I went to the DMV...and it was useless, and frustrating, and I'm angry at the world. SO. I finished and edited this chapter, because I had a lot I wanted to handle here and it made me feel better to get out of my head. This one is definitely emotional - it's Rush Valley, so we know that's a big deal - and in opposition to the past couple chapters, this moves forward in a big way, and I'm really excited for it. I'm also CRAZY excited for Dublith! So, pretty please review and follow and everything, it means so so much to hear what you think! (Especially because I'm still sore at the DMV.) Anyway, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!
The next evening, Lissa and Edward checked out of the hospital—against the doctor's recommendations—and boarded the train with Al and Winry, bound for Dublith…with a night's stay in Rush Valley, for Winry's sake. Alex, Ross, Brosh, Gracia, and Elicia all came to the station to see them off, and Lissa was so touched she almost cried. She hadn't realized just how many people really cared enough to do that, to actually put in that effort for them. Gracia even gave them a whole apple pie for the ride down.
"So why is it suddenly so important that you guys see your teacher?" Winry asked the boys curiously. She was sitting beside Al, which Lissa thought was purposeful—it put her at the best spot to read Lissa and Ed's faces. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Edward leaned his head into his palm and tipped into the window a bit. "There are a couple of reasons. For starters, I'm a little tired of getting my ass kicked."
Winry's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. Is this some kind of combat teacher?" She folded her arms over her chest, seeming frustrated with the whole thing. "I don't get it. Why don't you just quit fighting?"
"Oh, that'd be nice," Ed snapped at her. "But sorry, it's not as simple as that, okay? Besides, this isn't only about our fighting. Our core needs a little work too, right Al?"
Al nodded. "Exactly. We feel like seeing our teacher will help us grow, and make us stronger on the inside."
"Yeah, and we're gonna need as much strength as we can get." Ed scowled and turned to face the window, and Lissa reached out to him, lightly resting her hand on his leg to settle him down a bit. He and Al were so anxious about this, about their trip back to see their old teacher, but that didn't mean he needed to be so aggressive.
Thankfully, Winry seemed to understand, only smiling a bit at him instead of being offended. "What's reason two?" she asked softly.
Ed stiffened ever so slightly. "To see what she can tell us about the Philosopher's Stone."
"And to ask her about the truth within the truth," Al added solemnly. "We haven't gotten any closer to figuring it out. There's a chance our teacher knows something about it."
"Let's hope she at least gives us the chance to ask her," Ed muttered, his expression contorting. Lissa was really beginning to regret all the times she'd begged to meet their teacher. "You should be more worried about explaining your appearance to her, Al. Considering… Considering…" He screwed his face up in some kind of preemptive agony and all but whined, "She's gonna kill us when she finds out what happened!"
Al nodded, trembling just a bit. "It would've been nice to at least have had a girlfriend before I die."
Winry grimaced at them. "Maybe you guys should get a new teacher…"
"That's what I said," Lissa told her, smirking. "It never works. They just lament about dying when they see her while swearing up and down she's the best. I'm interested, but honestly, I'm starting to get a bit terrified for my life and I'm not even her student."
With a little discussion, they elected to save the apple pie for the next day, since the train was going overnight, and with the sun setting it was late enough to try and sleep, at least. Winry and Ed had the side of the train to lean on, so Lissa all but forced Ed to act as her pillow. He protested—with a bit of a blush around his cheeks, she noted—but in the end consented, and soon enough she'd drifted right off to sleep.
—
Lissa dreamt of fire.
She dreamt of a vast, endless fire consuming everything around her, creeping closer and closer… And two tiny hands, reaching out, trembling, covered in hastily-scrawled transmutation circles… The air crackled blue and the fire snuffed out, and a little girl sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.
Her body hurt, burned from the inside out, acid in her veins.
The scene shifted—and she saw a burst of red light, felt blood and a sick twisting, writhing sensation all over her skin… The little girl screamed again, this time begging, pleading for it to stop…
Blood…not just the feeling but the smell, the metal-sharp tang of it… She looked down, trembling, and saw slashes along her arms, some healing, others weeping blood… Her arms stung and ached, and a voice whispered… 'Just one more, one more and it'll all be over…'
Her vision lit up red and Lissa screamed.
—
Voices, overlapping voices above her. 'Is she all right—can we help—did she fall—do we need to call a doctor—has this happened before-'
"No, it's okay, it was just a nightmare. It happens sometimes."
I know that voice…
"Her village was attacked during the Eastern Conflict. We can take care of her, thank you."
And that one… Who…what's going on?
Hands gripped her underneath her arms, one warm and one cool, and Lissa felt someone haul her to her feet, though her legs still wouldn't support her.
"Brother—I can help you…"
"It's okay, I've got her, she just needs air."
Lissa clutched onto the fabric in front of her, overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of amber, warm, familiar amber…sunlight flickering through water…the clear, sharpness of the night sky… What was that?
"C'mon, Liss, just work with me here," a voice mumbled, right beside her ear, breath rushing over her skin.
Ed… That…that's Ed…
Lissa wrenched her eyes open and flung herself into his chest, heedless of her own injuries, and pressed her face in against his shoulder with a weak sob. There was still a hum of anxious chatter behind her, but she didn't care, all that mattered was that she was safe now, she was safe with Edward, nothing could hurt her if she just stayed with him…
"That's it, there you go," Ed murmured, stroking his hand over her hair gently. "Come on, just walk with me, okay? Just a few steps."
Her body obeyed automatically, stumbling with him. She heard the click of a door opening, and felt the cool, wet rush of dawn air as he guided her out the back door of the train car and onto the little space between.
Lissa sank to her knees immediately, her forehead pressed into Ed's shins as she sucked in greedy, deep breaths, just trying not to cry. But she couldn't, she couldn't stop herself… Tears cascaded down her cheeks and she sobbed, her throat like sandpaper as the nightmare overwhelmed her. "I'm s-sorry," she whimpered. She'd never broken down like this, not in front of him, not in front of anyone. But the nightmare…the things she'd seen….felt…
"No, hey, don't apologize…" Ed knelt beside her and wrapped her in his arms, so tightly, pulling her upright until she was tucked in against him, held up only by his own strength. "You're safe now, okay? I promise, whatever it was, you're safe here, I won't let anything hurt you…"
She felt her breath hitch in her chest. What had it been? Was it…memories? But she didn't remember anything like that from her childhood, and the gaps…
No… No… It can't be, that can't have been my past… My childhood… My parents wouldn't have done that, they couldn't possibly… That was too awful… Yet some deep, horrified part of her thought that maybe…maybe it had been memories. It had felt so real, so painfully, sickeningly real that she could still see it… Still feel the fire, the pain of all those lacerations on her arms…
Prying her eyes open for a moment, she pulled back and checked the skin on her arms, shoving the sleeves of her jacket up… But there was nothing there. No cuts, no blood, not even a scar.
