Chapter 5
"Ahhhh, it feels good to be back, doesn't it?" Ed asked, doing his best to raise his brother's spirits.
They had left Resembool on the 6 am train and slept most of the three hour train ride to Central. Al seemed to be holding up, but was far from his usual, cheery self. Ed wasn't feeling so great either, but was working really hard at trying to hide it.
"I know, how about we get breakfast at Havander's? They have the best pancakes!" A sudden idea caused Ed to brighten even more. "In fact, since you were in the hospital the entire time we were in the Central you haven't gotten to try any of the Central restaurants. We should do a food and drink tour over the next few weeks and go to all the best spots!"
"Hmm, that sounds like fun." Al seemed to rally a little and smiled. "Ok, I'm in. But shouldn't we check in with Colonel Mustang first?"
"Eh, that bastard waited 6 months for us, he can wait until after we've had some pancakes."
Although they both were feeling quite dejected they spent a surprisingly fun breakfast at Havander's. Ed made Al try all of the different pancake toppings and Al kept drawing faces on Ed's pancakes with frosting when he wasn't looking. Ed took a real pleasure from seeing Al enjoy himself through eating. Too many years was it that Al looked on while Ed devoured every delicious thing in sight. He was truly happy to return the favor.
Soon they made their way over to Central Headquarters. On the way Al seemed overcome with the urge to smell 5 different flowers in a nearby garden ("You have no idea what it's like to smell again, Ed. It's like I was blind for so long that I had forgotten sight was even possible."). Finally they made it to the building and Mustang's office.
"Ed! Al! It's great to see you guys!" Breda and Falman, the only two currently in the office crowded around them.
"Man, I just can't get used to you in a real body, Al. But it must be wonderful to be back." Breda smiled.
"It's definitely wonderful, but strange. I'm still getting used to it myself." Al scratched the back of his neck self-consciously.
"Well, well Fullmetal. Did you enjoy your little vacation?" Mustang and Hawkeye had entered the room from the inner office.
"Vacation?!" Ed bristled. It didn't seem to matter what Mustang said, only that he was the one saying it. "We probably worked harder than your lazy ass. Al studied every day and we kept up with our training. I hope your hands haven't cramped too badly from all the paperwork you've been doing!"
"Oh don't worry, they're still limber enough to snap when I need them to." Mustang put his hands on his hips and gave out a bark of laughter. "And how are you Al? It's good to see you." Mustang added before Ed could respond.
"I'm great. Just great." Al gave him a quakey smile that was not very convincing.
Mustang frowned but decided not to prod him further. "Well the State Alchemist Exam is in two days. Do you want to go and rest up and get some last minute studying in?"
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. It was great to see you, Breda, Falman."
"We're happy you're back Al. Looking forward to you officially joining our ranks as a State Alchemist." Hawkeye spoke up for the first time.
"Thanks so much, Lieutenant!" Al started to smile at her but then stopped and just stared. For a split second he just seemed confused and then a slight blush spread across his face. "So good to see you all again." He mumbled and headed out the door in the direction of the barracks.
They all stared after Al in some confusion until Hawkeye broke the trance by forcing Falman and Breda back to work.
"Let's talk in my office Fullmetal, the Lieutenant and I need to debrief you."
The three of them crowded into Mustang's inner office. But after closing the door the first thing that Mustang asked was, "What's going on with, Al?"
Ed didn't like airing his little brother's dirty laundry but he supposed that with this group and Al acting the way he was it would come out in the end anyway.
Ed exhaled. "Al told Winry he loved her and Winry turned him down."
Both Mustang and Hawkeye looked surprised. "Al and Winry? But I had always thought that it was you and-"
"No." Ed answered flatly.
"Are you sure? Because I could have sworn-"
"No." Ed fixed Mustang with an intense glare and felt pain swelling up under his ribcage. He crossed his arms and looked away. "Definitely not."
