Chapter 32 –
No one spoke until they heard the door upstairs shut once more and Lance pounced on the opportunity to be the first to speak. "We," he gestured to himself and Shiro, "are gonna talk. They," this time he gestured to Pidge and Keith, "will glare at you. The Lions," he pointed to the three who remained with them, "will do whatever they deem necessary if we're interrupted. All of you," he jabbed a finger at the now-bewildered group in front of them, "will shut it and listen to us. Got it?" he asked, voice wavering between a growl and a snarl.
Not a single person argued and Lance nodded in satisfaction. It didn't seem to matter to him that they'd mostly agreed in an almost instinctive fashion, in Shiro's opinion, but the Black Paladin wasn't about to point that out since it meant they weren't arguing. As Lance was now silent but pointedly looking at him, Shiro took the lead in starting this conversation.
"We understand that what you've just heard from Ed has been extremely hard and upsetting for most of you to hear," Shiro said, making sure to keep his voice level and calm. There were a couple of people in front of him who looked like they would lash out at him if they so much as thought he was being judgemental, which would defeat the purpose of this conversation so he did his best to show he understood, which wasn't exactly hard since he did. "Now some of you may think that what we plan on doing is lecture you or tell you how you should react and what you should be feeling right now but that is the furthest thing from our minds. All we want to achieve here is making sure that no one says anything they'll regret because their emotions were too clouded by anger or grief for them to think about what they were saying and hurts Ed far more than he's hurting already," Shiro told them.
The Black Paladin saw recognition flicker through Mustang's eyes and knew the general had recognised his own words from six months ago, back when he and Ed had stood in between Allura and Keith when Keith's heritage had been revealed. "We understand that learning this had to have been as much of a shock for you as it was for us but please listen to what we're saying," Shiro implored. "Edward has already been through a lot in his life. He's had to make so many sacrifices to keep people safe or to keep your country from being wiped off the map. Don't make him think his decision 15 months ago not only cost him some of his life but also cost him most of those closest to him," he pleaded.
"We don't want you to feel like we're ganging up on you," Lance said, picking up on Shiro's idea to use Mustang's words from six months ago on the Castle-Ship, "but we also don't want you to potentially hurt your relationships with Ed before you've really had the chance to process what he told you. We know that most of you in front of us are upset because of what Ed had to do and the fact he kept it from you for so long but please take the time Elysia's interruption gave you to start trying to calm yourselves down," Lance asked, voice as calm and level as Shiro's had been.
Shiro was using the chance Lance gave him to survey the group in front of them and he could see that some of them – Mustang, his team and the Curtises mainly – seemed to be hearing his and Lance's words but not all of them were. His biggest worry was about Winry and Al right now, as both of them looked like they were ready to lose their cool at any stage. "We understand –" Lance went to continue but it seemed that Shiro's concern for Winry was warranted as she interrupted Lance before he could get any further in a burst of rage.
"Oh, please! You've only been friends with Edward for six months! We're his family!" Winry snapped, gesturing wildly at those around her, almost hitting Alphonse in the process. "How could you possibly understand anything?!" she snarled, eyes shining wetly.
"Winry Rockbell, that is enough!" Pinako snapped at her granddaughter before Lance or one of the other members of Voltron could. Winry flinched at both the use of her full name and the tone Pinako used. "Now I understand that you're upset and that you're hurting because of what Edward just told us but that is no reason for you to lash out at people who Ed considers close friends, if not family himself," Pinako scolded.
Winry shrunk in on herself slightly but Shiro could see the defiant look in her eyes and knew that Pinako's lecture hadn't quite had the effect the Rockbell matriarch had intended. But Winry didn't get the chance to say anything in retaliation as Alphonse took over the talk. "Winry's right," Al said softly. "You couldn't possibly understand what we're going through or what we're feeling right now. You aren't us and you can't say that you understand because you don't. As close as you are to Ed, he didn't hide this from all of you for over a year. Your brother didn't sacrifice an unknown amount of his lifespan just so he wouldn't die from an injury he wouldn't have gotten if I hadn't left him!"
Everyone seemed to freeze at those words. From the way Alphonse looked, he obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud but it was too late for him to take the words back. "Alphonse," Lance said, his voice low and gentle. "It wasn't your fault Ed got into that fight. You couldn't have known what would happen and Winry and Scar and the others all needed to be warned about Fort Briggs no longer being safe," he told the youngest Elric, who immediately scoffed.
"Yeah, right," Al said derisively. "Ed is the biggest trouble magnet in Amestris. We should've found another way to reach Fort Briggs. Major Miles was able to get that message from the Fort telling us that General Armstrong had been asked to come to Central, leaving the fortress in a Bradley loyalist's hands so he should've been able to get a coded message back, ordering someone to intercept Scar and Winry's group before they were accidentally caught," Al said, looking like he wanted to pace the room but the amount of people in it made it impossible for him to give into that urge. "Or I could've stayed with Ed, taken care of Kimblee and headed out after the group once that was done. I would've only been a few hours behind them, half a day at most and they would've had to stop at some point to rest while I could've kept going," he continued saying, his voice getting slightly more agitated as he spoke.
