Fluff incoming! Just a lil. Really. But I'm impatient to get to the fluffier, sweeter stuff here so I'm getting excited. As always, I hope you guys enjoy, and I love hearing your thoughts! Thank you so much for reading!
They returned to the station to await the next train heading south, and Lissa settled onto the bench between Ed and Alex, resting her elbows on her knees and staring out at the tracks. He'd known her parents. She remembered them vaguely, from her childhood—she remembered practicing alchemy, mostly. Lissa had seen photos, so she knew their faces, but she hardly knew anymore if her memories with their faces were because of the pictures, or because she actually remembered them that well. But to meet someone who knew them…who knew about their lives…and then be forced to walk away like that… It was eating at her. She wanted to know everything about them, and most especially how they'd come to be involved with a state alchemist working on the Philosopher's Stone.
"Are you sure about this, Ed?" Alex asked him quietly.
Ed looked up in surprise. "Huh? Sure about what?"
"Even an incomplete Philosopher's Stone could be useful. You could have taken it by force." He was…testing Ed, Lissa realized. Alex wanted to see how he'd react to that—and why he hadn't just snagged the stone when it was right there in front of him.
"Yeah… I wanted it so badly I could almost taste it," Ed admitted quietly. "But still…"
Al picked up the thread. "But still, we don't want it so badly that we'd be willing to deprive this town of their only doctor just to get it. We have to do this the right way, or not at all."
Ed cracked a faint smile and nodded his agreement. "We gained plenty just finding proof that the Philosopher's Stone can be made. Now, we'll just have to look for some other way to do it." His arm shifted against the back of the bench, and Lissa felt his hand brush the top of her spine, so casually she thought it had to be an accident. It made her inexplicably tense, though. "And what about you, Major?" Ed asked with a smirk in his direction. "How do you feel about not reporting back to Central on Dr. Marcoh's location?"
Alex turned his nose up. "I met a simple, small-town doctor today. Nothing more. I can't see any real reason to report that."
Their train pulled in, and Lissa fought back a fully-body jolt as Ed stood up beside her, his hand nearly snagging her jacket in the process. "C'mon. Train's here. And Major, I swear, if you put Alphonse in with the damned livestock again…"
"Hmph. Fine, if that's what you'd prefer…"
They were just about to hop on—Lissa actually had a hand on the door of the train, when someone yelled out, "Wait!"
"Dr. Marcoh?" Ed wondered, frowning.
She turned in surprise as Dr. Marcoh came running up onto the platform, panting and holding a single sheet of paper, folded halfway, in his hand. "This is where my research materials are," he blurted, and handed the paper over to Ed. "If you're certain you won't regret learning the truth in the end, start here. Look closely. Maybe you'll find the truth hidden within the truth." His gaze snapped up to meet Lissa's. "Both of you. But… I've said too much already." Dr. Marcoh turned to leave, but paused, looked back, and added to the boys, "I hope the day will come when you're able to restore your bodies. Good luck."
"Weird," Lissa mused, watching him hurry away from the station. "I wonder why he changed his mind like that?"
"Brother, what does the note say?" Al asked—he was trapped in the box, after all.
Edward flipped the paper up and eyed it, his brows furrowed in confusion. "It says… National Central Library, First Branch."
"I get it. Like hiding a tree in the forest. Finding one single book in that library will be difficult indeed," Alex observed thoughtfully.
"It's still a clue." Ed tightened his fingers around the note and grinned at Al. "I'll take it."
Lissa was glad to see him reenergized—until they boarded the train and he couldn't sit freaking still, bouncing his legs constantly, shifting positions, driving her absolutely crazy just watching him writhing with all that energy. Finally, still a good hour outside Resembool, she'd had enough. "All right, dummy," she grumbled, rising to her feet. "Come on. Let's go walk the train if you're gonna keep dancing around like that."
"M'not dancing," he protested. But all the same, Ed got to his feet and followed her into the aisle.
Alex lifted his eyes from his book. "And just where do you two think you're going?"
