When Natalie emerged from the portal she saw the house, the distinct yellow house on the hill. She had come out far enough away that she hoped no one would have noticed her appear pretty much out of thin air. She looked around for a place to change back figuring a girl in a sailor dress would be a bit strange to anyone that might see her.
Finding a rather large tree, Natalie hid behind it. She hoped it would be enough to keep anyone from seeing. She put her hand to her bow jewel and in a flash of light she was back to normal.
Stepping out from behind the tree, she started walking up toward the house. She had to come up with a reasonable story as to why she was here. Maybe telling them that she was here looking for an alchemy teacher would work. If she remembered right, no one knew that the government and the military had covered up the truth about what had actually happened at Central. This meant it was probably safe to assume that no one had been told that Edward had given up his ability to do alchemy. Yeah, this could work. She just wanted to meet Edward anyway. Using this excuse she could meet him and then go because she knew he would send her on her way when she said she wanted him to teach her. Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake.
As she approached, she saw someone on the roof hammering away rather clumsily. He had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, average height… Natalie’s heart started to race in her chest. It was him, it had to be. The man on the roof was none other than THE Edward Elric. This is the moment she had been waiting for. He was there, real as she was, and he was just as gorgeous as she had always believed him to be.
Alphonse was the one to see her coming though. “Hi there, can we help you with something?” he asked as he stepped out the door of the house.
“Al…” she whispered to herself when she saw him. There was no mistaking him; he had the gentle look that had always been in his eyes. He was cuter than she had thought he’d be too.
“Excuse me?” Alphonse asked having heard her whisper something.
Natalie shook her head and snapped back to reality, trying to also shake off the warm blush that had washed over her cheeks. She cleared her throat, “Um, yes, sorry. I was looking for Edward Elric.”
Alphonse smiled warmly. He’d noticed the blush in her cheeks and the fact that it seemed to linger there. “He’s up there,” he replied as he pointed up to the roof.
“Damn!” Edward exclaimed just as Alphonse had pointed up to him.
“Brother!” Alphonse yelled in a scolding voice. It was so rude to use such language especially with a guest there. He couldn’t help but to chuckle at him too though. “Did you hit your fingers again?”
Edward sighed, rubbing at his hand. “Yeah,” he said, sounding frustrated and annoyed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”
“Well are you almost done? We have a guest and she’s here looking to see you Brother.”
“Looking for me huh? Alright, I’ll be down in a minute, just have one more patch to finish.”
“OK,” Alphonse replied. He then turned his attention back to Natalie. “Would you like to come in and wait?”
Natalie’s face lit up a bit, she couldn’t help it, but she knew she had to keep her excitement under control. If she didn’t, she’d blow everything. “Yes, thank you,” she replied with a smile.
“I’m Alphonse by the way,” he said with his usual warm smile as he led her into the house.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Alphonse, my name’s Natalie.”
Alphonse had led her into a simple looking living room and motioned for her to have a seat. “Would you like anything to drink while we wait for Ed to finish up?”
Natalie didn’t answer right away. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea seeing as her stomach was still doing flip flops from her nerves. “Just some water please,” she finally said, deciding that would probably be the best route to go.
“No problem,” Alphonse said as he went off in the direction of the kitchen. He really was a lot gentler than Edward and it showed all the more now that she could see it for herself. It didn’t change the fact that she liked Edward more though.
It didn’t take long for Alphonse to come back in with a glass filled with water. He placed on the coffee table in front of her and then sat down in a chair as well. “So what brings you here to see my brother?” he asked.
Natalie felt that blush wash over her cheeks again. She had to stick to her plan. Just as she was about to answer though, Edward walked into the room.
“I swear Al, this normal life stuff doesn’t get any easier,” he said as entered. It took him a moment to notice Natalie but when he did, he smiled at her. “Oh that’s right, Al mentioned we had a visitor,” he said as he sat down next to her on the couch.
Natalie’s heart nearly leapt out of her throat it was beating so fast. He was as actually as tall as she was, she hadn’t expected that. She knew he had grown, with everything back to normal for him now that was expected but it made him look… well it made him look even manlier. “Wow…” she said softly to herself. Edward must have heard her since he turned to look at her, his brow cocked a bit.
Alphonse would break the momentary awkwardness though. “That’s right. Her name is Natalie and she said she was here to see you.”
“Me huh? Why me?” Edward asked, sounding a bit confused.
Natalie blushed even more. Both Alphonse and Edward noticed but neither of them said anything. Alphonse also noticed that she seemed to do it most when Edward came up or when he was around.
After gathering up all of her courage she finally answered him. “I came here hoping you’d teach me about alchemy,” she said, sounding a little timid.
Edward sighed heavily and lowered his head a bit, his bangs falling in front of his eyes so she couldn’t see them. “I can’t help you,” he replied, sounding a bit sad.
Natalie knew she had to make this look good. “What? But I came all this way,” she insisted. “You’re the famous Fullmetal Alchemist, youngest ever to pass the State Alchemy exam, and hero to the people… why can’t you help me?” She tried to sound desperate even though she already knew the reason that was going to come out of his mouth.
Edward sighed. “I was, but I’m not anymore. I gave it up.” His voice sounded even sadder than it had before.
“But…” she said, putting her hand on his arm.
Edward pulled his arm away and stood up, clearly getting angry. “I said I CAN’T alright! I just can’t help you.” He started to walk away. Alphonse stood and stopped him by putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. He could tell that Edward was trying so hard not to completely lose it and blow up at her. He had to give Edward credit; he really was trying to change that bad habit of his.
“Calm down Brother, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. She doesn’t know…”
Edward took a deep breath trying to calm himself. “I know Al…” he said softly, “I know.”
Natalie felt so bad. She had never meant to make him angry, at least not this much. He certainly was cuter when he was angry and she couldn’t deny that she did want to see it but she had a feeling that she had gone too far.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she sighed and stood up. “I should go.”
Turning around to face her, Edward shook his head. “You don’t have to do that, you don’t have to go.”
“But…”
“It’s just about dinner time, at least stay and have dinner,” Edward said, sounding a lot less angry. He couldn’t blame her. No one knew, aside from a select few, that he had given up his ability to do alchemy in order to get Alphonse back.
“Yeah Natalie we insist! It’s the least we can do seeing as you did come all this way,” chimed in Alphonse. He couldn’t help thinking that Natalie being here was going to turn into a good thing, especially for Edward. He wasn’t sure just how but he just knew.
Natalie smiled softly at them. “Well if you’re going to insist, I’d be happy to, thank you.”
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