Hi again! Still updating at decently regular intervals, so I'm pretty proud of that! Super-sappy fun fact - the "get me if you need anything" line in the last chapter is something my wife and I say, so if it sounds too fluffy for reality... I promise it's not! In other news, your authoress has injured herself...again...in the most ridiculous way. I dropped my laptop (it's aluminum and pretty freaking heavy) directly onto the side of my knee. Guess who's laid up now, staying off the leg and watching my knee balloon up actively? Yeah. This is my life, omg. Buuuuuuut the silver lining is, less time on my feet means more time to write! And I'm going to look at it that way, because seriously, with all my other issues, I'm going to stay relaxed about this one. **Sidenote, this fic is almost to 150 reviews! Omg. I love you all!**
"There's no way you can eat all that," Lissa snickered, eyeing the two full paper bags Ed had clutched in his arms. Usually she'd take one, but she figured if he wanted to buy a week's worth of food for a night, he could carry it himself. They'd been in North City ten days now—ten days since the incident in Baschool, ten days since she'd almost lost Ed… But Lissa was trying not to dwell on that. She much preferred focusing on this version of her boyfriend, with his golden hair loose and eyes bright, almost completely healed, regaining that signature biting wit and sharpness around the edges that he'd lost. It was about time to leave, honestly. He'd been cleared to travel, for the most part, so Darius had gone down to the bank that day to withdraw money from Ed's account. Hopefully Lissa's deception had taken the north off high alert.
If not, well… They'd handle it.
Ed turned up his nose. "Try me. I'm starving anyway, I finally got my appetite back and I'm allowed to eat whatever I want now, besides."
"I don't think whatever you want means five loaves of bread," she pointed out wryly.
"Hey, don't judge me," he complained, bumping her shoulder with his. "C'mon, Liss. I've been deprived. Aren't you the one who convinced me to get that extra chocolate bar?"
"Yeah, but that's chocolate. That's different."
Ed laughed and leaned in far enough to kiss her cheek, though he nearly dropped one grocery bag in the process. "I'm paying for it anyway. It's my hard-earned cash, so I can buy whatever I want for myself."
"What, the hard-earned cash I risked my ass to get?" she asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.
"Lissa…"
She grinned and caved, draping her arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair fondly. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Sorry, it's just…" She squeezed his shoulder tightly. "It's nice to see you in better spirits, that's all."
Ed's cheeks went a little pink. "I wasn't great for a bit, was I?"
"Understandably." Lissa carefully refrained from calling him cute, assuming he wouldn't like hearing it—at least, not in public like this. "It'll be good to get back on track, though… Back to work. But…I have to admit…" She looked around at the snowy street, feeling oddly…warm and fond towards North City, despite her rough beginning with the place. Somehow, her opinion had shifted, just having Ed with her. "I'll miss it, in a weird way."
"I know what you mean." He smiled gently at her. "It's been nice here, hasn't it? Just…just us, getting to actually spend time together…" Ed's gaze was so sweet and affectionate it nearly made her blush, just to see it. "We'll get to do it again, Liss. Once we finish what we've started, what has to be done…we'll get some peace again."
Lissa thought she'd like that—the freedom to just…be with him, without anything looming over their heads. "I'll hold you to that."
"It's a promise," Ed told her firmly.
As they turned onto the street outside the doctors' office, Lissa reached into the smaller open bag atop the groceries, ignoring Ed's mumbled protests about her stealing his food, and withdrew one of the skewers he'd picked up in the market district. "Mine," she told him with a laugh, stuffing another into his mouth to appease him.
"So, are we thinking about heading out tomorrow?" Lissa wondered, tossing the stick into the bag once she'd finished. She stomped snow off her boots when they stepped inside the building, and then took Ed's arm to keep him balanced while he did the same.
He shrugged faintly when he'd finished. "I think so. I mean… I'm gonna go crazy just sitting on my ass, not knowing where Al or Winry or anybody is. Plus, we need to find out if they deciphered those notes or not. The sooner we get out of here, the better." He led the way up the staircase, the white coat he'd taken to recently flaring out behind him on the way.
"Me too, honestly," she admitted. "I've been thinking…" But Lissa trailed off and put her hand in front of him just before they exited onto the second storey, her senses lighting up.
Ed frowned at her. "Liss? What's up?"
"I think the soldiers found us out," she murmured. "I can sense them… And the chimeras feel…tense, too."
His jaw set immediately. "Okay. We have to go help, then." He tipped his chin down towards her hand. "How are those healing? Will you be fine to fight?"
Lissa had found a tattoo shop nearby just the other day that was willing to add a couple new transmutation circles to her arsenal, and keep her presence secret for the right price too. These were situated on the inside of her wrists, circles for more physical-based transmutations than what she usually used. It had been too frustrating to have her alchemy so muffled up here in the north, so she wasn't taking any chances.
"I'll be fine," she told Ed quickly, taking one of the grocery bags from him to free up an arm. "Let's go. Just…try to play it off at first, okay? If they don't recognize us and the chimeras don't tip their hand, there's a chance we can get out of this."
