Thank you all so much for the reviews / favorites and/or alerts this story has received so far! It is truly INCREDIBLE and AMAZING the amoutn of support you guys are giving me! I love you all and I truly hope that this story continues to live up to your expectations!

Enjoy!

Previously:

Ed asked to be given a week to decide whether or not she would trust Tony with her automail arm. During that week, she came across Obadiah when he returned from his trip to New York City and a meeting with the board of directors. Even after her talk with Pepper, Ed still didn't know who she could trust in this future timeline.

4 days until deadline

I was sitting at the kitchen island, early in the morning, halfway through my breakfast. My notebook lay open in front of me on a new page as I taped it with my pen. Even though I found a writing… function? – application, I think it was called – on the tablet that lay not too far away, I wasn't comfortable enough with the flat keyboard to actually do anything with it.

Besides, a good pen and paper still beat any technology they created in this day and age.

Also, I could still write my notes in code. I had gathered that JARVIS could see nearly everything in this home and so, he could probably read what I was writing. I could just hope he couldn't crack my code.

I took a large bite of my toast – that I didn't burn this time around! – and went back to the blank page in front of me.

On the list I was going to create on whether or not I was going to trust Tony.

On the top of the list, I had:

1) Doesn't like me or Steve. Reasons unknown.

That might be the biggest negative in this whole situation. How do I trust him when he doesn't like me? Why would he even bother fixing my arm if he didn't seem to be able to stand seeing me or being in the same room as me? But… sometimes it was better. Sometimes it wasn't.

I shook my head as I took another bite of my toast. Just the facts for now. I wrote down the next item on the list.

2) Is good with technology, robots, and everything mechanical.

There was no denying that point considering everything downstairs. During my research with the tablet, I had searched for what they call 'robotics' and, even though some people had created robots… The ones I saw were not at the same level as Dum-E or U.

Even the artificial intelligences seemed to be just programmed voices that somewhat answered your questions. JARVIS was pretty much a sentient being.

I still didn't completely rule out soul-bonding as a possibility, even though I still couldn't perform alchemy. There could be another explanation as to how it could be done.

3) Owns/partially owns a company. Where did Obadiah fall in this?

That whole point took some research. Well, a lot of research… After my chat with Pepper, I had taken the tablet and spent a good part of the night looking up all those terms I hadn't understood. And each unknown term led to more unknown ones in a series never-ending Russian doll… Opening one led to another and sometimes more than one, reminding me over and over again of how much had changed in the last 60 years I was stuck in the Gate…

Just the term 'board of directors' that had come up during the conversation with Obadiah. After multiple Russian doll searches, I finally gathered that that board, in a nutshell, set a direction for a company. A direction that apparently Tony hadn't wanted to go in or had decided without their approval.

Hence why they were trying to lock him out of any more decision making.

Which brought on the 4th point.

4) Tony wanted to be more responsible. For him and for the company.

So… A part of me wanted to believe that something bad was happening at the company and that Tony wanted to change that. Because, if it had been the reverse, #4 wouldn't even exist. If Tony had made a morally bad decision for the company, they would still want to lock him out. But, trying to be more responsible… Tony was probably making a morally GOOD decision that most likely was negatively affecting his company.

What that decision was… I didn't even have the slightest clue…

And then it made even less sense that, with them wanting to lock him out, Tony was staying home, avoiding the press. Shouldn't he be trying to fight this lock out? Or did he believe that they couldn't do it?

Was… was he that important to the company?

I leaned back, taping my pen on the page some more, staring up at the ceiling. I wasn't too sure if his list was helping or not because it seemed to be bringing out more questions than answer…

On top of everything, this situation brought forth what had happened in Amestris, how the government had become corrupt, namely with the higher ups. Would this be a similar situation? The board of directors being corrupt? So… Where would Obadiah land in all of this? Would he be on Tony's side or the board of director's side?

Or, better yet, was he on his own side?

Either way, I was getting a gut feeling that I didn't exactly like him.

"You're up early. What? Couldn't sleep?"

Tony's voice made me lower my head and I watched him as he went through the kitchen, directly towards the coffee pot.

