Lights! Camera! Christmas!
Author: MoonStarDutchess and Rinoaebastel
Chapter 12: Train Disclosures Pt 2
Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than needed writing practice and enjoyment.
"Isn't it a little late for you to be eating?" Lauren said when Riza and Roy stepped out of the dining car. She was with their mother and Antonio in the narrow gap between the two cars. Her mother smiled at her and entered the dining cart, but Lauren and Antonio stayed put.
"Meaning?" Riza asked, trying not to let her sister's tone rile her.
Lauren pushed between Antonio and the two stars, as if their fame would imbue him with some sort of incurable disease. "Shouldn't you two be dieting? Eating this late will make you fat."
Riza clinched her teeth for a few seconds. She got enough of this from the women's fashion magazines; she didn't want to hear it during her vacation. And contrary to Lauren's belief, she deserved to relax for her holiday, not be bombarded by bitchiness.
"Shouldn't you mind your own business?" Riza said.
"I'm the company's accountant," Lauren said. "It is my business. If you get any fatter, you'll lose the company money. Your looks are all you have."
Roy squeezed her hand and then let go of it. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to whisper. "Don't take her bait."
Riza nodded and glanced at Antonio. He was looking at Lauren with an odd aspect. She couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but if she were to hazard a guess, she'd say it was an expression between displeasure and confusion.
He straightened. "You know what, Lauren," he began, not using any honorifics because the bitch didn't deserve it. "Jealousy and bitterness are ugly things on a woman."
Riza's gaze darted up to look at his face. His eyes were staring at Lauren as if he were about to hurl her off the train.
"How dare you," she said.
Roy looked at Riza. "Let's go."
Riza nodded. They pushed past Antonio and Lauren and entered the sleeper car.
"Did you hear what that bastard said to me?" Jealous? Me? Ha!" Riza was nothing to be jealous of. Riza had a fabulous education but didn't have sense to use it. She abandoned her family and friends to become a useless singer. She felt Antonio's eyes on her and looked at him.
"Wh-Why are you staring at me like that?" He'd never looked at her sternly before.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Antonio asked.
She took a step back from him and crossed her arms. "Doing what?"
"They were just going to walk past us and you had to go and say something like that. After all you've gone through you still have the nerve to challenge someone's eating habits?"
He was right. She knew he was. It was just… She was…"But I…" No! He shouldn't be questioning her like this. He didn't like what Riza became either.
"The holidays are coming. You should be enjoying it with your family rather than trying to make her angry."
So that was it! He didn't want his holiday ruined. "Oh, I'm sorry for being selfish. I don't want to mess up your holiday for you." She moved closer and reached up to touch his face.
"This isn't about that!" he snapped.
She jerked her hand away. "You saw how she was!"
"The only thing I saw was you being a bully."
"You're taking their side!" she said. "You're supposed to be defending me."
"From what? She didn't say anything to you. She doesn't say anything to you unless you speak to her first. Just leave it like that."
"I can't believe you! Her just being here is enough to start a fight. She never bothers to come see us during the year."
Antonio sighed. "Didn't it occur to you that she doesn't see you guys through the year because she's busy and because we all shunned her? I wouldn't either in her situation."
"I…You…" She didn't know how to respond to what he was doing. She thought a fiancée was always supposed to support. It was just like Riza to take everything away even when not trying.
"Your parents are at least a little more tolerant of her." He hit another sore spot. She didn't understand why they didn't disown her outright. As the years passed by, she could see them becoming more interested in her. Soon they'd actually want to reunite. It would mess everything up again if they just accepted her.
Antonio looked at the door that Riza went through and her stomach sank. Riza was looking particularly pretty that day. She even saw her talking with the staff, taking pictures and signing autographs for them.
Riza was a Chanel bag and she was a knock-off. "You want her don't you?"
When Antonio looked as if she'd asked about something extremely confusing instead of a straightforward question, she relaxed slightly. "Want her? Where did you get that idea from?"
