A/N: Exams are over! And I am so happy! This chapter took me nigh on two or three weeks to write simply because it was written during my breaks from revision. Enjoy ^____^
The Deal
The next day Alphonse visited Lucy's room on his own. Edward had left already to go and report to Mustang and the team on his latest research and any smaller missions he had been given. It happened about once a week unless instructed otherwise. Alphonse half wandered at times if Edward was really just a spy for Mustang to keep an eye on the populace.
Winry on the other hand was busy her shop. She had already begun work on Lucy's arm, basing it on the original design, wandering how to improve on it. Her leg was to come later. Besides that, she hadn't taken smaller jobs on for a while. She intended to make more money.
Standing outside her door, Alphonse saw no note, a good sign that she was in. Or at least was not missing as it were. He knocked five times before there was a reply.
"Yeah?" it was muffled by the door, but it was definitely Lucy and she sounded wide awake. He remembered the one time he and Winry had woken her up. She barely sounded human.
"It's Alphonse," he called leaning against the door, "you all right?"
"Yeah- gimme a minute," she sounded as though she was grinning, "I'm not decent yet."
Alphonse flushed red at the very idea. He had never been very good with females. Neither brother had.
Sure enough, about ten seconds later, Lucy answered the door. She was dressed in jeans and a loose t-shirt, her automail arm on show, her hands unadorned by gloves. Her hair was still wet, she was towelling it dry. It dried straight, but when being dried it seemed to be rather more wavy than anything else. Strangely her sunglasses were still on. Though he let it slide, he was beginning to think that Edward might actually have a point. But he didn't dare bring it up with her, not yet. He didn't know her well enough, even if he had begun to feel closer to her.
"Come in, sweetie- you're letting a draft me," she ushered him in, closing the door behind him, "what's on your mind?"
Alphonse stood in the middle of the darkened room. There was a single light on, only just bright enough to read in. The curtains were drawn across the windows and the sounds of the morning traffic were drifting through.
The room itself was rather simple. There was a small hallway to the door, on one side of this small hallway was a bathroom, the other a cupboard. This cupboard continued around the corner until it hit the other wall. About four feet away from the cupboard was a large single bed with a beside table with a single reading light. Lucy had about four large books piled rather messily on this table.
On the opposite wall to the cupboard was a dressing table, where Lucy apparently kept more books and a few scatterings of make up and a brush, though there was little else. Beside her bed was her suitcase which she seemed to be living out of, all her clothes had been left in there, anything extra was folded beside it. Her rucksack was next to the dressing table, open and ready to be filled. It was as though she was ready to leave at any moment.
Where he was standing there was a sofa and two chairs with a table in the middle like a miniature living room. Beneath the window was a small counter, consisting of a kettle and a microwave, beneath was a fridge. Though Alphonse doubted there would be much there. The room was neutral colours of beige and brown. Rather boring… the whole setting didn't seem to suit Lucy… but as she had said, it would do.
"Alphonse?" Lucy laid her right hand on his shoulder.
He shook his head and blinked his smokey brown eyes. "Sorry, just thinking," he grinned at her.
She glanced around her room quickly as well. "Yeah i know, it's kinda bare. But I'm not staying here long," she smiled at him lopsidedly, "so I never really considered getting settled."
"Yeah I can see that. You look as if you'd be ready to leave at the drop of a hat," he shrugged.
"It's habit," she shrugged in return, "move around a lot you get used to it- sit down, Al! You're making me feel weird now."
"Uh right, sorry," Alphonse sat on the surprisingly comfortable sofa. The room had been cheap and was much smaller than his and Edward's, but it was still up to standard.
"Hey do you want some food? I think I've got something…" she wandered over to the fridge, bending over to check.
"Nah it's all right, I just ate. Edward tells me off if I don't," he made a face.
Lucy paused, then turned around there was a frown on her face. "Al what's up? Something's bothering you, I can tell."
"I…" he paused, then looked down going red, "I was just worried about you. I haven't seen you in two days… I thought something might have happened…"
"With my family here?" Alphonse nodded. "I haven't contacted them yet," she admitted, "I don't dare till I've found myself a job."
"But… have you found a job?"
Lucy's face lit up. Alphonse didn't seen to see her eyes to know the exact expression of her face. "Yeah!" she sounded excited, "it's not my most exciting job, but it's definitely one that will get me quite a lot of money. Waitressing at the restaurant nearby… what's it called…"
"Charlotte?"
