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: Alice in Wonderland
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Reviews: Thanks to those that reviewed last chapter. And, yes, there will be angst. And self-recrimination… and a bunch of other stuff. But there will be a lot of fun, too!
Anyhow, another end point to the story, so… Totals! I have had 260 reviews, 256 follows, and 260 favorites. I have also had this story added to 4 communities. All of you have honored me by following, favoriting, and reviewing and I sincerely urge you to continue doing so.
As for what's been going on in my life, let's just say the oil business sucks right now… and when I say 'sucks', I mean to the degree I'm currently unemployed. Which means I should post more often, huh?
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XLV:
After dinner, she gave out the few knickknacks she'd bought to distribute, including the silver bib earrings Evelyn had used for her date to Riza and the man's bracelet that Claudio had given her to Mustang. Re-gifting wasn't really her thing, but she thought that at least he'd get more use out of it than she would. Evelyn had been at least kind enough to purge the negative feelings out of the two items before giving them over, though. She gave Fuery a stuffed dog similar to Elicia's with a grin and a tease about how now he had a dog for his dorm. He'd laughed and blushed at the gentle reminder about the debacle of Black Hayate. Breda received a journal filled with translated recipes from Aerugo and Calamine that she'd spent time transcribing for him because she remembered him saying something about liking to cook. It was a bit 'cheaper' than the other presents but the time taken to actually put it together made it valuable. For the man with the absolutely wonderful memory, she'd gotten Falman a few books as well but apologized when she admitted to having sent them to Resembool as she'd not known she'd meet him here. He was pleased she'd gotten him the various history books, though, and that was good enough for now.
Unfortunately, when she'd been honest and admitted to having re-gifted the bracelet from Prince Claudio, Mustang seemed to deflate from his slight preening and had seemed ready to pry details out of her time in Aerugo upon realizing she'd spent extensive if not unprecedented time with the ruler of the country.
Thankfully, Gracia pulled the plug on that and offered dessert to distract all even as Evelyn asked if anyone saw Havoc because she'd thought about him, too, while running about and had gotten some nice Aerugite hand-rolled cigars as her gift to him. Fortunately, Breda was kind enough to offer to take them to him as he was planning on seeing the retired military man soon enough.
The evening went on for a while and, after a bit, Evelyn managed to get Mustang off to one side.
"Why are we distancing ourselves from the rest?" he asked.
"It's about Selim," she said hurriedly. "He's starting to remember." Mustang paled a bit, remembering the child-shaped homunculus that had hurt him and forced him to do human transmutation. "He's scared about it, though. He asked me if I hated him for him trying to hurt me."
"Why are you telling me?" he asked quietly, obviously realizing she wanted to keep this somewhat private.
"Because I need help. I don't want Grumman to overreact because I know he'll find out." She frowned and averted her gaze. "Mustang, I know he's dangerous. I'm dangerous. You're dangerous. But I think he's like us… That he wants to be good. Because he's seeking approval from us." She could feel Mustang's eyes on her and probably picking her apart. Turning to look at him, she saw she was right though it was no surprise.
"You're asking a lot of me," he said. "Pride is the reason I lost my eyes." And could now use alchemy with a clap of hands alone though he didn't bring that part up.
"I know." She took a steadying breath and then swallowed. "I actually figured he would eventually remember. Greed did. But I figured that he'd take to staying with Missus Georgia well enough. And he has." Giving him a pleading look, she added, "You could visit him yourself. He's a good kid and he's scared he'll stop being loved by his mom and his 'Aunt Ed'."
"He calls you that?" the General asked. She nodded.
"He labeled me himself. I'd not even told him my name when he did it."
"And you're certain he won't be a danger to someone?"
"I can't guarantee that, especially if he gets cornered or something happens to Missus Georgia or anyone he likes. I can't say he does or doesn't have his powers still but there's a good chance he does."
"And if he fully remembers?" asked Mustang. There was a moment where she thought it over.
"We'll have to see about it, but I'd rather not kill him for being a potential danger. That's just opening doors for oversight policies that open doors to worse things like killing for merely thinking someone's a danger." Mustang folded his arms over his chest, obviously considering it as he leaned against the wall. "I told him to not tell anyone, though."
