Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Family ❯ Secrets Revealed ( Chapter 6 )

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

Chapter VI: Secrets Revealed

“So, what was Roy like as a kid?”

Tamalynn looked up from what she was doing. Edward was perched on the end of her bed, studying the ever-so-fascinating design of her comforter, obviously trying to look as uninterested in the answer to his question as possible.

The young woman smiled to herself and let out a small breath. “Well, first of all, his name wasn't Roy when he was little.”

Ed looked up, his golden eyes confused. “It wasn't?”

“Nope,” said Tamalynn, her black locks swaying gracefully as she shook her head. “It was Royce . . . after our uncle, who died in the Northern War all those years back. Royce Edan Mustang.”

“Royce.” Ed said the name slow and deliberate, as if tasting it on his tongue. Finally deciding that he did not, in fact, like the flavour, he scrunched up his face in abhorrence and shook his head. “It doesn't suit him.”

That would also mean that two of the colonel's three names were cars.

Rolls-Royce.

Mustang.

Bleh . . .

Tamalynn laughed. “Brother didn't think so either. I was told by Mother that, when he was about five, he started insisting that people call him Roy—when he was older, he had it legally changed.”

Ed grinned. “So he was just as stubborn and rebellious as he is now, huh?”

“You could say that. You two get along quite well, actually.” Tamalynn paused to gaze at the blonde for a short minute, then looked over at a bare section of wall. “I didn't think that I would actually like you.”

Ed blushed and smiled sheepishly. It was now Wednesday night—already halfway through the week—and, unbelievably, he and his lover's sister had become good friends. He realized that, when the three visitors left, he would actually miss her a little—if not for her witty, and somehow un-sadistic (but still very `Mustang'), sense of humour, then for the bits of background information on Roy that she gave him.

Especially the ones that he never seemed willing to divulge himself.

Though, as Tamalynn told him tales of Roy falling down a well near their home when he was six or getting tricked (by her) into thinking that there was a six-eyed, purple monster named Antonio living under his bed, Ed could understand why the colonel wouldn't want to tell him those things.

In one word:

Blackmail.

Just as a last resort, of course.

Edward scratched his head awkwardly. “Yeah . . . sorry about that phone conversation, again,” he told her in response to her last statement.

Tamalynn looked back at him, her dark eyes swimming with amusement, and waved the apology off. “It's no problem. Roy explained to me what happened—believe me, knowing his flirtatious ways, I would have reacted the same way if I were you.” The young woman noted the somewhat annoyed look of concern that flitted through the gold orbs for a fraction of a second and stated with a smile, “Don't worry—now that he's got you, I don't think he'll be doing any more skirt-chasing. You make him happy—I can tell.”

Ed blushed a bright red and averted his eyes. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

Tamalynn just smiled at him and went back to folding her clothes. After a long, though not uncomfortable silence, Ed looked back at the brunette and stated quietly, “You seem awfully . . . um, unsurprised that your older brother is gay.”

Black eyes darted up for a second, then descended again to watch over the work that the hands were doing. “I wasn't really. I was surprised when you shouted it at me over the phone, yes . . . but, that was just the initial shock of it, really. In all honesty, I've known for a long time. Years even.”

The Fullmetal blinked. “Really?” he asked, shifting about and sitting up straighter. Roy had just recently informed him that his mother had figured it out (and, much to Ed's relief, that she gave them her blessing)—and now Tamalynn was telling him that she had known for years . . . The alchemist then had to wonder if the Major General might actually know . . .

But he just as quickly dismissed that idea, owing to the fact that he was still alive.

“How?” he questioned. “We just figured it out only five months ago. Well . . . actually, we both figured it out before that, but were both just too stubborn to tell one another that we were attracted to each other up until five months ago . . .”

Tamalynn looked up from her work, a curious expression dancing across her face. “You mean . . . he didn't tell you?”

“Hm? Tell me what?” Ed questioned. The girl furrowed her brows and bit down on her bottom lip, setting down the shirt that she had been working on folding and averting her eyes. Ed smiled nervously, not at all liking the feeling that was creeping into his stomach. “H-hey, if you don't wanna tell me, then that's fine. I mean . . . if it was really important, then . . . he would have told me himself. Right?”

