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), brief mentions of homosexuality, occasional mild sexual scenes, 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 Le Confidant, gaara king of the sand, and Eric Graves son of Death for reviewing. Thank you to .Tanu, MarionX, and shuyinX for following and favoriting the story. Thanks also to StrawberryKiwiBanana and returquoise for favoriting the story. Thank you CodyGotKilld and ZettaG514 for favoriting the story.
Le Confidant, you are reviewer 150! Here are cookies and ice cream! And I understand about being busy. If you know of a better site to be on (with hopefully a similar interface where you can get notifications for updates), let me know. As far as Greedling is concerned, his relationship with Evelyn will mutate a bit more. And Darius is fun. He's lots and lots of fun. Actually, I wind up giving him some 'fun' far later on in the story after manga events. (Something to look forward to!) I'm glad and sorry I made you cry. Actually, that scene tore at me, too. I did a number of things in this story I didn't like and that was one of them. I knew that not everyone could accept Evelyn's gender shift with ease and there has to be strife. Human nature and all of that. And I knew February 14 was a bad day for special events. My second cousin was married on that day and it was the same day that she had to put her dog down. And I know when people are born on Christmas (I was meant to be born on Christmas Eve), it's sucky because sometimes they get combined gifts. I never have, fortunately, but still…
Gaara king of the sand, yep, some people still use the Lunar Calendar. Iranians and the Chinese (at least them in part) I both know use it… That's why the Chinese New Year is sometimes awkwardly placed.
Erik Graves son of Death (in response to your Ch11 review), while I do believe Satan exists, I'm also looking at this from one of the many, many faiths, religions, and rigmaroles that have common elements even in obtuse ways. By the way, just to annoy many religious fanatics, a good 'new' religion steals from pre-established religions. Most of my thought processes are a blend of Christianity, Druidism, and Wiccan practices with a few bits and pieces here and there revolving around my own theories of the world. Belief is a major thing. We believe and therefore there are things out there that exist. That being said, I adore existential and hypothetical discussions. Reality is bendy and perception is key. So much fun. Thank you for reviewing!
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Side Note: I found a really good Harry Potter and Doctor Who crossover here on Fanfic. It's called "Visited by a Doctor" and while it drives me bat shit insane about the grammar and spelling mistakes, it is an incredibly engaging story that makes me overlook those flaws. That takes an excellent story even if the spelling-slash-grammar is shoddy.
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XXVI:
As the days progressively rolled by, it was soon the fourteenth of February which made Evelyn sixteen. Again, there was a mild celebration from Granny, but this time instead of just a home cooked meal, she received a set of new clothes. Unfortunately, said clothes had been an A-line short sleeved dress with a small print of pale pink flowers and green leaves paired with a light short jacket of a dusky rose. Greed had cackled explosively as she'd held up the dress in bewilderment. He'd gotten thwacked by Granny for that, but had still grinned quite lewdly when Granny had encouraged her to pull the summery outfit on and check if it fit right. The dress fell to mid-calf, exposing a short bit of her legs when she had tugged it on to appease the woman. That meant it exposed both her automail arm and leg. And then she'd gotten smacked when she'd tried to kick Greed's annoying ass while wearing it. Despite this, Granny had complimented her on her appearance and told her to save it for the warmer months when it would be most appropriate. She also made Evelyn stand for a picture despite exposed limbs and the image taken depicted a shyly grinning young woman backed by a wall of pictures.
The alchemist didn't have the heart to tell the old woman that she hated pink considering the fact the woman had likely stitched the dress herself. The gesture was heartwarming, though.
In all these interim days of waiting for the Day, Evelyn found herself being worked as much as possible without really getting out of the house. It resulted in cabin fever and, for a person quite used to getting up and going rather randomly and usually in dire need of entertainment, it was nigh torturous to be trapped indoors. The few instances she did leave the house to stretch her legs and get some sunlight that hadn't come through a window resulted in her running as fast as she could towards the forest that bordered the sundrenched fields Edward had played in during his youth out behind the house and away from the town of Resembool.
At first, the biting cold and snow had made her short adventures out quite uncomfortable but the world began warming and the earth beneath her feet hummed appreciatively as new life slowly began to spring forth once more. And each time she had one of these ventures, she found herself climbing trees or pressing her ear against the frigid earth to listen to whatever she could, be it animals underneath the ground or the movement of creatures above or the plants lengthening their grips on the soil. The one time she'd been accompanied, she'd frustrated Darius out of his mind because all she did was lay there and listen. He'd even lain down to press an ear to the ground but hadn't gotten anything out of it other than getting dirty. She'd been called a 'hair-brained loony alchemist'. These trips, however, had been easily counted on one hand. The rest of her stay in Resembool had been one of chores or reading induced by boredom.
