Special Thanks To:
Reglee and transistor. robot (take the space away) for beta-ing this chapter for me, nitpicking at problems that I did not realize were there. They're amazing, do check out their work sometime.
And bulelo for the lovely long review, and constructive criticism on my first chapter. I had gone back to fix a few of those issues.
Author's Note:
I've had a PM from someone who was upset that I had gender-swapped Ed, despite all the warnings I've put at the summary, and on the first chapter. So I would like to address this right away to anyone else who might get offended by this. Thank you for reading the story and I'm sorry it upsets you, but gender-swapping in fanfiction writing is not new thing. So if you are really against that, then this story is not for you.
This is an Ed chapter, so yes there will be some cussing. There are a couple of OCs, their roles are minor to this story. Consider yourself warned.
The State and Heart
Chapter 2: Not My Day
by TeaGal
"What are you doing!? Pick up the pace!" Winry cried.
Edelweiss Elric quirked her eyebrows at her childhood friend. "I didn't think you would be so passionate about anything other than automail."
Winry rolled her blue eyes. "Automail is my one true love, but this is about Resembool's pride."
They were watching the sheep shearing contest at Resembool's Sheep Festival. The spectators in the benches around them shouted their support to their favorite contestant. The representative from their hometown was failing miserably. He was the most careful one among the junior division contestants, making sure that the sheep was comfortable and that he sheared the wool off in a single stroke. But the others were able to shear two or three sheep in the time it took him to shear one.
Edelweiss shook her head as Winry continued to holler. "The score will even up."
"Are you blind, Ed? Look at how slow he's going. It's agonizing to watch."
Edelweiss had been keeping tally in her head since the timer started. "The others are fast but they tend to run over the same spot a couple of times. When that happens, the wool that was sheared off is not the same length, rendering it useless. Points are taken off for that." She tucked her bangs behind her ear, "I would say that he is hovering around third and fourth place."
Winry seemed to calm down a little. "You've calculated that quickly—wait, how do you know so much about this?"
"I did grow up in Resembool too, you know," Edelweiss scoffed. "And it's something to do besides watching sweaty men wrestling with sheep."
"Are you kidding?" Winry said. "Watching sweaty men wrestling with sheep is the best part."
Edelweiss met Winry's mirthful gaze with her own and they burst out giggling. Both of them, women at the top of their respective fields, who would ever thought that they would be here ogling at sweaty country boys.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the junior round, and runners started to round up the sheep and tally the scores. Edelweiss knew the results before they announced it. If her calculations were correct, the contestant from Resembool would be in fourth place. A shame, she shook her head. Sure enough, he placed fourth. Cheers were heard throughout the crowd as they showed their support to the competitors—Winry groaned beside her. She'd always had a competitive streak.
"I'm going to stretch my legs while they set up for the intermediate round. Do you need anything, Ed?"
"Lemonade sounds good about now," Edelweiss pulled out her research journal and scribbled.
A cool breeze caressed her face, carrying the fresh scent of spring in the air. She took a moment to enjoy the stunning view Resembool had to offer. The competition used only a small portion of the vast green fields. Beyond the fields were rolling hills where daisies and dandelions sprouted from the lush green grass. Lambs were bleating and bluebirds were singing. She was home.
She turned her attention back to the journal and frowned. No matter how she looked at it, she was at a dead-end yet again. She wished Alphonse was here, perhaps he had made some advancement in their research. She chewed on the end of her pen and ran a free hand through her golden tresses. There has to be something I'm missing. There has to be a way for me to retrieve my Gate. I refuse to give up now. If only—
The sound of a tenor voice coming from above her shoulders jolted her. "I see you like traveling."
Edelweiss' head snapped up towards the voice, a handsome man was grinning at her. He stood out among the crowd like a sore-thumb. From the way he was dressed, she could tell that he was a visitor. He wore a short suit jacket, common for a man from the city but not practical wear in a rural village like this.
"What?" she said, her tone arrogant.
"I finally got your attention… your journal," he gestured.
She was puzzled for a moment before she remembered that her journal was coded. It was so familiar to her that she did not even have to think about how to jot down her research. It was clear to her, but to everyone else—save her brother—it looked like a travel log. Still, she did not like it when others looked at it.