"Just to let Ed walk off some of his nervous energy," Lissa explained brightly. "Don't worry, I can protect us if anything happens. We're not going to do anything stupid." She went to take Ed's arm and guide him away—but he caught her hand and slipped his fingers between hers instead, which she didn't mind at all.
"I just can't settle down," he explained as they walked, passing into the next car and finding it mostly empty. "You know better than almost anyone, Lissa. Finding the stone…it's everything Al and I have been working towards for years now."
She tightened her fingers around his and nodded. "I do know. I really hope this pans out, Ed. I just…" Lissa sighed and pushed open the door at the end of the car. Wind rushed inside, but she welcomed it, stepping out with Ed and closing the door behind them. Then she paused there, leaning her hip against the railing and giving him a serious look. "I don't want to see you disappointed again, that's all. It kinda breaks my heart watching you go through that every time."
Edward copied her position, still holding her hand, leaning his right hip into the railing for balance. "I'll take a thousand disappointments if it means getting Al's body back," he told her fiercely. "I'm going to do it, Liss. I'm going to get his body back, no matter how many times I have to go through that."
"And I've never doubted you, Ed. But… I'm your friend. I don't like seeing you hurt." She brushed her hair out of her face, though the wind tried to whip it right back just seconds later. "All I'm saying is…be careful. When Scar attacked you… Not down in the city, but by that statue, when he first showed up… You didn't even move. You could've died right there if Alphonse hadn't pulled you out of the way. I know exactly how bad you get when you're really disappointed… When you start to give up… I don't want this to be like that."
He shook his head firmly. "It won't be. Dr. Marcoh had a real Philosopher's Stone—not the full version, but close enough that it might even work to bring our bodies back, I don't know yet. And as soon as I get my arm back and put Al back together, we'll go find that research in Central and…and maybe this can be it. I have such a strong feeling about this, I really do." Ed's hand clamped down on hers. "You felt it, didn't you? From that stone Dr. Marcoh showed us? I know you had to, you get this look in your eyes whenever you're sensing stuff." He curled one corner of his lips up into a rueful sort of smile. "I wish I could feel what you do."
"No, you don't." Lissa pulled away from him and crossed her arms. "You really don't. Trust me on that." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, wondering how much to tell him. If she told him how wrong the stone felt, it might shut him down completely… And she didn't even know why it felt that way. Maybe only incomplete stones felt so weird, and a complete one would be totally different. What did she know?
"Ed…" She reached out and touched her hand to the left side of his chest, watching his cheeks dust with pink as her fingers slipped beneath his jacket. "Protect your heart. Please. I never want to see you like that again."
He smiled faintly and brought his hand up, placing it atop hers gently. "I'll try. I swear I will."
They stood like that a moment, Lissa's face growing warm as she realized how…how intimate the moment felt… Then she carefully moved her hand away and broke contact, clearing her throat softly to shake the awkwardness off. "You know…my hometown isn't actually all that far from Resembool. Did I ever tell you that?"
"No," he admitted. "You don't talk much about your life before you came to Central, actually."
Lissa winced. "I don't remember a lot of it. But…I do remember more from when I was…I think four or five, growing up in a little town called Rayerk. It's in the South Area, but it's all the way on the eastern border so it's pretty close to Resembool. I think it's a bit over forty kilometers away. The first time I came out here, I realized they're pretty similar towns—small, remote, lots of farming and not much else."
Ed looked at her curiously, sticking his thumb into his trouser pocket absently. "Rayerk… That's one of the towns that got destroyed just like Resembool during the Ishvalan Civil War, isn't it? I think I know where it is…" He laughed softly. "It's weird to think that we grew up so close, and went through all those really horrible things… But without it, I don't know if we ever would've met."
"Alex says everything happens for a reason… He told me that all the time when I was younger, when I'd get frustrated and upset with the situation I'm in." Lissa traced a design absently on the railing as she recalled it. "He said we don't always see why immediately, but there's always a reason for it."
He wrinkled his nose at her. "I have no idea what you see in him. Seriously."