Granny had put her to work, knowing that as Edward's reincarnation she probably got destructive when bored. She was right, but Evelyn hadn't bothered to inform her as such. And it wasn't just her that was ordered about. The old woman wasn't above subjugating lions and gorillas and homunculi (oh, my) to her will, too. Greed wasn't particularly thrilled to be made to sweep or dust or do dishes and Evelyn sincerely doubted that Ling felt just as kindly about the chores considering the fact that once she'd caught the homunculus muttering in Xingese about 'irritating parasites not wanting to take and do as they were told'. Despite this, the old woman had an obstinate nature and Evelyn chanced telling Greedling off and explaining to him that they were imposing on Pinako so therefore should contribute.
Evelyn didn't appreciate chores any more than Greed, but unlike Greed she did them without fuss. Or, at least, major fuss where people could eavesdrop on her though she did cheerily sing-song in various languages her irritation when she was able to be heard. And the 'nerves' song that got her in trouble with her allies. Granny had thought it funny, though. She had even been caught humming it a few times.
And the old woman was very intent on taking pictures of the reborn alchemist and even managed a couple of her and her allies. It was like the old woman was intent on making up for a lack of female pictures of her grandchild. Fortunately, Darius and Heinkel didn't begrudge her of it and even posed for a few photos or just held still. Greed was less amicable about it and only once did he allow a single photo of himself to be taken. The resulting photograph showed the two massive men behind the scrawnier forms of Evelyn and Greedling, the homunculus's arm thrown about Evelyn's shoulders as he smirked at the camera with Evelyn grinning cockily, arms exposed in a tank and folded over her chest, Darius grinning in that way that made people think he was going to do something violent, and Heinkel standing stony-faced though they knew he was amused. Another photo was taken, too, of Evelyn and Pinako standing together and cooking thanks to Heinkel.
Photographs and their contents aside, her alchemy was used frequently enough to repair or create varying automail parts. She swept and maintained Granny's workshop, ensuring filings were removed and tools went back to where they were supposed to. Heinkel and Darius had a slightly greater movement, though they carefully kept the house between them and the town when they chopped wood or the like. Not many of the chores were outside, thankfully, as Granny didn't want them caught… or at least not caught while she was harboring them.
The irascible old woman had slowly become fond of the two chimera and, much to their amusement, accepted their not quite human statuses much like Evelyn had. When asked if there was something in the water around Resembool, Evelyn had grinned at Darius (who had asked) and shook her head. Her response had been, "No, not really. She's got an empty suit of armor for a grandson, so she's got to be a bit flexible on that sort of thing." Lifting her automail hand, she had added, "Not to mention, me being not only in pieces but not quite the grandson she delivered sixteen years ago? It's not the water. It's the family. And there's others I know that would likely accept you just as we have."
It was admittedly sappy but both the chimera seemed to appreciate it. While they might have been comfortable with their half-human status, acceptance was necessary. Granted, with Granny's acceptance came with more and more negligent orders to do some chore or another. She treated them like odd nephews and as such she stopped treating them like guests. It meant more pointed comments about 'straighten that up', 'you weren't raised in a barn', 'I'm doing laundry, so where are your clothes?', and other very parental type things. It wasn't precisely mothering, but there was a sense of hominess about it.
Greed, however, was a slightly different story. Granny didn't like him overmuch. Not surprising as she'd caught him nigh-molesting her grandchild, confusion as to how to treat Evelyn at the time aside. Add to that Den was not fond of him, though she was still not fond of Darius or Heinkel, and the old girl would bark loudly or cringingly slink away when Greedling came near. Most of the time, she stayed near Granny or Evelyn and usually just about under their feet. Dogs, the aureate alchemist knew, were sensitive to spiritual things. They were also sensitive to intent, predator statuses, and the like. And she saw both Greed and the chimera as threats to her people and thus tried to warn those people.
Evelyn was just glad that the dog hadn't seen fit to bite anyone yet, though there had been a couple of close calls when she got startled by one of her deemed interlopers. She'd slept with the large canine a few nights, usually in Winry's room though carefully without turning on any lights when moving around the room so that observing eyes would not pick up on her presence, to ease the dog's uneasiness. The rest of the time, Den slept right in front of Granny's door or in the room with her. Unfortunately, that meant Granny occasionally tripped on said dog and would fuss at the poor beast.