"Do you make it a habit to read a lady's journal?" Edelweiss said.
He chuckled and took a seat next to her. "Not usually, but I wanted to get your attention. Looks like it worked."
Not the usual pick-up line, she raised an eyebrow. "For now, Mr…"
He grinned. "It's Shorter—"
She stifled a snicker. Shorter? Really?
"—Fred Shorter. I don't need to ask who you are."
She smirked, she had always liked it when people recognized her. The fame and symbolism that came with her old title—Fullmetal Alchemist—was an accomplishment that she was proud of. She did not mind hearing it from others even if it was just to stroke her hubris.
"You're Winry Rockbell, I've heard a lot about you."
Winry? Ouch. I think that bruised my ego a little. "I think you've mistaken me for—"
"You have the most incredible eyes. Is that even natural?"
Yes it is natural, it's called genetics, jerk. "Shorter, I'm—"
"And a woman automail engineer to boot. Amazing. And please, call me Fred—"
A "woman" engineer, what does that even mean? "Are you insinuating—"
"Winry, can I call you Winry?"
Her eyes narrowed and he flinched. The combination of a bruised ego and being interrupted for the umpteenth time was more than enough to spark her temper.
"Miss Rockbell then." His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped. "I heard you're good friends with the Fullmetal Alchemist."
I guess I'll play along. "You've heard right."
"I'm an alchemist and would like to discuss some theories."
"What's your focus?"
"Doll, you would not—"
Edelweiss slapped him hard across his cheek. "Call me doll again and I will hit you so hard your skinny ass will land in Drachma."
She stood up and walked away, donning her red coat in one swift motion. She smirked in satisfaction when she heard him cursed behind her. Ignoring him, she picked up her pace. Perfect timing, Winry was walking towards her with a lemonade in hand.
"You've gotten quite an admirer there." Edelweiss grumbled and grabbed Winry by the arm, pulling her away.
"Huh!? What's going on?"
"Trust me. It's better if we leave, now!"
When the evening came and most of the main events came to a close, everyone was settling down in a large barn house. Chefs were sharing their lamb recipes as they were being served buffet style with other refreshments. People were catching up, making new friends, and sharing tips and tricks of their trades. The barn was opened to allow the overflow of people to mingle outside where a live band played country music, with a bonfire keeping the nearby area illuminated.
Winry Rockbell heaved a sigh of relief when Edelweiss had finally calmed down. She spent a good part of the day listening to Ed rant about some guy named Shorter. While it was entertaining to watch Edelweiss riled up—as she had a very colorful vocabulary—she had not planned on spending their yearly reunion talking about some random guy.
She looked at the children—and a few parents—that gathered around Edelweiss at a corner of the barn. Silently and attentively, they listened to her retelling tales of her and her brother's adventures during her State Alchemist years. Ed can be charismatic when she wanted to be, she made sure to use different, funny voices to represent various people and act it out with exaggerated movements, and the children loved it—as evident by their constant laughter.
It became an annual occurrence after they've shown up at the Sheep Festival about five years ago and a child had tugged on the sleeve of Ed's red coat and asked if she was the Fullmetal Alchemist. The rest was history. Just for this particular occasion, she would wear her signature red coat with the serpent's cross emblazoned on the back. In recent years, Ed had stopped wearing it when she realized it attracted too much attention during her travels.
"I see Ed's no longer fuming."
Winry responded without looking at her grandmother, Pinako. "Yup. The guy must have seriously offended her. She gets mad very quickly, but doesn't usually stay mad for this long."
Pinako took a puff out of her pipe. "Telling stories to the children must have cheered her up. She had always been good with kids. Alphonse is a testament to that."
Winry giggled. "How Alphonse turned out to be such a gentleman after being raised by her is a mystery to me."
"Speaking of Alphonse," Pinako said. "Has Ed said anything about his absence?"
Winry hummed. "Yes, he'll be traveling back by train when the Amestris-Xing railway is completed. It makes sense, traveling through the desert otherwise is so harsh."
Pinako nodded. "By the way, did you notice that there seem to be quite a few of the military type around the festival today?"
