 'involved'. Hell, Hughes had been married and Mustang was a well-known womanizer! She didn't condemn them and she doubted that if anyone else that knew both of them well would do the same, though she wouldn't have put it past someone like Havoc to harass them once or twice, but Edward had been able to sense the unresolved tension between Hawkeye and Mustang. It was masked, hidden, and altogether negligible if one hadn't spent a lot of time about them and good at sussing out such things, but it was there. Edward had seen it even though he'd kept such an observation to himself. He'd been of the opinion adults were strange creatures that did things for strange reasons and he had better things to do than analyze Colonel Roy Mustang, Superior Asshole. Evelyn had eventually thought it through more now that she had a foot on the feminine side of things and could see Hawkeye had devoted herself to Mustang. The 'how' and 'why' was beyond her, but the First Lieutenant obviously believed she was of best use just behind Mustang rather than at his side. It was odd and somehow vaguely romantic but disappointing as well. And for whatever reason, Peter hadn't mentioned Hawkeye at all when it came to delivering the message of Mustang getting a wife.
Falling into silence when the oven beeped, Evelyn was glad when Peter moved so she could hop down and retrieve the cookies before they became burned. Taking them out, she slid the second cookie sheet in as she had made enough cookie batter to cook three or four pans. As soon as that was done, she set about grabbing a glass cake plate and started layering cookies onto the surface. Now was the best time to serve up the cookies, after all, and she made quick work of it. Peter hadn't moved much as she worked, but he did watch her as she used the scrounged up egg turner.
"First round done!" chirped the golden-haired teen as the last cookie was placed upon the plate. The glass dome was not put on yet as they weren't cool, but she was pleased with the results so far. The cookies certainly weren't too dark or too pale and the chips and pecans looked particularly good. It was always annoying when the damn pecans got burned. And then she set about doling out the next globs of cookie dough onto the still-warm pan.
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Three cookie sheets of cookies and idle chatter later, the pair of them flopped onto the couch with Mouse laying on the carpet just beneath them and Evelyn more on top of Peter as they turned on the television. Lying face down on his chest, face turned towards the boob tube, Evelyn felt content as Peter looped his arm over her back and let the one on the outside trail down to the carpet near the dog's head.
"Thanks for coming over." Blinking and looking up at him as 'Chess' played on screen, she gave him a smile.
"What? Cookie starvation without?" His lips twitched.
"Something like that," returned her 'pillow', his eyes currently watching as Steven Ward, one of the main characters, was trying to get to a safe spot before he got tagged by a monster and trying to avoid the non-players that obviously thought him a bit unhinged. Those eyes shifted to her and she felt the hand on her back shift down to the hem of her shirt before tugging it up and dance fingertips along her skin, causing her to twitch. "What? Don't want to play?"
"You're bipolar. I swear," she grunted.
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are… too!" Her breath hitched mid-retort as she felt her bra come undone. "Seriously?" growled the alchemist as the Great Dane sat up a bit in curiosity to the shift in the atmosphere.
"Mom won't be home for a while," he said, shrugging. "And she condones this, so why not?" Evelyn groaned and planted her face square into Peter's chest.
"Your mother's nuts!" she bemoaned.
"She's not married, remember? Gotta get her kicks somewhere." Evelyn groaned again as her clothes were being further nudged and tugged at and she knew it'd be only a matter of time before she'd be pinned or some other such thing.
"I've got to go." It was a spur of the moment decision. Even as she sat up to get away, she found Peter moving after her. Her fingers were going after her bra clasp and Peter was moving to try and tug off her shirt. "Would you stop that?!"
"Hey. I'm a teenager. What do you expect?"
"That's not a good enough excuse!" Springing away from the couch, she narrowly missed reaching fingers for her jeans buttons.
"C'mon!" Jabbing a finger in his face, she barked out a 'no'. Peter scowled at her and pouted as he settled back, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's your deal?"
Evelyn hastily straightened out her clothes and patted herself back into presentable condition before she answered him. "I'm sorry, but it feels wrong right now."
"You never said 'no' before."
"I'm also not the manic grabbing about, either."
"Shame, that."
She huffed exasperatedly before squawking as she got nosed by Mouse. The big dog was wagging his tail, ears perked and obviously wondering about the game they were playing. Once her heart settled again, she sighed and nudged him away. "Hughes…" Faltering she dropped back on the couch just enough away from her quasi-boyfriend to slip away again just in case. "I'm sorry. It's… It's just getting harder, okay? Pretending everything is normal, nothing is wrong, and that I'm going to be leaving to a place so far away I'll never see anything and anyone here again. And that's if I'm lucky." Despite all her running calculations and re-verifications, there was no way to prove her theory until she actually activated her circle. Sure, the well worked. She'd tested that out separately to great success. But this half-magic, half-alchemy beast of a transmutation circle? Well, she didn't know yet.