As for the homunculus, Granny certainly didn't spare him much either. While he was not 'guest status', he was also not 'family status'. Hardly a day went by where the old woman was ordering Greed to get his feet off her table, to clean up after himself, to behave and not smart-aleck back at her, or any number of other things. Evelyn had blithely and quietly told her grandmother it wasn't a wise idea to actually hit Greed with her hand, explaining that Izumi Curtis had actually broken her hand punching him once. Granny, at that point, resorted to using her pipe to pop him if she felt he needed it. The look of absolute astonishment had been quite funny when she'd first done it. Ironically enough, Greed seemed to admire her and then proceeded to aggravate the old woman so she'd 'discipline' him again. Evelyn wondered if he was a masochist or something.
All in all, it was a very odd time as Amestris began to warm once more and spring began to burst forth again.
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All too soon it was time for the Spring Sheep Festival that that early spring of nineteen fifteen where all the farmers brought in their animals for a gigantic shearing spree. Evelyn briefly regretted she'd not be able to go as it had been so much fun as a kid to see how fast someone could shear a sheep and getting ahold of some of the best fritters Blair Hobbs could bake and missing out on old Mrs. Washbourne's preserves she'd be selling to make a tidy pile of shiny sens when the other towns in the area would come along to buy and sell wares and foodstuffs for money and other reasons.
When she mildly mentioned the regret, it seemed only Darius even got the idea of small town festivities and the fun they could be. He even went so far as to talk about things he himself had seen back home. Greed had mocked both her and Darius for their 'quaint' ways and Heinkel had merely rolled his eyes though it seemed more in line with 'should have known' rather than irritation.
Granny, that wonderful old biddy whom liked to incite her into frothing fits of insults, had told her to shut her mouth and keep her head down because being on the lam meant not going to festivals. Evelyn pouted briefly before grinning at the scolding only to get scolded again for being cheeky. She never won things like this, but it was so familiar she couldn't help but love it. Then again, she didn't appreciate having been stuffed into work for the attitude she supposedly had shown the old woman.
When the day of the three-day long festival dawned, everyone in the house woke up early. Granny was to go down to the festival as, truthfully, it would be suspicious if she did not go. She also wanted to shop the wares and see how the community was doing. Greed, Darius, and Heinkel eventually scooted downstairs. Lights or movement in the house while the owner was out would be frightfully suspicious and they still had to wait per Greed's orders.
The moment that Granny left the house, locking the front door behind her as she went, Evelyn did not retreat to the basement like the others. Instead, she moved up to Winry's room, settled a plate of sandwiches and a large glass of water nearby, and looked out the window of the dark room towards the road. After all, without Pinako as a buffer to give them time to react accordingly, she could very well be the only line of warning left.
Settling on her seat, she looked out over the road and absently toyed with the hem of her tank top she'd snugged up to her body via alchemy. It looked a touch odd next to her somewhat baggy shorts, but she didn't alter her clothing much more. Instead, she watched and waited and wondered when it would be time to leave Resembool. The Promised Day was approaching quickly, after all.
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'Who're they?' she wondered as two men in plain clothes with a walled handcart and what looked to be a large container of some sort in it came up the path. She didn't recognize them at all, though the angle was awful and their heads were down. There was a third presence, too… They came to a stop just outside the door and just still within her vision of sight. Her eyes widened when the top of the can came off on its own accord and out came a very familiar face. "Winry," she murmured before smiling and settling back again. The two men were likely allies and Winry would be fine to get in. With the other guys down in the basement doing whatever 'manly' things they did while she wasn't present, she didn't think they'd be too exposed so long as they remained quiet. As Winry circled the house out of sight with the two men behind her, Evelyn took a bite of sandwich and averted her eyes to the road again.
Just because the current visitors seemed to be on their side didn't mean that the next ones were just as likely to be kind. The sound of voices came up from downstairs, evidence that they'd let themselves in, and she dismissed it. The fewer that knew she and her companions were here the better, even if they were allies.
She stiffened as the door to Winry's room opened, admitting the very blonde that had lived in its confines for nearly her entire life as she muttered to herself. "Whew, I haven't been here in forever." Without even looking about, the mechanic moved to her closet and coughed slightly as she shuffled some clothes in the closet. It wasn't that dark in the room. Why hadn't she noticed Evelyn? Then again, why hadn't Evelyn made to alert her? She tried valiantly to get her mouth to function, but it didn't quite manage anything. "Ick, everything's covered in dust… I'll have to clean up tomorrow." Wait… She'd dusted several times in here. What the hell did she mean the room was 'dusty'? And then Evelyn's mind went numb when Winry moved to strip.
