Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Expect the Unexpected ❯ Meeting ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. ^_^ If I did, I'd be rich.Chapter 7: Meeting
His cell phone was ringing. His brother was terribly mad at him. There was a mashed spider on his foot and on the floor close by. There were numerous stacks of boxes around him that could and probably would topple over from the slightest bump. There were hundreds of other things that were rather important, but they all paled in comparison to the predicament Edward found himself in at the moment.
At any other time in his life, had circumstances been different, Edward would have found himself fortunate to have a fetching female falling into his arms. But at the moment, he couldn't exactly classify himself as anything other than confused. How had things ended up like this? Why couldn't Winry have just let him fall on his butt and then laugh at him? He wouldn't have cared much if she'd done that. But, no, the woman had insisted wordlessly that she try to help him, keep him on his feet. Hadn't she realized that, even though his actual weight without his prosthetics, would have been around one hundred and thirty-some pounds, while his metal limbs added at least forty-five pounds to him? That was tough to keep him. And Winry, strongly built as she may have been, was no match to keep him on his feet.
So, thusly, they found themselves in their rather interesting predicament. Well, he wouldn't really call it a 'predicament,' more like a 'situation' that had a few equally interesting remedies. One of those remedies was firmly settled in the very front of his mind, causing his gaze to fall to Winry's mouth.
"This is interesting," he heard her whisper, or rather saw her lips move.
He nodded vaguely, dragging his gaze to her lovely blue eyes. "Yeah, it is," he responded, just as quietly as Winry had spoken.
"Your cell phone is ringing," she pointed out, attempting to rise.
Edward, though, found he didn't want to let her go. His hands were on her shoulders so he clasped them around the back of her neck. "I know."
"Don't you want to answer it?" she pressed on. Edward would have wondered if she thought nothing of their situation, but he heard the uneasiness in her voice. It stung him a bit. He really didn't know why, but he just didn't want to let her go. Ignoring her slight distress, he shook his head.
"There's a--"
Before Winry could finish, the door burst open and entering was none other than Alphonse Elric. Edward immediately let go of Winry and she, just as quickly, jumped up to her feet. The eldest person in the room leaned his head back at an obscure angle to look at his brother, if a little nervously. Al looked down at him with an unreadable expression before speaking.
"What happened? I heard Winry scream. I also heard a loud crash, but I can figure out what that was." Al shot a conspicuous look at Ed before looking at Winry. Curse her, she was pale. Ed would be in for it now, he figured. "And your cell phone is ringing," Al threw off-handedly to his brother.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Does everyone think I'm deaf?" he said, rather vexed. He was met with silence and obvious looks. "Fine, I'll answer it." He reached for his phone and then swore when he saw the number. And it wasn't a nice swear word, either. In fact, he faintly heard both his brother and Winry chastise him for his vocabulary. He was more worried about the person calling him than their wrath.
Ed cleared his throat before bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he said into the mouthpiece, trying to sound confident.
"Where are you?" a stern female voice demanded. "You aren't at work, or your house. Al isn't there, either."
Ed shivered involuntarily at the anger in the woman's voice. "I'm at someone's house right now. I didn't know you were going to be in town." He tried to sound nonchalant, he really did! But there was something about the woman that set chills to him.
"I didn't tell you I was going to be in town," she pointed out. "Now where are you?"
Very quickly, Ed sat up. She hadn't asked anyone at the station where he was. Maybe there was hope left for him! "Why don't I meet you in town? There's a very nice café in Uptown Central," he spewed forth as speedily as his mouth would let him. "I'll buy you and your husband lunch."
There was a pause on the other line. "It's only ten-thirty, Edward. And my husband is at the hotel."
"A late breakfast, then," he amended.
Another pause. "What's the place?"
Ed rattled off the name of the coffee shop. "I'll meet you there in half an hour," he promised and promptly hung up.
"Who was that?" Al asked at the same time Winry said, "That was an interesting one-sided conversation."
Ed nodded, and she continued with, "So, who are you buying lunch for?" She looked slightly jealous, or at least a little put out.