He nodded once, firmly, and then stepped out of the stairwell. Lissa followed, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye—Ed was feigning a rather casual look, thankfully, which meant he'd actually listened to her suggestion.
Sure enough, a soldier was posted on guard outside the office. As they approached, he peeled off the wall and held up a hand. "Hold it. Do you two work at this doctor's office?" he asked loudly.
Lissa raised an eyebrow. Ed's coat might look like a lab coat, she supposed… "Why?" she asked him curiously, coming to a stop beside Ed, just a foot or so away from the soldier. "Did you need something, sir?"
"I need to ask you some questions, miss," he told her shortly. Beside her, Lissa felt Ed tense up, heard him grinding his teeth on the skewer a bit too hard. "Have you seen anyone unusual frequenting the clinic lately?" the soldier asked, clearly a practiced line—evidenced by him digging a piece of paper out of his pocket and reading from it moments later. "He's described as wearing a red coat, has blond hair worn in a braid, and short. He's accompanied by-"
Oh, shit.
The skewer between Ed's teeth snapped in two as he bit down angrily. Before the soldier could so much as think another word, Ed had lunged and rammed his exposed automail fist straight into the man's head, knocking him unconscious in a single blow.
Lissa sighed and held out her free arm. "Give me that bag," she told him wearily, resigned to it now. "Otherwise you'll drop it."
Ed passed it over—and not a moment too soon. Another soldier stepped out and panicked to see the other one unconscious, grabbed him by the lapels… Only to let out a strangled cry as Ed attacked him from behind, seething with that same rage at being labeled short. It wasn't exactly a struggle. These guys were expecting a couple of wounded kids, not a wrathful Fullmetal Alchemist coming down on their heads.
"You know, maybe you should-" Lissa rolled her eyes as Ed stalked into the office, sleeves pushed up, and headed straight for the wall behind which the last soldier was taking cover. She leaned idly into the doorframe, ready to intervene if necessary…but not really keen to stop his warpath either.
Ed rammed his automail straight through the wall and curled his arm in, choking out the last soldier and leaving him in a heap on the floor.
Lissa sighed and hid a smile. What a dummy, really… Getting that pissed about being called short. He was still shorter than her! But she couldn't help being grateful he was this…energetic, after being in such a bad way for so long. This was the Edward Elric she knew.
"Well, damn," Darius muttered from the back room. "You just had to take 'em out on your own, huh? You're pretty reckless, kid. You haven't even fully recovered yet."
"Don't treat me like I'm an invalid," Ed told him irritably, stepping around the doorframe to glare at the chimera, his automail still brandished like he wished there were more soldiers to fight. "My injuries are completely healed—and I'm revving at full throttle."
Lissa smirked. "Well, that's debatable," she teased. She crossed to the main room, where the doctor and his wife hovered anxiously, with Heinkel armed and looking thoroughly pissed nearby. "Ed, come sort through your crap, we can't take all of this with us," she called over. "I'll get our things from the back."
While Ed rather dejectedly sorted through his food, paring it down to one grocery bag, Lissa stepped into the back and gathered their things into her backpack—clothes, first aid supplies, and things for automail maintenance mostly. Then she slung it onto her back and hurried out to meet the others. It wasn't surprising they had to leave, after all. They'd been ready.
"Thanks for everything you've done, doc," Darius was saying, as the four headed out at the very impatient urging of the doctor and his wife.
"Don't worry about it," the doctor dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Just hurry up and go."
"We've had about all the trouble we can take today," his wife added firmly.
Lissa gave them both a smile. "Really, thank you. For all of it." She waved then, and followed the others down the hall—just pausing to snatch up the paper that first soldier had dropped. "Hey, Ed, check this out," she murmured, falling into step beside him. "It's got our descriptions, just like that soldier said."
"Lemme see that," he asked, through a mouthful of bread. He took the paper from her and skimmed it quickly, his eyebrows furrowing as he went through it. "That's all they're looking for? A red coat and a braid for me, and brown hair and pink gloves for you?"
She shrugged. "Seems like it. Kind of loose descriptions to go on, really."
"Guess we'll have to make do with what we've got for a while, though," he pointed out. "Until all this dies down."
Lissa grinned. "Lucky me. I get free access." She underscored that with a tug of his hair, making him laugh and swat her away.
The moment was broken by the sudden scrape of gunmetal across her senses—followed shortly by the appearance of more soldiers at the end of the hall. Apparently backup had arrived, finally. "Freeze!" one soldier shouted, aiming his gun their way.
A second one did the same, the threat clear. "Drop your weapons!"
That was to Darius and Heinkel, both of whom were still openly carrying their guns. Lissa wondered if they could've made it, if the chimeras hadn't been so insistent on being armed like that. Oh well. Hindsight.
Heinkel growled low in his throat. "We took too long."
"Get your hands up in the air!" the first soldier demanded. Do it now!"
"Move it kids, those guys are dangerous!" the second one added.
Lissa blinked, surprised. So these guys…really didn't recognize her and Ed. Interesting. She'd keep that in mind to exploit later.
