Chapter Twenty-Three
"This whole wedding thing is stressful," Ed groaned out as she collapsed on Winry's bed. She had been summoned to Resembool for wedding plans, and while she hadn't wanted to leave Creta just yet, she did. The wedding wasn't for another couple of weeks and Julia was getting her visa to Amestris ready with the military.
"Why do you think that?" Winry asked as she fished through some boxes she had found in the attic. She had been looking for her mother's wedding dress when she found the boxes and quickly brought them down to reminisce about the past.
"Because I don't only have to do the guy stuff with Al, but I'm doing the girl stuff with you," Ed said. "I mean; you don't have to have me here to do stuff about your dress."
"But I want you here to look at the dress," Winry said. "We used to play weddings all the time when we were kids. Now it's time for us to do the real thing, and I want you apart of it."
"I know, I know," Ed said with a sigh. She didn't want Winry to feel bad or anything. Ed actually wanted to do this stuff with Winry, just not all at one time while she was also doing stuff with Alphonse. "And your wedding is gonna be great."
"I hope it lives up to your expectations," Winry responded as she continued going through the boxes.
"I hope it lives up to your expectations," Ed said. "I mean, it's your wedding. Yours and my brothers, which is still a little weird to think about, really. I mean, Al's my brother and you're my best friend. Never thought you two would get hitched...with each other."
"Well, I guess we surprised you," Winry said. "Speaking of the wedding, are you bringing someone? I need to know for the guest list."
"Oh, yeah..." Ed trailed off, a blush rising to her cheeks. Julia...She was going to have to admit to them at some point, but Ed was already planning on scaring everyone by not telling them. Well, she didn't need to say it was Julia.
"Oh, I know that look," Winry said with a grin. "You like someone!"
"Well, I'm bringing...someone," Ed said. She needed to let Winry know for the guest list and the guest list only.
"Who is it?" Winry asked. "Come on, details!"
"Like all the details you gave me about when you and Al started dating?" Ed asked. "No way! You get to stay in the dark about this one until I say so!"
"You're no fun," Winry said with a pout.
"Enough rummaging in those boxes, go get the dress!" Ed exclaimed. She sort of wanted the thing over with, but she also sort of wanted to see Winry in the dress. She remembered Winry marveling over it when they were kids. Winry used to talk about wearing it to her wedding all the time. Ed had asked her mother if she had a wedding dress, but since Trisha Elric had never officially been married, she did not.
"All right, all right." Winry climbed back into the attic, not returning until she had the dress bag in her hands. The dress had to stay in the bag so it didn't get dusty down there. Winry took a moment to unzip the bag before dressing in it. "Do you think it'll need to be tailored?" Winry asked.
"Whoa..." Ed trailed off as she stared on at her friend.
"What is it?" Winry asked in a panicky voice. "Is it all right?"
"You look fantastic," Ed said. "I mean...You look so much like Aunt Sarah."
"Yeah?" Winry smiled a bit. It lit her world to be told that she looked like her mother. "My mother was amazing."
"Yeah she was," Ed said. "You know, I met with some Ishvalan refugees when we were teenagers. They said your parents saved their lives during the war."
"Yeah?" Winry asked. "I'm glad. They did a lot of good with their lives. I wish I could be the same."
"You are the same," Ed said. "Now stop getting me mushy and change out of the dress. It looks great and you don't need to have it tailored."
"Thanks for this, Ed," Winry thanked. "For doing this with me. I was worried you might not."
"Why wouldn't I?" Ed asked. "We're best friends, and we've only been talking about this day our entire lives."
"Because you're so...not girly..." Winry trailed off. "When you decided to enlist as a State Alchemist and take on the name of Edward, I thought that was it for my best friend who was a girl."