It can't be real. But…
"Liss?" Ed caught her chin and gently tipped her head up to look at him. "What's going on, what are you looking at?"
"I…just…had to be sure," she whispered. "I saw…something, in my nightmare, and it…"
He frowned worriedly at her. "What did you see?"
She swallowed, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. "These…lacerations, all over my arms… I think it was…when I was…little… But I don't understand, Ed, I don't know how that could've been real, none of it, I…" Lissa's voice caught, her words cut off by a sharp, painful inhale as panic clawed at her mind. Just speaking the words made chills break out all along her skin, made her heart race so loud it echoed in her ears.
"Lissa, look at me," he murmured, his voice steady and sure. "Just look at me, okay?"
Though it took all her effort, every bit of stamina she had left, Lissa managed to lift her gaze and look at him, blue meeting gold.
Edward took her face between his hands, his touch soft and careful as he brushed his thumbs across her cheekbones. "None of that is real right now, okay? None of it. You're just here with me, Lissa. Nobody's going to hurt you. I promise. It can't hurt you now, whatever it was, I'm here and I won't let any of it touch you."
She stared at him, her breathing slowly calming at the conviction in his tone. She believed him. Lissa truly believed that she was safe with Ed, no matter what she'd seen, what still lurked in her mind… She trusted him.
Lissa settled into his touch, her body relaxing, the frantic pace of her heart slowing to a normal rate… She let her eyes flutter closed as she leaned into him, feeling truly safe for the first time since she'd woken up. How did he do this, how did he bring her back down so effortlessly? She'd never known anything like it—never known anyone like him. Right down to the bottom of her heart, in that moment, Lissa believed she could survive anything with Edward Elric at her side.
Something soft and warm brushed against her forehead, gentle as a whisper, and Lissa's breath caught in her throat. He'd kissed her. Innocently, sweetly, so soft it was barely a kiss at all… But it made her whole body feel warm, made her heart feel like it could beat right out of her chest.
"Ed…"
He pulled her in close, tight against his chest…and kissed her again, on the crown of her head this time. "It's okay, Liss. I'm not going anywhere."
Lissa hid her face against the side of his neck, eyes shut, trying to keep her breathing under control. This close to him, feeling this vulnerable and shaken… Her self-control was almost completely shattered. But she couldn't, she didn't even know why she felt that way, why sweet gestures like that made her heart race and warmth spread down to her toes…
Or if she did know, she wouldn't admit it to herself. Not for a moment.
"I'm sorry for all this," she mumbled, and leaned back just far enough to meet his eyes, ashamed of herself. "It's never been bad like this before…"
"It hasn't," Ed agreed quietly. "But that doesn't mean you need to apologize. You can't help it."
She shrugged, much as she could while still wrapped up in his arms, embarrassed nonetheless. "I can't help feeling at fault, either. Sometimes I wonder if…if I repressed my own memories, and that's caused all this…stupid stuff."
"People only repress memories if they're especially painful or difficult to handle," he pointed out, frowning at her. "That still wouldn't make it your fault."
Lissa bit her lip, unable to deny that no matter how much she wanted to. So rather than trying, she just sat back on her knees, a little steadier now that she'd calmed down, and tried to summon up a smile. It came out weak, but he returned it with a sweet, crooked one of his own, so it was worth it. "Still… I am sorry I woke you guys up like that. I made such a fuss, I heard everyone freaking out… The other passengers probably thought something really bad happened."
He laughed and patted her shoulder. "Yeah, they were pretty confused at first. Al covered for you, though, he just mentioned the Eastern Conflict and everybody shut up fast. He's a quicker liar than me, that's for sure. That's how he used to stay out of trouble when we were kids."
"Well, I'll have to thank him later, then." Lissa twisted a curl around her finger, suddenly feeling…almost awkward, though she didn't know why.
It didn't seem to be affecting Ed, though. "Do you feel up to going back inside?" he asked curiously. "I'm not rushing you, I promise. But I bet some of Miss Gracia's apple pie would help you feel better."
Lissa giggled and nodded. "Yeah, I think it would."
He shifted like he was going to stand up—but then he paused, tilted his head to the side, and gave her the strangest look for a moment. She frowned at him in return, totally baffled on whatever might be going on in his head. What was he thinking? Did she have something on her face? Or was it just…Ed being weird? She was going to ask him, or maybe rub at her face to see if she had dirt or something there. But Lissa didn't get the chance.
Ed leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, so fast she didn't have time to even move, and then sat back with a wry grin.
"What—why did you—I…" Lissa spluttered, aware her mouth was hanging open like an idiot.
He grinned at her stuttering. "What? You look cute when you're confused."
What?!
Ed's face paled, then went bright red as he shot to his feet, wringing his hands on the hem of his jacket in embarrassment. "Er—I meant… That's not…" He turned away from her, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, "C-come on, let's just go eat."
Lissa stared up at him in wonderment, touching a finger to her nose like she didn't quite believe it had just happened. Then, smiling, her cheeks dusted with pink, she stood up and took his hand in her own. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed softly, sliding her fingers between his. "Before you do anything else embarrassing, huh?"
"Shut up," he mumbled, his face still a vibrant shade of crimson.
She giggled and squeezed his hand. "You did make me feel better, you know."
"Well, I'm glad." Ed quirked a grin and pulled her towards the door of the train car. "At least I can manage that without making a total ass out of myself."
"Mh, I don't know about that…"
He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Liss."
She just winked at him in return. "You're very welcome."
—
Rush Valley was…hot. Lissa supposed she'd been more accustomed to it when she was little, since Rayerk was even further south, but so much time in Central had made her weak, she guessed. It was stifling here. The only one who didn't seem affected was Winry, as she flitted from storefront to storefront, babbling about automail and fawning over everything she saw.
