EDIT: 06/19/2018

Thanks Reglee and transistor. robot for betaing this chapter. You guys are amazing as usual.

Littlest1, femaleotaku001, TheTopazWolf, silverblade1999, 777angeloflove, Talisa-chan Thank you so much for your review!

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took a bit. Had to put in more time at work since I will be off for vacation. With that said, it will be another while before chapter 4 comes along, mainly because the site is banned where I'm going. Sorry for the inconvenience but hopefully this chapter would leave you guys on a high note.

Please review and let me know what you think, hearing from you keeps me motivated!

The State and Heart
Chapter 3: The Bastard and the Idiot
by TeaGal

It was late into the night when Edelweiss got back to the Rockbells'. Mustang had insisted that he walk her home, discussing minor details of their arrangement along the way. She entered the house without saying her goodbyes, not bothering if she had appeared rude; she had a lot to think about.

Drained from having to deal with Shorter and then Mustang right after, she closed her eyes and leaned against the door. The familiar smell of machine oil (of the automail atelier) lingered in the room.

Familiarity was what she needed right now. She had just plunged into a world of uncertainty, an arrangement that was bigger than either her or Mustang. Everything from this point was going to be different. A tiny part of her had already regretted her swift decision.

She respected Mustang for sure, for all he had done for her, and for what he continued to do for the country. Except they don't work very well together. Perhaps from a distance. From a very far distance. In fact, the less she saw him the better. That was how their working relationship ran in the past. Just how was she going to be able to get through this? The hair on the back of her neck was still standing from when Mustang had called her darling.

Being an actress was not something she was unfamiliar with. She had fooled guards into letting her into unauthorized areas before (or at least for them to be distracted long enough so she could slip in), but one of this scale... she was not sure if she could pull it off. He had mentioned public appearances where she would have to appear cordial, some dates so that their relationship would appear realistic, and other assortment of things and all the while she would have to appear to be enamored with him. Thankfully her brother was not here. He would freak if he found out about the true nature of this relationship. She would have to find a way to keep it secret, even if it meant lying to her loved ones.

Edelweiss decided to think about all the crap that had happened later. She hung her red coat, then crossed towards the kitchen. Coffee, she thought, and then back to the journal. She was not going to be able to sleep that night. Not after the events of today.

While many homes in Resembool were still lit with gas light and candles (being in the countryside), the Rockbells' home ran on electric power. It wasn't surprising seeing that they were a family of automail engineers after all. The lights in the kitchen was still on. Strange given the time of the night.

"Winry, what are you doing still up?"

"I could say the same about you," Winry said, looking up from the dining table, her blue eyes piercing and a wrench in her hand. "Where were you? You'd disappeared sometime during the dance." She waved her wrench menacingly.

"For Truth's sake! Put that wrench away, gear-head," she said, walking towards the sink to fill the kettle. "And relax, I was with Mustang."

"What does he want?" Winry loosened her grip on the wrench. "He's not sending you out on a mission is he? Can he even do that?"

If only it was just a mission. Ed placed the kettle on the stove and started it.

"No, nothing like that."

Winry gave her a scrutinizing gaze, silently asking her for an explanation.

Edelweiss felt the heat rose from her neck and only managed to choke out a mumble. It was harder to lie to her best friend than she had initially thought.

"What was that?" Winry asked.

Another mumble.

Winry shifted in her seat. "Hmm… Anyways… I'm going to bed, now that I know you're not lying in a ditch somewhere." She rose from her seat and then left the kitchen, yawning.

Edelweiss breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that Winry had given her an out this time. Though the topic would probably be revisited the next day.

With coffee in hand, she climbed the stairs and dragged her feet towards her room. She turned on the table lamp and set her mug on the desk. The light shone onto the mess she had already made despite having only returned from her travels only a couple of days ago. Her alchemical texts were scattered, and papers with alchemical arrays were strewn all over her desk.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and bent down to pick up stray notes that had found its way to the floor.