"Ed pointed it out to me earlier." She sighed and furrowed her brow. "I know we get a lot of visitors during the festival, but I can't help but worry that something is going on. It's a bit nerve-racking."
Winry was a little anxious. She had a feeling that the presence of the military had something to do with Edelweiss. It was never good news when you put Ed and the military together.
She mingled a little with the other villagers, and that's when Mary showed up. The village's gossiper and self-proclaimed matchmaker. If you wanted to know anything about the ongoings of the village—and then some—she was the lady to talk to. Winry had no such luck trying to get any information about why the men in uniform were here; according to Mary, they were pretty tight-lipped.
"So… did that good-looking fella came by to talk to ya?" Mary said.
Winry furrowed her brow. "Who?" Can't be someone from Resembool, everyone knows everyone here…
"The fella was watching the competition. He asked me who the blond was by the benches hollering at the junior division He seemed really intrigued by ya, and asked a whole bunch of questions. Oh hey, there he is right now with Edelweiss…"
It was not until Winry spun around and saw that Edelweiss was glaring daggers at a man that she put two and two together.
Oh no. This is going to get messy.
Edelweiss gritted her teeth at Shorter. Alright Ed, breathe, not in front of the kids. I'm at the tail-end of the story here, I should bolt after this.
Edelweiss cursed in her head when the children begged her to tell them yet another story, closing the window for her escape.
"Just one more, Miss Elric," a child whine.
"Yes please. Don't let me interrupt you Miss Elric, I would love to hear about your adventures," Shorter said.
"I just need a little break, and I'll be back later." Once I dispose of him.
The collective sounds of protest from the children made her hesitate. Boy, was she relieved when Winry maneuvered around the children and grabbed her wrist.
"Sorry children, I'm going to need to borrow Ed for a second. The circle dance is about to start and we need more women."
Edelweiss allowed herself to be dragged away. "Thanks Winry, you've just saved me."
"Oh I did not do this for free. You owe me a shopping trip," she winked.
"Deal."
They made their way out of the barn to join the dance circle by the bonfire outside.
The circle dance was a very simple dance, suitable for the children and elderly to participate in as it was neither too fast nor vigorous. She held her hand up to her partner on the right and the man did the same. When the music started, they would first stomp, then kick, then shuffle and repeat. Edelweiss made sure to not step on her partner's toes or kick his shins, especially since her left leg was outfitted with Winry's automail. After a couple of repetitions, they would spin and then the men would shuffle clockwise while the women would shuffle counter-clockwise along the circle, switching partners. It was a good way to make conversation and perhaps even catch the eye of a potential suitor.
Some of her partners were the villagers of Resembool who were only glad to see her back from her travels. She exchanged a few words and some good-natured teasing with them. The other partners were strangers that had come to the village for the festival, and their reactions were mixed. Some were too busy looking at their feet to notice her; some were star-struck when they realized who she was, and some tried to hit on her—to which she coyly deflected. And then finally—
"You!"
Shorter grinned smugly. "I'm glad I've left an impression."
This arrogant bastard. She scowled, "I believe I left one on you as well." The imprint of her hand was fierce red on his cheek.
He grimaced. "I think we got off on the wrong foot."
"You think?" She cocked an eyebrow.
"I made a mistake, really I should have known—you were always described as the do—" he paused when her eyes narrowed, "—woman with her blonde hair in braids, golden eyes, wearing a red coat with a serpent's cross on the back, I did not realize it because you have your hair down and you weren't wearing your coat at the time—"
She rolled her eyes. A woman can have a variety of styles you know. Thank goodness we're done with this set.
She was about to shuffle away in the dance circle, but he tightened his grip and stopped her. "—move along, buddy," he told the other dancers, earning annoyed and confused looks from them. They shrugged and skipped them as to not disrupt the circle. Strike one.
"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. She continued to dance not wanting to draw more attention to them, and shook her head towards the few concerned looking villagers who had noticed. She could handle this on her own.
"I just want to talk to you. I'm looking for some assistance in my alchemy research," he said. He didn't seemed like he cared about the commotion seemed he was causing.
"You have a strange way of asking for help."
