Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Not making any money from this. Love the idea of Ed and Roy. Please leave me a review if you like the story.
Chapter 28: Women Troubles
The train rattled on over sections of old and new track, jolting a little more than usual as its wheels passed over joints that weren't quite worn smooth yet. Its mostly upper-class passengers weren't complaining, however – it was enough of a miracle as it was that the tracks had been re-laid in such a short period of time, and they were all eager to get to Central in time for the inauguration of the new Fuhrer. Few of them were aware, however, that the persons responsible for that minor miracle were within their midst.
Alphonse Elric sprawled out wearily along the full length of the train seat, grateful that they had the compartment to themselves – amazing what flashing a State Alchemist's pocket watch along with a meaningful glare could get you, and Ed was very, very good at the latter. It had been a trying few days. First, that ugly business of General Hakuro and his attempt to assassinate General Mustang, then an emergency trip out to a small town up north which had been virtually decimated during the conflicts and whose municipal system was stretched to breaking point as refugees from further north washed down. The tracks leading to the town had been blown up at some point, so Ed had had to teleport them there, causing some consternation – and no small amount of hero-worship on the part of the local children – when they had appeared in the middle of the town square. Al had then proceeded to live up to his title of Earth Moving Alchemist, raising emergency shelters out of the rubble and muck, while Ed dealt with the finer points of sorting out some form of leadership in the town and organizing emergency supplies and medical aid. And then a messenger from the next town over had arrived, half-starved and on foot, the telegraph and telephone wires to his hometown having been severed and the train station destroyed, leaving them unable to request aid any other way, and thence had the brothers Elric travelled posthaste. Together they had hastily patched enough of the tracks to enable emergency supplies to be dispatched from down south, and restrung the wires, putting that town back in contact with the rest of the country – that had been exceptionally taxing for Ed, who had had to teleport them from pole to pole, but at least the town would now be able to request aid if anything else cropped up. Al twitched as he remembered the stench of burning wood and decaying flesh that had hung over the town when they first arrived, and the vacant look of the children, and the desperation in the faces of the adults. Thank goodness his family had been safe in Risembool – while subject to rationing with the rest of the country, the town had escaped untouched for the most part, allowing people to live off their land. It was almost springtime, and he wondered idly if he would be back in time to seed the vegetable garden. Perhaps he could request leave for a couple of weeks, once things were more settled.
He looked across the compartment at the supine form of his brother, who was curled up on the seat opposite wrapped in his cloak with his hood over his face, a shapeless green lump that moved slightly with Ed's breathing. The Fullmetal Alchemist had basically stumbled into the compartment, fallen onto the seat, mumbled something about waking him when they got to Central, and passed out, not even stirring when the food trolley had come around. Just in case though, Al had gotten him a couple of sandwiches and a thermos of coffee – a tired Edward Elric was one thing, Al could deal with that, but a tired and hungry one was just…not even worth contemplating. Ed had been a tireless force of nature in the towns, a golden-eyed whirlwind that seemed everywhere at once, shoring up buildings and spirits alike through sheer force of will, his petite figure at odds with the power and warmth he literally radiated just standing still, but even so, a body could only take so much before it was running on empty. The children had taken instantly to him, and he would inevitably be trailing a small entourage whenever they were in an area longer than a bare half-hour, much to Ed's chagrin and Al's amusement. Some of them were so little that they reminded him of his daughter, and he wondered wistfully how much he'd missed just over the last month or so. It hadn't really been all that long since Ed had returned, first as Auric, and then as himself, and yet it had been all too easy to fall back into the familiar pattern of working for the military and watching over his brother, and away from his role as father and husband. Winry had sounded a little worried the last time he'd spoken to her, right before they'd left. It's all right though, he thought hopefully, she and Winnie will be arriving soon for the inauguration, and things will go back to normal. Won't they?
His brother chose that moment to lurch upwards with a muffled shout that made Al jump. "Brother?"