"Then why did you tell me?"
Why? That was so simple. But did she want him to know? Clenching her hands at her sides and feeling like an unruly child that had gotten her hand caught in the cookie jar, she told him, "I trust you, alright?" Dark eyes looked her over carefully and he seemed to be slowly absorbing that detail. "I trust you to not go using him or at least maybe doing your whole protective thing with him. I know you don't like him and for good reason but I wouldn't ask you if I thought he was going to turn into a monster again." Staring defiantly at her former commanding officer, Evelyn finished her words off. "I don't ask many things of you, sir. I very carefully tried to keep from owing you favors in two lives. But all of this dancing around bullshit isn't going to help either of us. Missus Georgia's writing me into her will. If Selim's still underage and something happens to her, he's to go to me. And as far as I've seen, he is remembering more and more of being Pride. Despite that, he's still reaching out."
"And you don't think he's just working to gain your trust?"
"Yes, but not to backstab me later."
He considered her again and then nodded slowly. "I'll go to him and see for myself," he said finally. "I have to stay here in Central for a few more days anyway. But if I think he's going to revert back to his old ways, I will not waste my time. I'll tell Grumman and that will be the end of it."
"When you do go, then," she stated crisply, eyes turning hard, "then don't make moves to threaten him. Don't let the history interfere." The lack of her choosing to go with him obviously alerted him to plans she'd already established.
"And I'm supposing you're going to Resembool after this?"
"Yes. I am. I'm tired and I want to just go and be quiet for a while." Mustang's gaze moved over her face, assessing her words and obviously extrapolating information that she held there. He slowly nodded.
"When will you be leaving?"
"Tomorrow. I got the tickets today."
He nodded. "Alright."
"Just pretend he's a kid you don't know well and are willing to indulge but don't treat him stupid," she advised. "He's far from being stupid. And tell Missus Georgia I told you and that I feel you can be trusted. Just make sure to do this out of earshot of the servants." She was certain some were Grumman's spies.
"Understood. Now, let's go back to everyone else before they wonder what we're scheming." She sniggered and shrugged.
"Just say we were planning on an encore edition of the Alchemist Battle Royale only with more fireworks and crazy stunts and elevate it into a show with bad dialogue." He stared at her before pressing a hand to his face in sheer horrified and yet amused exasperation.
"No. No, no, no," he groaned. "Once was enough and how did you come up with such an idea?"
"Divine inspiration," she drawled with a slight sneer of amusement. "I literally just thought it up right here and now."
"You need to murder whatever god gave you that," he growled.
"Afraid Grumman will approve it?"
"Actually, yes. Considering I did everything I could to avoid the last Battle Royale only to not get a choice."
"Well, I don't really remember much but… from what I remember, it was actually a lot of fun. Except for being defeated."
"Go, Evelyn," he growled, shoving her back to the main area. Much to his dismay and everyone's intense interest, she began laughing at his discomfort. Fortunately for Mustang, she allowed herself to be diverted from her 'evil plans' and instead wound up being pressed into playing the flute as everyone wanted her to.
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The train ride back was, of course, fairly bland and quiet. The gentle rocking of the train had been soothing and she'd actually wound up sleeping most of the way and propped against the train wall. The rest of the time she wound up reading.
So, once she arrived in Resembool after a train switch in East City, she was fairly well rested though in dire need of a good stretch. That was, fortunately, a quick remedy and after a slight pop of her back she ambled off the train and onto the station.
"Hello, Mister James," she called to the platform master. He blinked mid-cry and looked to her, lowering his megaphone.
"Edward! You're back!"
"Yes, I am. Is Al back yet?"
"No, he's not. Or at least he's not been while I've been around and I've been here every day."
"Ah, well. It's good seeing you. And you, too, Missus Barnes!" She waved at the old woman at the ticket counter.
"You, too, Ed!" she called, cheerfully waving. "Please come on back to town tomorrow if you're not too busy! I'd like it if you came to fix my roof."
"Why didn't you get one of your sons to do it?" she asked, pausing slightly.
"Because they're all in other towns working now. Can you believe that?" Missus Barnes said with a wistful smile. "And I don't want Caleb on the roof. He'd fall."