In one move, so sudden it nearly made Lissa yelp in surprise, the chimeras moved—Darius grabbed Ed and Heinkel grabbed her, both aiming their guns at the two alchemists. She exchanged a dry look with Ed at the annoying move, though she understood why. If these soldiers thought she and Ed were just kids caught in the crossfire…that was a perfect tool to get out of there. She just…didn't like being manhandled, that was all.
"Stay back or they're dead!" Heinkel shouted, almost triumphant.
Darius nodded his confirmation. "Don't force us to blow these kids' brains out!" he threatened as well.
That did it—the soldiers gasped and pulled their guns back, leaving Darius and Heinkel enough time to literally grab both Ed and Lissa and cart them off down the stairs.
Outside, they encountered a group of soldiers milling around a car—but Heinkel shot out the roof of a nearby building, sending snow crashing down to get those soldiers out of their way, and soon enough they were running down the pavement. Well. The chimeras were running. Lissa only wished she were.
"I'll hotwire some wheels for us," Darius suggested.
Thankfully, the chimeras set Ed and Lissa down to do that, and Lissa took the moment to straighten her navy coat and tie her hair up in a ponytail, in case they needed to fight. She passed Ed a hair tie as well, one she'd transmuted in North City—though she had his old red one on her wrist, she was keeping that one for a rainy day. Despite her thing for his hair, Lissa had to admit he seemed more himself with it pulled back like that. So she'd accept it for now.
As soon as the car was dealt with, she leapt into the back with Ed while the chimeras took the front, Darius driving, and they were off.
Unfortunately…they were being followed.
Ed cursed under his breath when he noticed their tails—a couple unmarked cars, chasing them down the snowy road. "Hey, Gorilla! Step on it!" he shouted.
"Don't call me that!" Darius growled back.
But Ed wasn't deterred—he'd been bad at the chimeras' names the entire time. "Just drive faster!"
"These guys are from Northern Command, we're never gonna ditch 'em!" Darius muttered, sounding genuinely anxious. Lissa glanced behind them worriedly—Northern Command meant these soldiers were accustomed to driving in snow, a skill she seriously doubted the chimera shared. They really didn't stand a chance of outrunning them, then.
They careened through an intersection, narrowly missing a bigger truck and nearly spinning out, and Lissa grabbed the door to avoid falling against Ed and possibly hurting him.
"That was a little too close," Heinkel muttered, glancing rather acidly at his compatriot.
Ignoring him, Darius asked, "How's it lookin' behind us, you two?"
Lissa turned onto her knees, propping up beside Ed to check. "Oh, shit," she whispered, grimacing at the two cars steadily gaining on them.
"Not good!" he reported back tightly. "They're right on us!"
"Dammit," Darius hissed.
Suddenly, Ed grabbed the back of the driver's seat and pointed ahead of them, startling Darius into nearly fumbling the wheel. "Turn there!" he ordered. "I've got an idea!"
"What?!"
Ed gritted his teeth. "Just shut up and turn!"
Darius let out a yell of frustration. "This better be a good plan!" he threatened, as he threw the car into a sharp right turn, the wheels losing traction for a moment as he pressed hard on the brake pedal, nearly spinning out.
"Just park the car as soon as we turn," Ed insisted, bringing his hands together. "Liss, keep an eye on the engine, will you?"
Her eyes shot wide as she realized his plan. "Got it!" Lissa pressed her hands to the seat below her and focused, hard, reaching out to the engine roaring beneath the hood and assessing its physical structure in seconds. As Darius slammed the car to a stop, Ed transmuted it, shifting the outside into something entirely different—Lissa could feel…armored layers on top and…were those horns? Ugh, he was so embarrassing sometimes! Still, she did as he'd asked, remaining focused on the engine in case he accidentally transmuted part of it, poised to stop it if he did. But even rushed, Ed was damn good at what he did.
The two cars of soldiers went racing right by the altered car without so much as a trace of hesitation.
"Whew," Ed sighed, resting his arm along the back of the seat and grinning. "And you doubted me."
Heinkel glared back at him. "Yeah, well… Can you change it back into a normal car now?"
Ed bristled. "And why's that? I think this car looks cool as hell!" he complained, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance.
"Just change it back," Darius insisted. "Please, we're begging you."
"Oh, yeah?" Ed challenged, still holding his ground determinedly. "You guys got a problem with my sense of style?"
"You don't have any!" the chimeras shot back.
Heinkel peered back at Lissa, who had been studiously looking at her lap the entire time. "You're with this kid? Really?"
Lissa grinned at Ed's indignation. "Yeah, not for him putting horns on cars, though."
Ed pouted a bit and sank back into his seat as they drove away. "So not fair. Ganging up on me like that."
Still, it was three to one, so he consented finally and transmuted the car again, this time altering it to a more nondescript exterior, with a bland color to match most of the cars around them. Lissa reached out and took his hand when he was finished, a little impatient, and pulled his arm up and around her shoulders. He just grinned and curled his arm around her, perfectly content to sit like that.