"I managed to sleep. Unlike you it seems," I replied noticing how he was in the same clothes as yesterday, his hair a mess.

"You're assuming, Short Stuff," he replied, grabbing a mug. "Not good to assume." He went ahead and began pouring his coffee, his back to me. "Not good to eavesdrop either."

Fuck…

"Who told you?" I asked, already glancing up at the ceiling. I was pretty sure it was JARVIS because Pepper had gone home after our dinner outside. Or… maybe she had called him… Fucking great. I still didn't know who to trust!

Tony just waved me off. "Doesn't matter. You were eavesdropping on a conversation that didn't concern you. A good thing Obie didn't see you or that would have been a fiasco in itself."

"Why? Don't you trust this Obadiah person?"

That seemed to hit a nerve with Tony as he stiffened, eyeing me carefully. "I just didn't want to explain why you're magically here. He'd know who you are."

"You didn't answer the question," I stated, frowning.

"Funny, you have he same tendency," he snapped back. "I'll be in the lab, don't come bother me."

And he just walked away without another word.

I eyed his retreating back for a moment before going back to my list.

3) Owns/partially owns a company. Where did Obadiah fall in this? Apparently, he is close to Tony but Tony is still hiding things from him. So… trust issues?

This will be an interesting week.

3 days until deadline

5) Post traumatic stress. What had happened? Reason for trying to be more responsible?

I had needed to do some research on that term. And… the description hit VERY close to home. Too close…

I think it had hit so close that it may have triggered the damn nightmare that woke me up in the middle of the night… Even now as I sat on the bed, staring out onto the dark ocean, I couldn't shake the images from my mind.

And it hurt. Physically and emotionally…

I had been back on the Red Skull's airplane. Steve had been there. So had Bucky.

Contrary to what had actually happened, we were losing against Schmidt. Steve lay unmoving against the structure that had held the blue cube, bloodied and bruised. His shield had been split in two pieces, tossed on the ground further away.

It was laying at Bucky's feet where he was fighting with Schmidt. He had been struggling, trying to push the Red Skull off but he kept getting hit. Over and over and over again.

And I couldn't move. I only watched, unable to help, unable to call out.

Useless.

I had woken up the moment Schmidt aimed a gun at Bucky and I couldn't do a damn thing to save him.

The sound of a gunshot in my dream had me bolting up, eyes wide, gasping for breath.

It had been close to an hour since then and I still couldn't get those images out of my mind…

The worst part in all this was… I couldn't even find comfort in knowing that it was just a dream, that Steve and Bucky were actually alright, sleeping nearby or keeping watch…

They weren't…

They never would be again.

They. Were. Gone.

I lost them for good, all too suddenly and I didn't… didn't…

My eyes widened.

How – how could I have forgotten?!

I nearly lunged off the bed, making a beeline to the drawer where I had placed my old clothes in. I yanked it open, tossing aside the shirt and undershirt and grasping the coat.

Please. Please. Please.

I whirled around, heading back to the bed, tossing the coat on it and started searching through the pockets, my hand trembling. Please tell me I put it in one of these pockets… Please…

After checking each one several times and even shaking the coat and bedspread, I took a shaky breath, racking my brain to figure out where else I could have…

I whirled around, grabbing my old pants. They're the only other thing I had with pockets. It – it needed to be there. Please, please, please.

Please…

I leaned heavily on the bed, my grip incredibly tight on the fabric of the pants.

What – what had I done with it? What…?

Steve had given me the box. I had it in my hand. I had walked away. The Gate had shown up.

Then… I couldn't remember.

I couldn't remember what happened with that box; the one Bucky had wanted me to have.

The last thing I had left from any of them and… I had lost it…

Unless…

"JAR – JARVIS," I breathed out, my voice shaky.

"Yes, Miss?"

"When… When I had arrived… Did… Was there a small box that landed… somewhere?" I asked softly, staring at my old clothes.

There was a pause and I had a small spark of hope that maybe JARVIS would come back with some good news. "After replaying the video feed of your arrival," he began and I held my breath, "I do not think so, Miss. However, I may have missed something because of the camera angles."