"Rumor has it that you had attached your brother's soul to an armor."
"It's as you say, just rumors." Her mind was whirling. Whatever it is that he wanted, it can't be good.
"Even if it is just a rumor, you probably have a great understanding in bio-alchemy."
"Just spit it out, Shorter. What do you want?"
"I'm in the field of chimeric research—"
"Forget it."
He held her hand tight again to prevent her yet again from moving around the circle. The villagers who were keeping an eye out were getting antsy, but she held a free hand out to stop them from intervening. They stopped in their tracks and nodded to her. Only Shorter seemed oblivious to her agitation. That's strike two.
He blinked and frowned. "You haven't heard what I—"
"I don't have to. That field is experimental at best." And extremely unethical. Nina…
"But imagine this. Chimeras with wings—our society could have a new mode of transportation. I'm talking about flight," his eyes gleamed in excitement.
"Tell me, what happens to the souls when you transmute two living beings together?" she shot him a fiery glare.
His brow furrowed. "I-I'm not certain."
"They fight for dominance over the body, and the soul that lost will have no body to attach itself to and die, the one remaining—if it survived—will have to live in a body that they do not recognize. It's better if you turn your research elsewhere."
She couldn't continue with this conversation, just thinking about chimeric theories made her stomach turn. And all she could think of at this point was Nina. The little girl that she had played with, the very same girl who was transmuted with her dog all in the name of chimeric research. The little girl that she had failed to save.
She pulled on her hand, but yet again, he tightened his grip. Strike three. That's it asshole! Now how does this dance go again?
Stomp. She stomped on his foot with her left metal leg—he yelped. Kick. She kicked him on his shin with her right foot—he winced, and loosen his grip, she promptly freed herself.
"I'm so sorry, how clumsy of me." She had both hands to her mouth and furrowed her brow to look concern, but she was smiling inwardly.
"You bitch!" He straightened himself, the music had stopped and everyone stared, but he was blinded with rage and embarrassment, his fingers curled into a fist and sent a punch toward her direction. With her quick reflex, she easily redirected it's trajectory by pushing the back of his arm. He was about to punch her again when she saw a flash of blue and black from the corner of her eyes. A man in uniform stood in front of her, intercepting Shorter's fist in his hand.
"Is there a problem?" the soldier said, his voice laden with authority.
That voice, could it be— Edelweiss scanned the back of the man standing in front of her. He was tall, with dark hair. While she couldn't see his face, she knew who it was. She grinned. Well, well. If it isn't Roy Mustang.
"N-no problem sir, we were just dancing," Shorter said.
"Does this dance involve using fists?" Mustang said.
"I-I—"
There was a pause before Mustang spoke again, icily. "Beat it."
Shorter limped as he scurried away. Cheers were heard from the crowd that was watching. And now that the commotion was over, the music started up again and the folks returned to their dancing.
"I could have handled that you know, Mustang," Edelweiss greeted him.
He spun around and met her gaze. He still looked the same. He kept his hair slightly unkempt, giving him a roguish look. But, his good looks were only secondary to the aura of sophistication and latent power that he carried himself with. One that she had admired over the years she had worked with the man.
"I take my eyes off of you and you're already getting into trouble," Mustang teased.
"It's not my fault that Shorter would not leave me alone." She shrugged.
"Shorter?" He smirked, his eyes flicked from the top of her head then back to her eyes. "If he's Shorter than what does that make you? A bean?"
I take that back. I don't admire him. I've just exchanged one bastard for another! She was not going to let Mustang have the satisfaction of her exploding into a string of profanities. Instead, she kept a perfect posture. She wanted to exude a calm demeanor. However, her shaking fists and piercing glare betrayed her intentions.
Mustang smirked and chuckled at her, and she knew she lost this round. Though she was pleasantly surprised when she managed to catch some of his mumbling. Something about her being grown-up.
He leaned closed to her, so that his face was right next to hers. Her eyes widened when she felt his breath tingling on her ear as he whispered.
"Play along, Fullmetal."
He reached for her fist, smoothed it out, and held her hand. What was the man scheming about now?