As she stood, she dropped her notes as she felt a reeling sensation She sat down on the floor to prevent herself from falling, as she started to see black and white spots and her breathing hitched. She didn't know how long it lasted, but in that moment she felt as though she was losing touch with the world. And when it was gone, it had left her panting and weak at her knees.

Fucking hell.

Favoring her automail leg, she pushed herself up into her chair and brought out her journal to record the dizzy spell. It was the worst one yet. She flipped back a few pages and found the record she needed. The last time she endured one of these episodes was three months ago.

Just fucking spectacular.

Her hands were trembling as she reached out for her coffee and took a sip; it soothed her if only just slightly.

It had started six years ago after their victory on Promised Day. She had dismissed it then, she had presumed that it was the effects to the injuries she had sustained at the time. It was very minor compared to nursing her atrophied right arm—which was even more minor to nursing her brother; who at the time was so emaciated that he could hardly stand.

As the years passed, the symptoms got worse, and the frequency increased. When Alphonse first noticed the signs, he had dragged her to the doctor but they would not be able to find anything wrong. They said that she was fine and just needed rest. It placated Al for a while, but he was convinced otherwise when she started feeling dizzy again at a later date. They traced it back from whence it started and they began to suspect that her missing Gate was the cause for her ailments.

She and Al had achieved the impossible and had brought the latter's body back from the Gate. She will just have to achieve the impossible yet again and retrieve her Gate. She will not give up. She will persevere with the same Elric stubbornness that had seen them through their journey. Mustang's proposition could not have come at a more opportune moment.

She was at a dead-end in her research and if it meant cutting a deal with Mustang to have access to more resources, so be it. What were the odds? She chuckled bitterly. They had come full circle, she and Mustang. The two of them using one another for their own gain. Just like old times.

The warmth of the sun touched her face, gently reminding her the start of a new day. Her head was on a hard surface and she'd come to realization that she had fallen asleep on her desk. Not feeling rested, she groaned. Five more minutes and she would get up and go about her morning routine.

Her head pounded over the stomps of someone running up the stairs. It was thunderous like a stampede. She groaned yet again. Maybe she should get up, but sleep was more tantalizing right now. Just five more minutes.

Luck was not on her side, however. The footsteps got louder and louder as it got closer and closer.

StompStompStompStompStomp—

Slam. The door swung open.

"Ed! Wake-up!" came Winry's loud voice.

"Just five more minutes," Edelweiss croaked, shutting her eyelids tighter.

Winry stomped towards her and shook her. She really should have known that that was not going to be an acceptable answer. Edelweiss swatted her hand away and groaned groggily. Winry shook her yet again, this time, roughly. Ed almost fell off her chair.

"Geez, woman, I'm up," Ed yawned and looked around the room, a little disoriented. She rubbed on the crick in her neck, a result from sleeping on her desk. "What's so important that it couldn't wait another five freaking minutes?"

"Ed…" Winry began, her blue eyes twinkling, "…you didn't tell me you've started seeing General Mustang."

As if a fuse was blown, the gears in her mind was unraveling. Oh she was awake now, flashes of yesterday's events played in her head. That was no dream, it happened. Edelweiss stared incredulously at the other blonde. She opened her mouth but nothing came out; her throat was dry.

The silence prompted Winry to continue. "That's just so like you! You never talk about your dating life."

Ed spluttered indignantly. Of course she had talked about it. There was that lawyer guy, that doctor bloke, and that… well, that other dude. She had totally talked about them, if only to complain. Okay maybe she just briefly mentioned them. Even if the men were not intimidated by her quick temper, her foul mouth and her intellect, her wandering tendencies had not allowed for lasting relationships. Hence, she had not found it important to talk a whole lot about them.

She was about to deny dating Mustang, but then remembered that she had a role to play.

She hung her head and looked at the floor to hide her expression lest she gives herself away.