Picking up on her distress, Peter watched her carefully before shifting a bit and letting his manic tendencies settle again. "I'm sorry," he muttered, watching as Mouse tried to get attention from Evelyn only to amble off likely in search of food. "But you do have to think of it from my perspective, too." Golden eyes met blue and he gave her a lopsided, wry smile. "You're going to leave and I'm going to have to deal with only having these limited memories to keep me company for the rest of my life." Shame burbled up in her gaze and she averted it away.
"I already have… and it's the same for me." Chattering on the television distracted her and she glanced at it before dropping her eyes again. "I just… I don't want my last memories of us being all of sex. I want there to be other things, too."
Silence pervaded and eventually Peter scooted towards her but instead of doing anything deviant, he just slumped over and dropped his head into her lap. Fingers that were a little too slender compared to the hands Edward Elric once had fiddled with the short strands of brown-black hair. For a long while, the pair of them just sat like that, absently watching the television while taking comfort in each other's all too limited presence.
.
"Aquarium?" Golden yellow eyes blinked at thin air as she listened to the person on the other end of the phone line.
"Yeah. Thought we could do something fun over the summer," remarked Bethany. "Mom's taking us and I thought you'd like to go." Us, Evelyn presumed, meant Bethany and Allison.
"Who all is coming, too?"
"Just me and Al," Bethany told her. The phrasing cut the alchemist slightly, her mind recalling another 'Al'. It seemed more and more often the image of that towering red-eyed empty armor or the thin boy sitting before the Gate or the faded and hard to reach memories of the little boy that had followed after his big brother so faithfully kept appearing in her mind. "Mom talked to your mom first, so… It's okay if you agree. And I thought it could be just us four. Allison's been allowed a friend, too, but her friends are all busy."
"What about Dree?"
"Dree can't because she's got some family reunion to go to." Knowing she was second pick was a little annoying, but the golden teen didn't worry too much on it.
"Sounds fun."
"Great! We'll be over in about an hour. What's your address again?" Evelyn rattled it off, making sure to go slow enough for it to be jotted down. "Awesome. See you soon!"
Pressing the 'End Call' button, she settled the mobile device off to one side and returned her gaze to her fake automail armor currently wrapped about her leg. Flexing the appendage, she considered the way it rubbed on the skin and sighed. "Blisters if I don't pad it," she mused. Undoing the buckles, she tugged off the thin and altogether irritating metal. It seemed regular socks wouldn't do the job properly and she sighed as she moved to get properly dressed.
Like usual, she braided her hair back and forewent cosmetics when it came to getting prepared for the day. It had actually earned her a lot of flak from some people because she didn't spend copious amounts of time on 'enhancing her natural beauty'. According to them, she looked washed out, pale, and sometimes tired. The closest she usually got to wearing anything makeup in context was the occasional tinted lip balm but usually her regular balm was enough and perfectly pocket worthy. Ten minutes after braiding her hair back into a rope that reached past the small of her back, Evelyn had donned her chosen clothes of mid-thigh length black jean shorts, snug-but-not-tight bright red short-sleeved top with a long tail, and comfortable sandals. Taking up her wallet, house keys, and phone, she made to call her mother and inform her herself that she had taken up the Lowry family's offer.
"Have fun," returned her mother and Evelyn nodded though the woman would not see it.
"I will."
When the Lowrys turned up, Beth took a long look at her as she pulled herself into the back seat of the van Mrs. Lowry was driving. "What's with the dark, heavy clothing?" she demanded.
"They aren't that dark and I'm wearing shorts," huffed Evelyn in return as she secured her seat belt and the door shut.
"Whatever. You look hot, though." The golden haired girl leered a bit at the pale blonde.
"Didn't know you were into chicks," she smirked only to see Bethany sputter and glare at her in disgust.
"Pervert."
"Only for the sexy ones," sniggered the alchemist, waggling her eyebrows only to get shoved by Bethany.
"Girls, don't tie up and fight back there," scolded Mrs. Lowry.
"Yes, Mom." Bethany rolled her eyes at that but took the admonishment in stride.
"This isn't fighting," blinked Evelyn. Hell, it didn't even rate a friendly tussle as far as she was concerned.
"Let's keep it that way," drawled the older woman. Allison flashed a grin over her shoulder as she had commandeered the front seat for herself.
"Yeah," she mocked. "Let's keep it that way!"
"Shaddup, Ally," scowled Bethany.
"Bethany Jane, you know how I don't like 'shut up'," admonished Mrs. Lowry.
"She's being annoying!" protested the pale teenager.
"Do not make me cut this trip short," returned the older woman in a threatening manner, causing all those involved to pause and fall silent. Evelyn had chosen to sit silently by, without comment. The drive did not result in any more altercations, low grade or otherwise. When they arrived, they made their way to the entrance, Mrs. Lowry in the lead with Allison who was chattering rapidly and excitedly to her mother. Bethany hung back, sulking a bit.
"You should perk up," the golden blonde teen advised, lingering with her.
"You're so lucky to be an only child," huffed Beth. "Don't have to worry about annoying siblings." It was moments like these that made Evelyn feel old and wiser and as a result she felt that she needed to impart her wisdom to the pale teen.