"She's rich, beautiful, and successful."
"I mean, of course she's beautiful. Anyone with eyes can see that but…Wait… You're…" He let a half chuckle leave him. "Mustang was right, wasn't he? You're jealous."
"I…" she looked away and huffed.
"Lauren, don't let her success or looks or whatever else it is, bother you. You shouldn't measure yourself against others."
She huffed. "You're ridiculous. I am not jealous of her. It's just… Why are you staring at her so much so often? And don't try to deny it. I've noticed you doing it."
"Do you want my honest answer to that? You won't like it."
"Yes."
"It's because I'm in awe of her."
"So you do want her."
Antonio wasn't fazed by her repeated accusation and instead said, "Being awed by someone doesn't mean the same thing as wanting them."
He moved into the next car, and she followed. They sat down in the now empty car. Her father and mother were supposed to be there, but they probably were exploring the train a bit. "What do you mean awe?"
He ordered some green tea for them from the waitress. When she left, he answered, "We all gave her ultimatums. Her dream or us. She had nothing to help her get where she is now."
"She had grandfather."
"He gave her voice lessons as a gift and a place to live after she was kicked out. She did everything else on her own, and you know it. She didn't even use the last name Grumman until further into her career."
Lauren rolled her eyes. "She still left us. She left a sure thing in her life for an unsure future."
Antonio smiled softly at her. "The one in the wrong, Lauren, is…" He shook his head. "No, I think you need to figure that out."
Sometimes her fiancée could be so frustrating she wanted to strangle him. Riza was in the wrong. Did Antonio have a reason why they should try to improve their relationship with her? Why should they when she was the one who left? The only way she and father would ever make up with Riza would be if she gave up her career. Since Riza inherited their grandfather and father's stubbornness, she'd never do that. She wasn't sure how her mother really felt about all of this. She sent mixed signals a lot.
"I don't think I can ever forgive her."
His face betrayed nothing about what he was thinking. He stared at her long enough for her to begin to feel awkward. She hadn't noticed the waitress had set their tea in front of them until he lifted the cup to his lips and took a drink. When he brought it away from his mouth, he said, "Yeah. You definitely don't get it."
-/-/-
"That infuriating bitch," Riza said as soon as they were settled in their cabin.
Roy set the bag on the table a bit harder than called for. "Her words were unprovoked and unwarranted."
She smiled, leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for keeping my temper in check."
"My pleasure. You lashing out would've done nothing but satisfy her." He grinned. "So I did it."
"That's exactly why I'm usually calm when around her." She sat down to the right of the small table. Roy took the other seat and opened the bag. He removed the contents, and they set about eating the small snack. They remained quiet until they were almost finished.
"What would happen if you completely stopped talking to her?" he asked, restarting the earlier conversation.
"They'd call me a petulant child. She'd get just as much satisfaction with me doing that."
"Ah, I see," he said and drank the last of his iced tea. He tossed the bottle in the trash. "Would you actually want to improve your relationship with her if you could?"
Her brows furrowed. She would always love her sister and still treasured the times they were close, but she knew it was unlikely they'd be that way again.
"I don't know. I agree with you about the trust issue. I'd always be wondering when she'd turn against me again or disown me. If I were to venture to try, it would take so long that I'm not sure I could achieve it in my lifetime. Not full trust anyway."
"What's the story with Andre?"
She let a laugh escape her. "You're deliberately getting his name wrong aren't you?"
He smirked. "I'll never tell." He leaned forward and his expression turned serious. "Were you romantically involved with him?"
Her body threatened to expel what she'd eaten. "God, no. Never. I've known Antonio since primary school. We were close friends before I left. Best friends actually."
"And now he treats you the way he does? How did that happen? Lauren?"
Riza had talked about bits and pieces of her life with her friends, but she'd never spoken about the situation in detail. All they knew was that she'd left the house as a teen and that her parents and older sister disapproved of her profession.