"I'm a girl," Ed stated. "I always have been and I always will be. Just because I took on a different name didn't change anything. I've never been girly, but hell, neither have you. I don't know any girly girl who would spend her days in a mechanic's shop working on automail. Though, I don't really know any girly girls either..." Ed pretty much knew her teacher, the Lieutenant Hawkeye, Julia, Sheska, and Mrs. Hughes with little Elysia. Well, Mrs. Hughes and Elysia were the girliest. General Armstrong was just terrifying. Julia was slightly girly. She wore skirts, which was more than Ed could say for Winry.
"Thanks for reassuring me, Ed," Winry said. "And still, thank you for doing this with me."
"Yeah, yeah, what are friends for?" Ed allowed her eyes to graze of Winry's form once more. Oh, how beautiful she would look on her wedding day. "Seriously, you're done trying it on. You look amazing."
"All right, all right." Winry took off the dress before placing it back in the dress bag. Instead of returning it to the attic, she put it in her own closet. She was quick to get dressed before returning to the boxes she had discovered.
"Seriously, what's in those boxes that's so distracting?" Ed asked. She peeked over to see photo albums.
"Some more pictures to add to the corkboard," Winry said excitedly. Pinako had kept a corkboard of pictures ever since they were babies. They never knew why she did it, but she always took pictures and added them to the board, even after Ed had been accepted as a State Alchemist.
"Continuing granny's tradition?" Ed asked.
Winry nodded. "Definitely."
"Excuse me," Alphonse said at the counter of a suit shop. They were getting everything from Resembool so they didn't have to travel. Thankfully, everyone knew everyone.
"Alphonse!" the employee - Ed remembered him, his name was James - called out. "You getting ready for the big day?"
"Yes, sir," Alphonse said. "I was actually looking to get a couple of suits. One for me and one for Ed."
"Hey, James," Ed greeted from beside her brother. It was no secret that Ed preferred to stay away from dresses and skirts in Resembool. She had dressed more like a boy since the very day she could pick out her own clothes. It actually made things easier for their mother, since Ed was able to pass down her clothes to Alphonse, and when they had finally grown the same size, they just shared a lot of their clothes.
"Hey, Ed," James responded. "Sure thing, guys, come pick out a suit and then I'll have a look at your measurements and see what we can do." Mostly the suit would just need to be tailored for Ed, having a feminine form. Clothing for men didn't fit her the same way it used to. "So, Ed, do you want the suit tighter, or do you want it to kind of hide things?"
"I was looking for something to not really hide it, but not skin tight," Ed explained. "Kind of how my clothes fit now. A little baggy."
"Sure thing," James said. He got out the notebook he used to take down orders and measurements. The Elrics picked out suits that matched for the wedding before having their measurements taken. As predicted, Al didn't need his suit tailored, but Ed did.
"I'll have it done by tomorrow," James said. "Just come back in tomorrow afternoon for a fitting to see how it fits, okay?"
"Sure thing, James," Ed said. The two then made their way to the bakery where they planned to meet with Winry. She was getting a cake ordered and picking out food for the guests.
"Hey, guys," Winry greeted when the two walked into the bakery. "Nancy was helping me pick out a cake design." They remembered Nancy, she was their friend Shelly's mom.
"Oh, I haven't seen you in years, Ed," Nancy said when she saw the two. "You've grown up. Just like your brother here."
"People do that," Ed responded.
"Did you finish getting the suits?" Winry asked. The Elrics nodded.
"Oh, is Ed going to be your maid of honor?" Nancy asked in an excited tone. Ed was almost upset to tell her no. Almost.
"Actually, my friend Paninya is going to be my maid of honor," Winry said. "Ed's going to be Al's best man."
"Really?" Nancy asked. "That seems so...untraditional. Isn't the best man supposed to be a...man?"
"We've never been one for tradition, Nancy," Alphonse explained. "And I asked my sister to be my best man because she's just the right one for the job."
"Yep," Ed agreed. "So what's going on with the cake situation?"
"I was just looking at the designs through Nancy's booklet, but I'm thinking of having her just surprise me," Winry explained. "They're all so beautiful."
"Well, thank you, Winry," Nancy thanked. "It's so strange to see the three of you grown up. All the kids are adults now. Getting married and having children."
