We gazed at the house, and I clapped my hands together quietly.
"Alright, I can do this." I gave him a determined smile, opening the door and stepping out. Before I closed the door, I turned back to look at Ed."Stay in here."
"What? Why?" His eyebrows furrowed, and I sighed.
"I don't want to freak her out too much yet," I said.
"Her?" He started, but I nudged him, giving him a pointed look. He pursed his lips but did as I said, peeking out through the tinted windows of the impala. I gave him a thumbs up and a grin before turning to the door, taking a deep breath, and knocking.
I waited in silence, twiddling my thumbs nervously until I could hear footsteps approaching the door. I prayed that I had woken the right person with my knocks, and my prayers were answered as the door opened to reveal a very sleepy looking girl, donning cute pjs and messed up light brown hair. Katya.
"Lynette?" She sounded confused, and she gave me an odd glance. "Do you know what time it is?"
I nodded, a bit sheepish, and signed, "Don't scream," with my hands.
"Lynette...?" Her voice turned cautious, "What did you do...?" I held back a big smile.
"I did something awesome." I said, resisting the urge to bounce on my heels. She stared at me for a moment, her eyes gradually widening until they were as big as saucers.
"Y-you spoke," She said, and I gave her a cute shrug.
"Yes, Katya, I did speak," I laughed lightly, "Because I'm all better." Her breath was stolen away.
Because her best friend, the one with the eyes that had been empty all this time, were sparkling again.
"How...?" She asked, completely taken off guard. I gave her a mysterious smirk, and extended a hand.
"Let's go somewhere so I can explain everything." I said, "I don't want to wake your parents." Her eyebrows furrowed, but she took my hand, and I pulled her back to my car.
"Don't scream," I said, opening the door and pushing her in the back seat. She gave me a confused look as I closed the car door before jumping into the drivers seat, starting up the engine.
"You're kidnapping someone?" Ed gave me a look, and I rolled my eyes and grinned at the engines' purr.
"I never said I wouldn't kidnap anyone, Edward Elric," My grin widened, and I pulled out of the driveway.
"Ed...ward..?" A gasp came from the back seat, and I laughed.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you Ed came with me."
"You owe me a serious explanation."
"Whoa." Katya just sat there, stunned.
I had brought them to a nearby park, where we sat on the benches facing each other, Ed next to me with Katya on the other side. I had explained everything, what had happened over the past few days, and even what had happened before, when I disappeared and came back silent. She was quiet through the entire thing, and when I had finished, she just shook her head a little in disbelief.
"It's a lot, I know," I said, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. Katya, snapping out of her dumbfounded daze, laughed.
"That's why you were so depressed after you left!" She practically yelled, and I shushed her.
"What?" Ed asked, and I shook my head, blushing.
"Nothing," I said, shrugging a little. I looked over at Katya, who gave me a knowing glance.
"So... What are you planning to do now?" She asked.
"I'm going to Amestris." I announced, "I've already been offered another position in the military, and since Mustang's in charge now, I'm sure he'll give me a pretty high-up job. I plan to stay in Amestris, too, so I've come to start arranging things."
"What about college?" Katya asked, furrowing her eyebrows. I shrugged.
"I'll take some books back with me and study," I said, "But I'm not particularly compelled to waste another four years of my life in this world just to learn things I won't be able to use in Amestris." She stared at me, surprised.
"I'm coming with you, then," She said, "I want a fresh start, too."
"I'll take you with me only if you're completely sure you can abandon your entire life here to go to Amestris," I said, sighing. "But if you do, I can put in a good word for you in the military." Katya nodded.
"I'll think about it a little more, then," She said, and I nodded in approval.
"Alright," I crossed my legs. "But the reason I called you here is to ask for some help."
"Help with what?"
"How do I tell my parents about this?" I pursed my lips, and her eyes widened a bit.
"Oh crap," She said, bonking herself on the head. "How could I forget about that? Ah, that's gonna be a disaster no matter how you word it."
"Thanks for the encouragement," Sarcasm ran thick in my voice.
"But... That's gonna be hard."
