Hello Everyone :) So I wanted to say just a quick little something here. FMA is based, roughly, around the same time as the 1940s. Women's suffrage, in America anyway, was still a very new concept in that it was only a few decades old. Also things like free birth control, women as bosses, women in the military, were still hot topics being discussed in both the social and political arena. That all being said, FMA from my point of view seems very forward thinking in how Hiromu Arakawa portrayed it. The point is Ed's going to receive some sexism in the next several chapters. I don't think its right but its a real thing that women still face to this day and for the sake of accuracy needs to be addressed.

Anyway...on with the show.

Chapter 3

It had been three months now and summer was waning into colder weather. With Alphonse on the mend, Ed and he had decided to start sparing again to build up their strength. They kept it mostly hand to hand but every once and awhile they'd add alchemy into the mix to keep themselves fresh.

Today had been a day like that. They had started with boxing but soon a blunt staff had emerged from the ground before Ed quickly followed by two stone gauntlets that had sprung up and attached themselves to Al's arms. They had parried back and forth for an hour before their bodies had finally quit on them.

The siblings sat on the ground and watched the setting sun as they panted and shared the bottle of water they had brought. "Ya know," Alphonse said. "I don't miss my armor, but I could go forever with that thing and never tire. It's kindda nice though to feel my body changing the more we work."

"Yeah it is," Edward agreed. "I have to be careful with mine. My right arm is breakable again."

"How you doing by the way?" Alphonse asked.

"Okay. It's strange but it's not so much different than being a man," Ed answered. "You?"

Alphonse was silent for a moment. "I think I'm in love with Winry," he finally told her. "In a few years, I might ask for her to marry me. What do you think?"

Edward felt her heart twinge. She and Winry had essentially broken up. Alphonse would be good for her or rather they would be good for each other. "I think that's a wonderful idea," she said. "It'll keep at least one Elric in Risembol."

"So you're still thinking about leaving for Central," Al said.

"Yeah," Edward confirmed. "You want to open an alchemy shop here and Risembol just isn't big enough for two alchemists. Plus I think it's time for us to move on and just do what we want to do. There's no one to save, no mission, no military. I want to figure out what to do with my life."

"Well I think I'll be staying here," Alphonse said and drew his knees up to his chest. "I never told anyone this but I'd always liked Winry and Risembol. But I didn't know if I'd ever get back to normal. I knew you would be the better husband because you could kiss her and give her children. I was always worried that someday we might just give up and move back here." He wiped his eyes. "I sometimes wondered if you would all grow old and die and I'd be left here alone and unable to move on.

Edward gave her little brother a punch in the arm. "Don't be stupid. I would never have allowed that," she scolded him gently. "So stop crying over things that never happened."

"I know," Alphonse said thankfully. "It just feels good to get that all out."

"You could have told me," Edward reminded him. "You can tell me anything Alphonse." She gave him a large grin before jumping up and stretching. She reached out to help Alphonse to his feet. "Let's get back to the house. I'm sure Pinako has dinner ready for us."

Edward had rarely cried but that day on the Risembol platform had been one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. She had given Winry and even Pinako a hug before embracing her brother for a long time. Neither of them moved, both just holding on for that one second more until the train whistle caused her to break away.

Winry handed her a little brightly wrapped present. "Open it on the train, and come back often to visit. You still need to have regular maintenance on your leg."

"And be careful Ed," Pinako reminded her. "A young woman traveling on her own is a lot different than a young man."

"I'm going to miss you. Call us when you get settled," Alphonse said and hugged Ed one more time before she stepped back onto the train. The engine started up and she waved at them from the window until they had vanished from her sight.

Sitting back in her seat, Ed tore the wrapping off the little gift and opened the box within. It was a locket. Already knowing what she would find inside, she carefully pried it open to see Alphonse and Winry's pictures smiling up at him. She hadn't meant for the tears to fall, but once they had started they just wouldn't stop. Alphonse and she had always been a team, but that team had to break up eventually. Alphonse needed his space if he was going to foster the kind of relationship he wanted with Winry.