Edward leaned forward and began to wipe the spider entrails from his metal foot. "Our mother," he answered quietly, suddenly sobered.
Al took a breath in surprise. Winry looked a little confused. "Mother?" she questioned, surprised. "I though she was..."
He nodded, but Al spoke first. "She is. He meant our foster mother. She housed us while Ed was...recovering and until he found us a house."
Edward stood up finally, drawing an end to that turn of conversation. He looked at Al a little hesitantly. "So..." he began.
Al shifted on his feet a little. "So," he said as well. Then he nodded and looked a little relieved.
The elder brother smiled a little and crossed his arms over his chest. "You'll stay here with Winry while I go meet her," he said, more of an order than a request.
The youngest occupant of the room nodded again. "And why not the diner? I'm sure Quintus would be thrilled to meet the woman who taught you more manners." He chuckled a little.
Edward took on a serious expression and shook his head. "No. The café is better," he said firmly. Then, much quieter so Winry wouldn't hear, he added, "That phone call...it was Quintus."
Al looked a little surprised, but recovered quickly. "All right." Then he left wordlessly, leaving Edward and Winry alone.
Ed turned to look at Winry. She was still a little pale and faintly unsettled. He sighed loudly at the floor after taking in her expression and he was sure his brother was well out of earshot. "Winry, a few minutes ago...it was just--"
"Forget about it, Edward," she said and started out of the room.
He stopped her with his right hand on her arm. "Wait, please," he said quietly. When she didn't say anything or attempt to go further out of the room, he figured that was his okay to go on. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, all right? Al knows a little of what to do, like shoot a gun, if anything should--"
"Why do you think something will happen?" she asked, sounding a little frustrated.
He paused. He knew she would know that he was hiding something. He only hoped she wouldn't ask him. "I just don't trust easily, Winry. But what I'm trying to tell you is not to worry," he told her quietly.
"How can I not worry when you're telling me that Al knows how to shoot a gun, if something bad should happen? Jeez, Edward." She looked away from him and down at the floor. Then she immediately looked up and out the door. Edward could only assume she'd le her gaze roam to the mashed spider. "You're such a guy."
She fled the room so quickly after that Edward didn't have time enough to register her quivering voice when she insulted him and go after her before she was already heading down the stairs. He cast a glance at the deceased spider, muttered a few unnice words about the arachnid, and looked around. His gaze settled on the alcove and Winry's notebook. He figured she would want it, so he picked it up and gained the hallway. And when he thought about leaving the squished spider there, he felt a little uneasy despite himself. He would tell Primus that there was a spider that needed to be cleaned and then dismiss the man. With the knowledge Ed had already gathered, he was kicking himself as to why he'd let the man stay for so long. But he couldn't have very well told the man to leave last night. There would have been even more suspicion than there would be already. And it was all Ed could do to stay on top of the game.
When he reached the second floor, he started down the hallway to Al's room. On his way, he passed Winry's room. The temptation was too great, so he pressed his ear against her door to listen. She was muttering about something, probably the notebook she thought was still upstairs. Edward glanced at it. What could be so important? There were only lyrics in it, right? He leafed through a couple pages and found not only finely written English and Latin songs, but journal entries, as well.
Casting guilt away like a piece of unwanted lint on his shirt, Edward pushed away from the door, notebook still in hand, and proceded down to his brother's room. He knocked and waited for a response. When his brother bid him to enter, Edward stepped in the room with a serious expression on his face. Al was sketching some armor with an intense look of concentration but that quickly changed to concern when he saw his brother's face.
"What is it?" Al asked.
Edward shook his head and shut the door with his foot. "I'm going to go meet her at the café, and I don't know how long I'll be gone," he started, ignoring the idiotic feeling of repeating himself. "I want to you keep Winry safe, should anything happen or something." At his brother's perplexed look, he held up his hand to stop the questions. "There is a gun in my room under the mattress, fully loaded with one in the chamber."
"Edward..." Al spoke with a quiet seriousness that it almost spooked the golden haired man.