"That's the one! I'm looking forward to it!" she grinned, then made a face, "but that does mean I have to be nice to assholes… especially if I want good tips."
Alphonse could not help but laugh. He had seen Lucy's treatment of these so-called 'assholes' over those five days he had spent with her. She was quick with a reply and seemed to have some training in hand to hand combat considering she had managed to counter attack a punch thrown at her when one man thought she was being too cheeky. She was a formidable person when she had to be. He was almost glad she didn't practise alchemy! It would have been hard to tell if it would be for the better or worse.
"It's a job," said Alphonse happily, "better than nothing, and it means you can save up to find a place to stay here permanently."
"That's the plan!" she sat beside Alphonse, looking happy, "I'm really looking forward to that… being able to set down my roots somewhere…" she looked at him, "and now I've gotten to know you guys, I've been given more of an incentive." Alphonse blushed and looked away bashfully. Lucy was an affectionate person in her own way. "Was that all that was bothering you?"
"Yeah," he said, looking up at her, his eyes lingered on her glasses, he noticed her expression change to a frown and he looked away immediately. "That's everything."
Lucy sighed and sat forward, turning to look at him properly. "What's wrong? Spit it out, I'm not going to bite your head off, you know that."
He looked at her but shook his head, screwing his eyes shut. "No no, it's all right."
Lucy sighed, then took his hands in hers. It was a little strange for Alphonse to feel metal in one hand and flesh in the other, it was rare for Edward to do such an action. "Al please, it's bugging me now. I'm not going to be offended. You know that."
Alphonse sighed. He looked every where but at her, then finally dredged up the courage to look straight into her dark glasses. Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he could still feel her intense, strangely kind, eyes.
"Y… your dad… he was Armestrian right?"
"Yep, absolutely pure Armestrian, no mixes any where. State alchemist dedicated to looking after his people. Well… his family anyway."
"And your mother?"
"Long line of pure Ishballans. Which is why so many were surprised at their marriage…" she paused looking forward, her grip on his hands slacked a little, "not my uncle though, apparently dad had been an odd ball in the family."
"So… so you're a straight half and half?"
"Yeah! I thought you'd guessed that already."
"Well… I sort of did… I mean you're way darker than us, but too light to be purely Ishballan… brother pointed that out. But you don't have very Ishballan features… unless…" he couldn't help it, his eyes lingered on hers again, trying to look through the dark glass. He caught himself and shook his head shutting his eyes. "It doesn't ma-!"
"My eyes?"
His own eyes reopened, and he looked down at his feet. He didn't know why, but he felt as though he had violated some rule Lucy had. It felt wrong.
There was moment's quiet. Then Lucy squeezed his hands comfortingly, making him look up. But she was no longer looking at him. She stood up, her hands at her sides.
"Hey… Al?"
"Y- yeah?"
"Do you know why I'm so stubborn about wanting to stay here?"
He shook his head. "No…"
"It's not just the fact that I have blood relatives here, though it does help…" she trailed off, walking over to the window, leaning against it, half sitting on the sill. She seemed to be peering through the small gap.
"Dad used to talk about it all the time. He talked about his childhood here. He told me of how he and my uncle used to play together in the streets and parks. He told me everything… he made this city sound magical. He wanted to bring me and mum here… said we'd have a better life here, there was more diversity. Back home… they never really accepted me. To them I was not an Ishballan because of my father. I was ostracised… demonised even. No child wanted to play with me, all the parents treated me… I don't even want to remember. I always wanted to come here. I thought maybe I'd be accepted here."
She heaved a sigh and pushed the curtains open. The sunlight streamed into the room brightening the place much more intensely. The light bathed her bronzed cheeks in golden light. But somehow, the light that surrounded her had a bitter air about it. Though she smiled, the smile was bitter sweet. She looked out on the city with a strange mixture of longing and satisfaction. The towers, shops, monuments, even the government buildings suddenly seemed special now that she was looking at them. But at the same time they appeared to be out of her reach.