"Ah." Caleb was her husband, Evelyn recalled, and she understood why Missus Barnes didn't want her husband up there. Falling meant something broken and that could mean something fairly important at his age. "Well, I'll see. Granny might make me do chores for her first. How likely is rain?"
"Not very," the white-haired old woman said with a shrug. "Not for the next couple of days according to Weatherman." Like most small towns, Resembool had a dedicated 'weatherman' that tried to predict the weather without the radar that frequented the world of technology Evelyn had left behind. He relied on barometric pressure gauges, thermometers, and wind vanes. Unsurprisingly, his three-day-out forecasts regularly shifted. Resembool's weatherman, Richard Law, had been unceremoniously nicknamed 'Weatherman', though, and few remembered offhand what his real name was. As far as she could tell, though, Weatherman didn't seem to mind too much.
"Then I'll definitely try to get back into town either tomorrow or the next day, then. I don't want your house ruined because of rain." She got a smile for that and Missus Barnes smiled.
"Thank you. Now run along. I don't want you to be late getting home."
"Yes, ma'am." Despite not really having to listen to the woman as she was legally of age and quite capable of looking out for herself like she'd done for the past few years and Edward had for the most part since he'd turned twelve, Evelyn still acquiesced to the old woman's sendoff. Not that it cost her a great deal. Everyone in this town had looked out for Trisha's orphaned sons. And despite some hesitance at 'Edward's' gender shift, they had still for the most part welcomed 'Edward' with open arms. It pained her a bit to lie to them about her past but she knew better than to tell. Despite having looked out for Edward, they could not know about Edward's death. They were simple country folk and those country folk were the sort to make up things if they felt like it. Telling them it was an alchemy accident was as close to the truth as she could get. They accepted that even if they didn't understand it.
It really was sad how alchemy was an end all be all for the average person.
Calling hellos through the town to those she saw and the cheery greetings she got back were done, she found herself swept onwards down the road and glad that the final part of her return was almost complete.
Pausing for a moment, she took in the yellow house as she stood by the gate with one hand resting on it while the other held her suitcase and her shoulders took the load of her rucksack. It was almost looking like a dream, truthfully. It had been about a year and a half since she'd seen this place. Smiling, she pushed through the gate and walked up the steps. Approaching the white-painted door, she settled down her load and then reached up and knocked on the solid wooden panel.
Inside, she heard Den barking loudly and a female voice hushing the dog. Mentally cataloguing it as Winry's as Granny's was more roughened and lower, Evelyn was not surprised when the younger of the automail mechanics in residence opened the door, her dog barreling out in greeting before charging down the steps and to the grass.
"Hello. How can I…" Blue eyes stared as their owner's voice faltered. Evelyn gave a crooked smile and shrugged her shoulders before letting them fall lax again.
"I'm back."
"You're back." Winry blinked again and Evelyn felt a wariness creep through her as those summer sky blue eyes began to narrow and natural reactions began to kick in when danger signals flared to life within her. "You're back."
"Yes?" Evelyn began to wonder if she should take a step back.
"I told you to call!"
The golden blonde bolted from the porch, avoiding the wrench that had been previously tucked into Winry's waistband now aimed at her head as she fled in terror from the blonde woman in a tower of fury.
"I wanted to surprise you!" she shouted over her shoulder, vaulting over a startled Den before veering slightly to miss the thrown wrench.
"I told you to call!" she screamed again. "How do you never learn, Evelyn?!"
Oh, hell… The alchemist did the smart thing and she ran, leaving the irate woman behind and barely clearing the gate as she did so.
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In a fit of inspiration, she went back to town and decided to camp out at the inn. Of course, she wound up running into a number of friendly faces and one of them was Kayal Halling. Quite frankly he'd grown a lot since she'd last seen him. He had broader shoulders now with well-defined muscles and seemed to be maybe one-eighty centimeters tall as he crutched along admirably with his new leg. He still had much the same looks overall and the same shaggy dirty blonde haircut. This time, though, the vague baby fat that had clung to his face had partially melted away making his cheekbones look more like his father's.
Needless to say, he'd been surprised to see her just as she had been to see him even though Evelyn had been warned he'd been working at the inn.