Al, naturally, was pretty chipper about the whole thing—but Ed shared Lissa's discomfort, at least. "Ugh, remind me again why we let ourselves get dragged out into this heat to look at a bunch of stupid automail?" he groaned. "We should've dropped Winry off at the station and headed straight on to Dublith." He had reason to complain—he was stuck carrying the suitcase, and had been forced to take off his red cloak to avoid completely cooking in the heat, so Lissa had at least taken that from him to try and help. She wore mostly black, just like Ed, so they were both…dying.
"We're being nice," Lissa reminded him, smirking. "First place we see that sells something other than automail, we'll get some cold water or something. I swear."
He scowled at nothing in particular. "We'd better."
"Hey, kid! Come back here a sec!"
Lissa barely had time to turn her head before a group of engineers—or fawning adorers of automail—had surrounded them, one of whom grabbed Ed's automail and pushed his sleeve up to see it better.
Oh, crap.
"I've never seen an automail model quite like this before!" the grabby-hands one mused, twisting Ed's arm this way and that to see.
Another guy nodded thoughtfully. "It really is unusual. Everyone, take a look!"
It took all of sixty damned seconds for the crowd to turn intense, forgetting there was a person attached to the automail—Lissa grabbed one man's arm, tried to force her way back in to Ed, but he disappeared in a mass of people much taller than him, and much less concerned for propriety than anyone she'd ever seen before. Gritting her teeth, she flung Ed's cloak on to free up her hands and shoved into the throng, trying to follow the sound of his voice.
When his jacket came flying up and out, Lissa figured she still had some time. But then his trousers flew out and she'd absolutely had it.
"Hey!" Lissa screamed, a quick burst of alchemy funneling her voice to focus it over the crowd. "His engineer's right over there!" She pointed out Winry, who beamed and wiggled her fingers at them. The result was instantaneous. The crowd rushed over to her brimming with questions—and even cornered Al, thinking perhaps he might be wearing automail all over—which left Ed blessedly free of their clutches.
Lissa snagged up his clothes and crossed to him, where he stood left only in his boxers, glowering fiercely at the engineers who'd accosted him. "What the fuck is wrong with these automail freaks?!" he snarled.
"They're just more concerned about the tech than the person," Lissa told him wearily. "Sorry. I tried to get to you sooner."
He stepped into one leg of his trousers and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I knew it was gonna happen, besides. I shouldn't have come out into freaking automail central if I wasn't prepared to get accosted."
Lissa focused for a moment, finally recovering from the shock of those engineers mobbing like that—only for her gaze to zero right in on Ed's exposed upper body. Her mouth went dry.
Stupid…stupid… You shouldn't have looked, idiot, what were you thinking? He hasn't even taken his shirt and jacket back yet, what did you expect?!
"Liss? Why're you staring at me like that?" Ed asked her, raising an eyebrow.
She smiled at him to hide her embarrassment at being caught. "Just checking on your stitches, that's all."
Ed blinked once. Twice. Then he pointed at the bandage on his side. "Okay, but, my stitches are over here… And you were looking here." He moved his arm to point at his abdomen instead. "Are you feeling all right?" Suddenly, his expression changed, a wry grin spreading over his face. "Were you…checking me out or something?"
"No!" Lissa told him defiantly, scowling at him. "Like I haven't seen you shirtless before, dummy. You're imagining things."
He smirked at her but didn't say anything—though she swore she saw him wink at her.
Ugh. Dummy.
Ed moved on past it, thankfully. He finished getting his trousers on and buckled his belt, telling her as he adjusted it, "See, this is why I steer clear of automail engineers." Suddenly, a look of confusion came over his face. He patted his hips, both sides, and then yanked out the lining of both his pockets. "Oh no," he breathed.
Lissa frowned at him. "What's going on?"
His distress drew Winry and Al over, both of whom managed to extricate themselves without much difficulty. "Something wrong, Ed?" Winry asked curiously.
Ed looked like he might either throw up or scream. "It's gone," he mumbled.
"What didja lose this time?" Al asked, sounding sort of amused by the whole thing. Ed did lose track of things pretty frequently.
But Ed gave a nervous laugh and tugged at the lining of his pockets again. "Only the thing that proves I'm a state alchemist," he told them anxiously. "My silver watch…gone…"
"You're kidding me," Lissa gasped, while Al and Winry panicked behind her. "It's gone?!"
"Sounds like you guys had a run in with Paninya," one of the engineers from before observed, drawing her attention. The others were still freaking out, but his words shocked them out of it and caught their attention.
"Paninya?" Ed asked urgently.
The mechanic beside the first one nodded sagely. "A pickpocket around here who likes to target tourists. You guys were easy to spot."
Ed raced up to them, already searching out the answer, the solution to the problem before anyone else had caught up with him. "Do you know how I can track down this Paninya girl?" he demanded. "She took something important! I have to get it back!"
But both men turned away. "Let's see, where is she again?" wondered the first one aloud, the one with an automail eye.
"I know what might jog my memory," the second one mused.
"If only I could have just one more look at that automail!"
Lissa reached for Ed's shoulder, knowing damn well what was going to come of this. "Ed, c'mon, you don't need to-"
Clap!
She rolled her eyes as he transmuted his usual blade from his automail arm, and jabbed it threateningly in their direction, making his intentions very clear.
The reaction was instantaneous. Not only did the two men provide an answer—an automail shop run by some engineer named Dominic—but they gave very thorough, articulate directions while Ed loomed over them and Lissa focused on their words. She was aware he was too furious to be listening intently enough to understand the directions.
Dominic's shop wound up being all the way outside Rush Valley, deep into the mountains. Supposedly it was because he could find the best ore out there, but Lissa privately thought he was just avoiding people. It was certainly a hot, miserable trek out towards his shop.
Most of the way, Ed and Winry bickered ceaselessly. Ed blamed Winry for his watch getting stolen, she refused to take any of the blame… Lissa just resorted to walking in the semi-decent amount of shade cast by Al's larger form and tried to ignore them. She was getting a wicked headache from the constant sunlight beating down on her head, from the fact that she'd forgotten to take Ed's cloak off and now felt too weary to actually remove the stupid thing… It was protecting her from sunburn, at least, so it wasn't totally useless.