I nodded, exhaling slowly, almost getting my hopes up. Maybe – maybe I had dropped it in the lab. Maybe it fell under one of the many tables and JARVIS couldn't see it.

But, if that was the case… I was going to need to ask Tony to let me look through his lab downstairs.

Fuck…

I turned, flopping onto my back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. This may be more difficult than anticipated…

I spent the rest of the early morning trying to come up with a non-hostile, diplomatic way of getting Tony to even let me in his lab to search for the box.

Not that I came up with anything truly concreate.

I knew I was hot-headed and that negotiating wasn't my strong suit so whatever plan I could have come up with would probably blow up early on.

Well, I could always just wing it.

I shuffled into the kitchen as sunlight was only barely streaming through the windows and flopped onto one of the chairs at the kitchen island. I debated on whether or not I should eat some breakfast but, the moment that thought crossed my mind, my stomach clenched and I realized I didn't have any appetite for anything.

Damn nightmare…

I leaned my head on the cool top of the island and waited. I knew at some point Tony would pass by for his morning cup of coffee so I just needed to be patient.

And hope he hadn't already gotten it… If he did, I would have to probably wait the entire day or even until tomorrow morning for him to emerge from his lab.

I could possibly ask JARVIS…

"You have a bed, do you not?"

I jerked up as Tony eyed me carefully, frowning slightly before heading to get his coffee.

"You look particularly horrible this morning," he added. "Is this you without having had your breakfast?"

I resisted the urge to flip him off for that comment. I needed to keep calm if I was going to get down into his lab to look for the box.

"Not very hungry," I mumbled, leaning my head on my hand.

There was a surprised huff from Tony as he poured himself some coffee. As he went to put the pot away, he hesitated a moment before turning around and holding it up in my direction. "Need some?"

I shook my head, waving him off. "No, thanks," I said, pleasantly surprised by the offer.

Tony shrugged, putting the pot away and taking a sip of his coffee.

We were both silent for a moment as I tried to remember one of the least hostile and direct approaches I had come up with while in my room to get Tony to let me look around his lab. It may be a good moment to ask him since he did seem to be in a slightly better mood this morning.

Better than mine anyway…

"I…" Tony looked up at me and waited. I took a deep breath, straightening. Well, here goes nothing. "I have a question."

"I may or may not have an answer," he replied, leaning against the counter.

Fair enough… "When I landed here, did – had I drop something?"

"Apart from yourself, on the floor?"

"Apart from that."

Tony paused for a moment before shaking his head, taking another sip of his coffee. "What did you lose?"

Crap… I leaned against my hand once more, taking a deep breath. "A box," I replied softly. "I don't know when I dropped it."

"J? Anything from Short Stuff's impromptu arrival?" asked Tony.

I rolled my eyes at the nickname but I didn't make a scene about it. Not when Tony and I were not annoying each other too much this early in the morning.

"Negative, Sir," replied JARVIS which was a good thing to hear: he hadn't changed the story since I had asked. "My recordings don't show any box being dropped but my view may have been blocked."

Tony nodded several times, tapping his mug with his fingers before pushing off the counter and motioning for me to follow. "You can take a quick look, Short Stuff. Let's go."

My eyes widened at his decision and hesitated half a moment before sliding off the chair. I nearly scurried after him, following him down to his lab.

It had been a long shot when I had asked about the box but I truly hadn't expected Tony to be the one to actually offer to let me look around his lab!

I wasn't going to mention it out loud though!

The lab looked as busy and messy as it had a few days ago. I slowed down slightly, taking in everything on the tables once more, noticing even more half-finished projects laying around.

And those boots were still there. They had changed table but Tony still had them and I wondered once more what they were for.

Considering what I had seen the other night, I could confirm that they are not part of the 21st century fashion.

Wait… Laying not too far away from the boots looked like a –

"Short Stuff, you landed over there. So," Tony vaguely motioned towards an area with a wave of his hand as he headed to another table, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Ok, thanks," I mumbled, heading over in that direction, already scanning the floor.

Maybe it fell underneath something?

I lowered myself onto my knees, bending over to check under the closest table. Maybe behind these scraps? I gently moved them aside and then the next batch. Still nothing. Maybe –

A pile moved on its own and I jumped, hitting my head on the underside of the table.