"I was thinking of just being blunt with it... Because I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions and they have no right to stop me."
"That's not the attitude you should take when you tell them." Katya advised.
"You think?" I tapped my fingers on my knee, trying to brainstorm.
"Try a more persuasive approach," She said. We continued to brainstorm, with me just trying to find ways to avoid it and Katya and Ed coming up with actual ideas.
I smoothed out my hair nervously, sending Ed a look. He returned it, struggling to keep his composure. I took a breath, and nodded to him reassuringly.
"It's okay, we're gonna be alright," I said, and raised my hand to the wooden door.
And I knocked.
Three knocks echoed through the house, and it was silent for a moment. We waited tensely, straining our ears for any sound, and finally, we heard something. Footsteps, getting louder and closer to the door until the door handle twisted and the door opened.
A young man, about fifteen years old, answered the door. His light brown hair was messy, framing his pale, freckled face. Alert gray eyes rested under furrowed eyebrows, and a surprised expression.
"Lynette?" He said, and I smiled.
"Hey, Josh," I said, and he blinked. Blinked again.
"Wait, did you just-"
"Yes, I can talk now."
"... MOM!" He yelled, turning on his heel and entering the house. "MOM! MOM!"
Footsteps sounded down the stairs, and my mom appeared, looking casually and a little confused at my frantic brother.
"What, Josh? Calm down," Mom said, and then turned to see me. She pursed her lips disapprovingly at me. "Where have you been?"
"I'm home, Mom." I rolled my eyes, giving my mom a sarcastic look.
"Wait, you, you spoke?" She said, her eyes widening. I nodded, a little exaggeratedly.
"Yes, yes I did speak." I replied, and grinned. "I got my voice back."
"Oh my god," My mom said, and hugged me tightly. "It's a miracle!" I wriggled uncomfortably in her grip, and finally she let me free.
"I know, Mom, I know." I said, and then backed up a little back to Ed's side. I put an arm around him and looked at my mom. "Mom, this is someone I'd like to introduce you to."
"A new boyfriend?" Josh asked, and I shot him a dark look.
"No, not a new boyfriend," I said, before looking at Ed affectionately. "My first real boyfriend, Edward Elric." I kissed him on the cheek, and looked at my mom, seeing her puzzlement and continuing, "And from this, I have something important to tell you."
"Important?" Josh asked, and I nodded.
"Yes," I glanced at the kitchen, "But we better sit down, cause this story will take a while."
And so we moved into the kitchen and sat at the dining table, with Ed sitting next to me and my brother and my mom sitting across from us as I explained. What had happened to me all those years ago, where I had disappeared to and what I had done when I was gone. All the while, my mom and brother sat there, staring at me like I had eaten a rainbow pillow.
"And… You're thinking about going back?" My mom said quietly, and I nodded.
"Yes."
"And you're just going to leave us?" Her comment made me look down at my lap, not wanting to meet her gaze.
"Well, I already have a stable and well-paying job and status," I mumbled, "I'm friends with the Fuhrer of the country and I already have extensive connections among the local society and national society and an established image in the country Amestris. I have much more going for me over there than I do and will if I stay here… So yes, I want to stay there."
"I… I see." She said, and then was silent for a moment as she seemed to contemplate my choice. "Will this make you happy?"
"What?" I said, my eyebrows furrowing. I wasn't prepared to hear that, no not at all. I was waiting for a strict rejection or a retort or some kind of attempt to convince me otherwise. But the way my mom looked at me, like she finally saw me again for the first time in years, made her seem to actually think through something that I obviously cared about.
"Will this make you happy?" She repeated, and I slowly nodded, looking at her like she consciously ingested uranium.
"Yes," I said, none the less, "Yes, yes!"
She nodded. "Then, let me and Josh come back with you."
I sat back in my chair, and looked at her in astoundment. "What? No!"
"Why?"
"Because!"
"Because why?"
"Because… I may or may not be regarded as somewhat of a destructive vigilante in the society that I've claimed to so distinctly have influenced."
"What."
"I didn't destroy that much!"
"Is that the only reason, then?"