When they'd walked probably half of the way there, Al suddenly paused and cut across Ed and Winry's argument. "Um, hey, you guys?"
"What, Al?!" they both demanded.
He pointed off across the river-cut canyon to their left. "Could that be her?"
Lissa followed where he was pointing, squinting against the sunlight—and sure enough, there was the figure of a girl practically skipping across a wooden suspension bridge, not too far ahead. Out this far, it could only be Paninya, she figured.
The girl paused and turned, maybe hearing them, and something silver glinted in her hand.
Ed's reaction was instantaneous. He screamed something, unintelligible over the sound of him suddenly transmuting the entire side of the mountain. Lissa just watched, not bothering to react as he leapt into action and chased after her with a stunning display of needless alchemy. He was really pissed, apparently.
"Well," she sighed, looking back at Al and Winry. "Do you wanna go act like normal people and wait for her to bump into us?"
Al nodded. "Sounds perfect."
They followed the sounds of destruction, the nearby dust clouds from Ed's overkill alchemical display, and Al led them through what looked like a shortcut that popped out right in front of the automail shop itself. Easy. From there, Al and Lissa sketched a transmutation circle into the dirt, him giving her directions for what it was supposed to do, and stood back to wait for the battle to reach them, since this was no doubt Paninya's end destination.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, Paninya leapt off a nearby ledge and landed right in the middle of the transmutation circle. She turned and froze in place, startled by Al's appearance, but he was ready.
"I've been waiting for you," he told her, and raised his hands. Lissa stood back as he transmuted an enormous cage around her, complete with a circle for a hook at the top, a proper birdcage.
Winry folded her arms and nodded appreciatively. "Nicely done, Al."
Ed followed her down and approached the cage, a smirk on his face, though Lissa had to note with all the energy he'd put forth he had not managed to catch this girl himself. "Now, why don't you hand it over?" he demanded of her. "My watch-"
The girl spun on the spot and lashed out with her right knee, breaking clear through the bars of the cage. Her camouflaged pants ripped open along the knee and shin at the same moment—as a blade popped out of her automail leg. "Come on," she laughed, brandishing the blade at them and grinning. "You can't be too surprised. You've seen the town, haven't you? Oh, and…" Paninya switched her weight over and lifted her left leg instead. It glowed brightly for a moment—Lissa cringed back and stepped in front of Winry just in case as she felt the disturbance in the air a split second before something exploded from the girl's knee. The shot just barely went over Edward's head as he ducked down to the ground.
"My other leg's got a one-point-five inch cannon," she told him, smirking. "What do you think of that?" She hopped nimbly out the hole in the cage and took off running again.
"Come back!" Ed screamed, shoving to his feet.
The girl just laughed. "No way! Why don't we see if you can catch me?"
Lissa was going to intervene, a bit frustrated at this point with the whole charade—but Winry was faster. She lunged forward and caught Paninya's wrist, startling her into freezing in place, clearly baffled that she'd been stopped so easily. Though she wobbled a few times, tried to pull away, Winry didn't budge.
Impressive. Truly impressive.
"Well now, how do ya like that?" Winry laughed. "That wasn't so hard."
Ed and Al rushed over to rejoin them. "Nice work, Winry!" Ed yelled across. "And now don't let her get away!"
Winry grabbed the girl's hand in both of hers and held on tightly. "No way, I'm not letting her go." Her expression changed and she turned doe-eyed, and Lissa groaned to herself. "Not quite yet, anyway… Not until I've had a closer look at that automail!"
"Of course it's the automail," Lissa muttered, smirking as Ed skidded to a halt beside her.
The door to the shop opened, and a man and a woman stepped out—the woman very visibly pregnant. "Oh, hello there, Paninya," she greeted warmly. "Friends of yours?"
Paninya looked at her helplessly, Winry still gushing about her automail and holding onto her hand. "Not really…"
Despite that, somehow they ended up welcomed into the shop anyway. Lissa finally got the energy to take Ed's cloak off, and instead draped it over her lap, relieved to find the interior blissfully cool and well-ventilated. She settled onto a bench between Ed and Al, watching as Winry had her millionth freak-out of the day over Paninya's automail. It was funny to see, though, for the blonde to gush like this over her absolute passion. Lissa was glad they'd stopped here, if only to effectively make Winry's life by letting her come.
"Um…" Ed lifted his hand a bit tentatively. "Do you think we could have a talk about my watch?"
"It's no use, brother," Al told him sadly.
Lissa nodded her agreement. "Yeah, she's not gonna let up for a while. We're in for a wait."
Finally rising from the floor, Winry flounced over to the man they'd seen before, who stood leaning against the doorframe watching the whole thing curiously. "The work you've done is simply fantastic," she gushed, beaming up at him. "You're a wonderful engineer!"
He gave her a surprised look and raised his hands. "Oh, no, don't look at me, miss. I wasn't the one who made them."
"I am," a lower, gruffer voice announced.
Lissa was more than a bit startled to see a much larger, more intimidating man with a fierce scowl step into the room, arms folded over his chest. He stood there a moment, contemplating—then flicked his gaze to Ed very pointedly.
"Let's see it, then," he grumbled.
Ed shrank back uncertainly. "My automail, you mean?" he clarified.
The man grunted. "What else?"
"Er…okay…" Ed gave Lissa a baffled look, but obliged anyway, stripping down to his underwear for the second time that day and settling onto a crate, while the man—Dominic, apparently, the engineer who owned the shop— sat down opposite him began to examine his arm. Unlike the engineers out on the street, he had a more clinical, professional sort of approach. It wasn't invasive in the slightest, thankfully.
"Hm," Dominic mused, tapping on the outer plate of Ed's automail with a little rounded tool. "This arm seems a bit heavy." He lifted it to demonstrate.
Winry winced and grimaced, embarrassed. "Y-yes, I guess it is," she mumbled.
The engineer sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You want to be more careful not to strain your outfitee. That could be the reason why his growth is stunted."
"Hey, shut up!" Ed snapped automatically, his usual reaction—but then the words set in and he gasped. "Wait, are you telling me that if my automail was lighter, I'd grow taller than this?" he demanded almost frantically.
Dominic looked thoughtful. "It is a possibility."