As for Edward, it was just time to move on. She had never been the kind of person to sit idle in one place. If the military had taught her one thing it was that she liked to be where the action was. She liked the busy atmosphere of cities and meeting new people. She needed to find her own path now even if that path might not be with Alphonse anymore.

Ed slipped the chain around her neck and rolled the cool metal between her fingers as the train lolled her into a light sleep. I wasn't until the conductor shook her that she finally snapped awake, having snoozed the entire ride.

"Last stop Ma'am. Central Station."

She nodded to him and stretched as she dragged her suitcase from the rack above and stepped onto the platform. There had only been one person she could call to help her get settled in Central and despite how much he still got on her nerves, Ed was happy to find Colonel Roy Mustang waving at her from across the crowd.

She jogged over to him. "Oi Colonel Bastard. Long time no see," she greeted.

"You as well Fullmetal Pipsqueak," Roy retorted and reached down to pluck Ed's luggage from her hands.

"Who you calling tiny!?" Edward snapped as she tried to grab the suitcase back. "And give me that. I can carry it."

"A gentleman always carries the lady's bags," Roy said with a smirk. Ed floundered on that last remark for a retort. But by the time she had mustered one up he was already walking away, and she had to rush to fall in step with his longer strides.

"So where are we going?" Edward asked as Roy hailed one of the many cabs waiting outside the station.

"Well you asked for me to check out some apartments for you, and I think I found just the one," Roy told her. "It's a one bedroom, one bathroom, with a den, living room, and kitchen. And downstairs there's an old shop. You said you wanted to open your own business right?"

"Yeah," Edward said. "Alphonse transferred all the money from my Military Death Benefits to an account. Not to mention Winry and Al were the beneficiaries of my savings which they gave back to me as well. So I have enough to live for a little while but I'm going to have to figure out a way to make money soon."

"I think this should have everything you need," Roy stated. "The land lady seemed nice enough. She's an old friend of mine."

"More like old squeeze," Edward suggested.

"Despite what everyone says I have not slept with every woman in Central," Roy said with a joking tone. "And now that you're here, you can be proof of this fact."

Edward shook her head. "Yeah ew. I'd rather stay a virgin forever," she gagged. But of course the conversation led her to have an image of Roy with no shirt. She didn't have to imagine what it looked like. She had seen it plenty of times before in the bathrooms at the military dorms on rare occasions when Roy would stay late and opt to spend the night over going home.

Her brain unbridled thought of an image where he reached for her in much the same way she'd seen him sidle up to a skirt. She glanced up to see him giving her that trademark smirk of his and a blush hit her face. The hell was wrong with her? Her thighs grew hot and suddenly the space within the car felt very very small.

Roy's smile fell. "You okay Ed. You just turned really red," he said and plucked off his glove to place it on her forehead. She pulled away from the contact.

"Yeah I'm fine," she lied. "Just tired from the trip. How much further to the apartment?"

"We'll be there shortly," Roy told her with a concerned look on his face.

The cab finally pulled up to a small building squished between an apartment complex and a restaurant. As Roy had described, there was a tiny shop on street level. It had a display window and a door that opened to a small space filled with shelves and a counter. Behind the counter a set of stairs led to the apartment.

"Surprised?" Roy said when Ed looked around at the furnishings. There was a couch in the living room, a double bed in the bedroom, and a desk and bookshelf in the den. The kitchen also had some cutlery and dishes stored away in the cupboards. "You gave me a sizable sum to work with so I used what was left to get you a few things. You'll need to get more but this should get you started."

"Thanks," Edward said upon inspecting all of the rooms. It would be just big enough for herself… and maybe a small dog. She'd always liked dogs.

"I took the whole afternoon off to help get you settled, so I thought we could go grocery shopping?" Roy suggested.

"Yeah that sounds good," Ed said slowly as she dropped her suitcase on the bed. She frowned at Roy. "What's the catch?" she wondered and tilted her head to the side. He was being awfully nice to her.

"There's no catch," Roy said showing unconcealed honesty. "You need to get some groceries and I have nothing else I have to attend to for the rest of the afternoon." In truth he could return to work to finish a rather alarming stack of paperwork…but grocery shopping sounded like a much more enjoyable option.