The aureate teen's throat chose that moment to make a very odd noise and she stared with wide eyes as Winry froze and looked over to see the blonde sitting perched on a chair near the window, hand up with a sandwich in her grip half-poised to take a bite from the layered bread, meat, and cheese. And then she screamed in fright, jerking down her shirt. Evelyn agreed with her assessment and also screamed, so two shrill shrieks filled the house.
Chaos prevailed.
The two men that had brought Winry home burst into the room, brandishing their pistols. "Is someone in there?!" one shouted as the other called, "You okay, Miss?!" Seeing the guns and the obvious readiness to use them, the two teens squealed in horror again.
Then Darius and Heinkel burst onto the scene. "Is someone in there!?" Heinkel said, his own gun in his hand.
"You okay, cutie?" called Darius, brandishing his own sidearm. Evelyn's reflexive shout of 'I'm not cute!' was lost in the shrieks of horror. Den charged up the stairs in a heavy footed charge and snarling before loosing teeth into the nearest offender. She bit Heinkel in the hindquarters, causing the lion chimera to scream out in pain. Thankfully, he didn't pull the trigger of his firearm.
For another few seconds there was chaos until Greed came up the stairs, snatched Den back by the collar and making the old girl yelp in horror and fear of the Homunculus, before demanding in a deadpan and a heated scowl, "What the hell is wrong with you people?"
It didn't end the standoff as Darius and Heinkel continued leveling their pistols at the new guys while they stood staring at them. "Huh?" wondered the gorilla chimera as Den went from yelping to outright barking in an effort to scare off Greed from restraining her. "You two are from Briggs…"
"You guys are Kimblee's henchmen!"
Winry's eyes landed on Greed and reflexively called out, "Ling?!" The dark-clad homunculus blinked before jerking a thumb at himself, not loosening his grip on the still-writhing and terrified dog.
"Oh, you know him?" he asked, curious. Winry looked at Evelyn as the blonde alchemist sighed and settled back, watching the show and not wanting to get involved.
"What's going on?" she hissed even as shouts resounded as the argument continued.
"Easy, easy! Just put the gun down!"
"What's going on here?"
"You put your gun down!"
"It's a long story," sighed Evelyn as Den barked and writhed to get from Greed's grip. She continued eating her sandwich and reached for the next piece.
"No, you put yours down first!"
"Will you tell me?" asked Winry, eyes fixed on her friend.
"Stop shouting, you'll blow our cover!"
"Someone shut that goddamned dog up!"
"Not in this commotion," Evelyn told her dryly before taking another bite. Winry frowned before glaring at the altercation. Evelyn recognized it and pitied the fools about to get caught by the Wrench Queen of Doom.
"Get the hell out of my room, now!" screamed Winry, snatching up a slightly dusty wrench and swinging it at the men with all the fierceness of a bear. There was a squeal from Den as she ran further into the room to hide behind her mistress's protection, curling into Evelyn's side for comfort. As the men fled in the face of the attack, for not even a homunculus with an 'ultimate shield' was immune to the startling high-pitched shriek or the definite threat of pain, Winry slammed the door behind them and turned to glare at Evelyn.
Let it be noted that Evelyn denied the very girlish squeak of fear that came from her throat despite the fact that she was, indeed, a girl.
Then blue eyes softened, but Evelyn didn't dare let her guard down. Winry was a fierce thing with a mercurial temper and Evelyn didn't dare cross her mechanic as it was only wise to keep her friend happy because it meant she didn't hurt as much in the long run. "I was so scared," the blue-eyed blonde mechanic murmured quietly.
"I'm… really sorry. I'm glad you're safe, too," Evelyn offered, scooting a little to hopefully get away from Winry's range.
Blue eyes hardened again. "So…" She smacked her wrench in her palm and it made a disturbingly solid and promising sound against the delicate hand. The other female froze at the sound. "Why, exactly, were you hiding in my room?"
"Because it's the best place to see the road?" squeaked the aureate teen.
"Is that so? You weren't trying to get a peek at my boobs?" sneered Winry.
"While I am very sure that…" She gestured vaguely towards Winry's frame. "…is quite nice, no way in hell am I gonna put myself in a position where I get beaten by you, O Mighty One." She paused as a flicker of amusement appeared in Winry's eyes. "And I kinda…" She plucked at her tank top, which was cut enough to expose a touch of cleavage. "Yeah."
"You fondle yourself?" Winry asked with some amusement. Evelyn gave her a wide-eyed look of somewhat contrived innocence.