"All of this second guessing will do you no good, Alphonse," Shiro said before Lance could respond. "You heard Ed tell you himself what he would've changed if he could've gone back in time to that moment but did any of that actually comfort you? Knowing that your brother would've done it differently if he knew then what he knows now but knowing there's no known way to go back in time?" he asked, giving Al a pointed look, even though the youngest alchemist in the house wasn't actually looking at him.
Al sighed slightly. "No, it didn't," he admitted. His defeated tone had Shiro giving him a comforting smile but Al didn't seem to react to it.
"What I don't understand here," Keith said, speaking for the first time since entering the house, "is why you're all so surprised and upset at the fact he kept this from you. Like Winry and Alphonse have pointed out rather bluntly," Shiro knew he wasn't imaging the undercurrent of hurt and slightly barbed tone in Keith's voice but he didn't interrupt his fellow Paladin to reprimand him, "we've only known Ed for six months but even I, someone who arguably doesn't pick up on social cues or emotions or that sort of stuff – as Lance keeps pointing out – have realised that Ed is more likely to lie or keep things from his friends and family if he thinks it's easier for them to not know," Keith said.
Winry puffed up again before anyone could stop her. "We're upset because he got so hurt that he had to sacrifice years of his life just to keep himself alive long enough for a medical professional to see him! We're upset," she spat the word, "because he shouldn't have lied to us about what happened in Baschool! We had a right to know!" she snarled.
Shiro could see Keith steel himself so he didn't flinch backwards in the face of her fury and decided to step in before his adopted brother retaliated and made the situation all that much harder to deal with. "What I think Keith is trying to figure out is why you're upset Ed hid this from you when you all know full well that Ed keeps this sort of thing secret," Shiro said, looking to Keith for confirmation and sighing internally when Keith nodded once. "I mean, aside from four of you outside Edward and Alphonse, none of you knew the truth behind what happened that night to cause Ed and Al's injuries for almost two years, if not more in some cases if I'm remembering correctly," Shiro pointed out and got a couple of confirming nods in return from Havoc and Falman. "I'm sure there are plenty of things Ed has done during his missions over the years that he hasn't told you about for various reasons and you've found out about them later on down the track that you weren't impressed by," he continued saying and Mustang's nod was almost comical in how quickly and enthusiastically it came. "So why exactly is it so shocking to learn he kept this from you?" Shiro asked plainly.
Lance saw a flash of something dangerous in Winry's eyes and knew the blonde automail mechanic had – despite Shiro's efforts – taken his words as a personal attack so he decided to cut her off before she could say something she'd regret. "We're not judging you," he said, deliberately not looking solely at Winry so that she wouldn't feel called out. "We're just trying to understand where all of your anger is coming from," he told them, "because we don't get it," he said honestly.
"Yeah," Pidge said, adding her voice to the mix. "I don't know exactly what Shiro's talking about since I don't know the details of what Ed and Al did but it sounds like it's as big a deal as this and we've not heard anything about you guys taking that reveal this badly," she told them. "I get that it's upsetting and it hurts to know that Ed gave up some of his life so he could heal a really bad injury but, I mean, Alphonse, you sacrificed your life so Ed would survive Father during Promised Day," she reminded them. "Isn't that kind of what Ed did 15 months ago? He knew he was going to die so he made what had to have been an extremely hard to decision so that he would survive just like you knew that if Father wasn't stopped, everyone was going to die, including yourself so you made a hard decision so that Father didn't win. Both of you sacrificed something irreplaceable for the greater good. The only difference between both those actions – aside from the obvious – is that Ed hid what he'd done," she pointed out.
Al's golden eyes blazed at the Green Paladin ferociously and Shiro was a little afraid that Pidge may have pushed Al a little too far. "My decision wasn't made because I'd gotten into a fight I had no reason to be fighting in the first place! Ed's injuries were brought about because he was reckless! He didn't think before he got into that fight with Kimblee! His morals just wouldn't let him have Major Miles deal with Kimblee like he wanted to!" Al snapped at her. "My decision was made because I couldn't let my big brother die at the hands of that maniac when I had a way to fix it! My seal was decaying so I knew it wouldn't have been long before it gave out completely. I wouldn't have survived being bonded to that armour much longer even if Father had been beaten without Mei reversing my seal and I knew it!" he snarled defensively.
Shiro opened his mouth to respond to Al's outburst but was beaten to it by someone he hadn't expected. "Enough, Alphonse," Izumi ordered curtly. Al's mouth immediately closed with a near audible click. "You know Pidge has some good points," she said, nodding to the Green Paladin as she moved to stand in front of Al so he had to face her, but to the side of him so her back wasn't to Voltron. "I don't believe for a second that Ed made the decision he did without you being the only thing on his mind at the time," Izumi informed him. "He may have claimed that he didn't want to risk Father winning the fight and destroying the country without him there or that he figured the homunculi would have some way to create new human sacrifices even if he died and while I don't doubt that those thoughts did cross his mind as Darius and Heinkel helped him, I firmly believe that the deciding factor to his decision was you," she said. "Just as he was the deciding factor behind your decision a year ago." Her glare dared her ex-pupil to try and argue with her. Alphonse didn't even look like he wanted to.