"Dummy," she muttered. "Look… My first night in Central, right after my parents passed, I snuck out of the facility and tried to run away. Alex caught me. Apparently he'd been stuck on guard duty that night for one reason or another… Anyway… He was supposed to drag me back in and hand me off for punishment, that's what anyone else would've done. But instead he took me off the property, to this little bakery so I could get away from everything. He bought me a whole bag of cookies, all to myself, and just…talked to me like an adult. I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't done that."
Ed's eyes widened as she talked, almost comically, like he'd never expected anything like that. And maybe he hadn't. "I had no idea he did that for you, Liss. Seriously. I kinda get it, considering that, why you'd be close to him. But…" He gave her a very intense look. "How the hell do you get away with calling Lieutenant Hawkeye Riza without her shooting you?"
Lissa giggled and pressed a hand to her mouth. "That's my secret, Elric. I'll never tell, otherwise, I'd have to kill you."
He burst out laughing too, the serious moment gone, tilting his head back and letting out a boyish, full laugh that made her feel warm all over. Edward wasn't happy like that often, and she loved seeing when he was.
But then, off balance because of his missing arm, Ed tilted and stumbled—right as the train went over a bump in the tracks.
Lissa felt the moment he went from flailing his left arm to genuinely falling, felt the disturbance in the air all across her skin. "Ed!" she shrieked, panicked. She lunged forward, the air all around him crackling blue as she struggled to use the wind whipping around them to her benefit, instead of fighting against it. The alchemic energy raced across her skin as she twisted her hands midair, forcing the wind in the opposite direction—and with a sudden rush of momentum, Ed was propelled away from the open edge of the car and directly into her arms.
All the air was knocked out of her lungs as he rammed into her, and she staggered into the wall, holding tight to him and burying her face in his shoulder. They stood there like that a moment, clinging together, both panting hard and trembling faintly.
"You okay?" she whispered finally, lifting her head.
Ed let out a harsh breath. "Y-yeah. Thanks for, y'know…saving me."
Lissa smiled at him weakly, still trying to get her lungs working again. "That's two times in just a couple days, you know," she teased. "If I do it too much, it'll totally ruin your reputation. You gotta stop getting into trouble."
He didn't return the jest, though. "You're always sticking your neck out for me… All the damn time… And I have no idea why, Liss. I really don't."
"Because I care about you," she explained, feeling a bit confused. What was so difficult for him to understand? "It's not like I'm doing it to get something in return. I just…don't want anything to happen to you, that's all."
But he still wasn't content. "That first time, though… In Resembool… You stood up to Mustang for me. And I didn't know it at the time, but that had to be a pretty big deal, didn't it? I mean, being out on a mission like that, you were technically under his command, and I know he was furious with you for it. What made you do that? You'd never even met me before."
Lissa tightened her fingers down on his red cloak when he went to move away, suddenly unwilling to let him so much as put an inch of distance between them. "Because…because you looked so…hurt," she whispered. "I'd never seen somebody look that way before. And I'd seen your house, Ed, we came straight from there. I saw…" Her throat closed up and she cut herself off. Lissa would never admit the thing she'd seen-not-seen, the horrific, twisted figure that hadn't really been there at all. "I just knew I had to do something. I had to protect you."
"Man." He sighed and rested his forehead against her shoulder, all the energy going out of him. "I so don't deserve you around, do I?"
"Don't say things like that."
"It's true, though. You're always getting hurt because of me, and you know it. I can think of a dozen times last year alone you got injured because of something I did, or some situation you were only in because of me and the crap I drag you into." Edward's self-hatred spiked, a rough, sore patch on her heart. "Then you threw yourself in front of Scar for me… You were literally willing to die if it meant protecting me. That's… You have no reason to do that, Lissa. None at all. I don't understand why you're even still here most of the time."
