Summary: The idea of eventually being a teacher of Alchemy at Central University, once Alex Armstrong's plan to make alchemy a subject taught there that is, has got itself established in Alphonse's mind. He decides to get some experience as a teacher as a part of Edward's decision to properly introduce Winry to alchemy, just like she has introduced him to automail mechanics over the last few months. They take the opportunity to tease him.
Notes: Fortunately the delay in uploading 'Green Phoenix and White Chrysanthemum' do not do as much damage to my schedule, so here you have another update to 'Facts of Love.' After the last episode we have a slightly slower one. Next time we should cover scenes from several months in a row to bring us to the end of 1916.
"Mr. Elric, I will not pretend that pedagogy is not an immensely complicated subject. Teaching is not for everyone even if they have a lot of knowledge they wish to impart," Stephen Cartwright, the Minister of Education, told Alphonse as he and Amue Armstrong held a private meeting. The boy nodded in understanding. "I get that, Mr. Cartwright, but since the meeting we had at Central University, I have realised there is some appeal to the idea for me. As someone considered an authority on the subject, what would you suggest I check out?"
The man leaned back in thought and massaged his chin with his right hand. "We are talking about a formal academy setting here. That would mean that it should not be as difficult as it could be for you to become a Professor of Alchemy, whenever that sort of post is established. You are, of course, free to read my books, but I deal with the whole scope of pedagogy, so you would spend a long time going over issues with teaching young children," he eventually replied.
"I believe practical experience may be preferable for you," Amue noted, and the boy turned to her. "As a first step, Miss Armstrong? I thought there is a reason why pedagogy is an entire academic branch?" "Of course, there is," Cartwright argued. "Pedagogy is a vast entity with many interconnected parts that nonetheless can operate autonomously. You are free to eventually pursue education at the Faculty of Education, but it would be disingenuous to say that all, who teach, have studied pedagogy before they became educators."
The woman gave a nod of agreement. "And even for those that study pedagogy, practical experience is a must, since the subject suffers from what has been described as an 'overreliance on theory,' which clouds people's judgement." "A good point I had omitted," the Minister of Education realised, "I had spent five years teaching before I wrote my first book on the subject for that exact reason. If you know someone interested in alchemy, I would suggest you try to act as their teacher. Alternatively, you could try to ask Mr. Thompson if you could try teaching a class."
"That sounds a bit too assertive for my palate," Al said with a hint of discomfort. "It may be the case, but I would reckon that you would learn more than any of the students if you took that challenge on," Amue told him. "I will see if I have an opportunity," Alphonse replied, but still looked unconvinced. "Since we are already here," Stephen interjected, "what do you think is the optimal timescale for teaching alchemy?" The boy looked at him with a neutral look and took a large exhale that made it sound like he blew a raspberry. "That probably depends on the student."
"It always does," Carthwright reminded him. "Usually a bachelor program lasts three years, and they are supposed to constitute the common basic before the higher academic ranks direct people down through specific branches to get their Master's degrees. Is that enough time to teach people the basis of alchemy?" "Baring in mind me and my brother are seen as prodigious and thus probably cannot fairly judge this," Al forewarned him, "I think it should be enough."
Edward had once been indifferent to greenhouses, but that had changed now that he was able to get relatively fresh flowers even in the earliest days of spring. Mr. Garfiel had arranged for Winry's apprenticeship to be on a special schedule since he did not like the idea of taking her away from her boyfriend for two months, when they had not even got their first anniversary just yet. Accordingly, he had given her the weekend off. She left Resembool on Monday morning and came back on Friday, either during the afternoon or evening, depending on how she caught the trains.
He was walking around the station as he waited for the second train she could be on. The first one did not have an explicit order to wait for a connection from Rush Valley if that train was delayed, and so two times out of three Winry came on this one. When he saw the smoke from the engine slowly coming into view, he quickly started fiddling with his shirt and coat, a gift from Pinako for his seventeenth birthday, to make sure he looked presentable. Indeed, now it was three out of four, since he could see his girlfriend in a line of people waiting to get off the train.