"Edward?" he asked in surprise as she slumped into a chair after a few pats on the back. Looking up, she grinned.
"Heard you were working here. Kinda forgot, though." He gave her an easy grin as he sagged down in the chair opposite of her after getting permission from Farley Peyton. "How's the rehab going?"
"Hard," he admitted wearily. "But I'm getting there."
"When did it happen? The accident?"
"Last year around June." He shrugged. "Pall and I came here to get replacements but he didn't want automail. I did. Sometimes I wonder if it was the brightest thing to do. The surgery hurt so much. More than the crushing. More than getting amputated." Evelyn frowned in sympathy.
"It isn't the easiest thing ever," she admitted, averting her eyes. "But it's completely worth it. And Winry's the best."
"Thanks for telling us about her," he agreed, shifting his leg so it extended out. She caught the motion in her peripheral and wondered if it helped with the ache. Evelyn couldn't really remember that much of Edward's convalescence other than it had been painful and there'd been points where Edward had wanted to give up but hadn't thanks to seeing his brother in a suit of armor. "I think with this, any other injuries like mine in Youswell will be brought here." He gave a wry smile as he looked about the common room. "It's funny. Went from working in one inn to another."
"There's worse places to work," Evelyn chuckled.
"Like what?" Kayal's grin turned wolfish. "The military?"
"No. Actually the military's not all that bad. I'd say stuff that had to do with sewage or being the poor sot that has to muck out animal cages day in and day out." The miner's son laughed and shook his head.
"Thanks for not calling out mining!" he told her.
"Not when you're some big meat head that could throw me a good way, thank you very much. What do they feed you down in those mines? Rock?" Evelyn drawled, grinning as Kayal pounded his fist against the table as he laughed uproariously. It took a moment for his humor to settle back again. "You're a lot more likeable when you're not pissed towards State Alchemists in general," mused the golden haired woman.
"You said that before."
"I know and I'll say it again."
"So, why are you here?" he asked, settling back and grinning.
"Hiding from Winry." The admission had Kayal blinking at her in confusion. "Have you ever seen Winry pissed?"
"Yeah. She's kinda cute when angry."
"That I can agree to…" Evelyn paused for effect. "…Up until she finds a wrench." Kayal didn't seem to be understanding and she leaned in, giving an air of sharing a secret while gesturing with one hand palm down and fingers spread in a slightly sweeping gesture. "That one has a good throwing arm and she usually aims for the head."
"That can't be right," mused Kayal. "I've seen her angry a bunch of times when she thought I was pushing myself." He rubbed at a cheek with one hand and progressed to his chin as he contemplated it. "She really throws wrenches?"
"Yep," Evelyn said with a pop of the 'p' sound. Moving the hand she'd used to gesture up to sit elbow down on the tabletop and heel against her chin, she grinned crookedly and narrowed her eyes slightly. "And there's been a few times she's gotten revenge through her adjustments, too." He paled a bit, eyes widening further. "Or that could be just me," mused the alchemist. "Her time in Rush Valley had a bunch of people that wanted her and only her to work on their automail. I think I'm the only one that's ever had a wrench upside the head." She thought about it more. "Maybe Al, too." Turning that thought over in her mind, she mused, "I think we made her violent." Refocusing on the shocked young man in front of her, she shrugged. "Maybe you'll be lucky and you won't have to deal with her wrenches that way."
"I hope so."
They sat for a few minutes before Evelyn mused aloud, "You think she's not mad anymore?" Kayal gave her a wary look.
"Why was she mad at you in the first place?"
"I didn't call and tell her I was back in country," Evelyn shrugged. "She should expect this by now. I don't know why she keeps putting standards on me when she knows I won't live up to them." There was another long pause.
"Edward?" Kayal said slowly, staring at the alchemist across from him. "I'm not sure if you're the bravest person I've ever met or the craziest." Golden eyes turned to focus on the teenager across from her and Evelyn allowed a slow, lazy grin to cross her face, exposing teeth and making her appear a bit like the Cheshire Cat.
"Kayal," she said with a deep amount of humor. "You have no idea how often those two go hand in hand."