"Central was the place where my dad… and my uncle… grew up… It was corrupted to the core, and is still corrupted now, but the people are innately good. No citizen wishes another dead, not like how Ishbal was… Armestrian again Ishballan… simply for skin colour… just because of different beliefs. It might not be how Ishbal is now… but it's how I remember it." She raised her chin. "I've met so many people here… good… bad… ugly…" she chuckled, a half smile on her face. "I want to make my new life here because I feel closer to my dad, even my mum to a certain extent! She always talked about being free and coming to Central as being the same thing." Her automail hand rested on the glass for a moment, before she turned to look at Alphonse again. "I want to be here for them… and for me… I want to be somewhere that I'm accept because of who I am… not what I am. And I know that can never be the ultimate outcome, but I'm almost certain that this is the place where I can get closest to my dream. So… Al? Please let somethings lie? Please let me stay here…"
He wasn't sure how long he looked at her. How long he stared at her. But she never moved a muscle.
"Lucy…" he started, wandering how to answer her. He was only fourteen… this felt bigger than he was. "Lucy, I want you to stay as well. I really do. I haven't known you long… but… you tolerate my brother, I've never seen Winry so close to another girl and… you don't treat me like a child. But I don't understand… what does this have to do with your eyes."
"It's more to do with the issue of acceptance… I don't like my eyes… they always gave me grief as a child. I don't want that here. I never show my eyes any more… not when I was never accepted for them in the past…"
"Then…" Alphonse swallowed his curiosity, for her sake, "then we'll accept you, with or without seeing your eyes."
"Really?"
"Of coarse. I will, so will Winry. Brother's harder to predict, but he'll come around. And wait till you meet the others," he was excited now, "they won't care, they've had their own dose of sadness. And with brother we can just explain this to him and-"
"No!" interrupted Lucy, she was practically smirking, "no… I think it's better we let him be curious. Let him satisfy his need to know everything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, very sure. I mean anything he does find won't be very useful. The chemical alchemist was a disgraced military man, marrying an Ishballan woman and such like. Even his death is a lie on the records… officially he'll be put down as killed in combat…"
"And the truth?"
"He was murdered by one of his own."
Alphonse's eyes widened, his jaw dropped a little. He had heard a little of the story behind the chimera soldiers that had kidnapped him at one point, but it still shocked him. "How… do…"
"I was there."
"Who…?"
"You know him- or knew him… the Crimson Alchemist. He was killed by an Ishballan as far as I remember." She grinned nastily. "I'm glad. I wanted to kill him myself- but as long as he's not here any more I don't mind."
Alphonse was taken a back, he had never had Lucy down as being so blood thirsty! At the same time, he understood. She had been hurt by the loss of her father. But her revenge had been completed. Admittedly by another, but the ultimate goal had been achieved. She was no longer hurting because her father's murderer was still walking around living a good life. Though Alphonse did wander if she would have considered sending the culprit to prison… as he watched her and remembered her no-nonsense way of handling anyone who treated her badly, he doubted it.
"Lucy…"
"Yeah?" she suddenly looked much softer, she walked back over to him, sitting beside him, looking far more calm in ordinary sunlight.
"About your uncle… I think you should contact him. It sounds like he loves-"
"Loved."
"What?"
"He died too. Killed actually… four years ago, when I was a year older than you actually."
"Oh… shit…" Alphonse wasn't sure what else to say. "How did he…?"
"I don't know," she said shortly, "I don't want to know. My revenge would be pretty catastrophic. My dad died when I was five, and I wanted revenge but I hardly knew him, so I didn't know what I was avenging. My mum's death was an accident… My uncle? I have so many more memories of him. He became almost like a very lenient father to me. He always came out to visit me and help me when he could… so he took dad's place as best he could even though he didn't have to." She shrugged again. "I know he doesn't want me to be sad for ever or carry a vendetta around with me… but after loosing both my parents? I guess I can't help it…"
Again Alphonse was at a loss for words. He had lost his father twice. Never had a chance to bury him. He had lost his mother… twice as well. But each time he lost his parents, he always had someone to fall back on. More than one. Edward, Winry and Granny Pinako, from a very young age. The Izumi their teacher and her husband joined them after their mother had died. Even now they had Gracia, Elysia, Rose and Leo as their family, even after Maes died. To a certain extent, that family could have even included Hawkeye, Mustang, Sheska and all the others to support and help him! Who did Lucy have? Her parents? They had died before the age of ten. Her uncle who she saw on occasion was the only other family she had… after he died? Who else was there? She was well and truly alone.