"Don't you?" She got smacked for that, though not with the wrench. Winry's blush was more than compensatory for it, though.
An instant later the door opened and in marched Pinako, ill-tempered as a thundercloud and obviously aiming for Evelyn though perhaps to make sure her surrogate grandchild was okay and not hurt. The look of impending doom immediately abated upon seeing her granddaughter and she smiled. "Winry!"
Winry turned at the name and she lit up, too. "Granny!"
"Thank goodness you're all right," the old woman sighed as Winry moved to hug her.
"Yes. I'm sorry if I've worried you," apologized the teenage mechanic. And then the scowl returned and she turned on heel to glare at the newest set of interlopers just outside the door.
"And you!" she said sternly as the two Briggs soldiers flinched back a bit. "Who are you?!" Immediately the one wearing a cap whipped it off his head to press it over his heart and both men looked exceedingly apologetic.
"I'm very sorry for the disturbance, ma'am!" the one with a kerchief tied over his short hair said.
"We're soldiers from Briggs," continued the one with the cap. "Acting as Miss Winry's bodyguards."
Winry looked curiously at the two former henchmen of Kimblee as they also shouldered in, looking over the girl they'd taken in. "Don't worry 'bout them," Evelyn reassured as she flapped a hand at the pair. "They're cool."
"Why are you here?" asked Winry.
"We've been… hiding out in your basement for a while now," Evelyn chuckled wryly, giving her friend an abashed grin. The blue-eyed blonde arched a brow.
"You're a girl," she noted dryly.
"I'm aware," Evelyn returned in much the same way.
"Living with three guys…"
"Again, I am aware."
"That's kind of inappropriate, Ed."
"I'm not sharing a bed with any of them!" squealed an affronted Evelyn, no longer able to maintain her previous attitude.
"Pity that," mused Greed, eying both girls fairly close as he also came into the room, making it feel incredibly crowded. Winry's attention was drawn back to him and she grew confused.
"Ling… Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem…" She paused, searching for a word before offering, "different." Greed frowned slightly at that, not appreciating the confusion as to who he was again before cracking a grin even in light of Evelyn's near silent mutters.
"I'm Greed," he introduced, stepping forward with what he obviously thought was a sexy look. "Nice to meetcha." Winry stared before turning to Evelyn.
"What?" she asked, not understanding.
"Well… Ling's body's a bit hijacked at the moment," Evelyn said slowly as she looked off to one side a bit, knowing that Greed was right there and she was blowing cover. "Currently, Greed is in control. It's another very long story."
"I expect it is," mused Winry, frowning and looking at the homunculus. He seemed to be mentally weighing them.
"Eh… I suspect with that day almost here, we can tell them," assented Greed, eyeing the two girls. Evelyn glanced at him, surprised, as Winry perked up.
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She was growing very tired of this basement. She'd seen more of it in the past few months than she'd ever had as Edward growing up. It was bland if you didn't like machinery, pitch dark without lights, and thankfully dry. It also contained four pallets where they'd been camping out though hers was separate from the guys' 'camp'.
And as Greed detailed the basics of situation, minus some stuff Evelyn herself offered as she knew the details on that, the Rockbells and the Briggs soldiers looked on with amazement.
Eventually, Winry managed an "Oh, I see…" as her eyes darted between her reincarnated friend and the somewhat imposing Greed.
"Yep, so now these three work for me," Greed said with a smug smirk. Evelyn barely kept from rolling her eyes.
"Why did you come back here, though?" the mechanic asked. "Hiding in Central would have been far easier."
"Because I said so," Greed said, disregarding the fact that the blonde near him had had just as much input though it had been him to make the final decision. Evelyn fought against a frown at him though it wasn't completely possible. "There's no way to tell where they have eyes in Central," the homunculus informed her. "Plus, I've gotta make sure her automail's all tuned up."
The point in her direction from his marked hand made her glance down at her exposed metal, her tank doing nothing to conceal it. The sheer amount of close quarters contact pretty much desensitized her against the exposure though she still sometimes felt it alien.
"You'd better get to work, Winry," informed Pinako with a glance at her granddaughter. "You made all her latest stuff… I can't do the fine tuning." Not that she hadn't tried, but only the mechanic that made the limb knew the automail best and Winry had learned too many different techniques for her grandmother to understand all of them perfectly without a good deal of study.
"That's right," mused Winry. She looked to Evelyn. "Well… Come on."
"Right."