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About three hours after she'd run from Winry, Evelyn decided it was time to test the waters again. During that short interim, she'd run by Missus Barnes's house and fixed her roof with a clap of the hands after a short assessment and run by the train station to at least let the woman know she'd gotten done with it only to get scolded for getting Winry angry. It was no surprise she'd gotten scolded but she'd shuffled her feet like an unruly child being chastised before having to haggle prices with Missus Barnes over the repair. Evelyn wanted merely two thousand sens but Missus Barnes had no interest in allowing such a pittance and had argued her to the point of twenty thousand sens. It would have been higher but Evelyn got extremely stubborn and had argued her down to half the price the old woman had initially offered. She'd then been shunted about and fixing things for other people who had had need of an alchemist but had no interest or time in getting a train ride into the next town for their alchemist.
Once done, she was walking with Kayal up the road back towards the Rockbell residence. He had returned to work after their talk, having gotten permission to goof off as long as he had due to the fact that Evelyn had returned home and they'd known each other. As it was, the taller, broader teenager was crutching along and Evelyn was vaguely reminded when Alphonse and she had walked the same path under very similar circumstances. She being whole and her companion not quite up to par yet but recovering fairly well.
Fortunately, the blonde mechanic had cooled down considerably and had not been standing at the door tapping her foot while waiting for her blonde-haired reborn childhood friend to return. Granny had been, though, smoking patiently.
"Welcome home, Evelyn," she called, eyes warm behind the round lenses of her glasses.
"Evelyn?" Suddenly reminded of the fact her companion was not Alphonse and had not known her odd story, Evelyn looked at him with a lopsided grin.
"Me."
"I figured," he returned, staring down at her. "Why 'Evelyn'? Why not 'Edward'?"
"I had a legal name change," she admitted. "As I was not going to be a guy again, right? So, I picked Evelyn as a legal first name. The full legal is Evelyn Edward Alma James Elric." Kayal blinked at that.
"That's a lot of names."
"Yep." Clambering up the steps, she went for the old woman and was glad when Pinako caught her up in her arms. "Heya, Granny."
"Hey back, you scamp. Finally came home." The old woman looked her over carefully. "You'll have to tell me about what you meant in some of your letters," she told her surrogate grandchild and watched as Evelyn winced. "Later, though."
"Yeah. Later. Way later," agreed the diminutive blonde.
"Come on in. I've got dinner on." Granny turned her spectacle-framed gaze onto Kayal who had manfully managed the steps. "Good evening, Kayal. How's your leg today?"
"Okay," admitted the teen. "Paining me."
"Damn, you already got him trained to be honest," Evelyn said in an amazed tone.
"Not everyone has the overwhelming urge to be supremely bull-headed, cutie." The alchemist stiffened at the comment and turned narrowed eyes on the challenging gaze of her grandmother.
"Woman," she said pointedly. "I do not like being called 'cute'." Winry, who had exited the house to see why they were standing around for so long, snorted at the comment she had caught the tail end of.
"Gonna do something about it, pretty girl?" smirked Pinako around the stem of her pipe.
"Why the hell are you tryin' to egg me into a fight?!" The grandmother's eyes sparkled a bit.
"I'm surprised you've not started in on the short commentary."
"Not my style," growled Evelyn. And it really wasn't. While slinging the commentary back and forth had been fun, something in her just didn't like it anymore. It seemed a little too petty. A little too juvenile or something. She could react noisily to insults thrown at her and she could verbally spar with those nearer to her own age or on a special level like Mustang. But verbally abusing Pinako made her feel like her mother was about to come along and spank her for her impudence even if the old woman could give as good as she got.
It wasn't like Pinako couldn't hold her own and she knew that. She really did. And she'd verbally sparred with her before though without the same kind of brashness Edward had taken. It had been more about level of wit than insults.
Pinako shook her head. "I know, but I'd still enjoy it if you threw real insults back on occasion."
"I prefer sarcasm and stuff."
"Silly child." Evelyn shrugged as she watched Kayal and Winry out of the corner of her eye. They, she realized, looked rather nice together as Kayal grinned toothily at Winry's fussing over him drifted to Evelyn's ears. "Are you all right?" Bringing her attention to Granny, she saw the old woman's concern and gave her a small wry smile.