Once again he was glad that she did not practise alchemy, he would not have been surprised, nor would he have blamed her, if she had wanted to bring at least one of those people back to life. But he knew better than most how much misery that would have caused her.
"I've said too much," sighed Lucy, smiling sadly, "sorry to lump this on you."
"Don't be sorry," Alphonse said gently, this time taking control, putting an arm around her shoulder's, trying to comfort her though he knew she needed nothing of the sort, "I think I understand better now anyway…" he paused, "so… for the passed two days? You were looking for your uncle's grave?"
She nodded. "I couldn't remember where it was. It was the only other time I had been in Central. I only came for the funeral, and left immediately afterwards. I don't really remember where I went after that. I think I went to Xing then, trying to get as far away from Armestris as possible. Interesting place… interesting alchemy."
"Really?"
"Yeah… they incorporated a lot of it with their healing work, met one guy who worked on my automail like that." She made a face. "But I don't think he did a very good job to be honest. Not on my arm anyway. I'm almost glad Winry's being pushy about making me some new automail entirely."
"That's Winry," Alphonse rolled his eyes, "always been like that." Something struck him. "Hey, when do you start work?"
"Tomorrow. I found out yesterday, said I should swing by there to pick up the uniform at some point."
"So… you're free today?"
"More or less."
He grinned. "Let's go out, just for fun, be tourists or something."
"What? What's gotten into you?"
"You haven't been able to get to know Central, you've been forced to look around it. I think it's about time you look at it from your father and uncle's point of view… like a home. Get used to the streets, get used to the shops, that sort of thing. It'll be fun!"
"But-"
"No. No buts. Brother's busy with his work, and Winry's been worried about you since day before yesterday, she's closed up shop and has been experimenting for hours. We'll go pick her up, we'll wander around, we'll just hang out. Like your dad and uncle."
Lucy stared at him, then smiled. She understood. Her story had gotten to him, made him depressed, empathic for her. But he wanted her to remember the good things about her family that she knew, and this was his way of doing it; making sure she still felt close to her lost family. And it was possibly the best idea anyone had ever had about trying to cheer her up.
"All right," she nodded standing up, "as long as I can stop off at work quickly."
"It's a deal."
"Give me a minute!" she got up and started searching through her things for what she needed.
Alphonse waited patiently as Lucy rushed around pulling on layers and searching for her gloves. He wasn't sure how she did it but, somehow, her glasses never slipped off her nose. He never once caught sight of her eyes. He said he would accept her even if he never saw her eyes, but he was still curious.
*
Edward could not help grumbling to himself. He hated paper work. Signing things, recording his missions and looking over more reports. It did mean at twenty he was getting closer to being his own man must faster than most. But it was still paper work.
He hated recording his missions, it made it sound disjointed, unsympathetic. It was soulless putting what he and his team had been through, especially if it came to recording a death or an injury. Emotion didn't belong there, is was cold hard facts, nothing more. And with attacks on Central being more common in more recent years, these reports were becoming just as common.
He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He was pretty much done.
"Hey," Edward looked up at sandy haired Jean Havoc (a fitting name the younger man believed), he was smoking as usual, leaning back in his seat, tipped back on his back two seat legs. His uniform was a little scruffier than normal, but he had been doing quite a bit of over time when it came to paper work (insisted he wanted it out of the way, though Fuery had told Edward that Hawkeye was refusing to let him go out on any missions until he had finished his paper work). "What's up? Something's been bugging you."
"It's not that important," grumbled Edward.
"Really? That expression doesn't normally last as long."
"It's not important."
"Girl trouble?"
Edward just shook his head and didn't answer.
Havoc's eyes widened, his chair landed on the floor with a thud causing the others to look up at him. His cigarette almost falling from his lips. "It is isn't it!" Havoc practically announced. Edward's head almost hit his desk, "I can't believe this! Ed's got himself a gi-"
Riza Hawkeye slapped the upside of his head, looking annoyed. "Leave him alone, Havoc," she said dryly, "he's had past relationships you know."
"Thank you Hawkeye," Edward smiled at the older woman, before turning his attention to Havoc again, "I am twenty thank you, Havoc."
"Oh…" the older man looked embarrassed, his hand behind his head, "I keep forgetting that… I still think of you as being about twelve… at the most sixteen."
"Thanks for that," Edward rolled his eyes, "but it's not girl trouble… at least not the way you think anyway."