Lissa giggled and tugged on Ed's braid. "Or maybe you're just vertically challenged, you know. That's always possible too."
"Whose side are you on, anyway?" he grumbled, wrinkling his nose at her.
"Right! That settles it. Mr. Dominic!" Winry almost stomped back over to them, her face set firmly—then she bowed at the waist and implored him, "I beg you! Make me your apprentice!"
"Not a chance, girl."
The reply was instant, almost a practiced dismissal. Lissa couldn't say it was too shocking, considering his demeanor, though she didn't like him turning Winry down so fast. She knew this sort of thing mattered to her friend a lot.
Winry straightened and stared at him, a bit pale. "Maybe you'd like more time to consider the idea?" she tried.
Dominic turned away from her. "No need. I don't take on apprentices."
"I understand…but maybe…you could take time out of your busy schedule to teach her how to make automail to make me taller?" Ed asked of him, keeping his voice light and almost angelic in tone. It sounded ridiculous.
The engineer pointedly turned his head away. "Can it, ya little flea."
With that, Dominic rose and left the room, closing the door firmly behind him. Ed didn't even have words—he just sank off the crate and put his head in his hands, defeated by the sheer insult of being called a flea.
"Sorry about that," the man from earlier told them, genuinely apologetic. "My old man can be pretty stubborn." He gave them a sad, understanding sort of look. "I'm sorry you came all this way."
"That's okay," Al reassured him, though it wasn't, really. "We should be getting back anyway, to be honest."
Yet even as he spoke, thunder rumbled overhead—and in seconds, the sound of heavy, thick rain falling closed in around them. Desert-type storms. They always rolled in so fast, it was really disconcerting.
"Or not," Lissa muttered. "I think we're stuck here for a bit, it's not safe to go through that canyon in the rain. I hate to ask, but…do you mind if we stay until the rain passes?"
The man waved his hand at her. "No, of course not! You're welcome to stay until the weather turns. It's way too dangerous to try heading back just yet." He tugged off his work gloves and rested a hand on his hip, smiling at them. "I'm Ridel LeCoulte, by the way. I don't think I officially introduced myself earlier. The woman you saw was my wife Satera."
The four went around with introductions, though Winry was particularly sullen. Ridel suggested they could move into the main part of the house, since he was tied up with work—and though Winry elected to stay behind among the automail and chat with Paninya, Al and Lissa left the shop behind, with Ed trailing behind them dejectedly. Lissa swore she heard him mumbling about Dominic calling him a flea. Apparently that had really profoundly affected him.
"We still have to get Ed's watch back," Lissa reminded Al as they walked, though she felt a bit uncomfortable just wandering through the house like this.
Al nodded sagely. "Yeah. Paninya never gave it back, and we don't want to leave without it. Though…" He glanced out one of the open windows as they passed it, where the rain still poured down relentlessly. "I doubt we're leaving anytime soon."
They stepped into another room—and Lissa paused beside Al, surprised to see Satera LeCoulte sitting in a chair, rubbing her belly gently, a soft smile on her face.
"E-excuse me," Al began tentatively, "but…are you having a baby?"
Satera looked up at them rather kindly. "Why yes, I am."
Al approached, his whole body alight with tension as he asked, "Do you think… Would it be all right if I touched your tummy?"
Lissa gazed up at him in surprise. She'd been too afraid to ask something like that herself.
"Go right ahead," Satera told him, smiling, completely at ease. It was nice to see somebody who wasn't put off by the armor immediately.
Al sank down in front of her and reached out, ever so gently, resting his hand on her abdomen. Ed followed him with a sort of wonder in his eyes and knelt beside his brother, though he didn't lift his hand immediately. But then, Satera raised her arm and held out her hand, palm up, beckoning him. Ed lifted his left hand, and she brought it in to sit alongside Al's, smiling the whole time.
"And what about you, young lady?" Satera asked, looking over Edward and beckoning to Lissa. "Come on, it's really all right, I promise."
"I—are you sure?" Lissa breathed, stunned.
Satera nodded—and Lissa crossed to her, kneeling down next to Ed and cautiously extending her hand, letting just her fingertips brush along the woman's stomach. The faintest bump of movement made her gasp, and by some deep, distant instinct Lissa flattened her hand and closed her eyes, feeling for that little hint of movement.
"Oh, wow," she gasped when she felt it again, her chest so tight it felt like it could burst with a sudden rush of joy. "I think I just felt the baby…"
"Mmhmm, you definitely did," the mom-to-be confirmed happily.
Ed leaned back and beamed up at her with shining eyes. "It's like there's a miracle in your stomach."
Al followed suit, though neither went far. "Yeah," he murmured. "We were inside mom's tummy like this once upon a time too."
Slowly, almost reluctant to move away, Lissa sat back on her heels and dropped her hands into her lap. She'd never actually been around an expecting mom before… And it hit something, way down deep inside her, that made her want to laugh and cry all at the same time. It was…amazing, that a little life could be created this way, could live inside someone like this… It felt almost magical to be close to, in a way that had nothing to do with her extra sense for the world. This…this was something infinitely more beautiful and special.
Satera winced and shifted uncomfortably on her seat, grimacing in clear pain, and Lissa thought her heart might stop.
"Are you okay?" Ed asked her worriedly, frowning.
But the woman nodded reluctantly. "Y-yes."
This time, though, Lissa's other sense lit up like a bonfire. She tuned into it, allowing the buzzing sensation to grow into a full read—and then turned back to Satera with a sharp frown. "Ms. Satera… Are you sure you're all right?" she pressed. "Nothing's wrong?"
"I…well…" Satera winced again and shook her head. "I think… I think the baby's coming."
The boys staggered back in shock, stammering uselessly. But Lissa had already known, she'd sensed it and accepted it as fact much quicker just from feeling it so inherently. "Ed, go tell Mr. Dominic and Mr. Ridel. Now." When she turned to look at him, he was just standing there gaping at her like a damned fish. "I mean right now, dummy, go!" she ordered.
Ed yelped and took off running.
"Ms. Satera, is this your bedroom here?" Lissa asked quickly, pointing to the next door down. When the woman nodded, she gestured at Al to come over. "Alphonse, help me get her into the bed, okay? She needs to lie down as soon as possible and I can't take her myself."