She sighed and leaned back far enough to look at him, catching the genuine confusion in his golden eyes. "What do you mean, I don't have any reason to do that? I have every reason. I can think of a dozen times in the past year where you saved my ass or helped me somehow. Besides, that's what you do for someone you care about." Lissa smiled and stepped back, taking his hand in both of hers. "Let's go in, okay? Before one of us nearly eats train tracks again."
For a moment, he just went with her as she moved towards the door—but then Ed pulled back just enough to stop her. "Liss… Don't…don't do that again, please. Don't throw yourself in front of somebody for me."
"I won't promise that," she told him honestly. "I can't. Because I don't regret it."
Ed's face contorted in some kind of agony, something she felt like the scrape of a blade down her chest. "I mean it. You can't do things like that for me."
"You know, I can sense it when you feel things that strongly," she admitted. "The self-hatred… I feel it right here." She touched two fingers to her chest, just over her heart. "You can't stop me from caring, and that's just…sometimes how it shows. Okay? What, you're saying you wouldn't do something totally dumb and reckless for me?"
"Of course I would," he protested quickly, looking shocked. "What are you even talking about? I care about you too, I'd—I'd do anything to keep you safe, you know I-"
Lissa leaned in and kissed his cheek, just softly, but it caused him to press his lips together and turn bright red. "So stop, Ed. You know how I feel, then, so just stop worrying so much. I'm not going anywhere, I don't want to go anywhere." She reached down and took his hand again, feeling infinitely better when he quirked a smile at her, even though it was oddly…shy. It was weird to see him look shy like that. "What do you say we go find the luggage car and check on Al? The sheep wouldn't have been good company, but I still bet he's lonely."
Ed grinned then and nodded, back to his usual self in a heartbeat. "Sounds good to me," he agreed. He pulled on her arm and headed into the next car, but for a moment, just a single second, Lissa felt a burst of…of warmth like a sunrise, like the bloom of a flower. It took her breath away, but it was gone in an instant.
What was that? Was that…Edward?
She bit her lip and forced down sudden, inexplicable embarrassment. This was just Ed. She had nothing to feel strangely about, nothing at all.
—
"It's much nicer here when it's sunny," Lissa observed, spinning in the middle of the dirt road and breathing in the clear air. "Last time it rained the whole time I was here, but this is lovely." She shut her eyes and tipped her head up to let the sun warm her, just enjoying the feeling of being so far out of Central, away from the harsher scents of the city.
She stumbled as Ed bumped her with his shoulder, smirking. "C'mon. You look like some recluse who's never seen the sun before, Liss."
Lissa rolled her eyes and snagged the empty sleeve on his coat, using it to tug him along behind her. "And here I thought you were the recluse. How many times have you passed off your pocket watch on me to get out of talking to people?"
They bantered back and forth a little, all in fun, and Lissa felt just so…light. It was so pretty out here in Resembool, and by the way both Ed and Al were talking, they seemed to feel better too, much better than they had back in Central. In the three years she'd been traveling with them, they'd never actually returned to this little town, not even once, so maybe it'd be good for the boys to come home after such a long period of time. She hoped so.
The stroll through the countryside was lovely, easy despite the rolling hills and uneven terrain. Lissa got caught up in the boys' stories about the different farms around them, awed by the window into their childhood they opened for her—they filled the time with anecdotes from growing up here, all sorts of mischief they got into and chaos they caused.
Finally, they crested a sloping hill, and Lissa's chest tightened as she saw the familiar automail shop. She'd never forget it—this was where she'd first met Ed and Al, of course. Where—at least as far as she saw it—she'd changed her life forever by ignoring orders and rushing inside.
A black and white dog stood at the end of the lane, barking and hopping up and down excitedly. Lissa noticed his left foreleg was actually automail, a sweet gesture, she thought. As they approached, an old woman stepped down the porch and joined the dog, watching their odd little group close the last bit of distance between them and the property. Lissa recognized her immediately as Pinako Rockbell, the woman she'd met when she came here before.
"Yo, Granny!" Ed greeted, lifting his arm to wave at her.
"We're home!" Al tacked on brightly.