After an awkward silence in which Mustang and Hawkeye exchanged a bemused look, Mustang started again. "Well, I have some good news Fullmetal. Now that most of the dust has settled after the Promised Day we'll all be getting promotions. The whole team will be moving up one rank, and I'm on track to be Major General. And eventually Fuhrer." This last part was whispered conspiratorially with an overdone wink. "Well, that is until they invite the Council back and change the job title. What do you think about 'Prime Leader'? Or 'Commandante Superior'?" Mustang was getting more and more excited as he spoke, his gaze distant and sparkling.
"They both sound pretty stupid." Ed tried to look serious. "Is 'President Bastard' taken?"
"Hilarious as ever Fullmetal." Mustang responded dryly, coming back down to earth.
Ed let himself grin. There was nothing he loved more than giving the colonel a hard time. Although he would never admit it, not even under duress, he had a lot of respect and even some genuine affection for the guy. They'd been through a lot together and there was no one, except for Al, that he would rather have at his back in a fight.
"Now I'm sure you'd like to hear about your next assignment. We've been hearing some rumors from the East of the existence of a State Alchemy Lab that's still up and running. The nearby town had no idea it was even a lab until things started happening during the Promised Day. Now the townspeople are reporting strange noises and lights. In three weeks I'd like you and our newest State Alchemist to go and take a look."
"Newest State Alchemist? Who?" Ed frowned.
"Al of course. I have no doubt in his abilities in passing the exam and I think this would be a great first assignment for him."
Ed grinned. "Right, of course. Soon you'll have the two best State Alchemists out there!"
"I expect no less. Lieutenant Hawkeye will provide you with the assignment details. You are dismissed."
"One last thing Fullmetal." Mustang stopped Ed as he was halfway to the door. "You guys aren't kids anymore. Please stay out of trouble."
"Eh, no promises." Ed swung the door wide and exited the room.
Mustang raised his glass. "A toast to our newest State Alchemist! You all used to know him as Al, the kind, intelligent, 7 foot suit of armor. But from now on he'll forever be known as the Soul-Binder Alchemist!"
With raised glasses, Mustang's entire team plus Sheska, Major Armstrong, and Lieutenant Ross all cheered and shouted out their congratulations. Al's smile was huge. Ed was happy to see so many people gathered to celebrate his brother's success. They were easily the largest, rowdiest group in the bar. And Al definitely deserved some fun and a hefty congratulations. The exam had apparently been extra grueling this year since Fuhrer Grumman decided that the military needed to be more selective in choosing their alchemists. Ed assumed that the actions of Kimblee and Tucker had something to do with the Fuhrer's decision. But regardless of the difficulty, Al had been triumphant and risen above the other hopefuls to capture the title of State Alchemist.
Al's alchemist name had come from his unique ability to temporarily bind small pieces of his soul to inanimate objects and have them do his bidding.* Although it kind of creeped Ed out, it came easily to Al and he was very good at it.
"We knew you could do it buddy." Jean Havoc handed Al yet another drink he had bought for him.
"Thanks so much Havoc. And it's great to see you back!" After restoring Mustang's sight, Dr. Marcoh had used his Philosopher's Stone to restore Havoc's paralyzed legs. Havoc had wasted no time in returning to his military duties in Mustang's unit.
"Yes!" Armstrong has just returned from the bar and was carrying a massive tray of shots. "We never doubted for a minute that you had what it takes!"
"Are you trying to kill us Armstrong?" Fuery eyed the shots dubiously. "We've been drinking for two hours as it is."
"Never fear! Just use this drinking technique that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" And he transmuted the drinks so that they were now bright green in color. The shot glasses had also been altered and now resembled hollow replicas of Armstrong's face.
"What did you do?" Sheska asked, fascinated.
"Why, I lowered the alcohol content and then made them taste more delicious!" Was Armstrong's enthusiast reply.
"Then what exactly is the point of them being shots?" Hawkeye asked, confused.
But Armstrong was no longer paying attention and was in the process of throwing back 3 shots in a row.
"At least his shirt stayed on." Lieutenant Ross winked at Hawkeye.