"How in-depth do you want me to go?" she asked.
"As far as you want or feel comfortable going." He leaned back and crossed his legs, putting all his attention on her. "Whatever you say won't leave this cabin."
That sent a wash of warmth through her. "You know that my grandfather loves the arts. That's why he started the company."
"Yes. That makes me wonder why your mother isn't supportive. She was raised around singers and actors I figure."
"No, she wasn't. She spent most of her time around my late great grandparents. She never showed an interest in singing or anything, but she never kept me from it. Neither of my parents did.
"There are times I see little glimpses of kindness from them or they'll say something nice. Hell, sometimes they'll even show a slight curiosity about my career. The funny thing is that I think my mother would be the first to make up with me, but she's always the one that tends to show the greatest hostility toward me. It's like she has mood swings with whether she likes me or not."
"That's unusual," he said. "I figured it would be your father."
"My father will occasionally make some sort of comment, or defend Lauren when she shouldn't be defended, but he stays quiet for the most part. You'll see the truth about my mother this Christmas. She'll go from showing me a bit of kindness to be passive aggressively cruel."
"With them so against it, how did you become so famous so young? How did you get into music in the first place?"
"People aren't entirely wrong when they say that my career is in thanks to my grandfather. It's just he wasn't a part of my success as I started working in the field," Riza said. "I spent a lot of time with him growing up. He was the first to find out I had a gift for singing. I spent a lot of time around musicians and singers when I went to visit and picked up vocals. He stuck me in lessons for a Christmas present. My father and mother tolerated it; not thinking anything would come of it. I fell in love with singing. When I told my father I wanted to become a singer, I was fifteen. He said give it up or leave his house. I chose to leave. I knew I had grandfather's support, so I went to stay with him."
"And your sister sided with your parents. Antwain was dating her at that time too?"
"Oh no, her being with him now surprised me. When father kicked me out, my grandfather had to come and get me. I had no money to get a bus to his place or anything. I went to Antonio's place to stay thinking he and his parents would be supportive. They always were with other things. I told him what happened, and he said I couldn't stay. He wouldn't even let me contact my grandfather using his phone. After my first popular single, I was doing charity work and I ran into his parents. They didn't know he told me that. His parents said I could've stayed had I come to them."
"Well, good for them, but what kind of best friend does that?" Roy said.
If she were to let her mind dwell on it she'd become as furious as he sounded. It wasn't worth it. Antonio was nothing more than a blip in her life now.
"To them, my choice was a good enough reason to abandon me. My hometown was small, so the only place I could go was a bus stop. The lady was nice enough to let me use the phone there since my father took mine. I told grandfather where I was, and he rushed to pick me up."
"I'm sorry," Roy said.
She shrugged even though it hurt more than she'd ever let on. "I'm doing well now. If grandfather would stop it with these Christmas get-togethers, my life would be even better."
"Why does he keep having them?"
"He has unwavering hope that he can get the family back together. He adores my sisters and parents but only Martina remains in contact with him regularly. Lauren does accounting for the company, but her conversations are strictly business ones. He wants his family whole, but I know it won't ever happen unless I give in to all demands from my parents and sister. I won't do that, and he doesn't expect me to."
"That's why he was so overjoyed when he found out about us."
Riza nodded. "He was just as happy for Lauren and Antonio, but she'd never acknowledge it. She plays the victim in all of this, and I don't even know what they hell she's feeling victimized over."
"If your parents and sister dislike you and him so much, why bother coming here at all," Roy said. "They can always say no. It's not like he holds a gun to their heads."
"It's a stupidly simple reason. My father and mother think you should honor the elders of the family," she said. "Martina and I find it ridiculous. You get the respect you earn. You don't get it merely because you're older. Grandfather always taught us that. My mother got the elder thing from her grandparents, and my father from his parents."
"I was raised that way as well. But why do you bother coming? Your grandfather wouldn't disown you for refusing. Or you could always have a concert or something."