"Welcome back," he greeted her as he came up and they hugged each other. "Hey, Ed. How bad was it this time?" "Absolutely terrible. I wanted to go and purchase a train ticket so bad," he told her, and it was not even too much exaggeration. "I know," she groaned, "I count the hours and days too." After he gave her a brief kiss, they split apart and he handed her the small bouquet. "Just three pink roses," she asked with a teasing tone. "Yeah, and it was more expensive than that birthday bouquet from last year," he informed her.
"Well, the number is not really relevant as long as they are a gift from you," she replied and touched his left cheek as she gave him another kiss. "I also like the way you look like today. Good to see that you are getting use out of Granny's gift. Although while that makes you look like a proper adult, the fact you're freshly shaved is a bit of a tonal disconnect." "What do you mean," he asked as they interwove their fingers and he took her suitcase. "Your face still has a juvenile look without the facial hair, so it pulls your appearance in the other direction. Not a bad look, though."
"Can't compare with yours," he whispered, and she clicked her tongue. "Not even a minute back, and you are already pandering," she said in a joking tone. "I've got four and a half days' worth of material, Win. Better get ready," he mock threatened, and she snickered. "At least we are halfway through this apprenticeship," she pointed out. "Truly a great mercy," her boyfriend said in a surprising authentic tone. "A phone call of any length is always going to be too short."
"Although after that apprenticeship ends I will be place 'on call' in a way, Ed," she informed him, and he looked at her with a confused frown. "Mr Garfiel wants me to conduct an operation, with him acting as backup, in due course. So he has told me that after I return home, he will wait for a person to come to him for an operation, and then he will call me to travel to Rush Valley at short notice to get one of my final practicals. We will do that for at least four operations or until he is completely satisfied with my work," she explained.
"I bet you'll ace it first time," he said with firm intonation. "Thank you, Ed, but there is no chance for that," she told him. "Don't be so harsh on yourself. You don't let me do that to myself," he argued, but she would not have it. "You are harsh on yourself out of issues with your self-love and usually insult your personality or basic abilities. I am being realistic, because we are talking about a subject you know is complicated. If the little of automail I showed you is that hard, can you imagine what operating on someone is like," she said and he wagged her head.
"No, because I would never be brave enough to do that. You can seriously fuck up a person if you screw up and the fact that you are not only willing to do that work, but that you managed to be good at it, even as an apprentice to Granny, as a pre-teen is honestly one of the most impressive things about you," he smiled at her. "I, on the other hand, admire your ability to turn most of what we talk about into something you can use to praise me in one way or another," she said, and he gave her a toothy smile. "If only you were that good at self-praise," she added wistfully.
"Speaking of your teaching," he said with a strong accent on the last word, and she looked at him with a wondering hum. "You know how Al has started to look into getting a teaching job," he continued. "Still can't believe that is actually a thing," she ground out. "Yeah, me neither," he admitted. "Anyway. He has said something about getting experience teaching others, and therefore has asked me if I want to finally teach you about our hobbies as well." "Oh. That... is an unexpected offer. But, I would definitely be interested," she answered.
"He'll definitely be happy about that. However, I have had certain thoughts of a mischievous nature," he admitted, and that got him an amused eye roll from his girlfriend. "What are you planning," she asked in faux concern and with a smile. "How about we treat it like it's an actual class at school? And I mean that will all the tiny details," he said. "Alphonse wants to teach University students, Ed. Pretending we are an unruly class of teenagers would not give him experience," she said. "But I admit the idea sounds funny," she admitted in a whisper. "Aha!"
He grinned at her. "It's great to see, that I am starting to slowly corrupt you, but in a good way," he told her as the Rockbell house came into view. He let her left hand go and used his right to pat her hair. "It would also be the first time I would actually have some fun in class," he recalled. "What are you talking about, Ed? You made sure to enjoy every class as much as you could," she reminded him. "Although the teachers did not have what you considered 'enjoyable' as part of their syllabus, but..." "Oh, pipe it down, Win. We both know you read books on automail under the desk yourself."
