Dinner that evening was Edward’s responsibility so while he was in the kitchen getting things together, Alphonse sat outside talking with Natalie. “I’m sorry Brother got so angry with you earlier. He’s…”
“You don’t have to explain Alphonse. It’s really none of my business anyway.”
Alphonse shook his head. “Yes I do. Brother hasn’t really been himself for awhile now.”
Natalie looked at Alphonse hoping he’d continue. She hadn’t noticed Edward acting too much different from what she expected but then she only knew him from the animes and the manga. Alphonse was his little brother, he would know better than anyone if Edward wasn’t acting right. “What do you mean?”
Alphonse sighed. “A lot happened in the last two years. Edward and I had finished with the military, we’d done what we needed to and the rest of the politics just wasn’t what we wanted. Edward had given up on his alchemy, I think because he thought that he’d have me and Winry and that would be enough. For awhile he did have us both and he was alright. That was until Winry decided to go back and continue her work in Rush Valley.”
“Seeing as it looks like just you two here now, I’m guessing this Winry never came back.”
“She used to, but not anymore. That stopped about a year ago.”
“Is alright if I ask why?”
“Well, as you can probably figure, Brother loved Winry but he’s not exactly the best at putting his feelings into words. I think Winry may have loved him too, though I was never sure if it was real or not or if it was only that she loved him like a brother and nothing else. Either way, the last time she was here, he’d finally managed to work up the nerve to tell her how he felt but he was too late. The only reason she had actually come back was that she had come to get the last of her things and tell us that she had met someone in Rush Valley and she decided to stay there permanently. Given the news that she had, Brother never actually told her how he felt. He smiled and wished her well and let her go.”
“I can only imagine how he really took it though,” she said softly. She hadn’t expected this. In the story she’d seen back home Edward had told Winry and they lived happily ever after. Why was the reality of this place different? This was enough to make her wonder if this was possible in more of the places she’d go. That wasn’t really important now though so she pushed the thought from her mind.
“He kind of fell apart. If I hadn’t still needed him he probably would have completely fallen apart. Having me and Winry made the loss of his alchemy more bearable for him but after that…”
“Loss of his alchemy? I thought you guys said he’d given it up, not lost it.”
Alphonse looked a little panicked. He’d slipped. No one was supposed to know. “Same thing,” he replied, trying to play it off.
Natalie didn’t push it. She knew the truth anyway. She felt so bad that it had actually turned out this way. She wanted to do something but she didn’t know what right now.
“Well he seems to be doing alright now,” she said.
“He’s a good actor. He puts on a fake smile or acts like he’s a stone wall; it just comes naturally to him. He’s been like that ever since our mother died actually. I just wish he’d find a way to move on. He always used to tell people to get up and move forward but now it seems he’s having trouble practicing what he preached.”
Natalie could tell how worried about Edward he was. “You really love your brother don’t you?”
Alphonse nodded and smiled. “You bet. We’re the only family we have left.”
At that point Edward came up behind Alphonse and put his hand on his shoulder, his face looking kind of sad. He managed to scare Alphonse which in turn scared Natalie. They both quickly turned around. How long had Edward been standing there?
“Come on you two, it’s time to eat,” Edward said, holding his hand out to Natalie to help her up.
After what Alphonse had just told her, she had to resist the urge to hug him, though it might not be so awkward if he’d heard what they talked about. She wasn’t going to chance it though. For now she just accepted his silent offer to help her up and leave it at that.
The three went inside and sat at the table. Edward had made stew for dinner. Natalie actually felt a bit honored to be here for this. Stew was one of Edward’s favorite things that his mother had made and here she was sharing it with them.
“Stew, the only way to make milk taste good,” she said with a laugh unable to resist. She knew how much Edward hated milk and in stew was the only way he’d ever allow milk into his system.
Edward and Alphonse laughed along with her. “That’s right,” said Edward. “See Alphonse, I’m not the only one that thinks milk is disgusting otherwise!”
Edward’s expression lightened more in that moment than it had at any point all day. They spent the entire meal laughing and talking. The topic was nothing specific and thankfully Natalie had learned enough about this world from the stories that she was able to keep up with the conversations. It was rather nice. It reminded Natalie of the times when Amy would stay for dinner with her and her mom. It also reminded the boys of the days with Granny Pinako and Winry when they were younger.
“You know, Granny Pinako was right,” said Alphonse.
“How so Al?” asked Edward.
“Food really does taste better with guests.”
Edward didn’t say anything right away but after a moment he looked from Alphonse to Natalie and smiled. “I think you might be right Al.”
When they had finished the meal, Alphonse started to clear the table. Natalie got up to help. “You don’t have to do that, you’re our guest,” Alphonse said.
“It’s alright, I want to help,” she said as she picked up her glass. Just as she did though, Edward put his hand on hers. He had intended to persuade her to let them take care of it but instead it only caused her to drop the glass on the floor, shattering it. The combination of Edward startling her when he touched her and the flutter she felt from the simple act of him touching her had made her do it. “Oh! I’m so sorry!”
Both Edward and Natalie knelt down to clean up the broken pieces. They grabbed for the same one and Edward accidently cut Natalie’s right hand as he pulled the piece away. “Ouch!” she yelped as she pulled her hand back. It bled quite a bit, getting spots on her shirt.
Edward helped her up and brought her into the kitchen to clean the wound. “I’m sorry Natalie, I didn’t mean…”
Natalie shook her head. “Don’t Edward. It was an accident, that’s all.”
They managed to get the bleeding to stop and Edward bandaged her up. “There, that should do it,” he said. That’s when he noticed she’d gotten blood on her shirt. Natalie look a little embarrassed when he pointed it out to her.
“I don’t have…”
Edward chuckled a bit. She actually looked kind of cute when she was embarrassed. That little realization made his cheeks flush a bit. Before she could notice, he took a hold of her left hand and led her upstairs. “Come on, I know Winry left some clothes behind. Maybe there’s something there that will fit you.”
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“You can stay here tonight too, if you want.”
“No, I couldn’t… I don’t…”
Edward smiled at her with that wonderfully goofy grin of his. “It’s too late to let you go back into town alone. Besides, I had a chance to think about it and maybe there’s something I can teach you about alchemy. It would be best if you stay here for that.”
Natalie’s smile lit up. Maybe staying here longer wouldn’t be so bad but there was also a part of her that twinged with guilt.
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