"R-right!" Al squeaked. He hurried back over and helped Satera up, supporting most of her weight on the way into the bedroom, while Lissa flipped back the covers and set the pillows up for her. By the time they had Satera into bed, Ridel showed up in total panic but ready to support his wife, so Lissa ushered Al back out of the room, since he'd sort of locked up at some point.
Ed, Winry, and Paninya came rushing up to them as they stepped out. "Mr. Dominic went to get the doctor," Winry explained anxiously, wringing her hands. "But…I hope he makes it in time, the weather's really bad…"
They all grouped helplessly at the door while Ridel sat up a chair at Satera's bedside, holding her hand and letting her grip down as tightly as she needed to. "Pop will be right back with a doctor," he reassured her, though his tone belied his panic no matter how hard he tried to keep it down. "Just hang on a little longer for me, okay?"
Satera grimaced and eyed him, one hand on her stomach. "There's no hanging on here," she told him through gritted teeth. "It'll come whenever it's ready to."
Suddenly, she flinched as a strike of pain rushed through her. Lissa's whole body tensed, and her hand shot out, latching onto Ed's like a lifeline. He gripped her back just as tightly, his hand trembling faintly against hers.
Ridel leaned in worriedly. "What's the matter, hon?"
Satera mumbled something indistinct.
"Huh?"
She mumbled yet again, and Lissa clenched even tighter onto Ed's hand. What if…but…that would be so bad… So so bad…
Wincing, visibly distressed at having to pry, Ridel asked her, "Uh… Sorry, one more time…? I couldn't hear that."
Finally giving up, Satera gripped the edge of the sheets and yelled, "I said it's coming!"
The room flew into a panic. Even Ridel lost his mind, looking around frantically, though nobody had a clue what to do. What could be done?! The baby was coming and there was no chance Dominic would bring a doctor back in time!
But at the center of it, Winry squared her shoulders and announced, "We're just going to have to do it."
Ed spun to face her, baffled. "Have to do what?"
"Winry…" Lissa stared at her in shock. "You don't mean…"
But the blonde didn't back down. "Deliver it. Yes."
Looking to her hopefully, like a ray of light, Ridel asked, "So…so you've seen a baby being delivered before, then?"
"No, I… I haven't," Winry admitted. "But we don't have any other options here. I need everyone's help. We are going to do this!" She pulled out her mechanic's apron from her suitcase and snapped into action, divvying up tasks like a pro—Ed and Al were in charge of getting boiling water, Paninya was getting towels, and Ridel was sent to find rubbing alcohol and ice chips.
Lissa stood uncertainly beside Winry once the others had gone. "What do you need me to do?" she asked, feeling a bit lost.
"I know you have some…special ability to sense things, Lissa," Winry confessed softly. "The boys didn't tell me, I promise, they didn't betray your confidence… I just picked it up on my own. I need you to keep an eye on Ms. Satera and the baby—you'd be the first to know if anything went wrong, wouldn't you? And you've got a really quick reaction time, I know that, you go off on all those missions… With your abilities you can act faster than any of us if something bad happens."
She swallowed hard. She'd never realized Winry knew about that—it wasn't something she advertised, because of the fear of judgement, fear of people thinking she was strange… But Winry had known and hadn't thought badly of her for it. "I've never used my abilities that way," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "But I'll do my best."
While the others brought their assigned items by, and Ridel took his spot beside his wife again, Winry and Lissa stepped outside to give the couple a moment—and for Winry to gather her thoughts.
"Boiling water…disinfectant…towels… And what else was there? Remember it now," Winry muttered to herself, staring at the closed bedroom door like it would spit out the answers for her if she focused hard enough.
Ed, Al, and Paninya approached then, finished with their tasks. "Winry," Ed murmured, getting her attention.
"You can do this!" the three told her encouragingly.
Lissa nodded and squeezed her shoulder. "You've got this, Win. I know you do."
Winry looked surprised—then she set her jaw and gave a determined nod. "Okay. I'm ready." She turned and pushed the door open, went to step inside, and paused for just a moment. "Paninya. Give us a hand in here."
"Sure, you got it," the girl agreed without hesitation, hurrying in after Winry.
"Liss, hey." Ed caught her wrist just before she followed the two in. "I know you're worried…but you'll do great, I know it." He leaned up and kissed her cheek softly, squeezing her hand as he did it. "I believe in you, okay?"
She smiled at him, feeling infinitely stronger just from that one little gesture. "Thanks, Ed. You guys wait out here—we can handle the rest."
Lissa swallowed, and released Ed's hand even though it felt like her lifeline. Then she steeled herself and followed the other girls into the room, closing the door behind her and opening her senses wide. There was no space for secrets now, she reflected, as she crossed the room and stood at the top of the bed, resting one hand on Satera's shoulder and focusing all her energy through her palm, trying for the first time in her life to read a particular signature rather than everything within range.
I can do this… I have no choice. If Winry can handle her part, then I can handle mine.
She gritted her teeth and nodded once, exchanging a fierce, determined look with Winry. They were as ready as they could be. The rest would just have to fall into place.
—
The door creaked open as Paninya staggered out, overwhelmed, dropping to her knees outside the room. Lissa was the only one left standing, and though she was unsteady, she couldn't stop yet. She kept her eyes fixated in one spot as the boys rushed in, Ed dropping beside Winry first and asking what was going on. Winry only pointed at the bed.
"It…it's a baby!" Ed gasped.
Lissa smiled and carefully lifted her hand from the squalling newborn's head, nodding at Satera and Ridel. "He feels just fine to me," she told them softly. "His energy's strong, too, really strong. I don't sense anything wrong with him." She found the strength to look up as Ridel took his newborn son to clean him off, finally, only feeling safe to do it once she'd confirmed that. Lissa hoped she was reading it right… Her mind felt so scrambled after everything, the influx of wild emotions and pain and everything over the past few hours.
"Awesome!" Ed cheered across the room, his voice youthful and elated. It made her feel warm all over. "It's a real live baby!" He laughed in delight. "Awesome! Awesome, awesome, awesome!"
Winry looked up at him, both amused and exasperated. "Really? Awesome? That's all you can think of to describe this?" she teased lightly.