She raised her right index finger. "Ah, but Ed, I knew how to be discreet and pay enough attention to not get caught. You and Al did not even bother and had them on your desks the entire time." "And we still managed to pass every test," he pointed out. "Because you two are geniuses, and having heads like yours is unfair to us normal kids." "Okay, Miss 'Apprentice Neurosurgeon at 11'," he said in the most condescending tone possible, and she burst out laughing. She raised her index finger higher and then had a look a realisation and put it down. "You do have a point."
Alphonse was somewhat nervous about his first experience as a teacher even if his two students would be his brother and a life-long friend, but he believed he had done as much as possible to prepare. Of course, he had been assuming those two were actually going to act like proper students. He had not bother dressing up for the occasion and had a normal white button-up shirt in addition to his jeans, but the moment he opened the door, he saw that Ed and Winry had dressed up.
They were smiling at him and sitting on a chair behind a table they had moved away from the wall. His brother had an old shirt that was slightly too small for him. Not that his girlfriend minds, he thought before continuing. Edward was also completely shaven again, and Al suspected he had actually asked Winry to provide him some makeup to make himself look a bit younger. She had put her hair in pigtails no self-respecting teenager would wear and had a green chemise that screamed 'school clothes' to everyone.
The couple could see Alphonse take in their appearance, close his eyes and take a calming breath, but on a fake smile and walk in. "Good morning, class," he said in the most deadpan tone he could summon, and he suppressed the desire to verbally eviscerate them both for pulling this stunt. "Good morning, Mr. Elric," they replied like good little students they obviously were. He sat down on the third chair, which was placed next to a smaller table, and he was certain they had brought in as part of this gag. The blackboard had been there for years.
"It is nice to see such behaved students." His brother immediately stuck his tongue out a bit, and the would-be teacher failed to suppress a snicker and a head-wag. "I have to say, Win looks a lot more convincing as a school girl than you do as a school boy, brother," he muttered as he broke character. "Yeah, being five foot nine does that," she agreed as took something from beneath the table. It turned out to be a school notebook and a pen set. "A part of me feels like I should have seen this joke coming," Alphonse added as he started sorting through the papers.
"Today, dear children, we will begin our discussion on alchemy," he proclaimed as he started to act in character again and Edward tried to do that loud cooing kids do, when they are interested, with his post pubertal voice brake voice. "Edward, please stop trying to imitate the sounds of a man choking," his brother reprimanded him, and in reply he got a loud laugh. "Already ready for snarky fights with your students," Ed asked as he leaned forward. "Of course, I have life-long training."
Al took a piece of chalk and started drawing on the board. "Alchemy is ultimately a science build around the fundamental concept that all matter is ultimately different expressions of an underlying form. From my limited knowledge of alkahestry, I assume this is the same in Xing. With proper directions, all matter can have its form changed, so long as the result of this transmutation is, in some way, equal to the original input. This means that the mass of the output cannot exceed that of the input, and any apparent contradiction means another input was present."
"Wow, how many times did you consider the precise phrasing of that speech," Edward asked. "About five times and I am still not sure if it's a good." "I would think so," Winry assured. "Are you actually taking notes," Alphonse asked as he turned around and saw her scribbling stuff into that little notebook. "Of course. I am dedicated to being a good student, Mr. Elric," she said while trying to make her voice just a bit higher. "Well, at least one of you is taking it seriously."
"Right, because I really need to pay attention to this," Ed snarked. "Being related to the inventors of both alchemy and alkahestry is not an excuse, Edward," Al said in his attempt at a teacher's voice. "Revising every once in a while ensures one's knowledge does not decay, dear boy." Ed snickered. "You are enjoying treating us as your subordinates, aren't you? For once, you can be the oldest in the room." "You two decided to play at being school children. I merely called your bluff." Finally, he managed to copy the whole diagram he had drawn on a paper among his notes.