As the evening progressed so did the heavy drinking. Ed thought that everyone must have needed to blow off some steam, because the whole team had just seemed dying for an excuse to party. Al's success had provided them with one and they were now fully taking advantage. It was certainly helping Ed to keep his mind off of specific things. And although he'd never admit it, he realized how much he had missed these crazy people.
Mustang was now in the corner repeatedly and desperately trying to beat Armstrong at arm wrestling and losing badly. Sheska and Havoc were having a quiet and, seemingly intimate, conversation in an isolated booth. Fuery, Falman, Breda and Hawkeye appeared to be playing some kind of drinking game in which the First Lieutenant was clearly winning.
Ed noticed that Al was talking to Lieutenant Ross in a very animated way and with a very red face. Man, after all those free drinks Ed wasn't surprised. After nursing his own drink in the corner, Ed decided to be more social and went over to join the drinking game.
As the evening wore on, slowly in ones and twos people began to depart until just Ed, Al, Hawkeye, and Mustang were left. Ed was pretty drunk himself, but Al definitely had him beat. Only half an hour ago he'd dragged Ed up to a group of girls, telling them that Ed was the "very, berry, very bestest brother", urging them to talk to him. Ed sensed that several of them were interested in Al and a couple perhaps, in himself, but he just couldn't find it within him to flirt with anyone right now. "He's all yours, ladies. And believe me, you're getting the better brother." Ed said, and casually skirted away.
But now it was just the four of them, all sitting in a kind of drunken stupor. Except for Hawkeye that is, who looked exceedingly relaxed, but somehow still bafflingly sharp.
"Now, wha-what about you two?" Ed slurred his words and vaguely gestured at the Colonel and Lieutenant sitting across from him. "I mean….c'mooonn. We're not stupid you know. We all, all of us have eyes, you know."
Hawkeye gave Ed an innocent, bemused expression while Mustang smiled at her conspiratorially.
"Yeah…...Yeah! We all….we all have the eyes!" Al seemed to finally catch on to what Ed was suggesting.
I mean, you should, you should be the….be with the person...the person you feel for right? And you guys," Ed gave them a dopey grin, "Yeah. I think you do."
Mustang was also way too drunk to notice that Ed wasn't making any sense. "Alright, fine. Come here guys, c'mover here." Mustang gestured for Ed and Al to lean in across the table in a way that, Ed could only assume, meant Mustang would be imparting some deep and secret wisdom. With narrowed eyes Mustang studied their rapt faces, pretending to make sure he could trust them. Meanwhile, Hawkeye was leaning against the corner of the booth with the fingers of her left hand pressed against the bridge of her nose and her eyes closed, likely bracing herself for what she knew was coming.
"We've been secretly dating for months now!" Mustang boomed out, his voice well beyond the necessary volume needed to communicate the information. "Since a couple weeks after the Promised Day actually. And, and, and I think it's going really well!" He looked joyfully over at Hawkeye for confirmation. The lieutenant absolutely tried and failed to hide her amusement and only managed to nod.
"Whhaaaa? Thas great! Jus great!" Al slurred, looking truly pleased and also a bit confused. "I'm soo happy for you!"
"Yeah, congratulations too, you two, to the two of you." Ed managed to say. "I've always sought….always thought you were meant to be."
"That's nice of you to say Ed, Al." Riza was practically glowing. "Just do us a favor and try to keep it quiet around the office. Although I'm pretty sure that most everyone suspects at this point." She shrugged.
"Well, shall we be off for the night, my most beautiful Lootenent?" Mustang was looking at her like a drunken puppy dog.
Riza winked at them and took Mustang's arm. "Let's get you out of here Roy. Got to make sure you can still look your subordinates in the eye in the morning."
They said goodnight and Ed and Al watched them leave, their colonel leaning heavily on his first lieutenant's shoulder. Simultaneously they both sighed and were left to drunkenly contemplate the nature of love and what it really looked like in person.
*So this was a little bit of crossover from the 2003 anime/Conquerer of Shamballa movie. (One of the only bits I actually liked about the end of that show)