"You and Edward are no strangers to making a decision in a split second that could have resulted in one of you dead when the alternative was the death or injury of someone else," Izumi went on saying after a few moments, keeping her ex-student pinned with that same glare. "This shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone in this room. We all claim to be Edward's friends or family so why the hell did this come to such a shock to any of us?" she asked, looking around at the room. "Ed's been a self-sacrificial idiot for most of his life and we're acting like this is the first time we've realised it." Izumi sighed as she shook her head. "I can't say that I'm completely innocent here. If there hadn't been so many people here who beat me at every opportunity to say something, I likely would've been saying something similar but now that I've had the chance to process Ed's words and actions, I know that anything I would've said would've been cruel and unfair to Ed," she told them, keeping her chin firmly up and meeting the main group face on as she admitted she'd almost done something wrong. From the way Al looked – though he was quick to hide it – it was apparent that it was rare for Izumi to admit that sort of thing, at least in front of him anyway.
Something in either Izumi's words or tone seemed to have made something in Mustang's mind click and he addressed the sole female alchemist in the house. "You approve of his decision," he said confidently and Izumi nodded, not bothering to hesitate.
"I do," she confirmed verbally. "Don't get me wrong," she said, eyes pinning Alphonse with an order to stay quiet before he could interrupt. Winry found herself on the receiving end only a moment later and both blondes obeyed the silent order, "I am not happy about what Ed has sacrificed and I will be beating the little idiot into the ground during our next spar for putting himself in that situation in the first place but I must admit, I am proud that he was able to make such a hard decision," Izumi told them. There was an undercurrent in her voice that dared them to try and make her feel ashamed of that.
Lance saw Pidge's aghast expression at the casual way Izumi said she planned on beating Ed to a pulp for what he'd done and for a moment, it confused him. Ed hadn't held back any details about how he and Al were trained by Izumi and the Lions had even seen some of his memories – a side effect of their bond with him was that they'd see his memories as he recounted them – so it confused Lance that she'd be so shocked.
"Are you being literal when you say you'll be beating Ed into the ground?" Pidge asked, interrupting Izumi with her question.
Izumi's eye twitched at the interruption and from the fearful flicker on Al's face, Lance knew he needed to run interference before they found out why Al looked that scared for Pidge. However, before he could, Hunk had grabbed Pidge by the shoulder and moved her towards the staircase so they wouldn't be interrupting the rest of them as Hunk explained what Pidge had obviously missed while working on her projects. The three Lions watched as Hunk led Pidge off to the side and Lance knew they were making sure that no one would try anything in retaliation for Pidge interrupting Izumi like she had. When the three Lions were sure nothing was going to happen, they turned back to pay attention to Izumi, who was continuing what she had been saying as though she hadn't been interrupted in the first place.
"As the boys' teacher, I tried to train them to use their alchemy for good and to be the only ones who have any say over how their alchemy was used. I also tried to teach them that life is precious and it was their duty to help those they could with their alchemy but I also trained them to understand that their survival should be their first priority," Izumi explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I was determined to beat that into them. They wouldn't be any help to anyone if they were dead because they didn't take the few seconds needed to ensure their surroundings were safe," she said. "While Edward may not have exactly made sure his situation was safe before he got into that fight with Kimblee, he did try his best to keep Major Miles and his men out of it since they would've been hampered by the snow cloud as much as Ed was. After the mine shaft collapsed, Ed made a decision that kept him alive so he could help save the country and I am proud of him," she said. "I am proud that he was able to think so clearly even though he had to have been in a lot of pain and was at risk of going into shock," Izumi told them.
"I am of a similar mindset as Mrs. Curtis," Hawkeye said, surprising most of them, not because of her words but because she spoke up. "Though it perhaps wasn't Edward's best decision to prevent Kimblee being killed by Major Miles' snipers by confronting and ultimately getting into a fight with him, his decision to sacrifice some of his lifespan so he could keep fighting was very admirable and I have nothing but respect for him for being brave enough to make that decision. Though I wish he had informed us all of this as soon as he could have, Keith and Pidge did point out the obvious. It truly shouldn't have been that surprising to any of us that he did keep this to himself," Hawkeye said. "Truly, the only thing I'm surprised about is that he didn't warn Darius and Heinkel that he hadn't told us, thus avoiding this whole situation altogether," she admitted.
Lance was momentarily distracted by Pidge and Hunk rejoining the group once more, Pidge looking like she was more up to speed with everything than she had been. Before he could quietly check that she didn't have any questions, Pinako distracted him by speaking up. "The idiot admitted it himself; he'd completely forgotten that he hadn't told us and that Darius and Heinkel didn't know he hadn't told us," Pinako said, tapping her pipe on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm sure if he'd remembered that, he would've told them and none of this would have happened," she said before placing her pipe between her lips and inhaling then exhaling the acrid smoke. "I do have to say that now that I know all the details, I can't even pretend to be mad at Ed or his decision, both about Baschool and whether to tell us," she admitted with a gravelly sigh.
While Izumi, Hawkeye, and Pinako had all spoken, Lance had let himself feel like they'd managed to get through to everyone else about how they shouldn't be mad at Ed for keeping this from them but it seemed like her grandmother's admission caused Winry's temper to come back swinging. "You agree with him?!" she nearly shrieked in disbelief. "You think he did the right thing in not telling us?!"