She wanted to pull her hand away, but the way he looked at her with his unsearchable black eyes sent chills down her spine. If Mustang was here, something big had to be going on. Military men had been hanging around the festival since its start, which was why she had hung around despite Shorter. Her eyes darted around for any suspicious activity, not detecting anything out of the ordinary, except… Mustang was holding her right hand and had his other just below her shoulder blade.
When did—?
It was only when Mustang started to lead her in the country two-step that it dawned on her. She was dancing with the bastard.
"Mustang, what's going on? Why are we putting on a show?" she said in a hurried voice. Her eyes darted around, not meeting his gaze.
"There's music, dancing—This is a good time to catch up."
"Then the military?" She frowned and looked up to meet his probing gaze.
"The Captain doesn't let me travel without a few bodyguards."
"A phone call would have sufficed," she sighed. She assumed the Captain was Riza Hawkeye, She must have been promoted since they had last met. Riza was the man's shadow after all. "They've been here all day, you could have approached me sooner."
"And miss the sheepdog trials? I'm sorry Fullmetal, but the dogs were more charming."
She was irritated. The day had been maddening so far and it looked like it was going to be even more so. She wanted to know why they were dancing, to know what the manipulative man wanted. Perhaps he sensed that she was getting close to losing it, perhaps he could read her like an opened book, or perhaps he knew her well enough from when she was his subordinate. He knew just when to stop messing with her before she gets to the tipping point.
"Do you remember our 520 Cenz promise?"
Yes she had remembered that promise. The promise to return the money she had borrowed when he finally becomes the Führer. And then to borrow the same amount again and only returning it when he had turned this country into a democracy.
"Are you here to collect?" she said, not sure where his question was leading. "The country isn't a democracy yet. Heck, you're not Führer yet. Unless you're here to announce the good news—"
"Not quite, " he turned serious. " I need to ask a favor from you, a huge one."
"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brow. Mustang is asking favors from me? This cannot be good.
"I need to use your reputation, your prestige as a stepping stone."
"Oh, is that it? You know you have it." She breathed a sigh of relief. "You'd got me worried for a second." That she could do. A few public appearances to appeal to the masses. No sweat.
"I need you to marry me."
She laughed. "You're joking."
His black eyes were unreadable. There was no glint of mischief and no hint of his usual smugness.
"You're not joking," she said slowly. He shook his head.
What the fuck.
The moon and the stars shone brightly in the night sky, illuminating her home. Well, what was left of her childhood home. There was hardly anything left except for foundation and rubble.
She remembered the day she stood here watching it burn down. A sign of her resolve, she had convinced herself then. An illusion that her no-good-bastard-of-a-father had broken when he told her that she had burned it down to run away from what she had done.
Mistakes. She had made plenty. The remnants of her old home reminded her of her wrongdoings, her resolve to retrieve her brother's body from the Gate, and all her strive to make it happen. In light of her present company, it had also reminded her of the man who had given her the opportunity to make things right. If he had not shown up at the Rockbells' and given her the chance to redeem herself—a chance to save her brother—she may have had given up on life so many years ago. Perhaps he had counted on her remembering that.
Mustang had insisted on this location as it was a good vantage point; with his Captain keeping a lookout, they would be able to discuss the matter at hand without being heard. But she was not so sure that was the only reason for his choice. Mustang was a calculating man, after all.
They sat down on what used to be the wall of her living room, and Mustang explained the situation he was in. She would have laughed, teased and probably even mocked him, if the situation did not involve her. If the situation wasn't so dire for their country. Under the rule of Führer Bradley, the country was almost lost. Sure he was a homunculi and did not care for humans, but it was only a matter of time before a corrupted, twisted man would come into power and ruin the peace they had worked for. Whether it be in the next year, the next fifty years, or even the next hundred. Mustang's ascension was their chance to shift the power to the people.
She knew now why he had wanted her to play along, to dance with him. He was already expecting her to say yes, even if he did not explicitly say so. Their dance together was to get tongues wagging about the two high-profile individuals being together. She owed Mustang a lot, but damn him and his manipulating ways.
"We would be lying to the entire nation if we did this," Edelweiss said, kicking the bit of rubble by her feet.
"It's nothing neither of us haven't done before," Mustang said.