"How did you find out?" she said slowly.

"Well… he's here right now asking Granny for her blessings to date you."

Ed snapped her head up to meet with Winry's grinning face.

"He what?" her voice squeaked.

Winry ignored her, took her wrist, and dragged her.

"Wait—Winry, what are you—"

"We got to make you look presentable before you go see him."

Ed groaned as she teetered behind Winry. "He's not going to care."

"A woman got to make an effort to keep a man interested," Winry said undeterred.

She rolled her eyes. He was not interested, and she certainly did not want him interested. Not that she could tell anyone that.

"You should take up your own advice on that—ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!"

Winry had let go of her wrist and started pulling her by the ear. She was only released when they got to Winry's room and was ordered to wash up in the adjoining bathroom. Ed rubbed on her ear and swore that Winry had the strength of a gorilla despite her slim frame—earning her a light swipe to the back of her head. She sighed defeatedly and did as told while Winry went through her wardrobe, trying to find something suitable.

Edelweiss looked at the mirror and clicked her tongue. Reflected in the mirror was a young woman with golden hair and eyes. But what's most prominent, was the dark circles under her eyes and an indentation on her cheek (from resting her head on a book). She was not going to give Mustang the satisfaction of seeing her lose sleep over this.

"Hey Winry, let me borrow your makeup kit."

Winry stumbled around in the other room and then poked her head by the door.

"Did I just hear that right?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Makeup kit, now, please and thank you." Edelweiss held out her hand expectantly.

Winry squealed and pulled Ed towards the vanity mirror in her room, and started to apply make-up to Ed's face. There was no stopping her. To Edelweiss' dismay, Winry shushed any protest Ed made. She was gushing over how Ed was finally putting an effort towards a man. Edelweiss felt as though her own eyes would pop out with the amount of eye-rolling she did.

When Winry was done, Ed was all made-up and dressed in a modest, blue pastel dress. Not anything she would have chosen for herself, but Winry was insistent that she wore a dress, and that anything Ed had owned was either too bold or too gaudy. Whatever that meant. Edelweiss was convinced that everyone else had bad taste.

Satisfied, Winry left the room to join the others. She wanted to see Ed enter the room and really, to watch Mustang's expression when she did.

Edelweiss shook her head. She proceeded to drag her feet down the stairs, following the distant chattering that echoed through the stairwell. As she got closer towards the living area, she could distinctively pick out Granny Pinako's scratchy voice, Winry's excited chatter, Mustang's deep voice, and one other female voice that she did not recognize.

She hesitantly stepped into the doorway, a scowl quickly found its way to her face. She found Winry, Granny Pinako, and Mustang sitting by the coffee table, and of course, the fourth voice. It was Mary. She should have known the voice belonged to the village's biggest busybody; the middle-aged lady was always poking her nose into someone else's business after all.

Edelweiss was not sure how Mary got wind of this so quickly but she suspected it had something to do with the papers Mary was clutching in her hands. No doubt by the end of the day, the whole village would know about it.

Fantastic, just fucking fantastic.

To top it off, Mustang seemed to have had captivated the women; they were hanging on to every word out of his silver tongue.

Evidently. Winry had expected that Ed would not be far behind her, and was first to notice Edelweiss' entrance. She squeaked excitedly—which made everyone else aware of Ed's presence—and quickly turned to look at Mustang, no doubt trying to catch his reaction over her handiwork.

Winry, Granny Pinako and Mary were silently looking between Edelweiss and Mustang. They were holding their breath, probably expecting to witness some sort of sappy romantic scene play out like they would in romantic novels. They were going to be disappointed.

Ed caught Mustang's gaze. "What are you doing here, bastard?"

"Ed!" Winry admonished.

Granny Pinako only grinned and shook her head as she puffed out of her pipe. Mary had a hand on her chest, looking offended. Mustang however, was not affected in the slightest. He gave her a winning smile.