"Fucking shit!" I growled out, massaging my head.

"You're gonna have to get used to Dum-E, Short Stuff," called out Tony and I blinked, spotting said robot with some scraps still pinched in his claw.

Dum-E beeped, rotating his claw, almost as a greeting. Well, I thought it was a greeting. I guess… "Hi, Dum-E," I mumbled, massaging my head a little more before returning to the task at hand. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a small box, would you?"

The robot beeped differently and I wasn't sure if that was an affirmative or negative response. I leaned back, glancing in Tony's direction. "Was that a 'yes' or a 'no' beep?" I asked.

"That was a 'no'," he replied without turning around, still looking at a screen.

"Ok," I mumbled. Of course, it wouldn't have been this simple…

I moved onto the next table and Dum-E rolled next to me. Alright… "I guess you're helping?" I asked, bending under the table, Dum-E following suit and beeping once more, differently then when he had beeped 'no'. "Thanks, I guess."

Dum-E and I continued to search around where I had landed for several minutes but we both came up empty.

I sighed, flopping onto the floor and massaging my face. Great, just fucking great. The last thing I had from any of them in the 1940s was gone.

It was official.

I. Lost. It.

And, knowing that, it hurt.

Keep it together. Not now. Not here.

"Find anything, Short Stuff?" wondered Tony after a moment, making me jump, gasping out. Breathe, just breathe. He was probably asking because I hadn't moved in a while…

Keep. It. TOGETHER!

"No," I managed to reply, keeping my voice from wavering. "I – I must have dropped it before landing here…"

I couldn't see Tony's face from my position on the floor but I could tell from the direction of his legs that he had turned towards me.

"Well, that sucks," he said slowly and I felt my heart clench tightly.

"Yeah, it does…," I just managed to answer evenly.

I took two deep breaths to stock my body from shaking before pushing myself up, still trying to keep my emotions under control. I couldn't believe I lost it…

"I'll be – be upstairs," I mumbled, slowly making my way to the staircase, purposely avoiding looking in Tony's direction. "Thanks for letting me look."

Tony hummed in response as I continued walking and he only said something once I reached the door. "How big of a box are we talking about?"

I paused my hand on the handle. I took another deep breath before answering. "Not big. Fit in my hand."

There was almost a sound of confusion that came from him. "What? Wanted to give it to a special lady?"

I stiffened at the words 'special lady' but replayed the question in my head. No… I didn't want to give it… "No, not like that. Someone had wanted me to have it."

I caught sight of Tony's reflection, of the confusion on his face. He visibly looked like he was thinking something over before he asked, "Do you know what was inside?"

That felt like a punch in the gut and I squeezed my eyes shut. "No," I managed to answer with a quick shake of my head. "Thanks again. I'll leave you to your work."

I tried but I felt myself climbing the stairs too quickly, making it too obvious that I was upset. Well, it was better than letting Tony see the tears in my eyes.

I truly couldn't catch a break… Not before, not now.

Thank you again for reading! Let me know what you though!

P.S. Well, a lot of you will probably be wondering HOW ED DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE BOX WAS OR HAD IN IT. I know, I know! Ed is OBLIVIOUS (all caps necessary!). Many of you have probably figured it out a while ago or had your suspicions. If you hadn't well... Spoiler alert...? I guess? Maybe? Not sure, but here is your warning! :P

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

BREAK

When the idea of that box popped up in my head, I had also wanted to have a headcanon that Ed ever really paid attention to engagements/weddings, anything of that sort considering how her parents ended up (she didn't want something similar to happen to her). She was never into those daydreams and she didn't want to think about it. Yes, Izumi has a wedding ring and yes, that relationship is probably one of the healthiest Ed had ever witnessed long-term (apart from the Hughes but that wasn't as long). However, Ed most likely hadn't ask and/or didn't know that the ring came in a small box: she had more pressing matters like learning alchemy and not getting her ass kicked too badly in the sparring sessions. So hence my headcanon :)

All in all to say, it was mostly done so that Ed doesn't know what was in the box. Will she ever know? Well, that'll be revealed later on!