Winry shooed off all the people out of the basement and Evelyn maneuvered to lay down on the bench so that the other young woman could fiddle with her arm and leg. "It's so odd how you still have automail," mused the mechanic as she pulled on a grease stained apron.
"Either that or have a nasty rebound," snorted her patient. "So… What happened after you left Briggs?"
Winry started telling her about the fight against Envy and the trip to Liore, though there were stops and starts as she had to pause on occasion while working on her automail. She told her about the desert town and how it seemed to be doing very well… and the stories she'd heard about Edward there. Evelyn listened as Winry continued to tinker and finally allowed herself a smile.
"That sounds really good," Evelyn murmured, recalling her adventures while Edward in that town. "It sounds like they recovered really well. I kind of wondered how they made out." She paused, allowing the sound of the ratchet to sound louder for a moment. "And Al?"
"He's working with Mister Miles," Winry said, finishing up with the bolting of the plates back into place. "They can plan much better with an alchemist who knows about everything on the team."
"I see…" Evelyn felt a vague irritation that she had barely missed Al… that he was on the other side of Resembool right now and couldn't get to him. That is, if the train had not taken off already and her brother with it.
"Hey." There was a touch at her right leg. "What's this?"
"What's what?" Twisting slightly, Evelyn sighted that Winry had discovered the lowest point of the stem from her rose tattoo. And the other girl was twitching up the leg of the boxers she wore to keep her moderately decent. It was not something she expected. "Oh, uh… That. It's a tattoo." She sat up on the bench, pulling her leg away.
"You have a tattoo?" Golden eyes gave a sidelong glance.
"Yeah. Got it before coming back here."
"What's it of?"
"A rose." Winry gave her a surprised look. "Kind of… in honor of people I won't see again. It's sort of abstract. A bunch of lines that vaguely look like a rose." A smile tugged at Winry's mouth and she nodded.
"You always were sentimental in strange ways," she chuckled. "But, really… A tattoo?"
"Tattoos are awesome. You should have seen some of the body art I've seen."
"I'm guessing they're more prevalent in that other world?" Evelyn nodded.
"Mine are simple, though, and my…" She hesitated but continued on, ignoring the little stab of loss in her chest again. "My parents signed the consent for me to get them. They wanted to have my Flamel done and permitted me my tattoos, too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get them unless I did so without permission."
"Since when have you done anything with real permission?" Winry teased only to laugh when Evelyn gave her a mock-offended look.
"I get permission!" She hesitated. "Just… not all the time." An odd look passed on Winry's face.
"Wait… 'them'?" she asked suddenly. "You've got more than one?"
"Well, if you go for something, might as well go big," the alchemist shrugged.
"How many?"
"Just one other," smiled Evelyn. "On my back." Before she knew it, Winry had whirled around the bench. She gripped the back of her shirt at the same moment the mechanic did.
"I want to see," the blue-eyed blonde demanded.
"It's just my sigil. The crowned Flamel?" She didn't exactly want to show the mess of scars that adorned her left side. She didn't want to deal with the fallout.
"I. Want. To. See."
"Maybe later." Trying to turn her attention away from not getting what she wanted, Evelyn asked, "So, any other news?" Winry pouted, but permitted the diversion as she thought about it. Instantly, her eyes lit up with a memory while Evelyn twisted about to sit so she was facing her mechanic.
"Your fath…" Winry paused and began again even as the alchemist still perched on the bench grimaced at the thought of who she was likely talking about. "Hohenheim, that is… He went to Central ahead of him. Apparently he's in some slum called 'Kanama', so you should go see him and have him explain the situation." She could see the unease on Evelyn's face. "You're going to have to face him at some point, Ed. I know you didn't like him in your last life and it wouldn't surprise me if that wasn't a holdover into this one. But you will have to work with him. He knows things and he's fighting, too." She gave a pause before tendering another word to her friend. "Please?" She didn't get any response. "So… Do you know anything about this 'Promised Day' stuff?"
That garnered Evelyn's attention and her expression soured a good deal more than the idea of talking to Hohenheim. "Yeah, Greed told me. That day will be a chance for us to get our bodies back… and the day where Amestris might be obliterated." She paused and watched Winry turn away. Standing, she approached the girl and pressed hands on either side of her as the girl stood near the bench. Immediately, Winry stilled as Evelyn settled her chin on the somewhat shorter girl's shoulder. There was a brief thrill at finally being taller than her longtime friend even if it was only by two or three centimeters, but the feeling of the girl's back on her chest where she could smell her excited the golden-haired girl in other ways.
