Oy, muttonchops! How are things in the land of plenty?

I know I promised a side story specifically for my readers who have reviewed but it's been a really long week. I'll try to write it soon and post it. You have my word that I will try my best or Taylor can beat me with a fish. But never fear my furry friends! I had a different story ready for just such an occasion! It's called, "A Forbidden Love". Hm...what's that about I wonder...

Lastly, I must apologize for I have recently discovered that I am an idiot. All this time I've been referring to Hughes as a Major when he's really a Lieutenant Colonel. I made a mistake and now I feel so wrong...and dirty... And what's worse I'm too much of a lazy bum to go back and fix it. *Sigh*

Chapter 20

Regaining Normalcy

(-Ed-)

Ed snuggled closer to his pillow, reluctant to wake up. It was quite cozy. If he tried really hard maybe he could go back to sleep. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. Nothing could bother him in that moment. Not even the slight movement of his pillow…

Huh?

Ed pried his eyes open, thinking, Pillows aren't supposed to move.

He found his pillow was not really a pillow. Ed had been snuggling into Taylor, getting up close and personal. She lay on her back, deep in sleep. His arm wrapped over her stomach with her hand resting on his. His forehead brushed her cheek.

Ed felt heat rush into his face. They were so close. Their lips were but a breath apart. He was flooded with the memory of when he had met those lips with his own. Taylor's had been cold then from drowning. They wouldn't be now. They would be warm…and soft.

Flinching back, Ed nearly fell off the bed. He froze on the edge of it, afraid that Taylor would wake up. She didn't.

"Whew." Ed breathed. That had been a little too intimate. Not that he didn't like it. Ah! What was he thinking? Think of something else, you pervert!

Taylor murmured incoherently. Ed stared. She did it again… Was that his name he heard? No, what was he thinking? Like she'd really be dreaming of him.

That made him think of his dream from last night. He didn't remember most of it but he knew that it was set in Resembool. Al was there with him and they were kids. Their mom was alive and their house stood just as it had years ago. Ed and Al were rushing up the hill and as they did they got older. They were the same age as they were now when they reached the top. Their mom was still there but now Taylor stepped out from behind her. She smiled at them.

The dream was happy, unlike his usual nightmares. It enabled Ed to sleep soundly, peacefully. Last night, the last thing he had been aware of was Taylor singing to him. He had fallen asleep to the sound of her voice. Ed knew because of Taylor he was able to get such a restful sleep.

Ed watched Taylor for another minute. He couldn't have fathomed when he first met her how much she would come to mean to him. Ed cared a great deal for her. He had even admitted to her that he needed her. But he wished he hadn't and he wished he didn't, because Ed tended to lose the things he cared about.

Prying his gaze away from the sleeping girl, Ed left the room.

The living room was empty.

Looking around, Ed wondered aloud, "Where did Al go?"

In answer, the door opened and in he walked.

"Hey." Ed greeted him.

Al seemed startled, "Oh, you're up already?"

"Yeah." Ed said, watching his younger brother. There was something off about him. "Where did you go?"

Al laughed nervously, "Just out for a walk." Then he quickly changed the subject, "Did you sleep well?"

Ed couldn't stop his cheeks from coloring, "A little too well." Al cocked his head but Ed said, "Never mind."

A strange scratching noise interrupted their conversation.

Ed looked around, "What was that?"

Al stood still, "Um, I don't know. Hey, how's Taylor?"

The question caught Ed off guard and distracted him, "Oh, she's sleeping like a baby."

"So, there's no side affects?"

Ed raised an eyebrow, "Side affects?"

"You know, from dying?"

"Oh," Ed understood his meaning. "I guess not. She seemed fine last I checked. But I can't be sure since I'm not an expert on coming back from the dead. I'd still like to know how she did that." Ed had meant to ask her last night but she had seemed so fragile. He didn't want to push her when she had just survived through, not one, but two deaths. Besides, they had managed to get back on steady ground. Things were going good and he didn't want to spoil it. However, Ed's curiosity would not leave him be. He'd have to ask her eventually, and then she'd give him a vague answer. Like always.