Ms. Rockbell sighed wearily. "Oh, dear. What have you done now?" she asked, though she didn't seem surprised by their appearance in the slightest.
"A lot has happened," Ed told her sheepishly. "Can you fix us up?"
With a loud thud, Alex sat Al down right there outside, and the dog, apparently recognizing him, lifted onto his hind legs and pawed at the crate, trying to lick Al's face. It was cute, that the dog knew who Al was even in the armor.
"This is Major Alex Louis Armstrong," Ed introduced, as Ms. Rockbell shook his giant hand and introduced herself in turn. "And this is-"
"Oh, yes, I remember you," Ms. Rockbell cut in. "You're the young lady who defended Edward a few years back, aren't you?"
Lissa blinked in surprise, stunned she'd remembered her at all. "Yes, that's me. I'm Lissa Caito. Thank you for letting us stay here, Ms. Rockbell—I hope we aren't intruding on your home. I wasn't sure you'd even remember me, to be honest." She figured a little propriety might be nice in this case, since she and Alex were kind of showing up unannounced, after all.
"Just Pinako, please." The old woman eyed her curiously. "I don't see how I'd forget. You did a very brave thing that night, Lissa. I don't forget faces very easily. Though you've gotten a bit taller, I see." Her gaze shot to Ed, and she added, "I know I haven't seen you for a while either, Ed, but you've gone and grown smaller!"
Ed glared down at her, incensed. "Granny…you've got it wrong," he told her through gritted teeth. "You're supposed to say, how big you've grown lately, Ed."
Pinako met his glare with a sharp one of her own. "But why would I say something so clearly untrue?"
"I'm still taller than you, mini-hag!"
Lissa felt the disturbance in the air seconds before a wrench flew down and slammed right into the side of Edward's forehead, knocking him flat on his ass. She blinked, stunned, and turned to see a blonde girl about her own age standing on the second-level balcony, scowling down at Ed in frustration. "Edward, I thought I told you to call first when you're heading back here for maintenance!" she yelled.
Ed sat up and rubbed his head, glaring up towards the blonde like he could set her aflame with just his eyes. "Winry! Are you trying to kill me?!" he demanded.
The girl just laughed at him. "Welcome back!" she teased, still giggling to herself.
Pinako didn't seem fazed by the interaction, so Lissa just chalked it up to their usual behavior. She hadn't met Winry when she'd come here last time—but she knew of her, certainly. It'd be weird meeting someone she knew about, but who had no idea about her.
They all went inside then, Alex helpfully carting Alphonse in as well, and set up in the living room. Lissa was studiously trying not to focus on her memories, but it was difficult when even the furniture hadn't changed, when the house still felt more or less the same to her. At least Mustang isn't here this time. That's a bonus.
Lissa made herself useful by helping Pinako make some tea, trying to feel more like she belonged, and had just brought two cups into the living room and passed one off to Ed when she heard an earsplitting scream from across the room.
"Oh no!"
Winry stood over the decimated remnants of Ed's automail arm, staring down at the shattered pieces in some kind of agony. She looked like she was either going to cry, or hit him with a wrench again.
"Yeah, sorry," Ed mumbled, taking a sip of his tea. "It's a little smashed up."
The girl picked up a couple pieces and clenched them in her hands. "A little smashed up?" she repeated in a hiss. "A little, Ed?! Do you see what you've done to my beautiful creation?! I slaved over this!"
Ed grinned at her and set his tea down. "It's basically the same; it's just in smaller pieces," he chirped.
Dummy.
Lissa bit back a laugh as Winry rounded on him with a wrench again, this time knocking him clear off the couch in her wrath. While he lay there, unable to push himself back up, his legs flailing in the air desperately, the blonde jammed her hands on her hips and turned to Al with a dry look on her face. "You a little smashed up too, Al?" she asked sourly. "What kind of trouble have you two been getting yourselves into?"
Clang!
Winry rammed her foot into the side of Al's head, frustrated beyond belief. "You idiots! All you ever do is worry me." Then she sighed, rubbed the back of her head, and flashed a sheepish grin at Lissa. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but it needed to be done."