"Having kids?" Ed asked.
"Shelly had a baby," Winry explained. "Speaking of which, you and Shelly are coming to the wedding, right?"
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Nancy said. "Now, on to what you'd like to be served at the wedding."
Ed arrived at the train station the day before the wedding to pick up Julia. She was actually accompanied by Alphonse and Winry, which was just what she needed to thoroughly surprise them after what they had done to her.
"I can't believe you finally found someone, sister," Al said with a laugh.
"Don't sound so shocked!" Ed exclaimed. "I'm a loveable person!"
"Well, you don't really let anyone into your bubble," Winry said. "You still don't tell us everything and we're your family."
"Speak for yourself," Ed replied. "You two kept your relationship a secret from me until you were engaged!"
"We wanted you to be surprised, sister," Al said.
"Well, now you get to be surprised," Ed huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as they waited. Soon enough, the train had rolled in to the platform. While Central had a big station, Resembool didn't. Just a tiny platform with a ticket booth and a few benches. Ed stood from the bench as soon as the train was still.
Usually only one or two people got off the train at Resembool at a time. The place was so rural, there was never a big crowd of people. This time, though, there were quite a few. Mustang and his team stepped off the train first, which...well, it disappointed Ed, who expected to see her girlfriend.
"You invited Mustang and the others?" Ed asked. Alphonse nodded as if that was the dumbest question in the world.
"They're our friends, sister," Al said.
"Whatever." Ed looked back toward the train. Even Darius, Heinkel, Jerso, and Zampano stepped off the train. "Lots of people."
"We have a lot of friends, Ed," Winry said. "We tried to keep it smaller, but we wanted everyone to be here."
Finally, after all others were off the train, Julia stepped off.
"Ed!" she called out with a smile. Ed grinned back, running over to her and wrapping her arms around the redhead. It had been too long; they hadn't seen each other since Ed had returned to Resembool to get ready for the wedding and Julia was still getting her visa set up.
"I'm so glad to see you!" Ed exclaimed. "I swear; we always get together way too long after the last time we've seen each other." She was going to have to seriously consider getting Julia a permanent visa in Central, or maybe even getting her own visa to Creta.
"Julia?" Alphonse asked. "This is who you've been blushing over for the past two months?"
"Well..." Ed trailed off. "Yeah. Julia, you remember Al and Winry. And I guess you saw Mustang on the train. As for the rest of you, this is my girlfriend, Julia."
"I'm so happy for you two," Al said. He had admitted to thinking Julia was cute and pretty last time he saw her. He even developed a little bit of a crush on her, but he hadn't seen her since they were teenagers.
"Alphonse!" Julia exclaimed with a smile. "Ed told me about getting your body back. You two look a lot alike." Ed and Al shared their father's appearance with their trademark golden hair and matching eyes. "And Winry, we didn't really have a chance to properly meet before, but I remember seeing you. It's nice to officially meet you."
"You too, Julia," Winry said. "I just...I'm kind of shocked. I should've seen something like this coming."
"Like what?" Ed asked.
"You being gay," Al said. "I knew the whole time. I mean, since we were kids. Is this why you wouldn't tell us who you were dating?"
"Well..." Ed trailed off. She didn't even know she was gay until she was a teenager. How did Al catch on so easily?
"She was worried about how you would react," Julia said. "I told you that you had nothing to worry about," she added, directed toward Ed.
"I know, you're always right," Ed said.
"And now Ed knows the secret to keeping her girlfriend happy," Mustang interjected.
Ed had been waiting for this day for too long. Well, in reality, it was only like three months. A nice spring wedding in March. Winry and Alphonse's wedding day. It was actually a day a lot of people in Resembool were waiting for. The day a Rockbell would marry into the Elric family name. People had been setting Al and Winry up on playdates since they were babies, hoping for them to be a couple when they got older. Ed supposed their hopes were dashed when the Elrics moved away from Resembool to join the military, but they were back. And now they were getting married. And Ed was freaking out a little. But Winry was more.