"So what is it then?" asked Hawkeye, "Havoc's right, you've been looking almost sick for the past week." She was standing by the sleeping figure of Roy Mustang. Mustang had been working over time a lot in recently, though no one was really sure what he was working on. Nevertheless, no one held it against him when he took a nap during the day, especially when it was an exceptionally slow day.
For a moment Edward glanced around the room. Hawkeye, Havoc, Falman, Fuery, Breda… sleeping figure of Mustang… he knew he could trust them all, he knew they'd help him get answers. He never got around to talking to them the day before, he and Alphonse had been too distracted by their research and then they had to meet up with their extended family.
"There's this girl…"
"I told you it was girl trouble!" cheered Havoc.
"Be quiet," scowled Falman, "this girl?" he added, prompting Edward.
"She arrived in town a week ago. She only had a suitcase and a rucksack with her, which seemed to be all she owns, she hadn't eaten for two days because of lack of money and Alphonse found her complaining about being lost."
"Not unusual," shrugged Hawkeye, "there are people arriving in Central everyday."
"That's not what I've got an issue with. She tells us her name is Lucy, but she doesn't always respond to the name, and she has not even offered a surname since Al practically adopted her a week ago. We've seen her almost everyday since then, Winry and Al helping her to find a job. It's Al with his cats and Winry joining in."
Every single person in that room sighed exasperatedly.
A thought struck Falman. "But isn't that besides the point? She's a new person in town, shouldn't you, as Alchemist of the people, be helping her?"
"I have no issues with that, I have been thanks…" he trailed off, "but there's more about her that's making me suspicious… she's hiding things…"
"What makes you say that?"
"To begin with it's nearly summer and she wears full sleeves long jeans and gloves," explained Edward, "at first I was confused, but then I found out she had an automail arm… I think she's got an automail leg, but I don't dare ask."
"That's not unusual," insisted Hawekeye.
"That's the thing- how many people with automail that you know try to cover it up?" There was a moment's pause, no one in the room knew what to say. "She's hiding it, when most people see it as a badge of honour now. From the wars or something. But she's too young."
"How old?"
"Nineteen."
"That's not too young… you were in the wars, and besides that, there are other ways of loosing limbs."
"But people aren't embarrassed. She's hiding it." Hawkeye shook her head, but said nothing. "Besides that, when we first met her it was ten o'clock at night, she was wearing sunglasses. Even when she was inside she was wearing sunglasses."
"She's Ishballan," Hawkeye said flatly.
Edward hesitated. "Well you see… we're fairly certain she's biracial, half Armestrian half Ishballan, she's quite fair for an Ishballan, and features have Ishballan elements but their not quite there. That's besides the point, she still covers her eyes, when most Ishballans have long since given up on such a practise."
"Not really… quite a few of them do-"
"Not true," interrupted Havoc, looking uncomfortable, "I've been talking to the investigation bureau. The only Ishaballans who still wear sunglasses to cover their eyes are the ones who still harbour emotions of revenge, easier for them to band together and so forth. Very few wear them for any other reason."
"That's my problem. She seems genuine enough, she doesn't like to show her sarcastic side much, but otherwise she's perfectly nice, and seriously seems to like it here and Winry and Al are already attached to her. She's even looking for a place to move into and trying to locate her family."
"Her family?" Hawkeye was frowning.
"Yes her family. But they don't know she exists. I'm fairly sure her father was the Armestrian because he was a State Alchemist, there aren't any Ishballan Alchemists even in the country. But her father was killed in Ishbal, and she won't talk about how."
Hawkeye nodded, while the others in the room looked grim. "Holding a vendetta against the state for sending her father somewhere he could have been killed? Understandable… and being a mixed child in such a volatile environment back then… could not have been easy. She could hate her father for being so different."
"My sentiments exactly," frowned Edward, "her mother is dead as well, but I've got no idea how or why…"
"What was her father's name?" asked Kain Fuery.
"She only gave his Alchemist name, the Chemical alchemist."
No one in the room looked as though they had any idea about who he was talking about. He hadn't been all that hopeful. There were many Alchemists in the military, they didn't know every single other alchemist.
"We can look into it if you like," Hawkeye offered, "get Sheska onto it."
"Yeah that'd be great," grinned Edward, glad to have off loaded some of the work onto someone else, "I just want to be able to wipe someone off the 'danger' list or else bring her in… I don't want another attack like the one on 'the lounge'."