Darius headed south from the city, following the main road as it wound out of the mountains. Lissa wasn't sure how he knew where to go—maybe he'd been studying maps, or maybe he just had a good sense of direction. But he got them out of North City just fine, and eventually out of the mountains too, where the ground finally leveled out a bit and the terrain got easier. It was still snowy, though, everything blanketed in that omnipresent whiteness. Even after an hour of driving they were still in the snow, which was…impressive, in a way.
When the area grew secluded enough, Darius pulled over to let them get out and stretch their legs—and figure out where to go, since they hadn't discussed that part.
"So I guess this means we're drifters again," Heinkel sighed, leaning against the door of the car.
"Yep," Darius agreed sullenly, from nearby.
Lissa was leaned against the hood of the car, standing beside Ed while he was clearly lost somewhere in his own head. She was reluctant to break his train of thought—and besides, she had the feeling he'd reach the same conclusion she had. Going to Central was inevitable. Still, after a couple minutes of him pressing two fingers to his jaw and glaring at the snow like it'd answer all his questions, she couldn't help herself. "Ed, what are you thinking?" she asked him softly.
But he didn't reply, too caught up in his own thoughts.
"Hey, Fullmetal," Darius called over. "Quit spacin' out."
That did it—Ed jolted and looked up in surprise, his gaze flicking between Lissa and the chimeras in a sort of confusion.
The chimera waved a hand impatiently. "So what's the next plan of action?" he pressed.
Ed considered that a moment. "Well…let's see." He worried the edge of his coat between his fingers. "The first thing we need to do is meet up with Al. He should be with Dr. Marcoh by now, and that's where all our information is, too."
Darius eyed him. "Well? Where are they?"
"You do know how to find them, right?" Heinkel asked dryly.
Ed let out a sigh and sat down heavily on the side of the car, the little step leading in, threading his fingers together as he considered that. Lissa trailed him there, holding up a hand to get the chimeras to wait as she crouched in front of her boyfriend. He met her gaze, and she could see how hard he was focusing, how desperate he was to figure out where the hell their little brother would've gone… But it was difficult to predict, she knew. With all the other factors in play, it was painfully hard to figure out where Alphonse might've been led. "First place you think of," she urged him softly. "Let's just start there, okay? Wherever comes to mind first."
He nodded slowly, unwinding his fingers and reaching out to brush a loose strand of hair from her face. "What about that abandoned house where Gluttony attacked us? Mustang used it as a safehouse… and it's big enough to hide everybody."
So he went in the same direction as me—Central. Everything leads to Central.
"It's a good place to start," Lissa agreed, nodding. "We'll find him, Ed. Okay? We'll find Al, even if he's not there. But he might be, you're right, it's a possibility."
The snow crunched as the chimeras approached, and Lissa looked up as Darius asked, "So? Where are we going, then?"
Ed's automail hand curled into a fist. "Central. We're going back to Central."
—
"So, slight problem," Lissa breathed, as the four approached the house. It looked much the same as when they'd left it—still broken down, ratty, kind of sketchy… It even still had the giant hole Gluttony had torn in the side of the place.
Ed glanced at her sideways. "What is it?"
"I…don't sense Al," she admitted. "I'd know him anywhere. I don't sense anybody, actually."
Heinkel huffed in frustration. "We'd better check it out anyway," he grumbled, seeming a bit…irritated. Lissa wondered what he'd expected. They were just stabbing in the dark here.
Sure enough, when they entered the house and Darius lit a lantern, just to check, what Lissa had sensed was true—the place was totally empty. "There's nobody here," Darius groaned, giving Ed and Lissa a disparaging look. "Yeah, you really know your brother."
"We don't know what information they dug up," Lissa muttered at him. "Give us a break."
Heinkel glowered further into the dark of the shack. "We busted our tails for hundreds of miles for an empty house?"
"This is still in the right direction," Ed argued back.
Lissa nodded firmly, supporting him. "It was one option, but I'm thinking-"
Something brushed against Lissa's senses—and in the same moment, Heinkel gave a mighty sniff, his animal sense of smell catching something too. Immediately, Heinkel turned and dropped to one knee, aiming his gun at the gap in the house, while Lissa raised her hands in that direction too. Darius and Ed took their lead, with Darius turning the lantern out and Ed sinking into a crouch, ready.
But Lissa's senses were all muddled up… She thought she was sensing a homunculus, first, but there was something strange about it, the wriggling sense sort of…muffled, somehow, like it was being muted. But how? Why was that unmistakable feeling of a homunculus fuzzed out behind something else, something overwhelmingly familiar? She didn't think she'd felt this particular combination before, and yet… Wait…it can't be!
Lissa darted into the gap, narrowly avoiding Ed's grab for her shirt, and managed to fling her arms out in time to catch Ling Yao as he toppled forward. She sank with him, down to her knees, feeling him panting hard against her shoulder.
"Ling!" Ed cried, scrambling over to join her. "Er—I mean, Greed! Wait…" He looked up at Lissa frantically. "Which one is he?"