"I know!" Ed declared, a plan forming. "How about you ask Taylor?"

"Me?" Al shook his head, "No, if you want to know so bad then you ask her."

"Come on, Al. I know you want to know too. And even if I asked her she wouldn't tell me."

"Then what makes you think she'd tell me?"

Ed patted his big shoulder, "Cause you're irresistible. No one can deny a sweet guy like you."

"But, what if she gets mad and attacks me?" Al asked worriedly.

Ed laughed, "Get real, Al. We're not talking about Winry here. This is Taylor. Taylor's not the violent type."

"She's kind of scary when she's angry." Al commented.

"She won't get angry." Ed assured him.

"Then why are you afraid to ask her?" Al challenged.

Ed opened his mouth but stopped and thought about it. "Good point." He had to admit, when Taylor got mad she became…intimidating. Yes, Ed was intimidated by a girl. Here he was trying to convince his little brother to take his place in questioning her because he was too much of a coward to face her himself. Sigh. Where was his manly side when he needed it?

Another strange noise sounded.

Ed's eyes darted around the room, "What was that?"

"I don't know, but I'll, uh, see you later Brother." Al said and hastily retreated.

"Where are you going?" Ed inquired.

"I've got…things to do." Then he rushed out of the room.

Ed stood there, watching the door swing back until it latched. What's up with him?

(-Taylor-)

I woke up, frightened out of sleep. I lurched forward, searching for danger. I found blank walls and harmless furniture. My eyes perceived that there was no danger, but the rest of my body didn't. My heart hammered in my chest as I breathed hard. The muscles in my arms and legs coiled, readying themselves for action. Any moment now something was going to jump out and-

The door began to open. I scurried back to the wall to get away.

"Taylor?" Ed asked as he came into view.

"Ed?" I squeaked. My muscles relaxed now that I wasn't alone. Ed was here. I was safe.

Ed assessed the fear in my eyes and quickly came over to the bed. He sat down across from me, "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I tried to speak but found I couldn't. I nodded instead, waiting for my heart to slow down to its natural rhythm.

Ed looked me over and guessed, "Bad dream?"

I nodded. I'm not sure what my dream consisted of. All I knew was that something was chasing me and I couldn't get away. Whatever it was it had caught me with its cold hands. I could still feel those hands on me. I shivered.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, getting up to retrieve whatever I needed.

Terror flooded through me at the thought of him leaving me alone. My hand latched onto his sleeve, "No! Please don't go. I…I don't want to be alone."

He took in my pitiful expression and eased back down beside me. He sat close to me, rubbing my back soothingly. "You're not alone."

Pulling my legs in, I put my face into my knees. I didn't want him to see me like this, vulnerable and afraid. But I didn't want to be alone either. All I could do was hide my face from him so that he couldn't see the weakness in my eyes. He could still see me shaking though. I didn't cry but my whole body shook violently. It was obvious I was a mess. Maybe me dying had been a little traumatizing. Last night I had taken things relatively calmly. This morning the shock had hit me out of nowhere and I was helpless against it.

Ed stayed beside me during my breakdown. He kept up the soothing circles on my back, even smoothing out my long hair. His touch worked wonders in calming me down. Slowly but surely, my shaking quieted to a slight trembling. Even that went away after a while.

With the worst of it over, I peeked up at Ed. He was gazing out the window. The glass let in rays of the morning's sunlight. They spilled into the room, reaching the bed where they fell across us. They landed on Ed's face and hair, making him appear more golden than usual.

I thought I would be too upset to feel embarrassed, but there it was. Embarrassment. My face flushed as I recalled my thoughts from last night.

Ed glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. Then he turned to me, "Better?"

I nodded tentatively and whispered, "Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. You've been through a lot." The way he said it made me think he meant more than what happened yesterday. "I know it's been stressful on you. You don't have to hide it. You can stand to let what you feel show more."

I stared into his bright, golden eyes. "Does that go for you too?"