"Yes," Pinako said firmly, cutting off anything else Winry was about to say and causing her granddaughter to falter slightly. "Both you and Alphonse have said that you had a right to know about this when in actual fact, only Alphonse had the right to know," Pinako informed her. "Though we claim to be, we are not Ed's blood family. We have no rights in demanding he tell us anything he doesn't want us to know. Maybe when he was a child I might have had some rights in getting information regarding him and whatnot since I was acting as his unofficial guardian, at least until he joined the military but we certainly don't even have that now that he's an adult," Pinako told her. "Just because we care about Edward as though he is our blood, he isn't and you need to get that through your head, Winry," Pinako said bluntly. "We have no right to any information about his life; only what he decides to tell us and if you keep trying to demand he tell you every little detail and spout off that you have the right to know it, he is going to cut you out of his life and you will deserve it," Pinako informed her.
Winry barely managed to get out a shocked gasp at her grandmother's lack of sugar-coating before Pinako started in on Al. "You may be his brother, Alphonse, but Ed is soon going to get as sick of you demanding he tell you everything as though it's your god-given right to know it as he will of Winry doing it and you'll find yourself in much the same situation as her," Pinako told him. "The two of you have been harping on about how Edward should have told you all of this but there is no law saying he had to. He didn't even have to explain it after Darius and Heinkel accidentally spilled the beans. He could've played it off or left it or told you all to shove off but he didn't. He decided to tell us all the truth and how have you repaid that? By demanding answers to questions he can't answer or demanding answers you want rather than the ones he has," she said, looking at Al pointedly, knowing the young blonde would know she was referring to his demands that there had to be a way to reverse Ed's decision despite his older brother telling him there wasn't, "and by continuingly berating him for being reckless and stupid for getting into that situation," she continued, focusing on both Winry and Al once more.
"What's worse is that you're doing that knowing full well that Ed likely had been beating himself up since the day he regained consciousness in that back alley doctor's home and telling himself the exact same things you've been saying over and over again," Pinako said. "Don't bother denying that you hadn't once thought you were being a bit harsh during this discussion," she said firmly when she noticed they were about to just that. "Both of you seem to be missing something that became blindingly obvious to me, at least, because you haven't given yourselves the chance to get off Ed's back and process what he said properly," Pinako told them.
"What's that?" Winry asked, almost scoffing at her grandmother but managing to keep that out of her tone so Pinako didn't have any reason to go off at her for being disrespectful.
"That Edward nearly died that day," Pinako said bluntly but somehow gently. "We could have lost him 15 months ago in that mineshaft and we might not have been able to get him back if Major Miles and his team weren't able to get down there if that had happened," she told them. Both teens seemed to freeze as her words sunk in. "Edward came within moments of death and all the two of you seem to be able to focus on is that he kept this a secret from us and I honesty can't say I blame him for doing that since this is how you're reacting," Pinako said honestly. "How do you think he feels right now? He's having to keep on a brave face for Elysia at the moment so that she doesn't get upset but I'm sure the both of you have a decent idea of what's going through his mind at the moment," Pinako said.
"He must've been so scared," Al whispered after a few moments. "Before he used that array, he must've been terrified that the price would be too much and that he wouldn't make it and he must've been feeling the same way when he faced all of us," he said, speaking a touch louder, "and all Winry and I did was yell at him and blame him instead of letting ourselves calm down first and think about what he'd told us," he said, voice catching on a sob that had Gracia moving to his side so she could wrap an arm around his shoulders in an effort to comfort him.
Winry's face seemed to pale slightly while her second childhood best friend spoke. "You're right, Granny," she said, voice not quite a whisper. "If I were Ed, I wouldn't have told us either if I knew this was how we'd react," she admitted, looking mildly stunned at her realisation.
Lance wasn't sure if that realisation came about because she agreed with her grandmother or because she'd figured out just how she'd been acting but he couldn't quite bring himself to let her beat herself up more than she already was. "You and Alphonse and most of those here are the people Ed considers his family," Lance said, gaining Winry's attention quickly. "You were upset and shocked by the price he had to pay and it is understandable that you'd react angrily to learning that but the important thing now is that you're realising that being angry wasn't the appropriate response," he said. "I know that it's hard to control your emotions when you receive news that shocking. Trust me, my family probably has a million stories of us losing our shit at someone else because of a situation similar to this but we're all slowly learning how to take the news calmly or remove ourselves from the room if we need time to collect our emotions so we don't lash out at one another and I know you guys can do the same here," Lance told her, voice laced with confidence.
"And if you don't take on what Lance has said and try to learn from it, I can guarantee that this won't be the last time Ed keeps you out of the loop," Shiro added, trying to soften the blow by keeping his voice as gentle as he could without losing his conviction. "How many more times do you think he'll sit through this sort of reaction before he decides he can't be honest with you without earning himself a tongue lashing like this? I know I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that anger myself," Shiro told them.