"You should leave the country," she murmured in the mechanic's ear, noting the way she smelled of oil and grease, of solder and sun, and of femininity. "Take Granny… and Den… and leave." She felt Winry stiffen and didn't have to see the look of fury to know it was there. The slightly younger teen practically simmered with that emotion. Winry spun in her arms and buried a finger into Evelyn's breastbone just above the swell of her chest, locking eyes on a nearly-level basis.
"Don't you dare!" she snarled, her pinked cheeks losing some of their cuteness in the light of the pissed look. "What's the point of only telling your friends and family to run, Evelyn Dyne?!" Another jab of a finger in an already sore spot and the blonde alchemist flinched slightly. "Are you saying you can't stop all of this from happening?! Are you?!"
"No! We can stop it, but there's a small chance-"
"There's no 'small chance'!" snapped Winry, cutting her off. "There's no nothing!" The look of anger drained off her face and she suddenly drew in on herself. "You have to stop those guys and protect our country!" she begged. "And you and Al have to get your original bodies back! I will do whatever I can to help!" She stared stonily at the female and was surprised when Evelyn averted her eyes, looking downcast.
"Original bodies?" She couldn't help to repeat the words as she took a step back and touched her breast bone just below her clavicle with her metal hand, golden eyes darkening with worry. "Winry… I can't go back to being a guy. This is my body." Winry stared in astonishment as Evelyn let go of some of her normal bravado. Then she seemed to gather herself and reached out.
"I meant this." Winry pressed a hand over the automail hand, curling slender artist fingers over the very metal they had artistically crafted. "Repair this body that you harmed in order to come back to us." Gold met blue and Evelyn couldn't help but let her eyes dip to Winry's lips. And with that tiny motion, Winry blushed and turned away a bit. "I don't… I don't know if I'm comfortable…"
"Do you still like me that way?" Evelyn asked softly, noting the fact that the other teen hadn't actually run off and hadn't even attempted to shove away. She wondered if she was thinking about the kiss the taller teen had pressed to her cheek in Baschool.
"I don't know."
Lowering her automail hand, for it didn't feel right to touch her with it, she took Winry's chin with her left and directed her face back. The blush was growing more heated and Evelyn couldn't help think that the other female was extraordinarily pretty even with uncertain eyes watching her. Ducking her head, she pressed her mouth against Winry's and she heard the mechanic's breath catch.
For years Edward had admired Winry from afar and Evelyn knew that had things been different she-as-Edward would have likely walked away from this with macho pride and stupidity and some ill-spent honor code when it was obvious all that the mechanic wanted was his attention and affection. The nice thing about being a girl was that she was more sensitive to emotions and more likely to act upon them given a touch of incentive and courage.
And her actions really did taste sweet… Focusing on the connection and moving closer, Evelyn mentally catalogued every sensation, every feeling. Winry's skin was smooth, soft, and perfect as hands, one unfeeling metal and the other sensitive skin, swept down the mechanic's arms before encircling her and tugging her tight. Against Evelyn's slighter breasts, the fuller curves of the slightly smaller female felt sensually nice and right as Winry gasped at the connection, instinctively grasping at the alchemist's shirt with those wonderful artisan hands that had saved Edward from having to be trapped in a chair and gave Evelyn her fullest mobility back.
Heart hammering from such simple contact, the golden eyed young woman took those parted lips for all they were worth. First peck was chaste but it quickly became hungry, open mouthed, and breath-catching. Evelyn found herself groaning at the flavor and the scent of the other teen washing over her and gave into her desire to taste more. At first nipping gently at the soft lower lip, she teased that mouth a little more open only to flicker her tongue out. She danced it along the outside before withdrawing it and kissing heatedly again, only with a slightly more open and greedy mouth. Absently, she noted the fervor and heat had drawn Winry into a dazed state with eyelids at half-mast and found herself wanting to crow in pride at making the other teen's world upended.
Still, she continued her efforts to ravish her crush, relishing in this moment because she wasn't entirely sure if she'd get another. Oh, she wanted more. Her heart was hammering and she wanted her mechanic to understand what was in her, what was still in her that had remained even after Edward's death.
She felt her breath starting to come short and, god, Winry was kissing back. Cradling the smaller girl to her body, she finally forced her face back so that she could catch her breath and admire the view. Gentle fingers across Winry's reddened cheek were mere centimeters below the glazed gaze of blue eyes. Lips were swollen and bruised and slicked with spit…
She leaned in again only to get a hand blocking her path. Withdrawing again in confusion, she searched Winry's face as it rapidly cleared from the kiss-induced haze though she still seemed a bit blown away.