"Yeah," I sighed, sitting back in my chair, my eyes trained on my mom, occasionally sending a glance over to my brother. "Are you sure? Like, really sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," She said simply, "And I'm sure Josh can live without technology for a while too."
"You do know that this is permanent relocation," I said, exaggerating my point. "You'll never see anyone from here ever again."
"I know." Mom said, "I'll work out the details, but in the meantime, you'll have to stay here." I sent a look over to a nervous-looking Ed, and nudged him to relieve the tension.
"It's okay," I whispered to him, cheerfully, "I can stay." He looked at me, and there was a glitter in his eyes that said everything his words didn't.
We sat on the porch, drinking iced tea together, just Ed and I.
He was looking at me, I could tell, and I knew why. I stared down into my glass, watching the ice cubes float around in the sweet liquid.
"I know what you want to ask." I said, sitting up a little bit. I smiled at him, "Let's go meet my dad." He looked slightly confused, but I was silent as I stood up, set my glass down on the porch, and started toward the driveway. He followed, and we both got in my car.
I started up the engine, and Ed cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Does your dad live somewhere else?" He asked, and with my eyes focused at the pavement in front of me, I smiled sadly.
"Something like that," I said, and pulled out of the driveway.
We arrived at the place, and Ed's eyes widened.
I got out of the car and brushed myself off, taking a breath. Ed got out after me, his eyes saddening.
And then I walked the path I had walked many times in the past four years, and Ed slowly walked behind me.
Before our eyes stretched out a cemetery, with stones of all shapes and sizes and words and pictures carved into them.
And I finally turned, strode past a few stones, and stopped. Ed stood next to me, and as I stared at that stone, he took my hand.
In front of us was a beautiful black stone, with a stone angel resting on top of it. And on it read a name, a name that shared a last name with me and a name that made my heart sting with longing and sadness. A name I hadn't heard for a long time.
"Hi, Dad." I said, feeling the same dull ache in my heart that I had felt many times before. "How've you been?" Ed slipped his hand in mine, and I squeezed it. I looked at him, and his strong golden eyes gave my heart warmth, and I let out a breath.
"I'm okay, Dad." My voice cracked a little as I continued to speak, "I'm okay, and my life has changed so much in the last day or two and I just feel like you're watching over me." I sent a glance to Ed as I said, "And Dad, this is Edward Elric, the man that I'm in love with." I kissed Ed on the cheek, and gave him a slight smile. "Go on, say something."
"Well," Ed said, hesitantly. "It's nice to meet you. To raise her, you should be one of the best men I've ever met. I guess I want you to know that your daughter is coming back with me… And I love her a lot. A-And," Ed's voice got quieter, "One day, I hope to marry her."
I stared at him for a moment, shocked. Then, a giant smile spread across my face, and I turned and hugged Ed tightly, probably crushing him in the process. I pulled away a little to look at his face, and his cheeks were red and he smiled a little, with that adorable smile of his.
I kissed him, my heart racing fast as I gave him a short, loving kiss, before pulling away and just looking into his eyes adoringly.
"I love you," I said, and reluctantly let him go.
"I love you too," He responded breathlessly, and I grinned.
"That's exactly why I'm here," I said, "So I can come back with you without any ties or regret."
Hi guys! I know, I know I took a long time to update. The hiatus was pretty necessary though, and my school took up a lot of my time - my new school has a school day eight hours long and like three hours of homework - and I was pretty busy.
Also, late last year in November, my dad passed away very suddenly and very horribly and it's taken me a while to come to terms with my emotions enough to write. It's still a work in progress for me - I'm starting a prescription for anxiety this week - but I've finished this chapter and will soon go to write many more chapters to come!
I'd like to thank all you guys who stuck with me this long and I'd like to promise you many more chapters to come, and even though it might take me a while I just want you guys to know that I'm always gonna be here and I won't abandon my best piece of work (fanfiction) like some other authors do and leave you hanging!
So yep, this chapter was meh for me because writing about her family isn't really fun. But, you know, it's necessary and now I'm done so yep!
My lovely readers, please review~!
Thanks!