"Any transmutation in general requires two things besides an appropriate amount of material. These are sufficient knowledge of both the original matter and the desired resulting matter, and the ability to tap a source of energy to make the reaction move. Xing uses nearly omnipresent currents of energy they call 'the Dragon's pulse' and we use a derivative drawing on the potential energy stored within the planet's tectonic processes," he said as he pointed to parts of his diagram of the Earth in cross-section. "Oh, they are related after all," Winry asked with some surprise.
"It is our current theory, since Hohenheim sad Xerxes used something close to Xing," Ed explained. "Father likely decided to make a derivative based on tectonic energy, because it would make Amestrian alchemy easily controllable with his underground philosopher's stone," Al continued, and she kept scribbling some notes down. He continued with his lecture. "Because it is desirable that a transmutation does not blow up in someone's face due to being improperly controlled, it is common to use arrays, which also increase stability of a transmutation by acting as confines."
"Why don't your transmutations without an array blow up, then?" Edward put his hands in front of his body, but instead of clapping normally, he put his arms to make a square in front of his body and touched his palms while they were upside down. "Because this," he nodded towards the shape of his arms, "counts as an array for whatever reason," he told her. "Shouldn't more people be able to do it then? And how can one pair of limbs act as multiple arrays," she asked.
"Ah, not even five minutes in, and already we have two questions I don't know the answer to," Alphonse said with some sadness. "I and dad talked about it, but he could not tell what the difference is between the people that saw the Truth and everyone else. Since it took me recalling my interaction with the Truth, there is a high chance it is something ingrained into the mind during that meeting. But if that is the case, then we cannot figure out what it is." He looked into empty space for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry..." "Got existential for a bit there," she suggested.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Anyway. Let's continue, and I can go all philosophical about the nature of reality afterwards." "Truly the greatest hobby," Ed muttered. "Yep. Now, arrays always have a similar foundation – a circle meant to ensure the proper flow of energy – and some sort of symmetry relevant to the transmutation in question. Triangles, squares, pentagon and hexagons are usually used internally. The exact compositions are very specific, and all the additional symbols added for the sake of improving effectiveness would lead us into discussion for hours."
Alphonse walked to a table and pulled out a small page with a simple array on it. It was a circle with an inscribed hexagon. "This is commonly used in instances, where matter containing carbon is transmuted," he explained as he placed it on the table in front of them. He then pulled out a small heartwood plug from his pocket and placed it on top of it. "I want you to try it out," he told Winry. He got wide eyes from both of them. "What?" "Yeah, I agree, Al. We are a quarter of an hour in, and you want her to try out transmuting this plug?"
"I do. It is a simple transmutation that a person can use to see what the flow of energy feels like. Besides, something this small cannot backfire." Winry slowly and reluctantly put her finger on the circle like she was preparing to use a typewriter. "How exactly am I supposed to do that?" "Imagine you want to move the wood around in space to turn it into a simple shape like a sphere, while holding on and willing the energy to flow through. Wood is made of a net of lignin. Picture moving bits around to remake that net. That is how we did it back in the day." "After like a week of tries, Al!"
She tried, but nothing happened for several seconds. "That doesn't seem to be doing anything." Alphonse patted the back of his neck. "Well, this is the part I had the most concern about. I really want people to learn what the energy flow is like the moment I introduce it to them, but I have no idea like to explain something I had been doing for a decade." His brother got up and stood behind his girlfriend. "What are you doing," she whispered as he put his hands on top of hers. "Look ahead," he instructed her.
"You know that feeling of pushing against something that won't budge," he said, and she nodded. "Think about using your fingers to do that pushing, but don't actually make your muscles contract. Think of it like you are willing energy to flow through you." She tried to do that. "Now keep looking at that plug and think about the way the wood has to bend if you want it to be a sphere." She took a breath and almost started at the array. Al hummed as nothing seemed to happen. He looked closer.