Ed looked a bit affronted, turning on her and jamming his hands on his hips. "How else should I describe it?" he questioned. "This is the birth of a new life. Alchemists have worked for centuries and we're still not able to do that. A person creating another person…"
"You gotta be kidding me," Winry muttered, untying her apron and letting it pool in her lap. "Now you're lumping in alchemy with the miracle of birth?"
He crossed his arms at her. "An occupational hazard. It's just the way I think."
Privately, Lissa understood—there was something genuinely miraculous about birth for an alchemist, who could only work with what was already there, with the materials present in any situation. The idea of cells replicating, of something being created from nothing… It was foreign and beautiful, for someone like that.
"Besides," Ed continued undaunted, "whatever you say, it really is awesome. People are awesome."
Lissa surreptitiously leaned into the wall behind her as her legs trembled, ready to give out. Across the room, she saw Ed flash her a smile as he piggybacked Winry out of the room, since their poor friend was too weak to even get up for the moment. Though she felt the faintest brush of jealousy, Lissa was just…too happy and relieved to really give into the emotion. It was stupid, besides. She had no claim, nothing to be jealous over.
She sighed and forced herself to walk, intending to go find a restroom or something—but when she reached the door, standing ajar from when Ed and Winry left, Lissa heard voices and paused, her heart pounding. Eavesdropping was wrong…wasn't it? But…she was so curious…
Surreptitiously as she could, she rested against the wall there and listened, guilty for it but unable to smother her interest.
"…I haven't shown that to anybody," Ed murmured lowly, his voice tight like he was upset or angry. "Not even Al or Lissa."
"But why not, Ed?" Winry asked sadly.
"It's private. An admonition to myself. I hate to admit how weak I am… That I had to give what happened that day substance, and then carry it around with me as a reminder."
Carry it around… Is this something about his pocket watch?
For a few moments, they were silent. Lissa kept her breathing steady, kept her eyes fixed across the room, wondering if that was it.
"Winry, why are you doing that?" Ed muttered, almost derisively. "What are you crying for?"
Winry sniffled a bit, clearly struggling with her tears. "You two won't cry… Someone else should do it for you, don't you think?
"Don't be an idiot." Lissa heard the soft thumps of Ed's footfalls, and stilled her breathing even more, not wanting to be caught. She felt terrible for listening in…but she was so far in it now that she didn't know how to stop. "You should get back to Resembool," he told Winry, in a somewhat kinder tone. "You've been gone a long time. Granny must be lonesome without you."
"No… I'm not leaving." Through the tears, Winry's tone was firm with conviction.
"Why?"
"Seeing your resolve inspired me," she explained simply. "I wanna do more, Ed. I can't just commit halfway."
"Don't do anything," he counseled her. "There's no need to get more involved."
But Winry wasn't having that. "Yes there is. I want to hone my skills so I'll be able to make you the finest quality automail prosthetics. That way you can continue your journey knowing you're as strong as you can be." Her voice brightened then, sounding lighter than before. "I'm going to try again. I'll ask Mr. Dominic to make me his apprentice."
"Okay," Ed replied simply, though his tone wasn't negative. He'd accepted it. "Well then, good luck."
"And Ed…" Winry's manner softened again, just a bit. "You shouldn't keep this to yourself. Maybe you don't want to remind Al about it, and I suppose I can understand that… But you should talk to Lissa, you know? You don't need to worry about looking weak in front of her. I know she'd never judge you. And…I think it'd be good, to have someone looking out for you who knows what's inside your head."
"I'll…think about it," Ed sighed. "She's… She could go anywhere she wanted, Winry. I dunno if she's told you, but…" There was a thud as he sat back down, heavily. "Next year, when Liss turns sixteen… She's gonna get to take her exam and become a state alchemist. She's good, they'll never turn her down."
"She mentioned it, yes. But…what's that got to do with anything?"
"State alchemists have a bit of freedom… And with her background, she could pick any assignment she wanted and get it. What Al and I are doing… It's dangerous and difficult, and after she passes her exam I'd be shocked if she stayed with us. Why would she?"
Winry scoffed at him. "You're kidding, right? Have you actually talked to her about any of this, hm?"
"'Course not. I don't wanna pressure her. Liss grew up in Central, she's known by most of the higher-ups there… She can probably pick anything and get it, if she wanted. I'm not stupid enough to assume this is where she'll stay—and I don't ever want her to feel forced to do something she doesn't want to, so I'm not going to ask."
"You are stupid," Winry shot back. "You're such a moron, Ed, you really are if you think she'd go anywhere but with your sorry butt. I mean, can't you tell she-"
Lissa jolted as Paninya skipped past her, sticking her head into the hall and telling Winry that Ridel wanted to see her, ending the conversation. She let out a slow breath, ashamed of herself. How rude, listening in like that to a private discussion… Her manners were totally shot.
Outside, she heard yelling as Ed accosted Paninya for his pocket watch, considering she still hadn't given it back—a venture that included threats, smacking her around with his automail, and copious amounts of yelling before he was successful. It was silly, really, since there was no way the girl would keep it after everything that had happened, but Ed could be so possessive over his things sometimes.
Paninya and Winry stepped back in, talking together just a bit, and Lissa managed to smile at them past her guilt. It felt too awful to eavesdrop—she wasn't going to do that again anytime soon.
The door swung open again, just a bit, and Lissa almost shrieked as a hand rested on her shoulder. But it was just Ed, smiling and beckoning for her to step out with him. So she did, reluctantly, and shut the door behind her. "What's up?" she asked him curiously.
He gave her a knowing look. "What did you hear?"
"I…" Lissa swallowed. "What are you talking about, Ed? Hear what?"
He shook his head at her wearily, though he still didn't seem upset with her. "C'mon, Liss. I saw you through the doorway. It's okay, I'm not angry or anything. I just wanna know what all you heard so I know what's on your mind."
So he did see her. She hadn't been subtle at all.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, bowing her head. "I shouldn't have, I'm really sorry… I just… I was worried, I didn't know what was going on…" Lissa wrung her hands together, remembering belatedly she wasn't wearing her gloves which meant her tattoos were on display. And they had been the entire delivery. It was a miracle no one had said anything. "I'm not…sure what I heard, exactly… I think you were talking about your pocket watch, but I wasn't certain… And I heard…" Her voice broke, and she felt a sudden rush of not-quite-anger flood into her heart. "I heard what you said about me."