"Hello Edelweiss," Mustang said.

"Mustang," she said curtly. "We need to talk…" she paused when the other women looked on expectantly, "… in private." She gestured towards the front door.

Mustang rose and smiled. "Please excuse us, ladies. She's still shy in light of our new relations."

The way the women looked at him as he sauntered towards her, confirmed her suspicion that they were charmed by his mannerism.

He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to the door, and opened it for her. She stepped out grumbling that she could open her own doors. He chuckled behind her and the door creaked as he closed it.

They walked away from the house. Up close, Roy could see the signs of a restless night which she had obviously attempted to hide with make-up. He empathized with her, to be thrown out of the blue into this arrangement. He had to come to terms with it himself, only he had a month to do so and she only had last night.

Truth be told, she was handling this situation far better than he had. She may have lost sleep, but he had thrown himself into a drunken stupor, that is, until the Captain had had enough of his moping. He would never admit it, but Fullmetal was coping better.

In an attempt to reach out to his former subordinate, he had found that both Elric siblings had turned to their wanderlust, making them difficult to get a hold of. So when he heard of her return through the grapevine, he had forged a plan to snare her before she left on another quest. It was not his preferred method of handling the situation. He would have preferred to be kinder to his protégé.

"You had no right to show up here and tell them that we're dating," Edelweiss said, "I wanted to break the news to them on my own terms."

"Think of it as a favor. How do you expect to be convincing enough when you could hardly fake a smile around me?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"I would have found a way," she huffed.

"You want to explain what happened in there?"

"I just called you as I see it, bastard."

"Even so, idiot, tone that down when we're around others. In case you have forgotten, Fullmetal, we're supposed to be infatuated with one another."

"It's Edelweiss. I'm not military anymore, Mustang."

"On that note, you should also be calling me by my first name."

"It feels weird rolling off my tongue," she scowled.

"Then practice it," he ordered. His tone was harsh and her scowl deepened. "And while you're at it, practice your smile too."

Her eyes narrowed defiantly, just like how she used to when he had given her orders. He felt a headache developing. Then he saw some movement from the corner of his eyes and reached out for her hand and held it, she stiffened.

"What is this?" she hissed.

"Another thing you'll have to get used to," he said nonchalantly, already feeling tired from her unruliness. "Don't look now but Ms. Rockbell and Mary are peeking by the window."

She cursed under her breath and allowed him to hold her hand. She was trying in her own way and he appreciated it.

"I know that this is not ideal for either of us, Edelweiss—"

"You think?"

"—but we will be seeing each other a lot more than we ever had. I hope that in the least, we can try to at least be civil with each other."

She looked up into his eyes, as though he had grown another head. Really now, how had Fullmetal saw him over the years?

He slipped a hand into his military jacket and produced the permissions he had spent drawing up the night before. Edelweiss eyed the document curiously.

"I intend to go through with my end of the deal. These are the permission you'll need to use the military libraries."

Her eyes widened slightly and with her free hand, took the document, unfolded it and read through quickly, a wide toothy grin formed on her lips. It was the first time he saw her smiled sincerely since he had gotten here, it was a pleasant change.

"And here I thought I was going to have to wait till my old age before you get any of your paperwork done."

"God, does nothing good ever come out of your mouth, Fullmetal?"

"It's Edelweiss, and um, thank you." The last bit was spoken hesitantly.

He smiled. Appreciation was something he did not expect from her. Looks like some things had changed in the six years since she had retired. "I can't officially write up permission for a civilian to access top secret research, even if it is for you. We can work something out, off the books, once you're in East City."

She cocked her head to the side, eyebrows knitted. "East City? Why would I want to go there? The best military library is in Central."

"Because you would need to uphold your part of the agreement. Public appearances and the sort."

She frowned and he continued. "East City has a decent library, and anything that you can't find there we can make requests for Central to send over. Besides, you would need me around for the other thing you wanted."

