Afterwards they both lay there, Natalie resting her head on Edward’s chest as he held her softly. She could hear his heart still racing in his chest though she wasn’t sure how as her own was beating pretty loudly as well. Edward kept his eyes closed, still trying to take it all in, as he lightly stroked Natalie’s hair. She couldn’t help but to sigh happily. It would be a few minutes before either of them would even think about moving but when they remembered where exactly they were they thought it best to get dressed. Who knew when someone would come down here.
After Natalie had finished, she picked up Edward’s jacket and handed it to him, smiling. “So do you feel any different?” she asked.
Taking it from her, Edward took a few steps so he was standing behind her and draped it over her shoulders. He also wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Yes but I don’t think it has anything to do with the reason you’re asking,” he replied then kissed her on the cheek.
Natalie couldn’t help but to chuckle at him. She felt the same way. “But what about the reason I did ask?”
He let her go and they started walking towards the ladder that led out of the underground training area and back into the shop. Edward thought about it for a moment. “No, I don’t actually feel any different,” he said holding his hands up to look at them. There wasn’t any real reason for it; it was mostly a blind force of habit. “I thought there would be something more to it.”
“Weird. I thought there would be too,” she said as they finally reached the ladder. He let her go up first and followed shortly behind.
When they reached the top and came out through the door in the shop’s floor, Kisuke was standing there.
“A bit of training huh?” he said winking at Edward. “Good way to spend one’s down time I’d say.”
Edward just stood there; his arms crossed looking at Kisuke. “Yeah well I didn’t exactly like being called weak or soft.”
“Smart man.”
Natalie stepped in front of Edward. “Kisuke, we’ll be leaving tonight. Thank you for everything you’ve done but we need to be going. We need to have Edward’s leg looked at after that fight earlier and there’s no one here that can fix it right.” Edward looked at her confused but she didn’t see it. He wondered where this was coming for; she hadn’t said anything to him yet about this.
Kisuke chuckled a bit. “Well isn’t that a pity and after you’d impressed the others too.”
“Yeah well, there’s no help for it,” she replied. “There’s no one in this world that knows anything about automail so like I said, we’ll have to go somewhere else and find someone. The sooner the better too, the last thing we want is for that leg to fail when it matters.” Natalie knew full well that wasn’t the case given that it had been Winry that made that leg and she was one of the best engineers ever to craft automail but Kisuke didn’t know that and that was all that mattered. “Now if you’ll excuse us Kisuke.”
Kisuke nodded. “Alright, well have a safe journey,” he said grinning as he walked away.
Natalie and Edward headed back to their room. “Gah, he creeps me out. I never thought I’d ever say that either since I actually kinda liked him when I read about him,” Natalie said getting a shiver. “But he always seems to know things.”
“Yeah he does but I was wondering when you were planning to tell me about leaving and what was all of that about my leg? It’s fine as I’m sure you saw.” He couldn’t help but grin at her.
“Jerk,” she said with a laugh, play punching his arm. “And I had planned on telling you when I went down there to find you but yeah, I didn’t exactly get a chance did I?”
Edward smiled sheepishly and laughed. “Yeah, OK, I’ll give you that one.”
“About your leg, it may be fine now but I wasn’t lying about the reason I gave Kisuke,” she said as they entered their room. “I know it’s well made and you patched it up but how long is the patch going to last Ed? I’d feel better if you had it properly looked at.”
“And just who do you think is going to do that?” Edward asked sighing. “I really don’t want to go back and see Winry…”
Natalie put her hand on his shoulder understanding completely. “I know and I hadn’t planned on bringing you to see that Winry.”
“What do you mean ‘that’ Winry?” he asked clearly confused.
“Sit down Ed, this is going to be a bit to handle,” she said already sitting herself.
“Oh like I’m not used to that already,” he said laughing as he sat down next to her.
“Don’t be a jerk,” she said sticking her tongue out at him.
“But you already know that’s what I’m good at.”
She just shook her head and smiled wearily. “Anyway, the Winry you know isn’t the only one there is. I know of a world that is alternate to the Amestris you’re from where there are alternate versions of everyone you know. There’s even another you and another Alphonse, though we probably won’t ever see them.” She didn’t want to say they definitely wouldn’t see them as she didn’t know if the story of that world had played out as she’d seen it or if it had taken a different turn like his had. It was just best to leave that slim possibility out there just in case.
“Wait, an alternate Amestris?”
Natalie nodded. “Just like we’ve been going through alternates of my own world, there’s an alternate to yours too. It’s actually sort of funny, the alternate of your world links to an alternate of mine. Things didn’t happen the same way there as they did for you. The homunculi were different and created differently, the gate worked far differently, it’s actually the link between the worlds, and not a portal to truth like it was for you. Their faces and maybe their personalities will be the same as the people you know but the lives behind the eyes will be different. I though taking you to the Winry there would be better than taking you back to your own world but then I’m not even sure of that.”
“Why not?”
“Frankly I don’t know what will happen to you if I take you there. If by some slim chance the Edward of that world is there and not where I think he is, your very existence could be danger. It’s not likely that he’s there though, his story ended a lot differently from yours and if it’s right he and Alphonse should actually be in the alternate version of my world that is linked to the alternate of yours.”
Edward shook his head; this was making his head spin. “This is just crazy. Wait a minute, if there’s an alternate of me, why haven’t you been worried about an alternate of you in any of these worlds we’ve already gone to?”
Natalie thought about it for a moment. “Well given the nature of who I am I don’t think there would be. That and something that Serenity said to me when I was first there. She said that I was supposed to have been reborn with her and the rest of the scouts in their world but because of my power, my soul was sent to the world I was actually born into most likely by mistake.”
“But then why take the chance with me?”
Natalie bit at her lower lip, looking a bit guilty.
“Natalie…”
She took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to hurt seeing her again and well there was a more selfish reason too. I didn’t want to bring you back to see her because well I’m afraid…” Natalie lowered her head.
Edward put his hand against her cheek and turned her head so she was facing him. Instinctively she looked up and her eyes met his. “I’m done worrying about the past Natalie. Winry moved on with her life and because of you I’ve been able to move on with mine. Quit trying to make things complicated again OK?”
Natalie smiled and nodded. There was a part of her that had already known that’s what he was going to say to her. “I just don’t want to face her either, but that’s a woman’s anger,” she said with a laugh. “She hurt you and honestly I wouldn’t be lying if I said I wanted to give her a good whack with her own wrench.”
Edward couldn’t help but to laugh. “Might do her good seeing as she liked to use that thing on Al and I all the time, give her a taste of her own medicine.”
“But that still leaves the problem of where am I taking you…”
After thinking about it a moment he nodded knowing what he wanted to do. “You know, I’m actually kind of curious about this other Amestris and we’ve faced worse risks before so you know what, let’s go,” he said, taking her hand into his.
“If you’re sure then that’s what we’ll do, but remember the Winry there is probably going to be VERY surprised to see you and we may have quite a bit of explaining to do.”
“That’s alright; I know we can handle it.”
Natalie got up and tossed him his jacket, smirking at him, before grabbing her own. “Alright then Ed, let’s get going.”
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