Ed winced a bit. "Oh. You heard most of it, then."
"I guess so." She folded her arms and stared at him, her breath catching every so often, while she tried to gather her thoughts. "What—what have I ever done to make you not trust me, huh? When have I done anything but stand by you, and by Al? For years now. What the hell do I have to do to earn your trust?"
His jaw fell open. "I—Liss, no, it's not like that, of course I trust you… That isn't what I meant-"
"Isn't it? Then what did you mean? Because I don't understand what I did that would make you think I want to be anywhere but with you!" Lissa shoved at him, half angry and half hurt, but falling somewhere much too close to betrayal for her own comfort.
Ed jumped back, stunned by the push. "H-hey, cut it out," he complained, batting her hands away as she went for him again. Lissa didn't want to hurt him, not for a moment—she just wanted to knock some sense into him. "Stop it, Liss. I didn't mean that, I swear, maybe I didn't explain it right but I just don't want you to feel forced into something, okay? That's all, I trust you, I swear I do, this has nothing to do with that."
"It has everything to do with that!" She shoved his shoulders again, glaring, suddenly lost in a wave of this…this intensity that was taking over her whole being. "You don't trust me when I say I want to stay with you and Al, you don't trust me when I swear I'm not giving up on you, on this mission to get your bodies back… I don't get it! Why-" Lissa gripped down on his shoulders and leaned in, suddenly overwhelmed, beyond angry, beyond hurt, just desperate to know what she'd done and why, why- "-don't you trust-"
"Enough!" Ed snapped, grabbing her wrists. Lissa gasped as he swung her around, full force, and pressed her into the wall behind her. She didn't even realize she'd pushed him so far across the room, forced him to backpedal, not until her back hit the wall and all the air was knocked straight out of her lungs. "Stop, Lissa, just—stop it! Dammit, of course I trust you, I trust you with my fucking life!" He grabbed the lapels of her jacket and half-shook her, his expression fierce as he got right into her face. "But I couldn't live with myself if I thought you were forced to come with us! If—if I made you feel obligated to come along just because you already had been! You've had every single choice ripped away from you since your parents died, and I wanted to give you a choice, a real choice for once!"
Lissa swallowed hard. "You…were just trying to…" She didn't think she'd ever hated herself as much as she did in that moment. "I—I'm so sorry, Ed, I'm such an ass, I didn't realize… I never thought…"
"I'm just trying to look after you," he murmured, still clutching at her jacket, but without any venom or anger anymore… Just this softness to his gaze that made her heart ache. "Like you always do for me and Al, see… I wanted you to have a real say in your own life. It's all I could think to do."
She stared into his eyes, into that beautiful deep gold, and Lissa felt herself tilting, falling inexorably forward, lost to him entirely… Distantly, she knew he was falling into her as well, closing the distance, lips parted slightly, his breath much too quick… But Lissa couldn't stop, she didn't want to, not a single part of her wanted to do anything but lose herself in this boy, who was willing to put himself out, set everything aside just to offer her a sense of control in her life… To look after her…
A door slammed open elsewhere in the house.
Lissa jumped back, nearly bashing her head on the wall, in the same moment that Ed jolted away with his face bright red and eyes wide with shock. They stood there dumbly, staring at each other with a sort of shared panic.
What was that? Did we just…almost…
Dominic came bursting into the room, soaked to the bone, followed by an equally-soaked doctor. "What happened?" he demanded of them harshly. "How's Satera?"
"She…" Lissa cleared her throat, embarrassed by the unsteady wobble of her voice. She had to get control of herself. "Everyone's all right, Mr. Dominic. But… Ms. Satera already had her baby. We all helped, and he seems healthy… There was nothing to do once the baby started coming." She smiled and pointed at the bedroom door helpfully. "They're in there. You can go on in."
He eyed her a bit skeptically, but nodded anyway, following the doctor inside.
Lissa let out a weary breath and passed a hand over her hair, trying to feel like she had some modicum of control over herself when she definitely did not. "I—I'm sorry," she told Ed, giving him a rueful smile. "I'm kind of a dummy myself, I guess. It means the world to me that you'd do something like that, you know… It really does… But…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't want to go anywhere else. Not for a moment. Once I take my exams, I'm coming right back to you and Al."
Ed grinned at her faintly, still a bit red in the face. "You sure? I mean…you know how dangerous it is, and there's no guarantee we'll ever get anywhere, besides."
"I know that. But there's still nowhere else I wanna be, Ed. I swear." Lissa folded her arms and looked at him. "Can I ask… What's in your pocket watch that you're so worried for me to see? I won't make you tell me, I swear, if you say so I'll never ask again. But…you can talk to me. I really hope you know that by now."
"I do know," he confirmed softly. "It's just…embarrassing, I suppose. I always think it was the height of weakness for me to do this, like I needed another reminder." Ed sighed and flipped the pocket watch open, holding it out for her to see.
Lissa frowned as she took it between her hands, though he still held the chain, and read the words engraved on the inside cover. Don't forget .11.
Year eleven… That would mean… "Your house," she realized, her voice soft. "This was the date you and Al burned down your old house, isn't it? So you…carved that in there to remind you that you can't turn back?"
He nodded once, his mouth set in a thin line.
"I don't think it's weakness," Lissa told him honestly, looking up from the watch and meeting his gaze. "It doesn't make you weak to want the reminder. Everybody needs a push sometimes, you know… And there's no saying you'll need it forever, either. But until then…" She gently closed the cover and held the watch between her hands a moment, using the leverage to keep him close. "There's no shame in having something to keep you on your path."
"Sometimes I wonder, though. Sometimes I think it means I'm not really strong enough for this," Ed admitted, shrugging.
Lissa released the watch and took his shoulders instead. "I know you are. You're more than strong enough, Ed. Whether you believe it or not, I certainly see it, otherwise I wouldn't push you so hard."
He smiled crookedly at her. "Thanks, Liss. For—believing in me. And, y'know…everything else."
She leaned in and hugged him tightly, exercising what remained of her shattered self-control to keep it just the hug and nothing else. "What else am I here for, huh?" she teased. "C'mon. We should probably go back in before they start wondering what we're doing out here."
"Yeah," he agreed, smiling softly as he reached out and took her hand. "Let's go."