Then a small spark moved along the inked curve, and both he and Winry jumped back. "What," she asked, but her boyfriend prevented her from taking her hands off the paper. "Keep thinking about it," he almost yelled into her ear. She did not break eye contact and another spark came out. "Don't forget it is wood, but think of it more like it is putty, because right now it is that for you. You can order it to do whatever you wish," he said into her ear, and they pressed down on the paper. Finally, the spark lasted more than a fraction of the second and started to maintain itself.
In five seconds it fully asserted itself. "That's it, Win. Now stop adding the energy and instead focus completely on the shape. Don't let it intimidate you. Alchemy can break mountains into dust with enough dedication!" He saw her clench her teeth a bit and the spark started to jump across the hexagon and then suddenly crashed into the wooden plug. All three shut their eyes at the blinding flash, and Winry let go of the paper. When they looked back, the wood was indeed in the shape of a ball. It was also charred and smoke was coming out of it.
"Damn, maybe you should be the teacher," Alphonse said as he looked back. Then he noticed the paper was starting to smoulder, quickly bumped the wood off and started to blow on the paper. "I'm surprised it worked," Winry muttered. "You shouldn't be, Win. Congrats," Ed said and hugged her from behind. "I don't think we can use that to teach others tough. That was a bit too intimate for academic taste." "Just a bit," asked Al with some exasperation, "You were not trying to sound like you were seducing her?" He snickered.
"Also, welcome to the hole, Win. Enjoy your stay," he declared. "What hole," she asked with some confusion. "The hole of being an alchemist. You aren't getting out of it, no matter how little you do it. No one can free themselves." "Oh, quit being dramatic," she groaned and lightly slapped him. "Half of it was you, anyway. It felt more like you were using the fact I did not give up my Gate and thus could act as your proxy." "That is not how that works," Alphonse corrected her. "Very true. This had to come entirely from you, Win," her boyfriend asserted.
"Unless you two have somehow reached a relationship so close that you can literally meld your souls together," Al suggested. "I wish," Edward said with a laugh and patted Winry's back. She leaned forward and picked up the ball. Her fingers were promptly covered with black marks of ash. She rotated it around and noticed the surface was not smooth, but seemed flaky. "Those are what you call 'transmutation marks,' right?" "Yeah. Nobody can imagine a transmutation with enough detail to not have that appear on stuff. You would have to completely grasps the entire process in your mind, and not even geniuses can do that much."
"So, how did I do? And do not sugar coat it," Al asked after an hour-long lesson. Edward and Winry looked at each other and appeared to be talking to each other in facial gestures. They turned back after a few seconds. "Given it was your first time teaching anyone, and we were intentionally being little shits, I would say it went rather well," Ed told him. "I would agree. If you work on this, you definitely have it in you to eventually become a teacher," Winry said and gave him the smallest nod.
"Good. I was worried I had screwed things up. Especially with that transmutation part, since you had to carry me through that, brother." "Well, you could always try doing what I did to get a person to understand," his brother said with a smile. "I am not going to be flirting in class, Ed." "I think it's time to stop teasing him," his girlfriend whispered to him, and he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, let's get this stuff back in place and go get some normal clothes," he agreed.
The tables and chair were moved back while Alphonse took the sponge and cleared the blackboard of his pictures. "Oh, that feels so much better," Winry sighed as she undid her pigtails and let them fall down. "Yeah, even I felt like that was a bit much," Edward told her as his brother took all the notes and went to place them into their own room. "Was that because it is harder for you to play with them," she asked with a small teasing grin. "Perhaps," her boyfriend said in a tone that meant 'yes'. If that was not obvious, he immediately stepped forward and did just that.
"That green chemise on the other hand is nice, though. Why don't you use it more often," he told her. She immediately raised her arms and showed just how wide the sleeves were. "Because it makes my arms feel like they are stuck in potato bags, Ed. It was a purchase made in haste and I still regret it. The only reason I still have it, is that I not yet had an excuse to take it apart into rags for oil." "You would do that to such a nice thing," he asked, and she nodded. "But something tells me the shirt you have on will be used for that first." He snickered.