She clicked her tongue. "Yes, but the scale of this and the role you want me to play—isn't there any other lady who could do this?"
He shook his head. "Fullmetal, I know I'm asking for a lot. It's disturbing enough having to be in your debt… I'll cave." He locked his gaze with hers. "Anything you want that is within reason and within my power to do so, it's yours. And when I'm Führer, you can even give your input into policy-making—"
"Chimeras."
"Excuse me?"
She closed her eyes as memories of Nina flooded her once more that day. "When you're Führer, you will draft an order to ban the practice of chimeric-alchemy."
"That can be done."
"And I want full access to the military libraries. That means access to top secret research as well."
He furrowed his brow. "I'll draw up permissions so you could access the libraries as of tomorrow. The top secret materials might be an issue. Why would you need access to that?"
She sighed, knowing that as a fellow alchemist he would understand, even if he does not know all the reasons for it. "I want to retrieve my Gate."
He nodded. "I see… must be rough not being able to perform alchemy. But I'm curious. You had willingly sacrificed it, what changed your mind?"
"It's just ironic that I'm famous for something I'm no longer able to do." She said nonchalantly and crossed her arms. "So can you get me access or not?"
His black eyes studied her, his gaze meeting hers as though he could see the wheels turning in her head. His shoulders slumped and he let out a sharp breath. "I will see what I can do." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"
She stared at his hand for a moment and then shook it. "You've got yourself a deal."
He rose and helped her up and then smiled complacently. "Let me walk you back to the Rockbells', darling."
She flinched. This is not my day. The bastard… Just how the hell am I going to be able to keep up with this charade?
The day had gone better than expected. Roy had not expected Edelweiss to agree to any sort of terms so quickly, but he will ponder about that later. After he had walked his new girlfriend home, he spun on his heels and strode with his Captain to the rendezvous point to meet with his informant. When they approached the train station, it had already been closed for hours. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Riza stopped at the entrance to keep watch. Roy proceeded towards the silhouette by the benches and sat down.
"I hope it hurts." Roy said, glancing at the man. He was a sight alright, a bruise on his cheek and he was holding an ice pack to his foot.
"You didn't tell me that doll was violent. I think my toe is broken"
Roy scoffed. "I told you to jog up old memories with some chimera talk, not harass her, Mr. Shorter."
"Being an actor was not part of my job description," he scowled. "And the plan for tomorrow?"
"Unnecessary now." Roy tossed an envelope towards Shorter. "Your payment and the negatives from the dance. I want you to run that on the headlines."
Shorter nodded. "Good doing business with you, General Mustang." He stood up and started to limp away.
"Oh and Mr. Shorter," Roy called out, stopping Shorter in his tracks. He rose and put a hand on Shorter's shoulders. His tone dropped an octave when he spoke. "Harass one of my men again and you will answer to me."
Satisfied that he had frightened the man, Roy marched past him with a smile on his face. He had just managed to get Fullmetal to agree to this farce, now he would have to fool the nation into thinking that their relationship was real.
(Words: 4935, Total: 9339)
Author's Note:
Thank you for taking the time to read what I've written. It's really encouraging to see that you like what was written so far. I was very happy with the first chapter when it was written (it took me one whole month… I thought I would never get that done), and I knew it would be difficult to set the tone for the future chapters. I felt I have established Roy's character the way I see him in these two chapters. I hope I did justice to Ed's character this chapter (and will use the next chapter to work on her character more), though Shorter have pretty much made her mad… urm this entire chapter.
I swear I don't know where Shorter came from, he came out as a surprise for me as I wrote. I have no plans for him returning again. I think I tortured him enough. Now to torture Roy and Ed... don't worry, I have a happy ending for them in like… 20+ chapters, meanwhile they will have to go through some trouble first.
Reviews are deeply appreciated so I just want to take this time to thank all of you who had done so.
TheTopazWolf, Littlest1, MonochromeJoker29, szecuansauce, bulelo: Thanks so much for your reviews. Reading each and every one of them had made my day, and motivated me to keep writing this chapter.
And to those who chose to favorite and/or follow the story. Thanks! It let's me know that you find the story interesting enough to stick around.