A/N: My delay in submitting this chapter can only be described as neglect and schoolwork. But I'm still more excited than anyone else to see exactly where this story will go... So I still want to finish it.
I think I'm a bit rusty from not writing for so long, but hopefully this is alright. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 2:
- 8 YEARS 1 MONTH
(They miss one another dearly.)
After 38 days of being held and questioned by a military counsel, Edward Elric is released from his holding cell at the Military Headquarters in Central. Disoriented by lack of food, rest, and fresh air, he travels but a few blocks from the headquarters when his legs give out and he collapses on the sidewalk.
When he comes to, he is in Riza Hawkeye's apartment, and he is resting in her bed. The alluring smell of chicken wafts into the bedroom from the kitchen, and the famished teenager finds himself crawling towards the dining room table for a chance at some scraps. While the food is surprisingly well-done (who would've guessed that the Lieutenant could cook?), Edward is reticent throughout the meal; he is lost in a vortex of his own thoughts that is interrupted rudely by a strong, feminine voice.
"I suppose you want to go see your brother," Riza says gently, as if she is speaking with a child.
Edward would like to consider himself a man now, but lately he feels no older than 12, naive and weak. "Yes..." He responds meekly, avoiding the gunner's steady gaze.
"You know that you can't see him, don't you?" Again, gently.
He is clearly uncomfortable with her uncharacteristic kindness. "I think I may have been told something to that effect."
The lieutenant chuckles softly. "I'm not your mother; you don't have to wait for me to sleep to sneak out of my apartment. If you're planning to break into headquarters, I won't stop you."
His golden eyes widen in alarm, and he turns to look at her; she is smiling as she feeds Black Hayate, her pet pup. "You might want to do it before Colonel Mustang finds out you've already left the Military Headquarters. I'm sure it'll be all over the paper tomorrow. He might try to run out his holding cell to stop you from doing anything reckless."
"Why aren't you stopping me?" He enunciates slowly, cautiously.
A careless shrug. "Why would I?"
It is almost 2AM when Edward leaves the solace of Riza's apartment and disappears into the black tendrils of night. The irony that he is returning to the very place from where he was released is not lost on him. But at this point in time, he has no other choice.
He is inside the building in all of twenty minutes; the military sentries are rendered useless in his presence. They are apprehended within seconds, and then Ed is making his way through labyrinthine passageways to the isolation chamber where his brother is being held.
It is not the first time that Ed has broken into a facility that he was forbidden to enter, but he cannot stop his hands from shaking as he gropes through the dimly lit hallway. And then he hears them.
There are two sentries posted in front of the room where Al has been kept for over a month now, quietly conversing in hushed tones.
"The one we're looking out for is Edward Elric, right?"
"Yeah, they think he's going to break in soon. He was released today, and cleared of all charges."
"The Full Metal Alchemist should know better than to break him out." Darkly.
"How d'ya figure?"
"The boy's completely disabled. He can barely do anything as it is... How's the older brother planning to take care of him?" Genuine concern.
Lazy shrug. "Dunno."
Even two years ago, Edward Elric was a man of action before he was a man of thought. But rough circumstances have doused his recklessness. He clenches his fists in the darkness, desperately wanting to see his younger brother, but he is also afraid to interfere with his recuperation.
Frustrated, Ed punches the stone wall with his fist, alarming the two sentries. As they start pacing around the corridors, Ed quietly exits the building and disappears into the night.
'Winry… I want to see Winry…'
Images of his childhood friend run through his mind, and now he wishes that he had told her to wait for him in Central instead of in Risembool. If he had known that things would have turned out this way, he would have acted differently. He imagines what it would be like to just go back home with Al right now, to give Winry the fierce hug he wanted to give her a month ago when he called her from his holding cell.
'Dammit…'
It has already been two weeks since Winry has packed up her Automail practice in Rush Valley and returned to Risembool. Her move was prompted by a breathless phonecall in the middle of the night from the only boy that would dare to call her so late.
"Winry, we're coming home."
That phone call was a month ago, and she hasn't heard from either of the brothers since. The daily newspaper is the only thing that keeps her from a certain insanity. The headlines give her absolutely no peace, because there is no peace in today's Amestris.
After discovering just how high the conspiracy to overthrow the government was, the former puppet government reacted by electing a temporary military counsel to interrogate every military officer with a ranking of Major or higher.
This does not explain, to Winry or to anyone else, why Edward Elric has yet to be released from questioning. It makes her incredibly nervous, but makes her grandmother only angry.
"Like hell, the boy was involved in some conspiracy theory! All he ever tried to do was to get his body back!"
It is 7:30 in the morning now, time to wash up and eat before hitting her workshop. Winry pours herself a cup of coffee and goes outside to fetch the morning paper. She catches a glimpse of the headline and almost spits out her coffee.
Former State Alchemist, Edward Elric, Released from Military Custody After Being Declared Innocent
The headline alone is enough to prompt a batch of tears. Not tears of sadness. No, not that, never. Tears of utter relief.
"Ed," she breathes as she stares at a black and white photograph of the alchemist exiting the Military headquarters, "Are you finished? Can... can you come home now?