Bleary golden eyes blinked unfocusedly at Al for a moment, then cleared. "Oh. Al." Ed looked around, pushing back his hood and scrubbing his face with his hands. "We're still on the train, huh?" he asked dully.
"Yes. It's running behind at the moment, but we should be in Central in half-an-hour," Al said helpfully, handing his brother the food he'd had the good sense to purchase and watching in bemusement as the offering was inhaled ravenously. How Ed managed not to choke while eating that fast was still a mystery to the younger man. "Actually, we'll get in around the same time as Winry's train."
"Maybe we should just wait at the station to meet her then," suggested Ed, brushing a few stray crumbs of his lap. "It's always nice to have someone waiting for you when you get off a train, and I've been looking forward to seeing her and Winnie. We don't have to report in right away after all – we did send them a telegram letting them know we would have to repair the tracks before catching a train back." Al had refused to let him teleport them back, saying he was over-extended and pushing it, and Ed hadn't bothered to argue. While not as enervating as opening a Gate, teleportation could be exhausting if done too frequently. Like every damn downed telegraph pole, for example.
"Sure," Al agreed amiably. "So, what were you dreaming about?"
Ed's eyes glinted in the light of the late afternoon sun streaming into their compartment as his eyes flicked up to meet his brother's and then away again. "Nothing important."
The train pulled into Central with a screech of brakes and a piercing whistle, and the sounds of doors slamming open and passengers retrieving their packages from the overhead racks jolted the brothers from the comfortable reverie they had fallen into. Ed stood and led the way into the corridor towards the exit, only to stop stock still in the doorway, resulting in a yelp from Al as he bumped into his back. "What's wrong?" He peered over Ed's shoulder. "Oh…."
The platform was swarming with reporters. They appeared to be interested in the various self-important people stepping off the train, yelling out inane questions about what they thought of the war, how the train ride had been, and what-do-you-think-of-our-new-and-highly-eligible-bachelor-Fuhrer, that last targeted mainly at the blushing young ladies escorted by various fussy looking chaperones, evidently unmarried daughters being packed off to the inauguration celebrations in hopes of making a good match. Al watched his brother's face nervously, knowing how Ed loathed this sort of thing, but to his credit, Ed appeared to be remaining calm, save for the tensing of a muscle in his jaw and a growl under his breath as he made to shoulder his way through the seething crowd. "This is ridiculous. Come on, Al, let's see if we can slip past them and find the platform Winry's arriving on."
"It's the Fullmetal Alchemist!" The cry went up almost before Ed's foot had hit the platform, and he swore at his idiocy in not pulling up his hood to cover his telltale hair as he was abruptly blinded by a sea of flashes. "Colonel Elric! Over here! Here! Sir! Fullmetal Alchemist! Where are you coming back from? Are you ready for the inauguration tomorrow? Will you be wearing your uniform for the ceremonies? What's your favourite colour? Can you give us any details as to your involvement in the foiling of the attempt made by General Hakuro on General Mustang's life? Where were you for the past four years?" The questions ran into each other, leaving Ed's head swimming as he grimly plastered a glittering smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. While he would like nothing better than to teleport away to the relative sanity of HQ, he couldn't very well leave Al, and they were supposed to be meeting Winry anyway. A few of the nobles stepping out from their private carriages looked vaguely affronted at being virtually ignored by the presshounds, but the photographers knew which side their bread was buttered on, and editors would certainly pay far more for a few candid shots of the highly photogenic Fullmetal Alchemist than for yet another picture of Count Orff or Duchess von und zu Resdesdale. Especially with his ponytail and cloak whipping behind him in the wind like that.
"Everyone, please!" said Al loudly from behind Ed. He moved forward protectively, summoning up an impressive glower that made the reporters all take two steps back very quickly, and Ed wondered for a moment how Al could be so mild-mannered when it came to his own affairs and so very intimidating in the defence of others. Unfortunately, the reporters were only momentarily daunted, falling silent for a few seconds before the yelling started up again, "Major Elric! How much of an influence did your brother have on you deciding to become a State Alchemist? Could you move closer to your brother for a photograph please, turn this way, good! Excellent! Did you know where your brother was the last four years? Are the two of you still close? Is it true you married a mutual childhood friend and is your brother jealous?"