Edelweiss looked unconvinced and for a moment he thought she was going to argue, but she surprised him yet again by nodding. "I would've preferred to go to Central, but I'll make do. I'm sure there's plenty of materials to start with."

"It's agreed then. I will leave you to settle your affairs here. Drop by the headquarters when you're in East City."

"Things would be peaceful without you around," she teased.

"Don't get used to it," he retorted. He lifted the back of her hand to his lips and gave it a quick peck. "For the ladies by the window."

Edelweiss was rooted to the spot in shock. He chuckled and left her in the field.

Something was off. There was no doubt about it. Outside, away from the window, Edelweiss and General Mustang were talking. While she could not make out what they were saying, Ed's lack of interest in the presence of someone she was supposed to be seeing, was unsettling.

Winry had woken up early that morning and started to help Granny Pinako build an arm. They had some catching up to do after taking the day off to spend time at the village's festival. It wasn't long before Mary showed up on their doorstep with the day's newspaper, wanting to hear more about Edelweiss and her new flame.

She was confused at first until she was shown the headlines—The Flame and Fullmetal Alchemists Are Dating—with a picture of them dancing. She shrugged it off. It was probably just the media getting their grubby hands over any bit of gossip they could find.

She was proven wrong when General Mustang himself showed up not long after asking for Edelweiss and to talk to Alphonse. And upon learning that Alphonse wasn't here he had asked for Granny.

Knowing how grumpy Ed can get when woken from her slumber, she did not immediately went to wake her. But when the General asked for Granny's blessings to court Edelweiss, she was so thrilled that she abandoned all thoughts of letting Ed sleep.

Winry was all giddy when the General smiled at Ed, but then the illusion of a perfect match-up was shattered when Edelweiss opened that potty mouth of hers. The General seemed unperturbed by Ed's behavior and had been nothing but a gentlemen throughout the entire exchange. But there was no blush and no smile on Edelweiss' face, but a scowl and ice in her voice. Winry was taken aback by Ed's demeanor. Sure, she was her usual self, albeit grumpy from being woken up. But is that how Ed treated someone whom she supposedly liked enough to—

"Oh look, they're holding hands," Mary said.

"Mm, I see that," Winry said. She could only see Edelweiss' back, but her body appeared to be stiff. Odd. She turned towards her grandmother who was still sitting by the coffee table. "Granny, what did you tell the General? I missed it when I went to get Ed."

"I told him that if her parents were still here, they would have wanted it to be Ed's decision. Ed is old enough to choose who she wants to court." Granny said.

Winry sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of. I'm not sure if she knows what she's doing."

"I think it's romantic that the fella would ask ya permission to date her, ya know," Mary said.

"It is, even if it's a bit old-fashioned," Winry said.

"It was the norm," Granny said, "he's quite a bit older than she is."

Winry frowned, she had not really considered that. "Aren't you a little worried for Ed?"

Granny chuckled. "Out of all the things she had done, her dating is the least of my worries." she took a sip of her coffee. "Ed probably wouldn't think twice about the age gap, seeing that her parents had a much bigger one."

"Edelweiss knew the fella before this?" Mary asked.

"He was her commanding officer," Winry said.

"Oh my gosh, look! He'd just kissed her, oh isn't he just dreamy. If I was…"

Winry tuned out Mary's blabbering and looked out the window once more. General Mustang was lowering Ed's hand, smiling charmingly. He walked down the path and left. Ed was just standing there. Rigid. Watching the General walk away. Was it longing? Perhaps she was mistaken to be suspicious of Ed's feelings for the man. She averted her gaze from the window.

Mary was still chattering away and Granny Pinako just nodded politely, chuckling occasionally. Winry crossed towards the table and cleared the empty cups of coffee. She had automail to build, and she figured she'd ask Ed all about it later. And she looked like she needed a moment for herself.