He shook his head. "Once Primus gets back, hopefully he'll be back as I'm about to leave, I'm going to tell him to clean up the spider upstairs, unless you want to do that," he suggested strongly. He knew there was something peculiar about the spider, but he hadn't noticed it until he'd looked at it before leaving. "Which I would prefer that it gets cleaned up now," he put in. "But I'm going to ask Primus to leave the premesis and make sure he doesn't come back until I'm sure he's clean."
Then the surprise Al was feeling became very obvious. "You don't mean...?"
Ed ignored the question. "I have my phone; call me if you need me," he said pointedly, glancing at the door. "I'll see you later."
Then he reached for the door handle and pulled it open to see Winry there, looking a little suspicious. "What about Primus?" she asked, sounding a little more than mad at him.
He feigned ignorance. "What are you talking about?" he returned, shutting Al's door and stepping out into the hallway.
"You said something about Primus leaving the premesis?" she pressed, repeating some of his words to jog his memory.
Edward shook his head. "Don't know what you're talking about. I have to go," he said and pushed past her. He still had her notebook so he had to be quick. When he gained his room, he set it under his pillow hurriedly. Just as he started toward his wardrobe to fetch his coat, Winry stepped into the room.
"You aren't getting away so quickly, Edward. And didn't you just have something in your hands?" she asked, shutting the door and leaning against it.
As he donned his coat, he looked at her curiously. "No," he lied. "I might have had the tissues with spider guts on them; feel free to check my trash can." He inclined his head towards the waste basket as he procured a pair of socks. He sat down on the bed and quickly began to pull them on. If he was late...
"I'll pass, thank you. You'll escape if I move," she said.
Ed gave her a wry look. "You don't want me to leave? I'm flattered, but I really do have to meet my foster mom. She'll have my head if I don't show up in--" he checked his watch between socks "--twenty-five minutes."
Winry rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to let you leave until you tell me what you said about Primus," she said stubbornly. "Now start talking."
As he reached for his boots, Edward sighed audibly for her. "I don't know what you mean, Winry," he told her. "And you will move before I have my boots on." He gave her a serious look, not feeling the least bit guilty in lying to her.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" she demanded crossly, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not moving."
Edward tucked the laces of his right boot around his ankle and started tying his left boot. "Oh, yes you are," he assured her. "And I have a good way to make you do so, believe me."
He saw her roll her eyes at him. "Right," she murmured, looking amused. "I'd appreciate a story now."
Done with his boots finally, Edward stood up. He put on his most intimidating frown and started towards her. He only stopped when he was a hands breadth away from her. Even though he had to look up at her slightly, that didn't daunt him. "Will you move?" he asked quietly. "I really need to go, Winry." She stuck out her chin stubbornly in answer, looking down her nose at him. He shook his head. "Fine."
Edward lifted his hand to her cheek and pulled her face to his. He pressed his lips over hers in a firm kiss. He held her close for a full five seconds before pushing her away. When she looked a little dazed, he moved her out of the way, opened the door, and pulled her out with him. Quickly, he locked the door with the skeleton key he'd found and dropped it in his coat pocket. No sense in her looking through his stuff while he was gone. He started down the hallway, fully intending to leave Winry there, still looking a little far off, but her voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Edward Elric!" she shouted. "You can't just do that and leave!"
He turned around to give her an uninterested look. "Aren't I doing just that?" he asked boredly, then started towards the stairs again. He didn't get too far before he felt something whack the back of his head. He leaned forward to pick up whatever had hit him. "A shoe?" He held it up to Winry to find she was standing behind him. He turned to look at her.
"You're a jerk," she said pointedly.
Ed paused. "Do you feel better now that you've gotten that off your chest?" he questioned, then immediately regretted his words. It took a little to keep his eyes on her face.
"No. You're rude, you're a pain to deal with, and I thought we were going to have a decent morning, talking to each other to the point that I would actually learn to deal with you. But no, you have to go into town and buy a late breakfast for someone--"
"Jealous?" he cut in, smirking.
Winry snatched the shoe from his hand and slapped him on the shoulder with it. "No!" she argued. "Never! In fact, I feel sorry for any girl you ever date! Just go!" She gave him a shove towards the stairs to enunciate that she wanted him gone.