"What if I forget something?" Winry asked. "What if I forget my vows in the middle of the ceremony?" She was standing in her dress, pacing in her bedroom. The wedding was to take place in the field just outside of their home. Everything had been set up that morning by Ed and Al, and they even had the help of their neighbors who had arrived early to help.
"Then just make something up," Ed said. "I mean, your vows are just made up, anyways. Make it something that's just as gushy as what you said in the first place." She still thought Winry looked amazing.
"That's easy for you to say; you're good at improvising," Winry said. "I'm horrible under pressure."
"Really?" Ed asked. "Horrible under pressure? What about when you made me a freaking arm and leg? You were under some pressure then too."
"Granny helped a lot!" Winry exclaimed. "She's the one that managed your medication and recovery, I just made the automail."
"You were there and you were under pressure," Ed said. "When we were in Briggs and you were being held hostage by Kimblee, you're the one who came up with the plan of escape. Under all that pressure of military guards surrounding the building and everything. You did that. You're fine under pressure."
"You're not making me feel any better," Winry said.
Ed shrugged. "Can't say I didn't try." She stood from Winry's bed that she had been laying on and wrapped an arm over Winry's shoulder. "Does this make us sisters now?"
"Almost," Winry said. "But we were already sisters anyway."
"Speak for yourself," Ed said. "I always thought of you as a distant cousin that would deliberately pour milk on my pants and tell my mom I wet myself."
"That was one time," Winry said. "And your mom did not believe me."
"Yeah she did!" Ed exclaimed. "She kept track of my 'bathroom habits' for a week after that!"
"Really?" Winry asked and she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not gonna apologize for laughing; that's funny."
"Oh, hush you," Ed said. "Let's go downstairs. Al should be outside now, so we won't have to worry about him seeing you."
"The other guys are keeping him distracted for now," Winry said. The two made their way downstairs where the women seemed to find themselves.
"Winry!" Elysia called out as she hugged the bride.
"Hi, Elysia," Winry greeted, bending down to hug Elysia. The girl had grown, but she was still a kid. "Are you excited about being the flower girl?"
"Yeah, I've been practicing," Elysia said.
"She's been excited about it ever since you asked her if she wanted to be the flower girl," Gracia said. "I'm so happy for you, Winry. You and Alphonse both."
"Thanks," Winry said. "I know that Al and I will be very happy for the rest of our lives."
"Oh my goodness!" a sudden squeak from Julia rang out. Ed turned hastily.
"What's wrong?" the ex-alchemist asked.
"You were so cute!" Julia exclaimed. She was standing in front of the corkboard, analyzing the pictures that had been there for years and had been there for a few days. "Is this a picture of you with a spoon in your mouth?"
"Ed didn't like eating her oatmeal," Winry explained with a laugh. "That was when she was able to move again after the automail surgery. Granny wouldn't let her eat whole foods for a while. Ed called it 'mush'."
"It was mush," Ed said. "And you would flaunt eating cookies in front of me because I couldn't have any."*
"You make me sound so cruel," Winry said. "I think I'm done reminiscing about the past with you, killjoy."
"Yay, we're gonna stop talking about it," Ed said happily. "I'm going outside with the guys." No one questioned Ed going to be with the men. She had always been that way and always would be. Girly stuff - even Winry's wedding - wasn't for her.
"Sister!" Al called Ed over, waving a hand. Ed was quick to make her way over, readjusting her suit. She hated dressing up, but it least she wasn't wearing a dress. She had abandoned the jacket of the suit inside until the wedding started.
"Hey, guys," Ed greeted.
"I haven't seen you in years," Darius said when he caught a look at Ed. "A girlfriend, huh?"
"Yeah," Ed said sheepishly. "I got pretty lucky on that one."
"Julia's a nice girl," Al said. "I didn't think you were into her like that, though."
"Well, I thought she was cute when we first met, but I didn't see her again until we split up to travel after you were fully recovered," Ed explained. "She's actually the reason I started thinking I might be gay."