"Jealous?" the brothers squeaked in unison.
"Earth Moving Alchemist! Did you marry the girl to upstage your younger brother the way he upstaged you in Alchemy?"
Alphonse winced, bracing himself. There was a loud clap and a crackle of bright blue alchemic energy, and a roar, "I am the older brother!" and Al lunged forward to grab Ed's arm before his brother could do permanent damage to the hapless questioner. "And who are you calling short? And there's nothing wrong with my brother's alchemic ability! And…."
"Does that mean you're available, Colonel Elric?" The question, uttered in a particularly shrill and piercing voice by a skinny female reporter dressed in violently mismatched colours, cut through the melee like a knife. Ed froze like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide and stunned, and the reporter took the opportunity to tack on, "There are a lot of lovely young ladies in Amestris who would love to know the answer to that question! I don't think there's ever been a pair of eligible society bachelors in Amestris quite like the Flame and the Fullmetal!"
"My brother already has someone in his life," Al blurted hastily, hoping to put an end to that line of questioning. Unfortunately, it was like throwing meat to the wolves as a chorus of excited baying broke out.
"Who is she? Is she an alchemist too? What's her name? How old is she? How did you meet her? Will there be nuptials any time soon?"
Whoops, wrong thing to say. This was…bad, Al decided. Very bad. He looked at Ed, who was looking more ill-at-ease by the second. His brother had always been an incredibly private person when it came to personal matters, and it didn't get a whole lot more personal than this. Not to mention there was that other issue. And then a welcome voice came floating to them over the crowd.
"Get out of the way! Excuse me, woman with baby here, and that's my husband. Move! Git! Or do I have to hurt you with this hammer?" A loud metallic crash and a cry of pain followed almost immediately.
As one, the brothers Elric exclaimed in mingled relief and trepidation, "Winry!"
"Huh. Society bachelor, eh? Did I not tell you to watch yourself?" Winry Rockbell Elric snorted in disbelief. She supposed that if she looked at it objectively, Ed really had grown into a very attractive young man. To her, however, he would always be the rambunctious yet fiercely protective older brother, closer than blood, and she found it hard to think of him as anything but. "Those young ladies in society are even worse than in the country, I hear; they're all frantically seeking husbands and a State Alchemist would be quite a catch. You're going to be fodder for the gossip papers for a while."
"That was Auric you told, and I don't think you were referring to desperate debutants or rabid reporters at the time, Winry," Ed protested feebly, his stomach turning over at the thought. This was an unforeseen complication that he did not feel particularly equipped to handle, although a little voice in his head pointed out that he should and would have foreseen it had it been happening to anyone else. How did Mustang handle it with such aplomb? The thought suddenly flashed through his mind that half of the General's reputation had probably been undeserved, generated purely by the frenzied press and judiciously used to the man's advantage, and a bolt of sneaky admiration and intense longing for the man's deft political skills - and for the man himself - shot through his veins.
His childhood friend and sister-in-law waved his objection off airily. "Whatever. So," and Winry's sky-blue eyes gleamed predatorily, "are you?"
Ed nearly knocked over his coffee. The three of them were sitting in a booth at a little café not far from the train station, with Winnie on Al's lap, having successfully given the press the slip through the judicious application of Gatekeeper cunning…and a few well-placed flying wrenches. "Am I what?"
"Involved with anyone, idiot. Al said you had someone in your life? It seems pretty soon, if you only just got your memories back a few weeks ago."
The renowned Fullmetal Alchemist blanched and glared at his little brother, who shrugged apologetically. "It was the first thing that came to mind. I thought it would make them stop asking questions!"
"Al…" Ed rubbed his temples wearily, reminding himself forcibly that the young man, while extremely intelligent, was not Alp and hence not necessarily as well versed in the ways of the world and the great game that was politics. Hell, he'd done it for four years and he still hated the prying press. "Here's the first rule of dealing with the press: Don't. Deny, deny, deny. Better still, just smile and be enigmatic and elusive and don't respond to the damned questions."