A low growling sound startled them both—and a muffled voice whined, "Hungry… Need…food…"
Ed sighed wearily, though the corner of his lips pulled up despite himself. "Heh… It's Ling."
Lissa pressed her hand into the Xingese boy's back, relieved he was all right. They hadn't seen Ling since Greed had delivered that message for him, the one he'd written out for Lan Fan—and even then, the prince's energy had been hidden behind Greed's since the homunculus was in the driver's seat, so to speak. No wonder her senses had felt tangled—she'd yet to actually sense what these two felt like when Ling was in the forefront.
"I bet Greed doesn't eat enough," Lissa mused, patting Ling's back absently as he moaned again. "C'mon. The least we can do is feed him."
"Yeah, I guess so," Ed conceded wearily.
With the lantern back on, they set Ling up with all the rations he could possibly want, and soon enough the Xingese boy perked right up, with that same unending appetite he'd exhibited in Rush Valley. Lissa sat beside Ed and watched him tear through their food like it was nothing, sort of awed by the amount he could put away. She found, sitting there and watching him carefully, that she'd missed Ling in a way—they'd never been particularly close, but she considered him a friend and she respected the things he'd done for them. And…nowadays, she was pretty certain he was her countryman as well. That meant something, for a girl who scarcely knew her own history.
Holy shit. I guess we'll need to restock after this.
"Well, that did the trick!" Ling told them brightly, when he'd finally finished. "Thanks, Ed, Lissa… You're too kind."
Ed just rolled his eyes. "It's amazing that you're not a giant fat-ass," he muttered.
Darius sort of gloomily shook their now-empty food bag and mumbled, in pure disbelief, "He ate all of our rations."
"We'll replace it," Lissa told him passively.
Ling peered up at the chimeras, as though he'd just remembered they were there. "Aren't you gonna introduce me to your pals?" he asked curiously.
Ed pointed helpfully at them. "That's Mr. Gorill-"
"My name's Darius!" he cut in, irritably, long since frustrated with Ed's inability to remember a couple names.
"And I'm Heinkel. We're ex-military, but we wound up getting stuck working with these kids somehow."
Impatient, Darius jabbed a finger towards Ling and demanded, "Now, what's this guy's story?"
Ed rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "Well…let's see."
"It's pretty complicated," Lissa tried, not really wanting to admit Ling's true identity—not as a prince of Xing or as a homunculus, honestly. Knowing about the existence of the homunculi was one thing…but actually seeing one? She didn't really fancy defending Ling against the two chimeras.
But Ling had other plans. "I'm a homunculus," he chirped.
Ed's jaw dropped. "Can you try to be more discreet?!"
Eyeing him almost in disbelief, Darius asked, "Seriously?! You're a homunculus?"
"It'll take too long to explain," Ed hurried to interrupt, before the chimeras could unleash a whole slew of questions.
"He's kind of…sharing headspace with the homunculus Greed," Lissa explained, resting her hand on Ed's knee. She knew the chimeras a little better than him, had a little more shared trust from relying on each other to get out of Baschool safely—and she'd been the one to explain everything to them originally, besides. She could give them something to go on.
Ed's hand came to sit atop hers, a sort of automatic gesture. "What are you doing here anyway, Ling? I thought you'd be in Central."
Ling's eyebrows furrowed, his expression turning very grave. "Well…to put it lightly, Greed had a falling out with the other homunculi. So I took advantage of his confusion, and managed to regain control of my body." His gaze darkened even further. "I had to get out of Central, and needed someplace close by to hide. So I-"
But he winced and gritted his teeth, suddenly grimacing in pain—and Lissa felt the cloying sense of a homunculi rush to the surface.
"What's the matter?" Ed asked anxiously, as Lissa reached out to grab Ling's shoulder tightly.
"It's—Greed," Ling gasped out, pressing a hand to his face and curling in on himself, struggling hard. "He's starting to…fight back."
Ed glared at him. "No!" he shouted, and rammed his automail fist into the back of Ling's head. "No, no, no, no, no! Fight him back, you idiot! Don't let him overpower you!"
"Ed, stop it!" Lissa told him firmly, irritated by his reaction. As if it were that simple…
Ling's hands shot up, and he caught Ed's wrist between his palms. "Jeez," he sighed wearily. "Listen to me… That guy beneath Central, the one that they call their father… He's gonna open the portal on the Day of Reckoning. The Promised Day." Though the words meant nothing to her, the inherent fear Ling seemed to feel rushed over Lissa's skin like pins and needles. "I could be wrong about this…but I think you and Al should jump in when he does."
Lissa stared at him in shock. "Jump in? Ling, wait…that can't be right…"
But he shook his head firmly. "I think it's the best chance they have to get their bodies back," he asserted.
"Wait a minute…" Ed sat back on his heels and frowned at Ling. "That kinda makes sense and everything, but…" His jaw tightened. "There's a toll that must be paid to even open the portal. And—why? Why's he doing all this anyway?"
"And what day are you talking about?" Lissa added, exchanging a tense look with Ed.
He nodded, latching onto that question immediately. "Right, this…Promised Day… Do you know the exact day he's gonna open it?"