Lissa raised a hand in surrender. "Nope, I won't argue. They are idiots."
"Traitor," Ed mumbled from the floor.
"Oh! Silly me, I never introduced myself." Winry bounced across the room and smiled widely down at Lissa like they were old friends. "I'm Winry Rockbell. I grew up with these two idiots here. And you're—Lissa, right? Lissa Caito? I remember seeing you when you came here before, but I never got a chance to say hi."
Lissa smiled up at her, surprised by her attitude. "It's weird, but I kind of feel like I know you somehow. The boys talked about you a lot."
Winry shot them a suspicious look. "Oh, did they?"
"Nothing bad, I swear!" Al hurried to say, maybe afraid to take a foot to the face again. "A-all good things, Winry, we promise!"
The blonde laughed and nodded. "Better be." She crossed her arms and leaned her weight back, apparently settling in. "So, you need your arm repaired then, Ed. What kind of timeline are we looking at here? This won't be just a simple adjustment, you know that."
Ed tried to yank his way back onto the couch, but failed miserably, so Lissa took pity on him and helped pull him back up beside her so he could address Winry and Pinako like a normal person. "Yeah, I know," he sighed. "It wasn't gonna be like this, but…we have some information waiting for us in the National Library back in Central, and it's—a really big lead, see. We can't risk missing out on it."
Across the room, Pinako tapped the end of her pipe out and nodded thoughtfully. "All right, I see. In order to get this information you need, you want to go to Central as soon as possible, am I right?"
"Yeah…" He nodded sheepishly. "This is kind of a rush order."
"Well, let's see what we're working with, then."
Obediently, Ed stripped down to his underclothes, shedding the rest and letting Lissa bundle it all up in her backpack for safekeeping. She knew he was picky about what he wore, after all, and she figured it was easier if she held onto it for the time being. Maybe she'd do a little laundry while they were staying in Resembool. They certainly needed it.
When she turned back, though, Lissa couldn't bring herself to sit back down beside Ed. He was in just a couple thin layers of cotton, his automail exposed for all the world to see, and it felt sort of…private, somehow. She'd seen the ports before, naturally, mostly when she bandaged him up after a rough fight—but here in the Rockbells' house, some part of her felt differently about the whole thing. Even the scarring on his thigh was more visible here, thrown into relief by the overhead lights.
Pinako knelt in front of him and grabbed both his legs, holding them against each other thoughtfully. "Hm… It's not just the arm. Your leg needs adjusting too."
Winry snickered and smirked at him. "Guess your growth's not completely stunted after all," she teased.
"Oh, shut up!" Ed snapped back.
Continuing like they'd never spoken, Pinako told him, "The leg aside, with the shape the arm's in we'll have to build it from scratch."
Edward looked down at his lap, seeming uncomfortable somehow. "Is there…any chance you can have it done in a week?" he asked tentatively.
"Give us some credit, Ed." Pinako rose to her feet and grinned at him. "Three days."
Three days to machine an entirely new automail arm? Lissa looked at Winry sideways, stunned by the sheer speed. She knew a bit about automail, just peripherally from being around so many soldiers who had automail of their own, and she'd heard enough griping and complaining about wait times, how long it took for even the simplest of adjustments… Three days for a new arm and adjusted leg was lightning-fast.
With practiced ease, Pinako unlatched Ed's automail leg and slotted a different one into place, this one stiffer and less detailed. "You'll have to make do with this spare for now," she told him, passing his usual leg off to Winry.
Ed got to his feet then—and immediately stumbled on the different leg. Lissa managed to catch him before he fell the whole way, going in on his right side and pressing her hand into his chest. He gave her an embarrassed grin as he leaned into her. "Sorry. It's a little difficult to walk on a leg I'm not used to."
Pinako waved him off. "We'll be finished before you get used to it."