Every single person in the room shuddered, remembering the devastation. Clearly the attackers were not aiming at anyone in particular, there were people from Drachma to Xing in the bar, including Ishballans. They just wanted to cause hurt. And they had achieved it well.
"In the mean time," Hawkeye spoke more gently now, "keep an eye on her. We don't want any nasty surprises."
"What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" grumbled Havoc, who still clearly wished there had been a romantic element.
"Hope for the best, but expect the worst," Hawkeye pointed out, "this girl, Lucy… we need to make sure she's not a threat. But at the same time, we can't rule out that she might be under threat."
That made Edward sit up. He had not been expecting that. "What makes you say that?"
"She's hiding something," replied Hawkeye, "that means one of two things, she's guilty of something, or she's running away from something. Either way, she needs to have some sort of surveillance on her."
Edward nodded. "I get it. Considering Al and Winry have taken such a great liking to her…"
"And you are the one who brought it to our attention," Hawkeye smiled wanly. Edward still did not quite understand why when ever Mustang was out of the picture, Hawkeye took over. "Which reminds me… is there anything at all you can give us on her family?"
Edward shoot his head. "No, she's not so forth coming about them. But I guess if they know nothing of your existence, then you wouldn't really want to," he paused, "I do know she has an uncle. Her father's cousin. He knows of her existence, apparently like a second father. But I know no names, addresses nothing." He chuckled. "She's clever, she talks about her past, enough that we don't ask so many questions, but with no tangible evidence to back it up if we need to. I should have noticed it before."
"Unfortunately a common trait of a person with something to hide," nodded Hawkeye.
"No…" Falman said quietly, "not exactly. A lot of biracial people who were not accepted where they were brought up talk like that as well. They can be very selective of what they reveal about their past. Often it's painful for them."
"Don't generalise," grinned Edward, "it's not nice." He yawned and stretched. "I think that's everything." He looked at his paper work and made a face. "Yeah… that's definitely everything. I'll see you guys later."
"Don't forget to drop by," Hawkeye said as he pulled on his red jacket, "I'll talk to Mustang once he wakes up. He's bound to know something."
"Yeah, thanks," Edward replied, somewhat distracted almost at the door, he paused, then turned to Havoc. "By the way, good luck on your date tonight."
Havoc practically jumped to his feet. "What! How did you- when?"
Edward just laughed and walked out of the room, leaving the explanation to the others.
Havoc turned to the others still startled. Falman was lost to hysterics, as was Breda, Hawkeye was smirking, but refused to say a word, it was left to Fuery to say anything.
"Y- You've been humming all day," he explained through his giggles, "you only do that when you have a date."
Havoc stared around again, then let his head hit his desk. "I thought I was going mad for a moment."
"Sir?" Hawkeye suddenly sounded serious. The other four men in the room suddenly looked up at her and Mustang. Mustang was awake, wide awake, sitting up, a frown creasing his forehead, his mouth set in a hard straight line.
"He said Chemical Alchemist," Mustang said shortly.
"You were awake?" asked Falman.
"Half," admitted Mustang, "but I was… stunned."
"Why?"
"The Chemical Alchemist," he was no longer listening, "it's been a long time since I heard that name… nearly fourteen years…"
"Who was he?" asked Havoc.
"It was the joke name a more noted Alchemist gave himself. The Azure Alchemist, most noted for his work in the chemical side of Alchemy. He tended to be a researcher, but he was a good soldier and a good negotiator, so he was brought out to Ishbal…"
Understanding suddenly broke out on almost every face in that room. They had heard of the Azure Alchemist all right.
"Why Chemical?" asked Fuery quietly.
"It was his joke… his inside joke with his cousin that spread through the ranks. The name Chemical Alchemist died with him, it was something to remember only when talking to him, after he died, no one felt right calling him that any more. The name faded into memory."
"Who was his cousin?" asked Hawkeye, almost holding her breath.
"Maes Hughes…" his voice was almost inaudible.
"But- do you think she-"
"Knows? I don't know… if she doesn't, she'll find out soon, if she does then it's very likely she's out for vengeance…" He shook his head. "I never thought I'd… I always saw pictures of her, in Ishbal, her father was very proud of her and later so was Maes- she was really his first daughter. When it came to how much he loved them both, she probably only just came a second, and possibly only because he did not see her everyday. I remember seeing pictures of her growing up… until Maes died…"
"Do you have any of these pictures?"