"Beth… You're lucky." The blue-eyed girl gave her a long look and a frown. "Mom miscarried a lot. I'm actually lucky to be alive. I should have had several brothers and sisters. Not to mention, that person right there?" She jabbed a finger at Allison, who was staring up at the facade of the aquarium with intent interest. "She's going to be all you have after your parents pass." Al had been all Edward had had and vice versa. "She'll be your best friend and your worst enemy. The moment someone tries to hurt you, she'll be there defending you in a heartbeat. She's the only one allowed to fight you as far as she's concerned. And she'll know all your worst secrets and know how to tear you down the best. But she won't because she loves you." Bethany gave her a confused look, but Evelyn continued. "I'm actually a bit jealous of you right now."
Catching the odd phrasing, Bethany asked, "Right now?" And the reborn alchemist merely smiled and walked on. After all, she couldn't exactly tell Bethany she intended to get her brother back even if it was at the cost of her parents. It hadn't been the first time her soul had been an orphan child. It still didn't make it easy, though. Upon entering the aquarium and after having bought tickets, the quartet of females entered the main part of the exhibit and all the art that was suspended from cables of metal in the form of two blue whales seeming to swim while surrounded by a plethora of fish. And then, it was time to look at the actual fish.
"They're so cute!" squealed Allison as she peered over the glass half-wall into the stingray exhibit while other shorter observers looked through the swirling water washing somewhat up the glass. Evelyn arched a brow at that, wondering exactly what was so cute about the 'kite of the sea'. Then again… Looking herself, she did have to admit they were a bit adorable with how they swarmed about near the glass, obviously putting on something of a show for the observers. Likely what the keepers did was pitch their food over the partition and thus give the people the ability to see the rays without issue. Not looking over the partition (because it was just a little too high for her) the golden-eyed teen smiled at the antics. They ambled on to look at the funnier penguins and the creative otters cracking shellfish open on their bellies.
"I'd love to have an otter," mused Beth, watching the furry brown mammals play.
"It'd outsmart you," Evelyn remarked drolly, earning a pout.
"She's right," teased Allison as the alchemist rapped gently on the glass with fingertips, attracting the attention of one of the otters. Apparently in a playful mood, the critter decided to swim over and bounce about nearby in the water, doing flips, until it got bored and swam off. "You would get outsmarted." She moved off, looking at the next exhibit with her mother close behind, as Bethany looked to Evelyn.
"Could you get me one?" she said with bright, pleading eyes. "Miss…" She leaned in and whispered, "Repairman?" Instantly, Evelyn gave a level glare as she was suddenly reminded that Bethany knew something of what she'd done a little over a year ago at the county fair.
"No."
"C'mon," wheedled the blue-eyed girl. "Bet you could do something awes-"
"I said no," growled Evelyn, cutting her off with a swipe of her hand in the air between them. "Or do you want your ass transmuted into the damn exhibit buck naked?" Bethany gave her a wide-eyed look.
"Trans… What?" The reborn alchemist rolled her eyes, ignoring the question.
"Better yet, I can pitch your ass over the partition for the rays. No real work. Or do you not remember our little agreement about what we will and won't talk about?" Bethany seemed to quail a bit and her shoulder slumped. "Truth of the matter is, I could but I won't."
"Could but won't what?" Jerking around, the two girls saw Allison coming back and Evelyn realized she'd spoken a bit louder than intended.
"Blow a raspberry on the glass," she provided easily in a droll manner. "It wouldn't be fair to the aquarium staff or to the otters." Allison giggled at that.
"Well, I saw a sign for seahorses over that way. Can we go look? Mom said we couldn't 'til you came."
Bethany offered a slight smile. "Sounds like fun."
"Great!"
As the younger teen bounced off, gold eyes met blue once more. "Raspberry?" wondered Beth, sounding a little subdued and tentative. Evelyn shrugged.
"It's a truth. And I'm not one for lying."
.
.
.
Author's Note: Evelyn's words to Bethany about siblings is very, very true. Nothing is scarier on this planet than a little sibling who feels like he/she needs to go whoop-ass crazy because someone tried to hurt his/her older sibling that only he/she is allowed to annoy or bother. My love to my sister, may you always remain as loyal as you are now.
Oh, and the automail armor… I'm totally looking at it from an engineering standpoint and am finding a good number of faults with it as plate armor. Even looking at full armor like how knights had makes me realize exactly how finicky it is, especially as they don't do form-fitting armor along arms and legs unless it's belted on and only protects the side of the arm or the front of shin (guards, not full armor). Evelyn's armor actually makes me cringe as it's more along the lines of art than workable armor. However, it's all I could come up with and I am approaching it from a standpoint of an engineer. What could go wrong? What would this do? What would that do? How would one cover this inconsistency? Despite the cringe factor of safety issues that could turn it into a mangling deathtrap, I'm also proud of how I worked about it.
Please review. I appreciate it.