Winry glared. "Language, Ed! Not in front of the K-I-D." And then her expression abruptly melted into one of complete consternation. "Wait a minute… 'Just smile and be enigmatic and elusive'? You sound like General Mustang. Ed, what have they done to you?"
"No one's done anything to me, Winry; it's just…it's practical! It's politics," and Ed found himself flustered as he was forced to defend himself to yet another scary blonde. Really, Riza and Winry could be too alike sometimes. "And I do not sound like Roy…."
"Roy?"
Shit, thought Ed. Busted.
Al peeped faintly and hugged his daughter a little closer. Little Winnie seemed to know instinctively that something was going on, because she suddenly ceased her wriggling and stared in fascination at her mother and uncle, the latter studiously avoiding the incredulous gaze of the former.
"Edward Elric…Alphonse Elric…is there something you're not telling me?"
Ed strode down the corridor leading to the Fuhrer's official suite of offices rubbing his throbbing temple with one hand, his report under his arm and a battered leather satchel slung from his shoulder as he juggled Winnie gently in the crook of the other arm. While fast reflexes had enabled him to avoid most of Winry's wrenches, he had gallantly chosen to take one in the temple to protect a terrified waitress who had been bringing them a refill on their coffees. Rapid silent mental communication between the brothers had then resulted in Ed grabbing Winnie while Al grabbed Winry and hauled her off to a romantic dinner, courtesy of the Green Lion, in order to calm her down. The blonde alchemist silently blessed Havoc for telling him about the waiter's case of hero-worship – he had stopped by briefly ahead of Al and Winry to secure a table for the duo and despite the crush of people desperate for reservations, all it had cost him was a hastily scribbled signature across an old news clipping with a photo of him and Roy duelling, the big black type above it reading, "Flame vs. Fullmetal!" He smiled reminiscently at the memory as he shifted the leather strap of the satchel containing Winnie's things, trying to get comfortable. Who would have thought baby things could weigh this much? Winnie dozed contentedly against his other shoulder, secure in her uncle's arms, and Ed sighed – he could feel a damp spot forming on his cloak despite the little handkerchief her cheek was pillowed on. But she did look absolutely angelic, a lot like Al had when he was little. He wondered idly if her eyes would stay blue like Winry's or if they would darken to Al's silver-grey as she got older.
HQ was strangely empty, it being past dinner time. The few people left in the building were either poring over last minute preparations for the inauguration or on duty, and Ed nodded to a couple of them as he went by, acknowledging the snappy salutes even as he filed their faces away in his mind. Even if he couldn't always remember their names, he remembered the faces, and one of the changes he had insisted on after the Hakuro incident was that the Fuhrer-elect's personal guards would consist of men hand-picked by himself or Jean Havoc for both military prowess and loyalty. And discretion – he noted with some amusement that while Winnie was attracting many curious glances, the men were carefully ignoring her presence in the building, which was probably not strictly regulation. But he was babysitting for the night to give Al and Winry time alone, and he had to turn in his report and Al's, so…he shrugged philosophically to himself. Hawkeye got to bring her dog in, for crying out loud.
Mustang's outer office was empty, but the fan of light that spread out from under the door to his office indicated that the man himself was still in the building working. Ed made to knock on the door, then hesitated. He hadn't seen Roy since the night of the attempted assassination, as the emergency call up north had necessitated a departure so precipitous that he hadn't even had a chance to be debriefed, and a little voice in his head pointed out that there would be no going back from what happened here and now. As he stood on the threshold vacillating, Winnie chose that moment to wake up and stuff her small fist into her mouth, before removing it and letting out a preparatory hiccup that Ed had already learnt meant that she was hungry and needed to be fed. He smiled wryly down at her. "You do know how to force the issue, don't you, little one? Just like your mother. Oh well. Wish your uncle luck then." And with that, he took a deep breath and rapped firmly on the door.
"Enter!"