He blinked, surprised, "What makes you think I hide what I feel? I usually voice what I feel very loudly."

I shook my head, "I know the real you Ed. I know what you've been through and how much it takes for you to move forward every day. You put on your bravest face to make everyone think your okay but inside you're not okay. But you hope that if you act like everything is fine, then everything will be. I know that because I do the same thing."

He stared at me for awhile, letting my words sink in.

I continued, "I may not have experienced the horrible things you have but in the things I have been through I'd always put on my bravest face and take whatever comes my way. I'm not used to letting people see me like this." I looked away because I was ashamed. Why couldn't I be tougher than this? Why did I have to let this affect me so much?

"So you're saying you see right through me?" he asked.

I turned back to him. He seemed nervous by what I had said. "Don't worry." I assured him. "It's only because I know you so well. Other people can't see it like I can."

I don't know if that made him relaxed or nervous. We kind of just sat there for awhile in the awkward silence.

"Alright then." Ed said suddenly.

"Alright, what?" I asked, confused.

"I won't hide things from you and you'll do the same."

"…Okay." I agreed.

He raised his brows, "So that means no more secrets."

Crap. I should have known this was a trap. "Ed…" Double crap! Telling him my secrets would be bad. Not telling him would make him mad. I was screwed either way.

Ed raised a hand to stop me, "I know there are some things you can't tell me but as long as you tell me what's going on with you that's all I need to know. What I want to know, now that's a different story."

I grimaced. This was not going to turn out well. What to do, what to do… "Can this conversation wait until later?"

"I suppose. Why?"

I shifted, trying to come up with a way to stall the inevitable. "I'm, uh, hungry."

Ed smiled, "I'll go get us some breakfast then." He stood and headed for the door but hesitated. He looked back to me, unsure, "Uh…"

I understood. "I'm better now. I'll be fine here by myself until you get back." It took a little more encouraging on my part to convince him that I'd be okay but he finally left. As soon as he was gone I flopped back onto the bed and moaned. This wasn't going to turn out well.

(-Taylor-)

I got antsy waiting for Ed to get back so I came up with an idea. It was probably stupid but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

I locked myself in the bathroom, materials set out in front of me. Using the ink from some pens I had found, I mixed it with water and put my hair in the mixture. My plan was to transmute purple streaks into my hair. I used to have some in my hair a long time ago and I thought it would make me feel better seeing something familiar like that. Ed had done something like this in the show and changed his hair color. I could make this work.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I was a novice at alchemy.

(-Ed-)

Ed walked into the living room with two plates full of food. "Sorry it took so long." he apologized. Then he realized Taylor wasn't there. She wasn't in the bedroom either. He sat the plate down on the coffee table wondering where she was when a high pitched scream broke the quiet.

Ed followed the sound to the bathroom and tried to open the door. It was locked. "Taylor?" Ed called.

Silence on the other side. And then, "Ed? Is that you?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Um…"

"Open the door." he commanded.

Her reply was quick and unconvincing, "No! I'm fine."

"No you're not. You just screamed."

"Really. I've got everything under control."

"That's it!" Ed said, frustrated. He stepped back and kicked the door open. It swung out and hit the wall with a bang. He walked into the bathroom, scanning the room, "Taylor…"

Ed's expression blanked at what he saw. Taylor stood in the middle of the bathroom, wide eyed, and with purple hair. All of that long hair of hers…it was purple.

He busted out laughing. His whole body shook as he laughed and laughed.

"Don't laugh at me!" she yelled, which made him laugh more.

"What…did you…do to yourself!" he got out between laughs.

She pouted, "I was trying to put purple streaks in it but all of it turned purple. Now I look like a purple smurf."

"What's a smurf?" he asked, still amused. "Are they as funny looking as you are right now?"

Taylor's jaw dropped, "You're so mean!" She turned her back to him.

"I'm sorry." Ed touched her shoulder, trying to stifle his laughter.

She pushed him away, "No you're not, you jerk. You're making fun of me and what's worse my hair is going to be stuck like this forever."

"No it's not. I can fix it if you'd let me."