She laughed. "I'm tempted every year to arrange a Christmas concert, but I adore my grandfather. And even though I complain about the Christmases, I love spending them with him. His home and the town are so lovely, and it's away from the city madness. One year Lauren and my parents couldn't come, so it was only grandfather, Martina, and me. It was one of my favorite Christmases."
"Do you think I'm wrong in assuming that Martina will rebel against your parents soon?"
"You have a good eye. I don't want her to have the same kind of relationship with them that I do, but I want her to be happy. I'll do whatever I can to help her. They'll hate me even more when they see my Christmas present."
"And it's something contrary to what they want for her?"
"It's nothing that is in the entertainment industry, so I don't think they'll be as severe with her as they did with me. She's so talented in art and design, and I know she would love to do something with that."
"There are a lot of…um… What's the word…?"
"Respectable?"
Roy laughed. "There are 'respectable' professions that she can do in that realm. They may be less hostile if she chose something like architecture or engineering."
"I have a degree in engineering." When Roy looked surprised, she crinkled her nose playfully. "I'm good in math."
"That's a fantastic degree."
"You'd think they'd at least be happy I have something to fall back on, but my father doesn't even consider engineering worthwhile."
"Is he crazy? Without engineers, society would slow to a standstill. What the hell does he deem worthy?"
"He has a list in his brain of acceptable careers. I know that accountant, doctor, and lawyer are three of them. I've never heard him talk about any others. I'm not sure if he considers other careers acceptable overall or if they just aren't acceptable for his daughters. He never spoke much about it until right before I left home. His hostility towards me becoming a singer came as a complete shock to me. I'd never seen him so angry."
"What does he do?"
"Retired Lawyer."
"He doesn't look old enough to retire."
"That's a testament to how good of a lawyer and investor he was. I think he'd hoped I'd go into the same career."
"Wonder what he'd think of my degree if he shames an engineering one."
"You have a degree?"
"I'm good at math as well," he said. "Studied Physics."
"He'd call it useless," She wadded up her food wrapper and threw it in the trash.
"I'm getting more and more curious about how this situation will turn out."
"At least someone will be entertained," she said and stood. She yawned and a few seconds later, a yawn came from him. "What do you say we turn in? It's getting late and with all the disembarkation and boarding, we have another 15 hours before we get there."
"Why didn't Grumman let us go by plane instead?"
"No airport," she said. "To get there you'd have to fly into West City on a small plane, and then take a train up. The train goes through the mountains so with all the stops and delays it would probably take 25 plus hours and be much more uncomfortable."
"The place is that rural? What's it like?"
"You've never heard of Vinilla?"
"I only know the region in Eastern Amestris. It has that village with the famous legend."
"The Village of Advina. And it's a fascinating legend. A woman who mated with a Xingese vampire and became a princess."
"Xing is an isolated country, but I doubt they're made up of mythical creatures. Your single charted there didn't it?"
She shrugged. "Well, maybe vampires like my music."
"Well, considering almost everyone does, that wouldn't be unbelievable." He smiled at her, and she blushed at both it and the compliment. "Anyway, tell me more about Vinilla, so I won't go into shock at how countrified it is. I've been living in cities for so long."
"Most of the income the town makes comes from tourists. It has a ski lodge on one side of the mountain, and private homes like my grandfather's house on the other side. It has dozens of small businesses that do well thanks to almost year- round snowfall and the hot springs. There are very few cars and they rely mostly on horse riding and horse-drawn sleds."
"You're kidding?"
She smirked. "Can you ride a horse?"
He nodded. "I had to learn for a movie."
"Good," she said. "It will come in handy."
"We have to ride horses? You said there were sleds."
Her good mood deflated a bit. She walked over to the shelf where she shoved her small bag. And pulled. It was stuck. She cringed and rubbed her lower back a few times before trying again. Roy got up and tried to help her pull it free. "Unfortunately, you'll see when we get there," she said as they continued to try to remove the bag.
RW: 2022