"Thank you, but…"
"I'm not Edward," Evelyn finished abruptly in a tone that was slightly flat and notably regretful only to watch the mechanic shake her head.
"No… You are Ed… just… I'm not…" She sighed and took a moment before she spoke again. "You let me figure out that I'm not interested in girls." Evelyn eyed her and saw the shamed honesty in Winry's eyes before they brightened a bit and she let loose a little laugh. "Though I have to say… it was an amazing first kiss." The pride that statement should have inspired simmered slightly in the back of her mind, but it was sadness at knowing Winry was really rejecting her that took center stage. She watched as Winry shifted forward to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. It was chaste, quick, and over with all too fast. While the kiss should have made her happy, Evelyn knew what it was in reality. It wasn't a promise. It was an apology. It was the sort of kiss one gave a family member or a friend. Nothing more.
"To be honest, if it was anyone but you… I'd probably be saying the same," admitted the aureate alchemist, drawing Winry tight against her with the slightly shorter teen's head tucked in the crook of her shoulder. She felt the chuckle in her body as Winry let her humor show, the sound somewhat loud in her ear. "You are that amazing, you know."
"That's good for a girl's ego." Letting the other teenager go a little, she reached into her pocket where she'd carefully kept the earrings Winry had given her months ago. Every day, every new set of clothes, she had transferred the earrings to keep them close and well accounted for. Withdrawing the hand, she held the metal out to the blue-eyed blonde. "Oh!"
"You told me to keep track of them, remember?" Evelyn offered, tipping the silver into Winry's accepting hand. Ten seconds later, she found herself firmly seated in a chair under Winry's calculating gaze. "Erm… Winry?" The sudden shift in atmosphere was a little odd and while she knew her family was… whimsically odd and temperamental, the mood change was more than a little disconcerting.
"You're a girl. You need to be able to wear earrings," huffed Winry. She turned and went to the wall-mounted medicine cabinet and grabbed some items out of it. Glancing over her shoulder towards the other blonde, Evelyn watched her warily as she mentally weighed her chances at getting away from that devious mechanic.
"I have a bar in my tongue. All I need right now." It was a futile protest that was destined to fail before it had ever left her mouth, but Evelyn had still given it a shot.
"Ch… such an idiot, Ed. I swear." Returning to where Evelyn sat, Winry gave her a very level look. "You need earrings. And I've got your first set right here!" Holding up one pair of little ball studs from the mess of the silver, she grinned. "Remember these?"
"Not really, no." Winry frowned and muttered something about 'impossible alchemy nerds' before turning to disinfect a rather large needle.
"You gave these to me after you came back from getting your license three and a half years ago!"
"It's been longer for me," defended Evelyn as Winry came back again to swab her ear clean. She didn't spend much time disinfecting it, though, rubbing the lobe with alcohol-soaked cotton firmly before taking up her needle and pointedly beginning her efforts. "And, ow…"
"Don't be a baby," fussed Winry as she pressed the sharpened steel into her ear. "Automail surgery and you whine over something like this?" Considering Winry was boring a hole into her ear with a piece of sharp steel, she shouldn't have really been bitching but she felt like she had to.
"Still don't have to like it!"
"Then don't and shut up!"
.
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Author's Note: Yeah, had to have that little make out scene between Ed and Winry. And the ear piercing. My mother actually did my first piercings this way and used thread knotted into a loop to keep them open. Not exactly considered 'hygienic' nowadays but… That was how her mother had done hers and so on and so forth. It was how my dad had his single hole done, too. As for the make out session? Well, I dabbled in lesbianism a little bit when I was in college so I've got no right to bitch about homosexuals. On the flip side, I don't like big, nasty PDAs even if it's a heterosexual couple. Hand holding? Sure. Pecks or mild kissing? Absolutely. Full on make out sessions? Er… Hotel room! But the purpose of this was to close a door. Evelyn had been looking towards Winry for some time and had Winry been interested she would have gone for it whole-heartedly. But Winry, despite loving Edward, does not strike me as the sort that can fall in love with another woman, Fem!Ed or no and despite the fact I support 'Edwin'. That doesn't mean she loves Evelyn any less as a woman, but at the same time she will love Evelyn differently. The kiss helps establish that in her mind.
Also, Evelyn's height is now at 165 cm (or 5'-5") which is a very average height for a female but still a bit short (I should know as I'm a half inch taller). Two inches (5 cm) shorter than if she'd stayed a boy! Unsurprisingly, this growth is due to the fact her bond with Al has frayed and her body is playing catch-up.
Please review. I appreciate it.