Ed tried to see if he was lying, but she knew him too well. He was telling the truth. "Alright then," she said and reached into her bag to retrieve her wallet. She shoved it into her coat pocket and led the way downstairs.

It was much more enjoyable to go shopping then Ed had thought it would be. They walked two blocks to the nearest market and snagged a basket to fill with goods. As they moved their way from stall to stall, they chatted about the military and politics that had yet to reach the sleepy town of Risembol.

"The new Fuhrer has really been pushing for demilitarizing the government. There's been a huge outcry from both within and outside the military. A lot of peoples' livelihoods count on the government after all," Roy said.

"In Central. In the outlying towns there's no military," Ed reminded Roy.

"I know and I see his point," Roy said. "He thinks that if there's a small military incidents like Ishval can be diverted to a peaceful resolution. What he doesn't realize is that a small military would also signal to the Drachma nation that we're weak enough to take over. Same thing down south. We're flanked on all sides by countries whom would gladly conquer us if they could."

"It sounds like a problem," Ed agreed already starting to get on her game face before remembering that now she was Edna, the lone female alchemist citizen.

"Yeah, but I don't think he'll do anything too drastic. There are too many people opposed to it," Roy said. Edward headed to the checkout line.

"I can get this," Roy pulled out his wallet at the same time Ed did.

Ed was really startled now. "You want to pay!?"

Roy shrugged and handed the cashier several bills. Well if he really wanted to buy her food, she had no problem with that. They bagged their haul and started the trek back to the apartment.

"So what do you think you'll put in your little shop?" Roy asked.

"Guess," Ed said as she struggled to hold her bags. Without comment Roy reached over and snagged a few from her. Ed was really staring at him now.

"Alchemy," Roy said knowingly. "You know that's going to be a hard field to break into."

"Just watch me," Ed challenged.

Roy shook his head. "Don't think it's a matter of sheer willpower Ed. You're a woman now and women aren't usually alchemists."

Edward paused as she thought about that fact. It was, now that Roy pointed it out, strangely true. She'd known only one woman alchemist and that was her teacher Izumi Curtis. She tried to recall a state alchemist but to her knowledge not many female military employee did much more then secretary jobs and intelligence gathering. Women like Hawkeye were the rare exception.

"I wonder why that is?" Ed said aloud as Roy reached the door and jostled to get the key.

"Well that's an easy answer," Roy grunted as he shouldered his way in and up the stairs. "Babies."

"Babies!?" Ed reiterated.

"Yeah. Usually in a marriage, the wife is the one who stops going to work or gets a more flexible job when the couple has a baby. Women who don't have kids right away or ever are the ones more likely to have careers. Not saying you can't have a career with a baby, but it's hard." Roy put the groceries on the counter and started to unpack them and put them away.

"I never thought about it that way before," Ed said thoughtfully.

"That's because you've never had too. Maes and me used to talk about it when Elisia was born. Before she got pregnant, Gracia Hughes used to work at a flower shop. She had to quit a few months before Elisia was due."

Ed scoffed. "Well no worries there. I am never getting pregnant. That would involve doing things with a man…" She trailed off when she noticed Roy looking at her thoughtfully. She felt as though his gaze bore into her and her heart sped up in response.

She swallowed drily. "Um..what is it?"

"You need to be careful Edward," Roy said. "I know you were originally a man but everyone else will see you as a woman. Doing things like letting a man into your apartment when it's just the two of you is a big no no."

"And why is that?" Edward inquired, although she was well aware of the reason.

"I think you know why," Roy told him and his gaze dropped to Ed's chest causing her to turn as red as the tomato Roy was holding. Ed reached out and snatched the vegetable from Roy's grasp and tossed it on the counter.

"Well thanks for the warning and everything else. I got a lot to do to settle in so why don't you head home and do some reading." Ed grabbed Roy's hand and hustled him downstairs to the door. "If you ever need anything just give me a ring. Bye!" She pushed him out into the street.

She then locked the door and ran back upstairs to the safety of her apartment. She felt like she'd just run a mile and her body felt feverish and tense. She quickly finished putting the food away and then made her way to the bathroom for a long shower that would hopefully wash away the strange thoughts that were circling inside her head.