"It's happening-" Yet again, Ling was overcome as Greed tried to surge forward again, his body trembling in pain as he fought to keep the homunculus back.
"Ling! C'mon, don't let him through," Ed begged him.
When Ling's hand slipped from over his eyes, though, Lissa recoiled in shock—his irises had already gone a certain violet color, the color she associated with Greed, with homunculi. "Dammit… I can't hold him much longer," Ling panted, dropping his hand. "The—message… You got it to Lan Fan, right? You gave her the message?"
Ed's gaze darted to Lissa, just for a moment, and she knew he was remembering her strange reaction to the message. "Al gave it to her," he reassured Ling. "And she's doing all right. I don't know where she is, but she's safe."
"She and Mr. Fu went off together," Lissa told the Xingese boy gently. "He's looking after her."
Ling smiled, just faintly, his shoulders slumping in relief. "Thank you. That's good to hear." His breath hitched—and Lissa cringed as he bent in half again, Greed's energy rushing forward, smothering the familiar sense of Ling beneath a wave of worms in the earth.
"Ling!" Ed shouted, grabbing his opposite shoulder.
But Ling's own sense was much too weak now. "Sorry," he breathed. "That's it for me… I'm gone."
Lissa pulled Ed back the moment she felt the change come over him—Ling's familiar energy tumbling beneath Greed's eerie homunculus sense. She didn't really want Ed touching him when he came back to himself. Something just…told her that was a bad idea, somehow. "Careful," she murmured lowly, wary.
"Damn," Greed sighed, his voice changed over as well, lifting his head and glaring at the floor in front of him. "Fuckin' pain in the ass prince. He needs to learn to keep his big mouth shut."
Ed narrowed his eyes. "Is that you, Greed?"
"Yeah, what tipped you off?" the homunculus sneered.
Reactively, Heinkel drew his gun, but Greed just waved him off as he stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Don't bother. You can't even scratch me with that thing." He shrugged faintly and headed for the door, apparently finished. "Well, see ya later."
"Hey!"
Lissa cursed as Ed leapt up, chasing after Greed almost irritably. The hell was he thinking?
"Aren't you gonna try and capture us?" Ed demanded, glaring at him.
Greed turned to him in confusion. "Were you even listening to anything the prince told you?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "I'm working on my solo career now. All these memories came flooding back, and I kind of went nuts and attacked Wrath. Who knows what they'd do to me if I go crawling back… And I don't really work well with others, so it's probably for the best. And that's that." Seeming truly finished, he turned and went to walk down the steps leading out of the house.
"Why don't you team up with us?"
Lissa stared at Ed, stunned by the offer. To let Greed team up with them… But then again… They'd always regarded losing the first iteration of Greed to be a huge failure, a poorly-handled situation that could've turned out so much better… If this version of the homunculus hated the others too, then maybe he wouldn't be such a bad teammate after all. They'd worked with Scar, so…
"You've got nowhere to go," Ed continued firmly, his shoulders squared and posture sharp. "Why not come with us?"
Greed rounded on them, and for a moment, he seemed to be actually considering it… But then he laughed, full and loud, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Team up with you? You want me to follow you? Psh. Thanks for the laugh." He grinned savagely. "Up yours, kid. This world is my possession, not yours. Now…" He pointed at Ed. "It's a different story if you wanna follow me. You're welcome to join my team." Still laughing, he turned and headed off into the night. "Later."
Lissa got to her feet and stepped up beside Ed, giving him an uncertain look. She had no idea what was going on in his mind, why his gaze was so fierce… "Ed? What's going on?"
He turned to her and grabbed both her hands tightly. "Liss, do you trust me?"
"Do you even need to ask that?" she murmured. "Of course I do."
Ed drew her hands to his mouth and kissed them softly, and Lissa had the strangest sense he was building himself up to something—then he tugged her right out of the house, pulling her behind him by one hand, and called for the chimeras to follow over his shoulder. She just went with him, reminding herself that he'd asked for her trust.
His hand clenched down on hers was the only thing that kept her moving a moment later, as a wave of dizziness rushed over her. Lissa drew a ragged breath, nearly stumbling over the uneven ground, and gave a firm shake of her head to dispel it. What was that? I'm not that exhausted…
But there wasn't time to think it through. Ahead, just on the edge of the hill where she'd stood with Al and Gluttony what felt like a lifetime ago, they could see Greed standing in the shadows, not yet gone completely.
"Hey! Ling, wait up!" Ed called out.
Greed sighed and turned to face the four as they approached. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm Greed, not Ling."
Ed waved his hand passively as they stopped before the homunculus. "It's too difficult to keep track of," he complained. "I'll just call you Greeling from now on."
"No! You will not-"
But Ed just talked right over him, folding his arms across his chest firmly. "Listen to me, Greeling. I'll follow you."
He'll do what, exactly?
Greed seemed just as stunned, his eyes shooting wide in genuine shock.