She turned to him, hopeful, "Really?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Yes. I'm not going to leave you looking like a, what did you call it? A purple smurf?"

Taylor nodded and begged, "Please just fix it."

"Since you asked nicely," Ed grinned. He clapped his hands together and took the purple out of her hair.

"Is it gone? Is it gone?" Taylor rushed to the mirror. She gasped, "You left some streaks in it!"

"That's what you wanted, right?" Ed asked.

Taylor nodded, admiring her hair. There were three random pieces that were purple. They blended in nicely with the rest of her hair.

"Why'd you want to change your hair?" he asked, curious.

She shrugged, "I used to have streaks in it before I started to grow my hair out. I didn't think it'd backfire on me like that and it would all be purple. I tried to do it the way you did it but I guess I need to wait to be an alchemist hairstylist until I'm better at alchemy."

"What do you mean when I did it? I've never changed my hair." Ed said puzzled.

"Oh!" She turned to him with a shocked expression. "I…what I meant was…um…"

He narrowed his eyes, "Or am I going to in the future?"

Taylor fidgeted nervously, realizing her slip up. "I don't know."

"Yes you do." Ed eyed her. She bit her lip adorably… Adorably? Ed was not supposed to be noticing if she was adorable or not. He had to remain stern if he wanted to get information out of her.

"I…I'm not sure I should say anymore about that."

"It won't hurt anything." Ed tried to reason with her. "It doesn't even sound like it's a big event. You can tell me."

She deliberated, gaze shifting back and forth between the wall and a patient Edward. She finally sighed, "Fine."

Ed tried not to let his enthusiasm show but a smile betrayed him. At long last, Taylor was going to reveal a piece of the future.

Taylor frowned at him, "I'm going to change my shirt though since it's wet from when I ruined my hair."

"Okay." Ed agreed.

She stared at him. Then stared at him some more as if waiting for something. "Could you at least turn around?"

"Oh." Ed's cheeks burned red. "Uh, yeah. Sure." He turned his back to her and crossed his arms.

"No peeking." Taylor warned.

"I wouldn't peek!" he retorted, face becoming even redder.

Taylor didn't comment anymore on that matter. Ed listened as she rummaged around behind him. He attempted to pay attention to what she was saying rather than think about what she was doing.

"In the future, a lot of things happen and you end up having to go to… a place. But you can't go there as you so you have to wear a disguise. That's why you change your hair color…"

She kept on talking but Ed lost track of what she was saying when he realized he could see her in the mirror. She had her back turned towards him so that's all he saw of her but it was enough to perk his interest. Her shirt was gone and he could see the smooth expanse of her skin clearly. The black tattoos contrasted greatly with her pale complexion.

Ed's eyes were glued on her form. He had honestly meant to listen to her and not watch her but he couldn't look away from those tattoos. The lines and symbols connected to one another, flowing seamlessly up her arms, over her shoulders, and down the plane of her back. The patterns were laid so finely upon her in a stunning arrangement. Ed had seen similar circles to these but nothing as intricate as this.

He found himself turned around and gazing at the real thing. These circles fascinated him. What were they for? How did they work? These were the questions on his mind as he reached out and traced the tattoos with his fingers.

Taylor's reaction was immediate and loud. "Aaah! What are you doing?"

Ed stumbled back, coming out of his trance, "I, uh…"

"Get out!" she screamed, covering herself.

"Right." Ed nodded once and strode out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Why did I do that? Ed asked himself, smacking his forehead with his palm. Now she's going to think I'm a creep and hate me! I guess I deserve it though.

Ed paced around the living room for a minute until Taylor came out. He blanched. Was it just him or were there flames of fury surrounding her?

"Edward." she spit out through clenched teeth. "I said…NO PEEKING!" She grabbed the closest thing next to her, which was a decorative vase, and hurtled it at him.

Ed ducked and scurried away as she threw another item at him. "I'm sorry!" His apology was answered with another object tossed his way. It hit him in the back and he fell to the floor. He quickly crawled on his hands and knees to hide behind the couch. He recalled his conversation with Al this morning. He shook his head. Taylor the nonviolent type? Yeah, right.