"I never thought the day Ed got a girlfriend would be the day the kid would come out as gay too," Mustang said. "I always thought gay for Ed meant being with a guy."
"Well, biologically, I'm a girl," Ed said. "I'm just...tomboyish."
"Congrats, kid," Havoc congratulated. "But I kinda thought you were into guys, like...the whole time I knew you. I even thought you were gay when you were twelve."
"Why?" Ed asked.
"Well...you were kind of..." Breda trailed off, trying to think of the word. "You weren't very masculine. Like, you worked out and you knew how to fight, but for a guy, you seemed kind of feminine."
"Feminine for a guy, boyish for a girl." Ed nodded. "I was feminine for a guy because I'm a girl." She laughed a little.
"What are you doing out here, though?" Al asked. "I thought you were inside helping Winry."
"I was," Ed said. "She's in her dress, but things got kind of girly back there. Julia started looking at the corkboard and I was not doing that."
"Corkboard?" Heinkel asked.
"Oh, you didn't notice?" Al asked. "It's a corkboard on the wall full of pictures from when we were kids. Our granny set it up when Winry was born, I think. She was adding pictures from that and when Ed was born, she kept doing it. After me, it became more of a thing."
"I don't really remember granny taking pictures, though," Ed said. "Do you?"
"Well, I think a lot of the pictures were taken by either her or mom," Al said. "And then there were some taken by the townsfolk that they gave her."
"Huh..." Ed trailed off. "And moving on. You ready to get hitched, little brother?"
"Are you?" Al asked.
"No way!" Ed exclaimed.
"You know, Ed," Mustang began. "I thought this might be my only chance to see you in a dress. And you went for a suit."
"Of course I wore a suit," Ed said. "The best man wears a suit."
"Best man?" Havoc asked. "You mean you're the best man?"
"Of course I am!" Ed exclaimed. "And I'm a little insulted that you guys would think my little brother here would replace me in my rightful place as the best man."
"I just thought you'd be the maid of honor," Breda commented.
"SHUT UP!"
The wedding went off without a hitch. Despite the anxiety from Winry about forgetting her vows, she didn't. It only took an hour to get through the ceremony, and while the teenage Ed would have fidgeted the entire time through something like that, the adult Ed proudly stood beside her brother as he got married.
Ed wished she had a camera in that moment. It was so amazing to see her brother so vibrant and happy. And her best friend looked so much like her mother in that moment. Ed couldn't believe how time had passed. They were adults now. It was really crazy.
"What do you think, brother?" Al asked after the ceremony had ended and everyone was mingling once more. Ed couldn't help but smile at her brother calling her that once more. He hadn't done that in years. "Are you happy about having a new big sister?"
"As long as she doesn't spill milk on my pants again, I'm fine," Ed said.
"What?" Al asked. "What is she talking about?" He turned to Winry for an explanation.
"According to Ed, I spilled milk on her pants when we were kids and told your mom she wet herself," Winry explained. "I remember the spilling, but I don't remember your mom's reaction."
"Oh, wait, I remember that!" Al said suddenly. "That was when she was asking you to go to the bathroom every hour for a week."
"See, Al remembers," Ed said in defense of her memory.
"All right, all right, I was horrible," Winry said with a laugh.
"Now this is blackmail material," Mustang said suddenly. Ed turned to see that he and the other men had surrounded the corkboard.
"STAY AWAY FROM THAT YOU BASTARD!"
Holy shit that was a long chapter.
*So, the pieces about Ed's recovery I partly took from a fic called "The Big Bang Theory" by 0-mirage-0. You should go check it out; it's amazing!
Izumi and Sig didn't really have a part, but they were there, I swear.
Lily (Guest): "Julia! From sacred star of milos! YES! and also the name for Ling and Lanfan is Lingfan"
Awesome! I've never really read fics about Ling and Lan Fan, so I didn't know what it was called. It fits. And here's more of Julia. More to come too.