"I'm fine. I'm just glad to be back." Pinako assessed her again before seeming to let it go. Of course she didn't but she gave the illusion at least.
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That evening after dinner and watching the adorableness that could be called Winry and Kayal, who seemed to get along very well, Evelyn and Pinako went outside and the old woman brought the whiskey Evelyn had given her and a couple glasses. Pouring about two fingers into each one, she handed it over to the younger of the women and Evelyn took it.
"Now that we've got the lovebirds out of our hair," Granny said gently. "What happened in Aerugo?" Evelyn realized the old woman could probably see the strain and sadness in her. She toyed with the glass, smelling the odor of the fine alcohol. "Or do I have to guess?" she asked after an extended pause.
Taking a sip of the whiskey and feeling the burn of it going down, Evelyn considered her words. She averted her gaze out to where Den rooted about as she ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth, vaguely feeling the rub of the barbell against the roof of her mouth. Settling the glass down on the table she and Pinako sat at, she tapped a finger on the edge of the glass and focused on the motion. "I was an idiot out there," she told her pseudo-grandmother. Lifting her gaze, she met Pinako's blue-eyed one. "Fell for a guy."
"I suspected as much from the wording," she mused, taking a large mouthful of the whiskey she'd poured for herself as soon as the words were done. "He left you, didn't he?"
"Yeah." The soft admission sounded loudly in her ears. "He knew who I was… Knew I was 'Edward' at least." Dropping her eyes down to the glass, she wrapped fingers around it and continued. "Had no problems with me being a boy at one time." Her face twisted slightly in anger. "Couldn't handle the scars." She lifted the glass and downed the contents, nearly choking on the flare of heat it jammed into her. Putting the glass back down, she sighed. "Spent I don't know how many months thinking that maybe I'd happened to find that guy that meant something, right?" After having lost the one guy she'd been actually happy with, she really had hoped. Had spent so much time convincing herself Peter would be glad she tried to move on and had it unravel so fast. "Now I guess I know how Winry feels?" she offered only to jerk as arms circled her neck from behind and a cheek pressed to her temple. The fall of hair was too light to be hers and she knew it to be Winry even as she watched Pinako pour more whiskey. When had the other woman come outside?
"Oh, Ed," sighed the mechanic holding her. "Yes, I felt a little angry you died." She squeezed her tighter a bit and Evelyn found her hands coming up to grasp Winry's wrists. "I was angry you'd gotten so hurt you'd died and, yes, I'd been hoping we'd marry one day. And I'll admit I cried some. But don't ever think you walked all over my heart without a backwards glance like that guy did." Her eyes burned as Winry hugged her and she stared at the table and the glasses and bottle resting on it. "Because you're too nice to do that."
Evelyn wanted to say half a dozen different things and most of them had acerbic edges to them. But, instead, she smiled sadly. "Thanks, Win," she murmured, still gripping those arms. "Do you like him?"
"Kayal?" asked Winry. Evelyn nodded. "I think so. He's not much like you other than stubborn as a bull. But he treats me nicely and is more than happy to offer a helping hand. And he likes to listen to me talk about automail. He even asks pretty good questions when he wants to know more."
"He treats her like a princess and spoils her too much with sweet words," groused Pinako though there was no irritation there. "And he's a good kid from what I've seen."
"Well, so long as you're happy, Winry," Evelyn told her former mechanic, "I'm happy, too. You deserve it after having to put up with an idiot like me for so long." Winry laughed, tightening her hug a touch before loosening it completely and sitting down in the chair between her and Pinako. She snagged the glass of whiskey from in front of Evelyn and took a sip before grinning.
"You always were an idiot," she agreed. "But you weren't ever really stupid."
"I disagree. Dying was monumentally stupid. And stop stealing my whiskey. Granny gave that to me." Winry snorted and handed over the glass as Pinako chuckled. "Where's your coal miner's son?"
"In bed, actually. Most nights he goes to bed early because his recovery's been taxed further by him working." Evelyn hummed, swirling the contents of her glass before taking a sip. She handed it off to Winry again.
"I don't really recall my rehabilitation," she mused. "And the second go-round didn't take that long to recover from. Probably because I was working off of ghost memories and the Gate fixed my body enough so I wasn't in pain for over a year."