"We're not saying you can't be pissed at him or upset when he does something stupid and reckless," Lance said before anyone could say anything, "but family is supposed to a safe place to share things with without fear of judgement or being torn to shreds and I'll be honest, I'm not certain Ed can claim he'd come to most of you when he's done something and feel like he'd be able to tell you without being attacked for what he'd done," Lance divulged. "All we're trying to say is that if you want Ed to not keep you in the dark, you're going to have to start making it so that telling you about whatever stupid decision he made isn't more fearsome that being in the situation where he had to make that stupid decision," Lance said before he fell silent.
For several moments, no one spoke a word as they all let Voltron's words sink in. For Darius and Heinkel, they didn't seem to be as affected by the conversation but no one truly expected them to be since they weren't really involved in it. Izumi and Sig both looked like they were taking Voltron's words to heart and waiting for someone to say something argumentative so that they could put them in their place – at least, Izumi looked like she was waiting for that chance. Pinako and Hawkeye both seemed like they'd absorbed and agreed with what Lance and Shiro had said while Mustang and the rest of his team looked as though they were mentally compiling things they needed to apologise to Ed for and ways to make sure the blonde wouldn't think hiding something like what happened in Baschool was safer for him than telling them. Gracia looked like she was torn between keeping an arm around Al's shoulders while the younger Elric fought through his emotions and going upstairs so she could suffocate Ed with a hug of her own. Both Winry and Al still looked angry but Lance was almost positive that anger was aimed inwards rather than at anyone else.
"Ed wants to know if it's safe for him to come back downstairs with Elysia and our missing sisters yet," Black told Shiro, who pinched his face in contemplation.
"I think it might be best that he stayed up there for a few more minutes," Shiro told her after glancing at Lance, knowing Blue would've gotten and relayed the same message, and getting a small shrug from the Blue Paladin. "Give them time to calm down a bit more," Shiro said, turning to look at Black. She gave him a nod before presumably passing the message along as requested before they all fell back into silence.
The silence continued until Gracia decided to break it. "It has been a long day for all of us, what with the ceremony and now this," she said, gesturing at the room around her, "and we've all been given a lot to think about, thanks to Voltron," she added, giving Shiro, Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge smiles before she looked back at the group. "I know that most of you might feel like this all has to be dealt with today but I think it might be a good idea for everyone to head back to their homes or hotel rooms for the night so you'll have the time and privacy to process everything," Gracia suggested. "I'm sure Ed won't mind catching up with those of you leaving tomorrow at the train station, if that's what you want and those of you staying in Central will have plenty of opportunity to talk to him later but right now, I think that everyone's emotions are still too high and it's not fair to any of you or Ed if you don't let yourselves process everything and try to deal with it anyway," she told them.
"Gracia is right," Hawkeye said before anyone else could speak. "It's nearing dark and most of us will benefit from stopping this talk here and getting a good night's sleep before coming back to it," she told them. "Plus, I don't think it's fair to Elysia or Edward that they stay upstairs for an unknown amount of time while we work through this," she added almost as an afterthought.
Gracia nodded in agreement. "I would like to get Elysia home before dark as well," she told them, a touch apologetically.
"Yeah. Maybe it'd be for the best if we did that," Al said after a couple of moments. "Nothing's going to be solved tonight anyway," he added a touch pessimistically but no one called him out on it.
"So we're all in agreement?" Gracia asked and received nods all around. "I'll go and get the four of them out of the study," she said, a touch of obvious relief in her voice and eyes.
"That's okay, Gracia," Shiro said, stopping her before she could move. "Black's already told Ed that they were all good to come back downstairs," he told her just before the sound of a door opening and multiple footsteps could be heard above them.
Shiro wasn't ashamed to admit that he was keeping one eye on those with him in the loungeroom and the other eye on the staircase as he waited for Ed, Elysia, Green, and Yellow to come down it just in case he had to either stop an argument before it could start or settle one if he couldn't stop it in the first place. The two Lions appeared first but were soon followed by Ed and Elysia, who were holding each other's hand while Elysia's free hand clutched numerous pieces of paper and Ed's free one lightly grasped the rail in case they tripped or missed a step.
"The Lions gave me the overview of what happened once I went upstairs," Ed said before anyone could say anything to him as Green and Yellow joined their pilots and Blue, Black, and Red checked up on Ed. "Elysia knows something bad happened to me 15 months ago, she knows it was because of a fight and she knows I had to pay a big price but she doesn't know the details. I promised her I'd explain it to her more when she's older," Ed told Gracia, who had stooped slightly to look at the pictures her daughter was now proudly showing her. "We also had another talk about eavesdropping on peoples conversations and this time Elysia promised me she wouldn't do it anymore, didn't you, El?" he asked, tone stern.
Elysia looked up sheepishly from showing her mother her drawings for Voltron. "Yes, big brother," she said. "I promise I won't do it no more," she said, shuffling a little where she stood.
"Good," Ed said, giving her a warm smile that told her she wasn't in trouble again like she obviously feared.
Gracia had glanced up when he first said Elysia's name and gave a relieved nod once he finished speaking to Elysia. "Thank you, Ed," she said gratefully.