But Edward thought differently. He grabbed her hands on his shoulders and pulled her with him. "I think you're very jealous, Winry," he said quietly before kissing her again in much the same manner as before, only a little longer. In fact, he almost regretted kissing her for longer because his head started to swim. When he let her go, he smiled at her. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Then he began to run down the stairs. He wasn't running to hurry to his car as much as he was running away from Winry. And it wasn't that he was afraid of her wrath that he'd kissed her twice that morning, within five minutes, but that he was afraid that if he saw her again, he wouldn't leave.
So when he was down in the kitchen, he scrawled a note to Primus, saying he wanted the man gone as quickly as possible. Then Edward noticed his right hand. No glove. "I don't have time," he told himself in a frustrated manner and ran outside. His keys were in his pocket so he was driving down the easier driveway around the back of the house in less than two minutes. Well, he wasn't really driving; he was speeding down the driveway. He hit the button to open the gates well before he got there and by the time he reached them, the wrought iron gate was just finishing its slow opening. Ed recklessly drove through them and down the long driveway with only a second thought thrown to closing them.
In record time, Edward was pulling into the little café only seconds before his guest. By the time both had parked their cars, he was pushing rather nervous about meeting her again. But he knew that, once they were sitting down, the tension would be gone again. That's how it always was; he was flustered the entire way to meet her only for it to disappear at the last possible second, leaving him relaxed and nonplussed about her physical condition. He didn't know why he worried even. Maybe it was the memory of her helping him learn to walk again, and to use his arm. Also the alchemy she'd taught him and Al. Though they rarely used it, he still prized that unusual talent and would show it off when he knew he could without getting into trouble. Plus, it looked awfully good on his police resumé.
Ed met her at the door and held it open for her, wordlessly. She nodded curtly at him before stepping ahead of him. He requested a booth for two quietly, and then proceded to follow the café hostess to their corner seat. It was only when they were sitting down did the tension dissipate. Edward relaxed his shoulders and looked down at the menu. But they were still silent to each other as they ordered their rather pricy coffees. It was an understood silence that neither of them had to interpret. The meaning was fixed into each other's subconscious.
"Thank you," he murmured when the waitress set the coffee down in front of him a few minutes later. Edward sipped his drink slowly and looked at the woman across from him finally. She was old enough to really be his mother, but that didn't keep him from taking in her looks. She was lovely in a rough, strong sort of way, a way that not many would see from first glance. Her black hair was long and shot with gray strands, the only sign of her age, save a few discrete wrinkles. Her eyes were still hard and full of the force that had been there a few short years past. She had put on a little weight, but given that her husband was a butcher, it was allowed. And she was pushing around forty-two or forty-three. So, it was all okay with her to be a little pudgy now.
When he looked at her eyes again, Ed found she was assessing him as well. "You look good, Izumi," he told her with the same admiration he had used when he was eighteen.
She nodded. "And you look like you've kept up for yourself and your brother well enough," she returned.
"You didn't demand to know where I was?" he asked with a half laugh. "When you were at the station?"
"Actually, I did. But no one answered me. I found your boss and made him tell me, though." She gave him a dangerous look. "Winry Rockbell's bodyguard?"
Ed winced. "Ah, yeah. I'm surprised you didn't drive up there," he ventured, wondering at the back of his mind if he was digging his own grave.
"I would have," she said in a way that Ed interpretted as meaning she was all seriousness, "but I can't drive for very long."
He nodded sagely, understanding perfectly. "And I bet your husband is tired," Ed mused.
There was a long silence between them again. It wasn't an unusual happening. When Ed had been younger, recovering from the accident, he hadn't spoken much to anyone. That had left Al to do the talking for both of them, usually. So it was another understood silence, different from the first one. Many times had Ed and Izumi been left in the same room with the expectations of him being taught to walk again. But, being who he was and in his condition, he hadn't wanted to do much of anything, except wallow in his own grief. And such grief didn't bear the honor of being entertained.
He looked up at Izumi, just as she spoke in a most casual manner. "So, how is your case going?"