Mustang shook his head. "Of coarse not… but Gracia does… she never met her niece, but she had heard so much about her… she asked me to find her and bring her home- even I had no such luck. She's elusive to say the least."
Hawkeye wasn't sure what to say. This girl… this Lucy had clearly shaken Mustang quite a lot. It was unsurprising. She was connected to his past in Ishbal, her father had clearly been a superior and she was practically the first daughter of his dead best friend. She could not imagine what Mustang was thinking just then.
"What's her real name?" she asked.
"It's not Lucy that's for sure…" he said slowly, "but… if she's giving out a fake name… I just wander what she's up to."
*
It was late afternoon, and Winry and Alphonse were happily showing Lucy around the streets. The girl was clearly having a good time. She had ignored any and all bad comments coming her way, at the most flipping them off with a rude hand gesture, otherwise she had a relatively normal day. Although, it must be said that Winry did a lot of that for her.
Unfortunately a lot of shopping had been involved. They had spread out the weight of the shopping between the three of them, but they were fully aware how much it really was. It was mostly for Winry's shop, so a lot of it was in boxes. Others were new clothes for Lucy for her new job and her new life. But she had been stubborn about buy very little and going to the cheapest shops, which had annoyed Winry, but she could also sympathise.
"I think it's time for something to eat," complained Alphonse, his stomach rumbling.
"I think it's time to drop these off home," retorted Winry, "we are not carrying these around the place- right Lu-" she cut herself off, Lucy had been distracted by a book shop and was already peering inside with large eyes. Winry chuckled. It was possibly the only thing in common the girl had with Edward, a love of books. "Lucy?" she said grinning.
"Huh? Yeah!" she looked at her new friend.
"We're gonna drop these off home, you can come back to mine tonight to pick them up."
"All right!" she beamed, "I'll come-"
"No way, you'll get distracted all the way there and all the way back again," Winry told her obstinately, "you stay here and read books while we drop the stuff off."
"But-"
"No," Winry told her sharply, taking a box off her as Alphonse took the bags, "we'll be back here soon- if you move anywhere else, you're in trouble."
Lucy laughed, and saluted. "Yes ma'am," she replied.
"At ease," she replied winking, "c'mon Al, we don't want to leave her longer than we have to."
"I heard that!" Lucy called after them as they left.
She smiled to herself. She never expected to get on with anyone quite this quickly when she had first arrived in the city. She had actually expected to be more or less ostracised for the first few weeks. But it had hardly been the case. Yes she had put with the odd comment about her glasses or skin, but if Al or Winry didn't say something for her, someone else would. She found out very quickly a lot of people saw such racism as a crime and often apologised on behalf of the rude person, telling her that not everyone in town was the same. Despite quashing the desire to tell them she didn't need an explanation, she understood their good intentions, and smiled at them happily.
In the book shop, she immediately found a selection of books ranging from fantasy to fact, found a corner and sat down to flip through them as she waited.
Lucy wasn't sure how long she had been there for, but she soon became aware of someone sitting beside her. Surprised, she looked round, then relaxed as she caught sight of Edward who was peering at the pile of books that separated them.
"There's a lot here," he said mildly, once he had realised she had spotted him, "you going to buy them all?"
"No… just one or two," she replied stonily, "I've never been able to keep a book before, they're usually too heavy to carry around."
"That's true…" Edward nodded slowly.
"So what are you here for?"
"Came to check up on you."
"Don't trust me with your family?"
"You'll look after them, I know that."
She smirked. He had never seen that expression before. "I thought I was the one that needed looking after."
"I'm not so easily blinded," he retorted. He paused. "I spoke to Hawkeye today."
"Who?"
"Assistant to Brigadier General Mustang," he explained, "Roy MUstang that is, the Flame Alchemist."
Her face seemed to pale a little. "R- really… I've heard of him…"
"I'm not surprised. Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Mmmhmm… Dad told me about him… when I was younger… call him a rookie… good man, put in a bad situation but a rookie."
"Things change," shrugged Edward.
"In fourteen years? I should hope so…"
He watched her closely. She was agitated. She was no longer paying any attention to her book, her hands were shaking, her foot tapping, and her attention had wandered to the shelves. Even her cheeks had a blush to them. Something was clearly bothering her.