The young Mustang didn't look him in the eye when she answered. “I want to tell you . . . because I think that you have a right to know. And because I know that Brother won't tell you himself. I think that . . . it would be too painful for him.” She paused and closed her eyes. Ed cocked his head slightly to the right, then shifted around so that both of his feet were planted on the floor; Tamalynn let out a sharp breath and turned to face him, opening her eyes. “Roy was in love with another man before you.”

Ed—even though he had been in his own body for seventeen years and should know how it would react to certain situations better—was very much surprised by his almost non-reaction to the news. “Oh?” he stated calmly, not quite sure why he wasn't waist deep in a violent tantrum by now.

Tamalynn nodded slowly, watching her new friend carefully for any signs that she should A) stop telling him this and B) throw herself out of his arms' length before she could be transmuted into a giant avocado or something. Seeing only a calm façade, she continued on slowly, “Apparently, they were good friends and . . . this guy helped him recover after the rebellion in Ishbal. That's . . . when Brother said that he fell in love with him.”

Ed's heart suddenly beat painfully. Waitaminnit . . .

“Believe it or not, but . . . Roy actually called me up and told me. That's when I found out, by the way . . . He just sounded so happy—better than he had sounded since he had joined the military, that's for damn sure. And I thought to myself, `Maybe this guy is the one,' y'know? But then . . .”

Tamalynn paused and lowered her eyes. Edward swallowed hard and forced himself to ask, “What happened?” Even though he was sure that he didn't want to know.

“It was July the 18th—I still remember. The phone rang . . . and I was so glad that I answered it. It was Roy. He was . . . crying.” Ed's eyes widened. “He was sobbing like a child . . . saying how . . . he had finally told this guy—this guy that he loved with all of his heart—told him how he felt about him. And, um . . . the guy rejected him. Told him that he loved him as a friend—as a brother—but that he was getting married to some woman. That he could never return his affections in that way.”

It couldn't be . . . No . . .

Tamalynn bit down on the inside of her cheek and pursed her lips slightly. “He broke Brother's heart. After that . . . that's when Brother started throwing himself into meaningless relationships.”

No fucking way . . .

“But then . . . he met you. And now, I find myself thinking once again . . . `Maybe this guy is the one.'” She looked up at him and offered a thin, but happy smile. Ed let his eyelids droop slightly and he looked down at his bare feet; Tamalynn tilted her head to one side to look at him, her eyebrows knitted in concern. “You all right?” she asked comfortingly.

“I'm fine,” the blonde breathed.

A pause. “I shouldn't have told you this . . .”

Ed kept his eyes glued to the carpet between his feet, but answered hurriedly, “No, no . . . I'm . . . I'm glad that you did . . .” Tamalynn slowly sighed in what could be called relief and straightened herself up again, still not taking her eyes off of the Fullmetal. Both sat there for a long while, listening to the sounds of life outside the room, and just as the brunette was considering getting back to her laundry, Edward suddenly stood and asked, “Hey Tamalynn . . . do you happen to remember the guy's name?”

Please . . .

The young woman, though a bit surprised by this, brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully. Thinking for a few minutes, she finally shook her head and answered, “No . . . I should but, I . . . Oh! Wait—” She quite suddenly twisted out of her cross-legged sitting position and scrambled off of the bed, heading over to one of her many bags of luggage. After several minutes of futile searching and quite a bit of colourful cursing that would have made any sailor proud, Tamalynn stated loudly, “Ah, here we are!” and pulled out a thin, pink booklet.

A diary.

Please no . . .

She began flipping through the tattered pages, her back towards Edward so that he couldn't actually read anything—not that he'd want to, mind—mumbling dates to herself quietly.

When she reached a particularly sloppily scrawled entry, the corner bent down in a dog-ear, she stated quietly, “Here we go: July 18th.” Scanning the few pages in quick succession, running her finger under the smeared lines as she went, she finally stopped under a four-letter name.

“Here it is. Some guy named . . . Maes. So . . . Ed, do you know this—”

But Tamalynn stopped. Because when she turned around, Ed was gone and the door to her room was already swinging shut.