It had to be about ten or fifteen minutes later when the door slammed open, silencing Mary. Edelweiss did not bother to shut the door, but proceeded to run up the stairs. StompstompStompstompStompstomp. Her quick uneven steps echoed throughout the house.

"Ed? What's going on?" Winry called out.

No answer.

Rustling and thudding noises came out of Edelweiss' room. "Ed?" she called out again and walked towards the stairs to see Edelweiss running down with her suitcase in hand. There were papers and fabric sticking out the sides of her luggage in her rush to pack her belongings. Her golden hair was already a mess. She had her brown traveling coat over the blue dress and had thrown on her black boots. What a fashion disaster.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"To East City," Ed made her way towards the door. "I gotta go, need to catch the train."

"But the train to East City doesn't run before noon," Winry said.

"The military express does!" Ed shouted from the distance she had already made.

Mary and Granny Pinako made their way towards the door.

"Ah! Young love," Mary sighed as Granny Pinako shook her head.

"The military express?" Winry said mostly to herself as she stared at the running figure. "Civilians aren't allowed to board that, are they?"

Roy and his men had boarded the train, and the conductor was on his last round, making sure everything was ready to go. Roy sat in his private compartment with Riza. The Captain was already putting him to work; official papers sitting in front of him as he signed them. The captain was going through his schedule in the seat opposite him.

"Do you think Edelweiss would show up in East City?" Riza asked.

The corner of his lips tugged into a smile. "She will be there." he chuckled. "Do you doubt my competency to seal a deal?"

Riza looked up. "It's not your competency that I doubt, Sir. Just that Edelweiss is as unpredictable as they come."

"I'll put in a bet that she'll be there next week."

The whistle went off and the train started to chug.

Riza stirred, distracted by something. "You might just have to pay up, Sir," she said, gesturing towards the window.

He raised his eyebrow. Outside the train, Edelweiss was running at full speed towards them. What in the blazes… He pushed the window open and stuck his head out. "Fullmetal, what are you—"

"Get to the back of the train, Mustang!"

She's not going to… is she? Roy got up quickly, opened the compartment door and strode rapidly to the end of the train. He opened the back door and there Edelweiss was, closing in the distance.

"Think fast!" Ed hollered, her suitcase launched towards him.

He caught it and quickly dropped it next to him. "Fullmetal, stop now!"

She didn't listen. The train was picking up speed, whistle blowing while it chugged along the rail. Her boots thudded heavily as she careened towards the edge of the platform. Her blue dress and her brown coat billowed behind her. Just as the train moved out of the station, she leapt off the platform. One hand caught the railing of the train, but her foot missed.

He grabbed onto her arm and with his other, he reached out to the back of her shoulder. He grunted and yanked hard till she found her footing. He held onto her as she climbed over the railing. She sank to the floor, panting.

Thud, thud, thud, thud. His heart hammered from the adrenaline; his hand still on her shoulder.

Her tiny shoulders were heaving and her windswept hair a total mess. She looked up and gave him a wide, silly grin. "I made it."

He snapped.

"THAT WAS RECKLESS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"I figured I shouldn't waste any time, now that I have permissions to use the libraries," she said simply as she rose and dusted her dress.

"Then take the next train! You can't just jump onto a military one."

"Oh, I'm sure you can take care of the technicalities, future husband-of-mine."

"Idiot!" he chided.

"Bastard!" she spat.

They glowered at one another, only to be interrupted by hurried footsteps. A few of his men approached to check on the commotion.

"Lower your weapons. She's with me," he ordered.

They looked at her curiously, but nodded and turned back.

She shrugged. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. Edelweiss was going to get herself killed one day, not to mention the amount of paperwork this incident would generate alone. How does one even generate paperwork in their retirement? It had not been twenty-four hours and he already needed to fill in a report explaining why they had not detained a possible threat. Jumping onto military trains. He let out a sharp breath and shook his head. What had he really gotten himself into?

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