"How long have you experienced life?" asked Pinako curiously. Evelyn mentally counted off as Winry finished off the glass and returned it to the table.
"Thirty four, almost thirty five years?" she mused aloud. "I'm not really sure if I should count the time before I'd been born again." Winry blinked in surprise as Pinako straightened a bit in her chair.
"You remember being born?" she asked. Evelyn nodded soberly.
"I wasn't entirely sure how long I was in my mother, though. I had no concept of time." She shrugged. "It wasn't actually that bad." Evelyn looked up as Winry began to snigger and then outright laugh. "What?"
"You were a baby, right?"
"Yeah? So?" She knew where this was going.
"You had to drink milk!" Pinako also began to laugh and Evelyn rolled her eyes. Yep. Exactly where she thought it would go.
"Yes, I did," she drawled. "Not like I had a choice. Once I got older, though, I drank milk substitutes that had nothing to do with the actual stuff, so you can't bitch at me about a calcium deficiency in this life." Winry still sniggered.
"You're still small," she teased and Evelyn growled.
"Oy! Taller than you!" Winry just rolled with laughter and Evelyn calculated her reaction before hooking her foot underneath Winry's chair. The next thing the mechanic knew, she was tumbling and yelping in surprise to the porch.
"Hey!"
"Hey, nuthin," snorted Evelyn as the other blond stood to regain her chair before scooting it away a bit. "I've got genetics against me this time. My mother wasn't but…" She thought it over. "One-fifty-ish centimeters. I'm taller than her now." A lot taller than her, actually. Fifteen centimeters more.
"You don't really talk about them much," mused Pinako. "Why?"
"Same reason I didn't talk about my other mother too much," Evelyn returned bluntly enough. "Because it hurts. Alright?" It was an admission Edward would have not normally spoken of but she was tired and glad to be home. She was safe and sound and just glad to be here. And the heat of alcohol was making her sappy. "I think it's time I go to bed myself."
"Take a bath first," advised Pinako. "It'll help you sleep." Flashing the woman a smile, she nodded.
"Alright, Granny."
"Good night, Ed," Winry said, catching Evelyn's hand before she'd moved too far away.
"Good night, Win." Glancing at Pinako, she added, "Granny."
"Good night, child, and sleep well."
.
The day after she'd gotten back, Evelyn was permitted a little time to goof off. She unpacked her crates of books that she'd sent back along with a few of the other precious items she'd collected. She gave Granny and Winry their gifts. The aureate alchemist had given Winry three brightly colored dresses with definite Calamite leanings, silver earrings from Creta, and a gold puzzle ring from Aerugo. Granny received a nice pipe from Calamine set with silver, tea from Calamine, Aerugian tobacco, and two Cretan tablecloths that she could give to Winry later on down the line. She put Falman's books on her dresser so she could take them into town and have them shipped off. Out came Teacher's presents of two Calamine dresses, a set of pearls bought in Aerugo as she figured Teacher might enjoy the purplish-black irregular beads, and a bottle of perfume that smelled of citrus and sandalwood and seemed to fit with Teacher's image. She also set aside Sig and Mason's presents of tooled leather wallets and good folding knives with carved Calamine-style flowers in bone along the handles. They were both largish knives, each one having twelve centimeter long blades, and hefty enough that they would not look entirely out of place in the hands of someone as big as Sigmund Curtis.
After going into town and setting those packages off after ensuring they weren't about to break in the bottle of perfume's case, Evelyn was met up by Missus Barnes and got her payment, spent a bit more time doing a few more repairs and getting paid for those, before returning back to the house.
Then came the shelving of the books. Fortunately, Evelyn had plenty of material to make bookshelves from the crates she'd sent back and set about filling them with the volumes she'd procured. She also fished out Alphonse's presents which consisted of a few alchemy texts, a box of wooden and metal puzzles from Aerugo, a leather coat from Calamine, and a good kukri-style knife sheathed in cowhide with the bristly fur still attached from Creta. After sending those into his room, she returned to work and eventually rediscovered the gift she'd gotten for Den. It a fancy collar of red-dyed and fancily tooled leather from Aerugo. It wasn't as though the old girl understood the gift, but the thought touched both the Rockbells so all was well.