Ed grinned at him. "I thought about it, and I've decided to join your team after all. Isn't that right, Liss?" He slung his arm over her shoulders and tugged her into his side, and she almost jabbed her fingers into his ribs, just to mess with him. "And," he added, jerking his free thumb back towards Darius and Heinkel, "since these guys seem to follow us everywhere, you've got two chimeras on your team as well."
The chimeras launched into furious yelling, incensed Ed would reveal their secret—but Lissa groaned and snapped, "Greed's last team was entirely chimeras. Don't be ridiculous. He's a homunculus, why's he going to care, exactly?"
When the two had quieted down, still shooting death glares towards the two alchemists, Ed sighed and continued his explanation. "I realized something," he told Greed evenly. "I've been a follower ever since I became a dog of the military. I lost my pride a while back. So I'm already used to rolling over on command. And besides…" He smirked across at the still-reeling homunculus. "There's too much at stake. I can't let any information you've got slip through the cracks." He barked a rough, callous sort of laugh, playing into Greed's type. "I really can't let my ego get in the way."
Lissa nodded her assent, sliding her arm around Ed's back and curling her fingers into his hip. "It's the only choice that makes sense," she agreed. "Two powerful state alchemists, a couple of chimeras… We've gotta be useful to you, right?"
Slowly, Greed began to grin at them, a sort of savage, sharp expression. "All right. But workin' for me means you have t'live in the shadows," he told them fiercely. "I don't wanna hear any regrets."
"Give me a break," Ed shot back. "I've already got a million regrets. What's one more?"
The homunculus nodded, accepting that answer. "Good. Then it's settled." He bypassed Ed and Lissa and approached the chimeras, focusing on the ones he didn't know. "So then you guys are working for me too."
Heinkel turned his nose up a bit. "Doesn't seem like we have much choice."
"I don't care who I follow, as long as they're feeding me," Darius told him, shrugging.
While Greed asked them more questions—what kind of chimeras they were, what their abilities were, all that—Lissa caught Ed reaching into his pocket thoughtfully and withdrawing something, which he held in his hand with a frown creasing his face. "What's that?" she asked him softly.
He uncurled his fingers. "Winry's earrings. Remember, she gave them to me in Baschool, to give back to her later. But…" Ed sighed wearily. "I guess we won't be seeing Winry or Al for a while, since we're….y'know…living in the shadows or whatever. Outcasts."
Lissa cupped her hand around his and curled his fingers back in, keeping the earrings safe in his palm. "We'll see them again, Ed. Both of them. So you keep holding onto those."
"Yeah," he murmured. He tucked the earrings back into his pocket and sighed, casting his gaze up towards the moon hanging over their heads. "I'm not sure about all of this, honestly… I know I asked you to trust me, but…are you really okay with this?"
"I meant what I said," she told him, shrugging. "It's the only choice that makes sense. We need to find out more about this Promised Day, look for information on the others, and fill out the resistance as much as possible. So… I don't really see a better option here. Besides, whatever else he might be, we know Greed takes care of his followers. We'll be all right." She wrapped both hands around his arm and pulled him in close, pressing a kiss against his lips gently. "We can handle this, Ed. I know we can."
He nodded and tugged her into his arms, almost enveloping her there…and Lissa realized, as she tilted her head to rest against his shoulder, that he'd grown again. They must be close to the same height now.
"All right, let's get moving," Greed announced loudly behind them. "We gotta find a place to set up for the night."
Lissa stepped back and took Ed's hand, filing the information away for a later date. For the moment, she actually agreed with the homunculus—they needed rest, shelter, food… All of that would come first, and she'd handle the rest later. Including the faintest brush of jealousy she'd felt from Ed earlier, which she'd studiously ignored at the time, given how tenuous the situation was. Yes, all of that would come later.
They set up in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Zaymed that night, a smaller town not far from Central, and with a little finagling Lissa managed to snag a bedroom just for her and Edward, where they could shut the door and have a bit of privacy. Greed seemed to find the whole thing amusing, and bid them a cheerful goodnight with the warning to be smart, which was…ridiculous.
"Asshole," Ed grumbled, glowering at the door even once the homunculus had walked off down the hall.
Lissa smiled absently as she pulled her hair loose. "He's trying to mess with you, I think."
"Yeah? Well, it's working."
She tossed her backpack down onto the bed and began sorting through the clothes, tossing their pyjamas out onto the duvet while she considered how to lighten the clothing they'd been using in the north. It was too thick for being down here in Central, but she wasn't certain about being able to go fabric hunting anytime soon… And it was probably too early to ask that of Greed, either. So her best option would be to work with what they already had.
"Don't be a dummy, Ed," she murmured, aware he was pouting at her. "You're the one who had the idea to join up with him, remember? We have to play his game now."
"I just…" He snatched his pyjamas up much too sharply, startling her into staring up at him. "I don't like how he looked at you, okay? I think I'm allowed to be pissed when another guy looks at you like he might wanna eat you. Then there's…"
But he trailed off.
Lissa folded her arms. "Then there's what, exactly?" she prompted.
He growled lowly and slung his clothes over his shoulder, his automail clacking as he curled it into a fist. "Just—earlier, with Ling, you seemed… I dunno, Liss. You were pretty…comfortable touching him, that's all."