"Yeah, I had underestimated how much I grew since I last had it on," he noted as he spread him arms out. The hem was hanging almost four inches above the waist band of his jeans. "Honestly, I think that is not the worst part of it all," she said as she leaned forward and touched the bit of his arms covered by sleeves. They ended at elbow level and were clearly made for thinner individuals. "I'm surprised the threads are still holding together," she muttered as she touched his cramped bicep.
"This shirt can take some abuse, Win," he said and flexed his bicep. They immediately heard the ripping of fabric, and suddenly it was not as cramped. They both saw their face turn into smiles before they started to laugh. "It can take a lot of abuse, huh," she said as she made sure to closely inspect the broken pieces that now hung away from his flexed biceps. "Well, I was running low on those rags, so I might as well take these," she told him, and he put his right arm down.
"Right now," he asked with a grin. "Take a guess," she whispered, and he took if off with some difficulty. He had to make movements more expected from a worm than a human to get to pass some areas. "Goodbye and good riddance," he said as he threw the ripped shirt into his girlfriend's hands. She immediately started to tear it into stripes. "Isn't it a bit cold," she said in a put on neutral tone. "Not really," he replied as he approached her from behind. "In fact, I think it's a bit hot in here," he said and kissed the back of her neck. In an instant, goose bumps covered her skin.
"Or maybe not. Looks like you are a bit cold," he whispered into her left ear. "Ed, what if our teachers catch us," she said in an intentionally higher pitched voice as he closed his arms around her waist. "Let them. What is the worst they could possibly do to punish us," her boyfriend said out loud. "I could throw a bucket of cold water on your lot," Alphonse said, and they jumped a bit, but did not bother splitting up. They just looked to the left to see Al standing in the still open door with a slightly miffed look.
"Public displays of affection are banned in most schools," he added, and made various grimaces similar to a pout. "I also can't help noticing you do not seem to care that I can see you," he continued. "And I can't help but notice that you are still standing in the door," his brother said with a hint of a temper. "Is there something you want to do," Alphonse asked as he leaned more into the door frame." "Yes, there is, Al. And if you don't go, we will make you wish you had," he threatened. "Ed," his girlfriend called out with a bit of concern as she finished tearing the shirt into bits.
"Make sure to not lose your heads," Alphonse told them as he left and closed the door behind him. "What were you threatening to...," Winry started to ask before she gasped as he started to kiss her left shoulder and slowly moving towards rightward. "Oh, just the usual thing when we are alone," he said before another kiss. "Not even attempting to pretend that I don't have the crazy hots for you." He put his right hand up and started to play with her hair. "Seriously, why do you like the hair so much?"
"It's soft and beautiful, just like you," he told her. "Thanks. But I want the actual answer and not your romantic flirts, Ed." He stopped kissing for a second. "That was the real answer, Win. I promised to not lie to you." He started making curls with his finger and as he reached her neck from the left side, started ascending slowly upward. She shivered. "That makes me feel like a predator is trying to look for my jugular," she muttered. "Not quite the jugular I'm looking for." He kissed her ear lobe. "But you are not denying the predator part?" "Have you seen my meat consumption?"
She giggled and weakly knocked him into his right side with her elbow. "I have, but that is cooked meat. Not exactly what one would associate with predators unless they are caged." "This predator is currently caged, but if you wish to see it one day in all its glory, you just need to ask," he whispered as he teased her ear lobe with his bottom lip. "Is that why to want to bite me," she teased, and he tensed up slightly. "Maybe," he said, but his tone had changed to an uneasy one. She realised that was a bad choice of joke and turned around to kiss him on the lips.
"If we are going to make jokes about you being a beast, does that mean I get to call you a cute, and literal, pet name," she asked, and he pushed out his upper jaw so she could see his canines. "Win, you can call me any cute name you want to." They brushed their noses together as she thought. "I think you are closest to the felines," she said. "Is it the mane," he joked and combed through his hair with his left hand. "Well, that and the fact you could pin me at a moment's notice, Tiger." "You are getting better at flirting, huh?" "You like it... Tiger?" His answer was a French kiss.