"Three days, huh?" Winry mused, rising to her feet with Ed's leg slung over her shoulder. "Between machining, assembly, connecting, and finishing…" She ticked each item off on her fingers as she went through them, her brow furrowed. "That's three all-nighters."
Lissa suddenly understood exactly how the Rockbells would finish this so quickly.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble," Ed told her softly.
But Winry just turned and beamed at him, unbothered. "Well, you want to get to Central as soon as possible, right?" she asked brightly. "Then I'll work my butt off for you. But you better believe you're gonna pay a fortune in rush order fees!"
The Rockbells headed upstairs to get started, and Lissa helped Ed back to the sofa before fetching his clothes for him. "Will you be all right on that leg?" she asked him curiously, trying her hardest not to stare as he began to get dressed, shuffling his trousers up his legs and arching off the sofa to slide them over his butt. Why was this so awkward? He was putting clothes on. Lissa wondered at herself sometimes, she really did.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just a bit clunky, that's all. I'm used to something with full articulation." He got up again, a bit steadier this time, and pulled his black jacket on—it was quite a feat, really, the way he used his right shoulder to hold it in place while sliding his left arm in. Impressive.
Alex eyed them from across the room. "What will you do, then?" he asked curiously. "While the Rockbells are working on your automail."
Ed shrugged faintly. "I dunno. There's not much to do around here, honestly… But it's nice out, we should at least sit outside for a while. Don't you think, Al?"
Al bobbed his head. "Sure. Sounds good to me."
Lissa slung Edward's red cloak over her arm and followed him outside, watching him limp down the stairs oh-so-carefully, while Alex brought Al out and freed him from the box, finally. There weren't many options, with his armor still so destroyed, but they found a good place up against some barrels where Al said he'd be fine. Ed flopped out beside him, lying back in the grass with the dog—who Lissa learned was called Den—putting his head on Ed's leg to sleep. She just stretched out beside them, enjoying just being outside like this.
"It's so boring here," Ed muttered, folding his arm behind his head. "There aren't any libraries, there's nothing to do…"
"Yeah, but it's nice to get a break every once in a while," Al pointed out cheerily.
Ed scowled up at the sky. "I don't do well with breaks."
Lissa reached down and scritched Den behind the ears absently, unwilling to admit she understood where he was coming from. It was difficult to sit still after spending so long constantly on the go, constantly seeking new leads and traveling and just…being in motion. Stopping the momentum, even for a few days, felt strange.
"You know… You could go visit mom's grave," Alphonse suggested, looking down at Ed rather intensely.
Ed frowned at him. "But you can't go, not unless you get the Major to carry you."
Al shook his head. "No, I don't want him to do that. It'd be weird. But you should still go, brother. We'll be going straight back to Central as soon as your automail's repaired. You won't have a chance otherwise."
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Ed sighed and sat up, the dog whining at him and rolling away in frustration as he pushed to his feet and stretched his left arm. He stood there a moment, thinking, his gaze faraway and unreadable. Lissa wondered what was in his mind. She agreed with Al, visiting their mother's grave seemed important, she just…worried, that was all.
"Hey, Liss…" Ed looked down at her thoughtfully. "Do you…wanna come with me?"
She sat up slowly, completely shocked by the offer. "Wouldn't that be kind of invasive, though?" she edged.
"No, not at all. Besides, it'd be nice to have someone with me, honestly." He smiled, a soft, almost vulnerable kind of look. "Unless…you don't want to go. Which, I mean, I don't want to force you or something."
He really wants me to go with him, she realized. With that in mind, Lissa stood up and nodded firmly. "I just didn't want to intrude, that's all. But I'm happy to go with you, Ed, honest." She grabbed his cloak from where he'd left it and held it out for him to slip his left arm into, figuring she could help him with it this time, at least. He looked like he might be blushing as she pulled it up his shoulders and tugged it into place, but she wasn't sure.
"Be safe," Alphonse told them, looking a bit forlorn where he sat.
Lissa smiled and kissed the top of his head. "We will, Al. Promise. I'll bring your brother back in one piece."
Ed wrinkled his nose. "Was that a joke?"