She narrowed her eyes. So that's what the jealousy had been about? "What, were you—did you think I was-" Lissa huffed at him. "You think there's something between me and Ling? What the hell?"
"How should I know?" Ed demanded, though his cheeks burned red. "I mean—I've never…" He spun away from her suddenly, shoulders slumping, and head for the attached bathroom. "Just forget it, okay? It's stupid. You can do whatever you want."
Lissa stared after him as he crossed the room, her heart pounding in her chest so hard it echoed in her ears. She'd thought it was just passive jealousy…but…he truly had wondered if… And she'd dismissed him. How stupid of her, to forget his insecurities, to forget all the trouble they'd had before any of this—to think that being together, using titles that could easily be thrown away, meant all of that would just…fade.
She chased him down and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him to face her so sharply he stumbled, the clothes sliding off his arm as he took a step back in alarm. "Liss—what-"
But she cut him off as she pushed him backwards, clenched her hands onto his shirt, and pressed him into the wall, muffling his low moan under her lips as she kissed him, hard. Ed's arms came around her immediately, holding her close, but she drew back moments later. "There's nothing—no one I want besides you," Lissa told him lowly. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head, watching his eyes widen and lips part at the forwardness—but then something in the gold of his eyes darkened, and Lissa gasped as Ed caught her in his arms, lifting her with ease, and crossed the room to lay her flat on the bed.
"Say it again," he whispered, sliding the hem of her shirt up and kissing her abdomen—but she couldn't so much as breathe as he trailed his lips upward, taking her shirt with him until he gave up and just pulled the garment off and tossed it aside.
Lissa sucked in a sharp breath, almost dizzy as he crawled over her and covered her lips with his own, the chill of his automail making her shudder as it brushed along her side, propping him up above her. At the same time his left arm slid beneath her, curling them together, every touch possessive and firm, confident, an assurance for himself that she was there with him…
"Please," Ed breathed, as his teeth raked along her jawline, his nose pressed into her cheek. "Please, Lissa… I want to hear you say it again…"
She traced her fingers over the muscles of his back, tense now, every breath sending tremors throughout him… Even now he was vulnerable, at least to her, offering his heart and hoping she wouldn't break it… "I don't want anyone else, Ed," she murmured, as she rested one hand at the small of his back, holding them together, moored against a storm. "No one. I swear, it's only you, there's nothing to worry about… I'm not going anywhere…"
He let out a harsh breath and tucked his face into the side of her neck, panting for a moment, soaking in what she'd said… Then he leaned up above her and stroked his fingers along her cheekbone, down past the hollow of her throat, over her collarbones… Lissa could hardly breathe.
"Dammit, Liss…" Ed's voice came out rough and low. "This isn't… I don't want to push you, I'm not…trying to…"
She couldn't hide the way her face warmed at his words. It had seemed like… But even so, she'd trusted him, leapt in headfirst with him and hadn't hesitated a moment.
Slowly, on unsteady arms, Ed began to push himself up—but Lissa caught him and refused to let him move any further. "Don't go," she asked of him quietly, as she reached up and pulled the tie from his hair, let the golden strands hang down around his face loosely. "Stay, Ed. Please."
He gave her an uncertain look. "We…can't go that far, you know that…"
"I do," she agreed. "Not that far. But…" Lissa smoothed her hands over his chest, watching his eyelids flutter, and took his shoulders lightly as a sort of leverage. "That's not what I was asking. Especially not here, like this…" She traced her forefinger around the shape of his lips, tugging lightly on his bottom lip, his breath catching in his throat at her touch. "But I still want you here… I still want you with me, like this…"
Ed nodded slowly, taking a moment to watch her eyes, making ensuring she was certain—then he leaned down into her and kissed her right on her pulse point. "Just…stop me if I start to go too far," he murmured.
"I will, I swear. And you too," she whispered, needing the same reassurance he did—the same certainty that neither of them would be uncomfortable here.
She felt him smile against her skin. "Promise." Ed's teeth clenched down, just lightly, and Lissa sucked in a sharp breath, even as he released the pressure, trailing soft kisses up into her hair, smoothing the black strands from her face and stroking lines with his fingers instead. He traced his left hand all the way down her arm, until he could entwine their hands, then gently lifted her arm to rest near her head, bent at the elbow, pressed into the mattress by his grasp. Comforting and possessive. The thought made her smile. It was just so…perfectly Ed, somehow.
Lissa felt like melting under his touch as he kissed her eyelids first, just gently…then her forehead, the tip of her nose, taking all the time he wanted before he finally pressed his lips into hers again. She sighed into it, letting her mouth slip open against his, a sort of invitation—yet he remained slow, careful, taking each step gently, learning with her.
And as they folded together, let the rest of the world fade away, Lissa felt certain they'd be all right…as long as they stayed together. As long as she held onto Ed and never let him go.
(Bonus mildly spicy content. This fic isn't intended to get super spicy, since it's at a lower rating, but...there's always room for a little spiciness.)