"Don't bother thanking me, Miss Gracia," Ed said dismissively. "Always happy to wrangle a younger sibling in for their mother," he said, the familiar words falling from his lips automatically. He was relieved when they earned him an amused smile from Gracia and no outburst from Al, negative or otherwise. He could call that a win at least. "Black didn't actually tell me what prompted her telling me it was okay for Elysia to come back downstairs," Ed told them. It was obvious to everyone from the way Ed held himself and didn't quite meet anyone's eyes – other than Voltron and the Hughes' – that he either expected more yelling or some choice words to still be thrown his way.
"You and Voltron have given us a lot to think about," Pinako told him when it was obvious no one else was going to do so first. Ed shot Shiro and Lance a look but neither answered him. "From what you've told me about your American friends and what little I observed myself, I think I'd rather like to see them and Voltron meet one another," Pinako said, sounding cryptic to Ed, who didn't appreciate that one bit. "Those five certainly had some insightful things to say and we've decided that we're essentially going to put a hold on this conversation," Pinako told him.
When Ed's confusion didn't clear up, Hunk chimed up. "Since it's getting pretty late and most everyone is still pretty emotional from everything, Gracia thought it'd be a good idea for us to head back to wherever we're sleeping for the night and take the opportunity being somewhere private will give everyone to process everything that's been said this afternoon," he explained.
There was a flicker of nervousness in Ed's eyes but it was gone almost instantly. "Alright," he said, unable to hide his uncertainty with the plan but made it apparent he would go along with it. "Probably a good idea to get El home before it gets too dark anyways," Ed said with a small shrug, "and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some time to absorb everything as well," he added.
"You can expect phone calls in the morning from those who'll be leaving on trains tomorrow if they want to speak with you more before they go and you can be damned sure you and I will be continuing this conversation during our next spar," Izumi informed him, looking mildly pleased with the fear that flickered across Ed's face at her tone and words.
"Yes, Teacher," Ed agreed immediately, knowing it was pointless trying to argue.
"You're a damned fool, Edward Elric," Izumi continued saying, her stern tone adding to her words, before her face softened slightly, much to Ed's surprise, "but I am proud that you were able to stay strong enough while that injured in order to decide to do what you did," she told him, stepping the three steps forward she needed to in order to sweep him into a hug, which had Ed freezing momentarily.
"Thank you, Teacher," Ed mumbled into her shoulder as he returned her hug.
The hug didn't last long before Izumi was pulling away from him and fixing him with one of her fiercer glares. "My pride in you won't get you out of the arse-whooping coming your way though," she warned him as she stepped back to join Sig once more.
"I'd expect nothing less," Ed said, half a smirk on his face. Though he knew the beat down he was going to get from Izumi would be on par with the one he and Al received when she'd learned they'd tried to bring their mother back from the dead, Ed was honestly so relieved to know that there was someone other than Voltron who was on his side and that relief was overruling his fear right now.
"Sig and I will be staying in town for a couple of days so the three of us," Izumi gestured to herself, Edward and Alphonse, "will be finding somewhere to have our spar and I'll see just how much you've been neglecting your training," Izumi informed them, tone telling them there was no way they could get out of it.
"Of course, Teacher," Ed and Al said at the same time and Izumi looked pleased at both the lack of argument and glint of challenge she saw in their eyes.
"Edward," Hawkeye caught Ed's attention, "I want you to know that while I'm not entirely pleased that you kept this from us or with the price you had to pay," it was obvious she was choosing her words carefully because of Elysia, "but I am also proud of you. I don't think I can name many people who I know for certain would've done something like you did but even if I hadn't already known you had, I know your name would've been the first I said if I'd been asked," Hawkeye told him.
Lance barely managed to hide his grin when Ed's cheeks pinkened slightly at Hawkeye's words or how he seemed to be unable to find the words for a moment. "Thank you, Captain Hawkeye," Ed said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"What they both said," Pinako croaked, getting the attention off of Ed, which he appreciated. "I'm glad we didn't lose you that day because you had the guts to make that kind of decision," she told him.
"Thanks, Granny," Ed said, still feeling that amazed disbelief that some of those in the room weren't completely pissed at him. Better yet, they seemed to be siding with him.
Sure, Ed had known Voltron was on his side and that Darius and Heinkel weren't against him but he hadn't hidden this from Voltron, for the most part and certainly not for so long, and both the chimeras had been there in the first place so he'd never hidden this from them. But to know that some of those who he cared about, highly respected and considered family and had kept this from them for over a year were not only not pissed at him but were actually proud of him for making the call he did was more than he could've hoped for. Honestly, he couldn't think of a time similar to this in any way.
Gracia looked around at those who hadn't spoken – specifically Mustang, Winry and Alphonse – before she glanced back over to Ed. "I think the others need some more time, Ed," she told him gently.
Ed nodded at her. "Not really surprised," he muttered to her, low enough that most those couldn't hear him since they weren't close enough to him.
Gracia gave him a sympathetic smile before she adopted her stern-mothering persona. "Right, if no one has anything more they need to say to Edward right this moment, I suggest you start heading to home or to your hotel room," she said firmly. "Roy, thank you for letting us use your home for this," Gracia said as she started herding Elysia towards Ed and Voltron.
"It was no problem, Gracia," Mustang said, seeming mildly perplexed that he was being thanked in the first place. "I don't think your apartment would've fit all of us," he added, a half-smirk on his face that had Gracia roll her eyes fondly.