"No, dummy," she laughed. "Come on. Wasn't there a little flower cart just down the lane a bit? We can pick something up on our way." Lissa took his arm to help him along, and with Den at their heels, the two set off from the automail shop.
"It's weird, being back here," Ed admitted as they walked. "I haven't been here in three years."
"I haven't been to my hometown since I was seven," she pointed out, gently as she could. "You and Al have this…task you've set yourselves on, so I mean, I can't say I blame you. I know how focused you two get. It'd be hard to just…step outside that by coming back here all the time."
He shrugged his good shoulder faintly. "I dunno… I think Granny and Winry are upset about it, even though they won't say it outright."
"I don't know about upset. Worried, maybe." Lissa grinned at him. "Winry was definitely worried, though…she does have a funny way of showing it, with the wrenches and all. Speaking of, how's your head?"
Edward winced. "Don't remind me."
—
The sun was beginning to set by the time they reached the small cemetery. Ed had adjusted to his temporary leg well enough to hobble around on his own, so when they got there, Lissa stood back a little bit to give him privacy. From her vantage point, though, she could still see the headstone. Trisha Elric. 1878-1904. She was only twenty-six, Lissa realized with a jolt. Still so young… What could've happened to her? There was no possible way it was a natural death, not at that age… And it meant Ed had only been five years old at the time, and Al four. So young.
Though she herself had only been seven. Just two years older than Ed.
No wonder they wanted to bring her back… They were just kids, left all alone… If I'd been left on my own, I might've tried the same thing. I can't ever blame them for something I understand. What child wouldn't try to bring their mother back, if they believed they could?
Lissa stepped up beside Edward and put her arm around his shoulders, wordlessly pulling him into her side. The boys weren't alone now. She'd never let them feel so alone again.
"Here," he murmured, finally lifting his gaze and looking elsewhere—towards a hill overlooking the cemetery, with what looked like a burned tree standing up like a signpost, its silhouette harsh against the sunset. "I want to show you something."
She followed him out of the cemetery without question, staying close to his side as he led her up the hill, his gaze set and determined. Lissa didn't know what to expect—but whatever she might've come up with, it wasn't this. The burned tree stood above the charred remnants of what used to be the Elrics' house. Lissa didn't know how she hadn't recognized it before… Though her specific memories of the place were so tarnished by what she'd seen inside, and her whole focus had changed once she'd seen the boys.
"This was your house, wasn't it?" she murmured. "I remember… It was raining so hard that night, everything looked different, but I still remember it…"
Ed nodded slowly. "Yeah. It was." He hooked his thumb into his pocket and sighed deeply. "We can't turn back now, Liss. We can't give up. Al and I…we didn't want to give ourselves a single chance to doubt our conviction. Sometimes I wonder…if it was the right decision. Burning our house down was the hardest thing we've ever done, maybe the hardest thing we ever will do… But I can't make myself regret it. Does that make me a terrible person?"
Lissa took his hand gently, sliding her fingers between his and pulling him in closer. "No. It doesn't, Ed. Only you and Alphonse could decide what felt right, after what happened… Nobody else has any right to tell you what you should've done. Nobody else knows what it was like to go through what you did."
"Would you have done it?" he asked her quietly. "In our place. Would you have done what we did?"
She tightened her fingers on him, just a bit. "Which part?"
"All of it."
Lissa leaned her head over onto his shoulder and sighed. "I think I'd be lying if I said no. I didn't have the same resources…and my home was destroyed by the time the military found me, but… Yeah. I really think I would've."
He tilted his head to lean on hers, and this close, she could hear him breathing, feel the faint shifting in the air every time he exhaled. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you."
"You didn't," she denied, smiling. "I dunno, it's stupid maybe, but…it makes me feel better to know we're in the same headspace. It makes me feel less crazy, just knowing somebody else feels the same way."
Ed chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He stood up straight and met her gaze, now smiling faintly. "We should head back."
Lissa wrapped her arm around his waist and nodded. "Lead the way."