Considering she had known about Kayal, she'd even gotten him a gift though she wasn't sure what he would have liked. Granted, he did seem pleased when she'd given him a folding knife much like the one she'd given Sig and Mason.
After a full day's worth of hard work, Evelyn had gone to bed worn out and tired after having shelved approximately fifty different books and twenty different journals worth of notes of pure alchemy. She had gotten books for recipes, history books, literature, and poetry, and all of it seemed to overwhelm the two women and the young man that had gotten a look at the room after she'd presented it in all its finished glory.
But she had finished it and that was the important part.
.
What was with Granny and her being such a hard taskmaster?
She had been given a day of reprieve until Granny got tired with the 'lazing' and demanded that she start earning her keep again. Evelyn had not been lazing. She had been dutifully going over her notes and was working on expanding those notes into more detailed texts of what she'd learned.
But no… She was back doing chores varying from chopping wood to buying groceries to repairing things. She was also doing alchemy repairs and just enough of them that she wondered if she should hang a shingle next to the 'Rockbell Automail' sign even if it would look like a cheesy addendum. Blair Hobbs favorite pot needed mending. Vance from down in the barber shop needed his razors brought back up to par. Leaky roofs were in need of repair. The requests just kept coming and the citizens of Resembool paid her for her work whether or not she liked it. And then the requests shifted slightly and she was being made to play the flute for entertainment down at the inn, tunes garnering as much attention and money as alchemy often did.
Even then, she still had to pull weeds, clean the house, and other tasks that Granny insisted upon. So, one day about a week or so after she'd come back, she found herself working on the porch rail, fixing it of the dry rot that had made it weak and unstable with a combination of hard work and alchemy. And, thanks to her efforts, she would later think that it was unsurprising that her hammering and swearing masked the approach of visitors coming up the road as Kayal helped by handing her what she needed when she requested it.
"Ed," he called to her as she bit out curses in Portuguese, Russian, and German, resulting in a slurry mess of very strangely stitched-together sounds. "Ed!"
"What?!" she barked, not turning her head as she halted the fall of her hammer. "Can't you see I'm swearing this damn thing into submission?!"
"It sounds like it's beating you, actually."
She froze at the 'not-Kayal' voice and whipped her head around while her hammer that she'd lifted up to swing again remained upraised in one hand and her fingers wrapped around a nail with another. There stood Alphonse, grinning broadly and looking just fine. Next to him stood a much-grown Mei with Xiao-Mei on her shoulder and cheerfully smiling as well. She vaguely noted their clothes and how they looked. She could see the low glint of golden stubble on Al's cheeks, indicating he'd not shaved recently.
However, neither of them had been the originator of the voice she'd heard. She stared in a mixture of horror and wonder at the sight before her as the hammer fell from suddenly nerveless fingers into the grass and the nail stayed put by virtue of being partially imbedded in the wood.
Slowly, she straightened her legs and forced herself into a standing position, some distant part of her analyzing her motions with utmost care as her mind rang hollowly. Her entire frame trembled as her heart throbbed loudly in her ears. Eyes burned with unshed tears as she took in the faces that didn't belong neither to her brother nor to the princess of Xing with her little panda. She tried to talk but her tongue just didn't seem to be working right. Just as her vocal cords seemed to cooperate with her, Evelyn found herself making a thin sob of a sound as her legs failed her and she grabbed at a post of the railing as she sagged down. Her free hand found its way over her mouth as she let out another strangled sob as hands reached to her though she hardly saw it. Her eyes burned and blurred with tears as her head rang hollowly in her shock.
All she could think was that this was so very, very impossible… and that she was going to kill her brother for breaking his word to her.
.
.
.
Author's Note: Finally back to Resembool. It's been a long way, honestly, for your writer. I hit blocks a few times even though I'd planned for certain things. It's probably because I'd planned for those certain things and had written a bit about them that there were blocks because the flow of the story had changed things up from what I'd originally put down. Also, there is slight debate on Kayal/Khayal/Kyle Halling's name. I've been sticking to 'Kayal' as 'Khayal' seems awkward and I can't think of him as 'Kyle'.
Sorry for the cliffhanger but I promise it's well worth it.
Please review. I appreciate it.
