The City Under Central (Edward Elric x Reader)

Part 2

"I've been waiting for you..." Once you stood directly in front of him, he noticed something was wrong and frowned a bit. Your eyes looked distant instead of sharp and focused; full of laughter, like they usually were. Your movements looked controlled instead of free, almost as if you were sleepwalking.

In your head, your brain felt fuzzy and everything around felt like a dream, like it wasn't real. You did love Edward, but you would never tell him outright. You knew that he had priorities and you didn't want to hold him back from accomplishing his goals. You wanted Ed and Al to get their bodies back. Keeping them from doing so was the last thing you wished to do. You felt like encouraging them was the true way to help them.

But you couldn't get yourself to say that. It was as if your mouth didn't want to work. Instead, you held out your hand to him. He looked confused at first, but then gave you a small smile before gently pressing his palm into your own.

The two of you walked onto the middle of the ballroom, holding hands, the music still playing. He placed his right hand on your waist, and you could feel the coolness of the auto-mail metal through the fabric of your dress. Your breath hitched as his hand grasped your own, moving his fingers in between yours and letting the warmth envelop them. You didn't hesitate to fold your fingers over until they held his. You both waltzed to the music. He held you close as you danced, allowing you to rest your head on his shoulder.

This moment, to you, was perfect.

"I've been waiting," you said in a soft voice. "For you... For us."

You pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Edward, I love you."

Almost immediately, blush appeared on Edward's cheeks, turning his face pink.
"You do?" He was flattered, but he knew that something was wrong. That this was wrong. You weren't acting like yourself. You were never this open and direct.

Suddenly, he pushed away from you. He stumbled backwards a few steps, the confusion clear on his face. He didn't know what else to do.

"Look (Y/N), I don't think you realized what you just said to me..."

You took a step towards him, but an awful thought had worked its way into your already-fuzzy brain and stopped you midstep. Your gaze flicked from Edward to the floor, tears beginning to form in your eyes.

"Do you not love me too?"

A look of horror spread across his face as he realized how hurt you must be feeling. He looked away from you, avoiding any eye contact.

"No... I just... It's complicated," he stuttered uncomfortably.

Your knees gave way when you heard those words coming from his mouth. It's complicated. Kneeling on the floor, you kept looking at the ground silently. The tears in your eyes were falling softly, but no sobs racked your body. You were in control enough to keep from making a huge show of emotions.

"You don't love me," You whispered, your voice breaking. "You don't love me..."

Edward felt terrible seeing you this way. You were his childhood friend along with Winry. All he's ever wanted was to get his and Al's body back and for the people he cared about to be happy. He started towards you, to comfort you, to tell you that now was just a really bad time, but the sound of a baby's cry stopped him.

Ed whipped around, startled, his hands already clapped together. With a flash of light, his metal arm was transmuted into a sharp blade and he held it out in front of him defensively.

Across the ballroom stood Lyra and Rose, Rose's child in held in her arms. Ed's eyes softened as his gaze fell upon her, and his metal blade dropped a bit.

"Rose..." His voice broke off.

Lyra's gaze landed on your form then back to Edward, a smug smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Look at her, pitiful creature. You couldn't give her one little dance? Seeing as how she's been waiting here for you ever since she came into hiding... You're despicable."

Ed's expression darkened. "Lyra, why'd you bring Rose and (Y/N) to this place?"

Lyra casually walked onto the ballroom floor directly across from where he was standing and stood to face him. "Before Dante died, she told me about a city that only old alchemists knew about. It sounded safe."

"I know you said before that Dante had been murdered, but you were awfully vague. You never told me who did it or why."

"That homunculus named Greed killed her. I could've sworn I told you that."

"You're lying to me."

Lyra feigned a look of innocence. "Am I?"

"The transmutation circle in Dante's mansion was designed to specifically drain a homunculi's power. And the human remains that were Greed's weakness were laid out in the same room. Even if he wanted to, Greed couldn't have made a move against her."

She tilted her head. "That's all very interesting, but I saw her corpse with my own eyes."

"That proves nothing except that the body she was squatting in could no longer serve its purpose," he stated.

Lyra laughed coldly. "What?"

"Let's say the Philosopher's Stone could be used to jump from one body to another," he pressed. "That would make a human capable of living for hundreds of years. I think Dante faked her death and used the stone to take over a younger body. A body like yours would be just the right fit."

"Edward, stop it! It's not true!" Lyra cried. With a clap of his hands, Edward transmuted a long spear from the stone floor and launched it expertly, aimed towards Lyra's heart. Before it could impale her, she too clapped her hands and managed to stop it midair.

It fell to the floor with a clatter. "That was too close."

"When did you see the gate?" Edward shouted. "That's the only way you could transmute without a circle! And Lyra couldn't do that before! Your secret's up, Dante."