"You're probably right," Gracia said as she took the pictures Elysia drew, folded them gently and placed them in her purse so they wouldn't be lost, "however it would've been far politer of you if you hadn't mentioned that. See if I save you from an impromptu dinner party again," she threatened. Ed didn't bother hiding his snort at both her threat and the look on Mustang's face in response to it. The glare Mustang gave him gave Ed some hope that maybe his commanding officer wasn't as pissed at him as Al and Winry seemed to be.
"You know Al better than anyone and you're one of the few people who know Winry almost as well as she knows herself," Blue's soothing voice said in Ed's mind. "You know what they're most likely thinking and feeling right now and you know they aren't going to hate you forever but they need some time," she told him.
"Yeah, I know," Ed told her, keeping their conversation silent as he picked Elysia up at her insistence. "Doesn't really help knowing that though," he added.
"I know it doesn't," Blue said sympathetically. Ed could feel the other Lions' sympathy through their bonds and he made sure they all knew that he appreciated that.
Ed's attention was grabbed by the sound of movement and he looked up in time to see Izumi and Sig walking towards him as they headed for the door, followed by most everyone else. "We have Gracia's number and we'll call you when we have time to spare for our sparring session," Izumi told Ed as the couple walked past him.
"Sounds good," Ed told her honestly. He was looking forward to this sparring session, if only because he knew Al would have to interact with him in a positive way, assuming he and Al didn't sort this tension out beforehand.
Izumi nodded as Sig clapped a comforting hand onto Ed's shoulder, squeezing it tightly before he let go and followed his wife out of the house. Darius and Heinkel were the next ones to leave and – to Ed's annoyance – ruffled Ed's hair as they headed out the door. He couldn't swear at them because of Elysia but he made sure his glare told them that the next time the chimeras saw him, there'd be some kind of retribution taken. Most the team then followed suit, though Havoc did pause to let Ed know he'd be waiting outside to take him, the Hughes' and whoever was heading back to theirs with them in the car he'd borrowed to bring most of those at Mustang's that afternoon over. Falman paused once Havoc was out the door to let Ed know that he'd be taking the Curtises and Rockbells back to their hotel. Darius and Heinkel were apparently going to be given a lift by Falman as well but with how Winry had gone off at them earlier, both chimeras had opted to walk back to their hotel rather than share the ride, unwilling to make tensions worse. Personally, Ed thought it was a good move on their part since they could look after themselves and being in a car with an angry Winry wasn't on the top of Ed's to-do list either.
Much to Ed's relief, Alphonse walked out the door as well. He may have not looked at Ed on his way out but he did leave Mustang's, which hopefully meant he was heading back to Gracia's for the night. Ed knew Al probably wouldn't ask Winry, Pinako or Izumi if he could stay with them for the night but there was still a small part of him that thought Al might. So long as Al got into Havoc's car and not Falman's, Ed would consider this night a win.
Yellow, Green, and Red took turns in demanding pats from both Ed and Elysia – much to the young girl's delight – before they joined their humans back over where they stood near Mustang. "We'll wait for the two of you outside," Shiro said as he, Lance, Blue, Black, and Gracia headed for the door to join Havoc.
Ed gave him a confused look since he'd fully planned on following them out as soon as he'd given the three remaining Paladins a goodnight wave and let Elysia say goodnight. Shiro gave him an amused but supportive smirk that had Ed even more confused until Shiro glanced over his shoulder and nodded almost imperceptibly at Mustang. When Ed followed his gaze and glanced himself, he could see that Mustang obviously wanted a word with him but didn't want to call him in the middle of everyone leaving. Curiousity had Ed actually stay where he was rather than immediately give into his impulse to beat Shiro and Lance out the door and into Havoc's car.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Elysia asked, having noticed Ed's tension and was obviously confused about why since – in her eyes – he had no reason to be.
"Gotta talk to your uncle before I can leave his house apparently," Ed told her. "How much do you wanna bet he's gonna lecture me about something, huh?" he asked her, jostling her slightly and making her giggle as she instinctively scrabbled to grab a hold of some his clothing to lessen the feeling that he was going to drop her.
"Nu-uh, big brother! Uncle Roy's not gonna lec'ure you!" she told him, still giggling.
"How do you know, little miss?" Ed asked as Mustang spoke quietly with the six members of Voltron still in his house. Whatever he was saying, Keith didn't look awfully happy about it but Hunk nodded, grabbed both Keith and Pidge by the shoulders and all but shoved the two into the kitchen, the Lions following dutifully behind, with the exception of Red, who sat there and glared at Mustang, daring him to tell her to leave the room. Mustang did the smart thing and let her stay there.
"'Cuz that's not his mad face," Elysia told him, bringing Ed's attention back to her.
"Well, here's hoping you're right, princess," Ed said as he headed over to where Mustang was standing and pretending he didn't notice the warning glare he was getting from the Red Lion. "What's up?" Ed asked once he was closer to Mustang.