Taylor stepped around the couch, her face set with an evil determination, "I'm going to rip off your arm and beat you with it!"

Ed ran for his life, Taylor chasing him.

(-Taylor-)

I chased after Ed with only one thing on my mind: kill.

I would have too if I could only get my hands on him. He was a slippery one though. He darted around the room, making it impossible to catch him.

Lucky for me I had tricks up my sleeve.

I stopped where I was and put my face in my hands and began to "sob". I heard Ed stop moving. He must have been watching me, wondering why I wasn't chasing him.

"…Taylor?" he asked, unsure.

I cried into my hands, putting on my best performance.

"Uh, Taylor. I'm really sorry." I peeked between my fingers and saw him moving towards me. "Really, really sorry. I didn't mean to."

Didn't mean to? Whatever! I'm going to make you pay.

I waited until he was standing next to me. When he reached out to comfort me I made my move.

"Aha!" I cried, pushing Ed into the wall and transmuted the wall around him. The wood moved over a surprised Ed and successfully trapped him.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Ed squirmed.

"The big idea is payback!" I seethed.

"Come on! It wasn't that ba…Okay, maybe it was that bad but don't you think you're overreacting?"

"Overreacting?" I screeched. "You tried to see me naked you little pervert!"

"Who are you calling little?" Ed snapped.

"You!" I smirked. Then I danced while I sang, "You're tiny and small. Never ever gonna get tall."

"Shut up!" Ed roared as he fought to break free. He couldn't without help on my part and that was so not happening.

"You deserve it." I said, hands on my hips. "In fact, I think I'll just leave you here for the rest of the day."

Ed's eyes widened at my serious tone, "You can't do that!"

"Sure I can."

"But what if I need to go to the bathroom or eat? Huh? What about that?"

"You should have thought about that before you snuck a peek at me."

"What do you want from me?" he yelled. "I already apologized."

"I want revenge." I snapped back at him.

"Alright. You've had you're revenge. Now let me go cause I'm hungry and I want to eat the food I went and got that you can't have."

I smiled, "Oh, you mean this food?" I went over to the coffee table where Ed must have laid the food earlier. I picked up a cookie off of one tray and walked over to Ed. I stood in front of him where he could clearly see me. I raised the cookie to my mouth and bit off a chunk. Then I made a show out of savoring the taste of it.

Ed watched me with narrowed eyes, "You're cruel."

"And you're a perv!" I yelled and threw the rest of the cookie at his face. It hit him between the eyes.

"Ow!" Ed protested. "Couldn't you have at least aimed a little lower so I could catch it with my mouth?"

"I could always try again." I said. I went and got one of the trays. I stood a good distance across from Ed and began throwing pieces of food at him.

"Hey! Cut it out!" he said annoyed. Pieces of bacon and toast bounced off his face. This was fun. I got much enjoyment out of throwing food at him. Mwahahaha!

Ed couldn't dodge the food so instead he attempted to catch it with his mouth. He craned his neck this way and that to get the best angle. I found myself laughing, especially when Ed finally caught a piece of bacon in his mouth. The look of victory that crossed his face was priceless as he ate his prize.

"Why was there a cookie with all this breakfast food?" I asked.

He chewed and talked at the same time. Mr. table manners, he was not. "They had 'em, so I got one for you."

"Why?" I asked, eating a piece of bacon myself. Yes, it lessened my arsenal but I was hungry, and no one could resist bacon.

Ed swallowed, " Cookies always make people feel better."

I smiled. Then I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him but I couldn't shake off the happy feeling. I ended up doing weird facial expressions cause I was trying to frown when my face wanted to smile.

Ed grinned at my struggle, "Come on. You know you want to smile."

I frowned, then smiled, then frowned again. "Whatever." I said and looked away from him.

"Okay. Now that you've gotten all of your rage out can you let me down?"

"I should really leave you there."

"Please." he begged, exasperated.