"Hey Lucy…"
"Mmm?"
"What's your real name?"
"Does it matter?"
"It does to me- how can I trust someone who I don't even know the name of."
"Trust your gut."
"Why all the secrets."
"I want to start agai-"
"That's impossible!" Edward was beginning to get angry, "you need your past… so you can progress to the future and function in the present. Everything is linked, everything is connec-"
"Equivalent exchange," she said quietly.
"What?"
"Equivalent exchange… I want to give up my past for my future. I want to be who I am, not what I was."
"But you-"
"Look," she pulled off her glove on her right hand, and push her palm into his line of vision.
For a moment he frowned, the grabbed her hand and studied it more closely. It looked familiar… It looked similar to that of the tattoos on the Crimson Alchemist's palms, Zolf Kimblee. But it was more complicated, more exact, more easily applicable to more transmutations. And it wasn't a tattoo, it was a scar. Someone had dug a blade into her palm scarring the transmutation circle into her palm.
She snatched her hand back, and gloved it again, her face straight.
"How did you…"
"It's a secret," she said, her expression a strange combination of anger and pride.
"But it's been-"
"I don't know why," she interrupted, "but you seem determined to get to the bottom of what ever past I have. Maybe because your an alchemist and you like being able to understand everything."
"And you refuse to answer me."
She chuckled. "There is that as well." She paused. "What if do you a deal, seeing as you want to know so much…"
"What sort of deal?"
"For the next say… month, next thirty one days… you ask me one question. And I chose whether or not I answer them."
Edward snorted. "Then you can refuse to answer them all."
"I'm not finished," she grinned, "if we divide the thirty one days into seven days, out of those seven days I can only refuse to answer three questions. And the amongst of refusals cannot carry on in the next week. How does that sound?"
Edward paused, then nodded. "Sounds fair. I get my answers, you can keep your secrets. For a time at least."
Lucy laughed again. "You might want to report that to your superiors as well."
Edward shook his head grinning. "No way… I'd rather look more clever than I really am, using my intuition to find this out."
"Mmm… maybe," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, then looked at her pile of books. "Hey Edward, can you do me a favour?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm gonna step out, can you buy… this," she handed him over the book in her hands, "and… this." She picked out a book from the middle of her pile. "I'll pay you back when you get out I swear."
"All right all right," he sighed, "hey Lucy, when do these questions start?"
"Well… tomorrow's Monday… sounds like a good time to start to me."
He grinned back at her. "Fair enough."
He watched her leave, then peered at the books. One was a story book, something about wizards and magicians. The other… the other surprised him. An alchemy book. And not basic alchemy either. It was based on physically changing things, but far more complicated than simply shifting rock into a cage. It was more to do with changing iron into copper and so forth. He looked up at the back of the girl, who was standing outside, back against the window, a cigarette in hand, blowing out the smoke slowly. More secrets? He'd have to bide his time with this latest one.
As she stepped out of the shop and lit up her cigarette. Her plan made sense. It would keep him quiet. She knew quite well how to answer things leaving a lot still open. But at the same time, she knew it was easier to get Edward off her back if she answered honestly.
Not long later, Edward joined her outside as Winry and Alphonse joined her. Lucy dropped her cigarette on the floor and grinned at the new comers. Somehow, neither Winry or Alphonse were all that surprised to see Edward with Lucy, and neither were unhappy about it as well.
"So!" beamed Alphonse, "food time!"
"I'm in," beamed Lucy.
"Same here, Falman decided to be stingy today," sighed Edward.
"Which place?" asked Winry.
"Coconut!" cheered Alphonse.
"We always go there," complained Edward.
"Lucy hasn't-"
As the discussion continued, Lucy just walked along with them, with a smile on her face. She couldn't help it. It had been years since she had felt this comfortable with a group of people. It was usually just her, or at the most one other person. It was… well… nice.
"Lucy…" Alphonse waved a hand in her face, she blinked to attention, "you all right?"
"Yes? Yes!" she said shaking her head, "sorry, just a little…" she shook her head again, "I'm just hungry."
The Winry and Alphonse laughed, as Winry took hold of Lucy's arm, almost comfortingly. Edward meanwhile could not help but analyse the look on Lucy's face. There was nothing fake there… she was genuinely having fun with them… even with him there.