Mustang gave Elysia a smile that she returned even as she made no move to indicate she wanted to go to her uncle, not that it seemed like Mustang was expecting her to. Mustang's focus turned from his adopted niece to his youngest subordinate. "I just wanted – no, I think I needed you to know before you left my home tonight that…" Mustang trailed off as he obviously tried to figure out what he was trying to say. Both Elysia and Ed shared a questioning look before Ed shrugged and paid attention to Mustang once more, who now seemed surer of what he was trying to say. "I just needed you to know that I'm not angry with you over what you had to do," he said. "I'm not happy you had to do what you did but I think I'm mostly unhappy because you were in that situation without anyone as backup to make sure you wouldn't have been in that position in the first place," Mustang told him. "And as much as what you had to pay upsets me, I am so happy that you could and did make that call," Mustang told him.
Ed was so stunned that it took Elysia tightening her grip on his jackets for him to even respond. "Oh," he said eloquently. Mustang snorted softly and that seemed to jumpstart Ed's brain once more. "Well, thanks, Mustang," Ed said. "I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled about the price either in hindsight but in that moment, it seemed like a pretty good deal to me," Ed told him. "But thanks for telling me," Ed said quietly, not quite managing to muster up the courage to look Mustang in the eye. Despite the fact that Mustang said he wasn't mad, Ed couldn't quite make himself fully believe that, what with his track record with this sort of thing.
"Alphonse and Winry will come around soon enough," Mustang told him, voice far gentler than Ed was used to hearing. "I know only Captain Hawkeye spoke up but I think the men were still a little in shock. Havoc was the only one who heard you yesterday but I know it was still a shock to him to hear all of the details of that fight. They may not have spoken up when Mrs. Curtis, Captain Hawkeye, and Ms. Rockbell did but I know the four of them stand behind you as well," Mustang assured him and Ed felt a small piece of him relax at that. If anyone who was here in this house this afternoon could say with any certainty what Fuery, Breda, Falman, and Havoc all thought to this, it would've been Mustang. Mustang cleared his throat slightly, catching Ed's attention again. "I know Mrs. Curtis said she and her husband would remain in Central for a couple of days and that most everyone is leaving tomorrow so you have my permission to take a couple of personal days if you require them. I'll let you know if Fuhrer Grumman asks after you but you don't need to report into the base until the Curtises have gone home," Mustang said.
Ed knew what Mustang was doing and he was immensely grateful for it. Knowing he'd be able to talk to those leaving tomorrow without having to worry about being called in and assigned a mission – as low as though chances were of that happening with Voltron still in Amestris – or having to talk to someone in the middle of seeing someone off at the train station was extremely relieving. "Thanks, Mustang. That'll be really good. Don't want Winry to be madder at me because I had to ditch her and Granny at the train station mid-conversation," Ed told him, only half-jokingly.
"That's probably for the best," Mustang said, his own voice laced with levity. "You should probably head on out before someone comes looking for you and Elysia," he said to Ed, nodding towards his front door.
"Yeah, you're probably right. They might think I've kidnapped Elysia for real this time," Ed said, poking Elysia lightly in the ribs, making her laugh as he hit her ticklish spots. Her laughter had Ed grinning widely at the noise.
Mustang grinned at the scene in front of him. "Probably a good idea," he told Ed, once the blonde had taken mercy on his adopted little sister. "I'll see you later, Ed," Mustang said.
"Yeah," Ed said as he started backing up towards the door, waving goodbye to Red and the five other members of Voltron who were doing a poor job of pretending they weren't eavesdropping on the conversation. The other two Lions didn't even bother pretending they weren't listening in and grinned when Ed pretended to mentally admonish them for it. "I'll see you later, Mustang," Ed said, "and thanks for, you know, being honest," he said.
"Any time, Ed," Mustang said, giving the blonde a small smile. "Bye, Elysia, and behave yourself for your mother," he instructed the young girl who grinned at him.
"I will, Uncle Roy!" Elysia promised him, waving at Mustang while Ed got the door open.
Ed glanced back in the house just in time to see Red give Mustang an unreadable look as she got up and joined her team members in the kitchen. Mustang looked as stumped as Ed was amused by the look. "Maybe I should be telling the three of you to behave yourselves," Ed said to the three Lions as he shut the door behind him and Elysia.
"Like you wouldn't have been doing the same thing in our position," Red sassed him.
"You got me there," Ed laughed as he headed across Mustang's front lawn to where Havoc and the others heading to Gracia's house were sitting in the car. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," Ed said as he placed Elysia on her own two feet so she could climb into the car. To Ed's relief, Elysia ended up sitting next to Alphonse, negating any lingering fears that Alphonse was going to stay in someone's hotel room or get one of his own.
"Bye, Ed," all three Lions chorused at the same time, making the corner of Ed's lips tick upwards in a small smirk as he followed Elysia into the car.
"Everything okay?" Gracia asked, glancing worriedly between Ed and Mustang's front door.
"Yeah," Ed said, giving her a warm smile. "Everything seems to be pretty alright considering," he told her, leaning back in the seat and feeling like he actually meant his words.
A/N - Slightly less angst in this chapter but don't worry! There will still be some angst in future chapters for you all to look forward to! Thanks to those of you who have left reviews and I would really like to see some more from other people letting me know what you guys think to this story or chapter but, as they say, if wishes were horses, beggars might ride, so I'm not holding my breath tbh but anyways. I'll see you all next week for the next chapter. Only five more to go!