I sat the tray down and walked over to him, "Fine. Just because you said please." I clapped my hands together and released him. "But if I ever catch you peeking at me again there will be no mercy next time. Understand?"

Ed gulped, "Yes ma'am."

The door opened and Al walked in. "Oh, good morning Taylor."

"Good morning, Al." I greeted him back. Ed just kind of stood there eyeing me with a fearful expression.

Suddenly, a strange noise filled the room.

"What was that?" I asked, glancing around for the origin of the sound.

"I don't know. I heard it earlier." Ed commented, looking around as well.

My eyes fell on Al. He was being unusually quiet…Oh!

"Al, can I speak to you outside real quick?" I asked.

He started to sweat (figuratively speaking), "Uh, why?"

"Just come on." I dragged him to the door that led out into the hall. I called back over my shoulder, "Ed. Won't you make yourself useful and clean up while we're gone."

"Do I look like a maid?" he snapped. "Besides, you made this mess when you were throwing the food at me!"

One look with my dagger eyes and he shut up and got to work.

In the hall, Al fretted, "Is something wrong Taylor?"

"I know you have a cat inside you."

Al gasped, "No I don't!"

A tiny meow echoed from him. I stared at him with my arms crossed, daring him to deny it again.

"Oh look. My stomach's growling."

I raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh."

He sighed, "Alright. I confess. But she's just a little kitten. I couldn't leave her all alone."

"You know Ed won't let you keep a kitten."

"I know. But she was just so cute. Look at her." He began to pull out the critter in question.

I waved my hands in front of me to ward him off, "No! Don't show me!" It's not like I'm afraid of cats or offended by them or anything. It's just that I know if I got a good look at it I would instantly fall in love with its cuteness. Did I mention I have a weakness for cute things?

Al moved and I made the mistake of glancing at him. He was holding a ball of fur up for my inspection. It had orange fur, round eyes, and big ears. It stared at me. Then it's ear twitched as it let out a soft, "Meow."

My resolve crumbled. "Awww!" I took the kitty into my own hands and snuggled it to my face. "You're so adorable!"

"Isn't she?" Al agreed.

I rubbed my cheek against its soft fur as it purred. I talked to it in a baby voice, "I wuv you.! Yes I do!" It's amazing how a fluff ball of cuteness could make my mood change so drastically.

Al chuckled, "Now if only convincing Brother was this easy."

"We must convince him." I told the kitty. "Let's go, Al." I went back into the living room, holding the kitten close to me.

Ed had picked up most of the food when I ran up to him.

"Wha-" he began until I shoved the kitty in his face.

"Can we keep her? Can we keep her?" I begged.

Ed blinked rapidly, "A kitten?"

"Pleeeeeease?" I drew out the word.

Ed glanced at his brother, comprehending what was going on, "I'm guessing this was what was causing that strange noise earlier."

Al chuckled uneasily.

"Can we keep her? Can we? Can we?" I chanted.

Ed stood solidly, arms crossed, "No."

"But, look at that face!" I put the kitten's face directly in front of Ed's. Ed eyed it, his face betraying no emotion. Then the kitten licked him on the tip of his nose.

"That's playing dirty." he accused.

"Aww." I pulled the kitten back to where I could snuggle it again. I bounced up and down, "You're so cute."

"We can't keep her." Ed said.

"But she's so cute." I argued. "You can't say that she's not cute."

Ed groaned, "Yes, it's cute. But we can't keep a kitten."

"Pleeeeease!"

Ed face palmed, "You're worse than Al."

And with that, Al joined in with me. "Pleeeeeeease! Pleeeeeeease! Pleeeeeease!" Even the kitten started meowing as if she were begging too.

Ed turned around, plugging his ears, "You three are unbearable."

Then the door busted open and my worst nightmare flew into the room.

Think hard. You can probably guess who it is.

If you recall a couple chapters back I mentioned something about Taylor throwing a cookie at Ed's face. I put it in there. It was too good to resist.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone for reading. And reviewing! Last weekend this story made it past the 100 review mark. I love reading the reviews so keep them coming!