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Resembool had always been a quiet town. Quiet, but not a bad place to grow up in. After all, serenity is better than chaos. But life on the countryside can get mundane after a year or sixteen. In fact, the most eventful thing that had happened within the past couple months was when a family from Xing moved into town—just down the road from the Elrics. To call them a family, though, was a bit of a stretch. It was more like a kind, polite girl, her stern but capable grandfather, and some stowaway that followed them to Amestris. Ed’s heard the story a million times: the young boy without blood relation is still like family to Lan Fan and Fu; that’s why he came with them. But every time the tale is recited, small details always end up changing. Ed wasn’t so sure what to make of that information.
Not to mention, Lan Fan and her tagalong friend, Ling, were both Ed’s age, making him the perfect victim for their antics. Or—more like Ling’s antics. Ed won’t lie though; having the two of them around has definitely made things more interesting. Living your whole life in the same small town where the only people your age are your brother and your neighbor who could practically be your sister at this point gets old fast. And it was just Ed’s luck that somebody like Ling would burst into this monotonous life, guns blazing.
Still, even with Ling and Lan Fan around to liven things up, the peacefulness of Resembool eventually caught up, and the new Xingese neighbors suddenly weren’t so new anymore. Normalcy isn’t all that bad, though, and Ed enjoyed the silence—when he wanted it. But at times like these when he was locked in his room, trying to study the finite amount of alchemy books he could salvage from the study of the man who he refused to call “Dad,” he really wished he lived somewhere with more excitement.
Yet, to say Edward was studying would be too generous; seeing as he had been reading the same sentence over again for the past minute, trying to get a grip on his attention. It wasn’t likely he would be retaining any information from the book in front of him. Understanding this, Ed eventually decided to call it quits.
Ed figured it was worth checking out what the rest of his family was up to, seeing as he’d been locked in his room all day. He pushed in his chair and stretched and weariness out of his muscles, only for his train of thought to be interrupted by a tap on his window.
He didn’t have to look to know who was there. Letting his annoyance show on his face, he knelt on his bed to open the window before his uninvited guest did it himself.
“Why can’t you come in through the front door like a normal person,” Ed asked for the hundredth time since he’d known his Xingese neighbor.
“Because I figured you were holed up in your room anyway,” Ling flashed Ed a charming grin as he let himself in and hopped on the bed next to the alchemist. To Ed’s exasperation, this wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Sometimes he wondered whether or not they even had doors in Xing, because he had hardly ever seen Ling walk through one. On the other hand, Ed also considered that Ling did it on purpose, knowing full well the invasion of privacy got the alchemist riled up. Regardless, here Ling was, sitting on Ed’s bed. Circumstances that had strangely settled into everyday life in the sleepy town of Resembool.
Ling craned his neck forward to catch a glimpse of the notes on Ed’s desk that might as well have been gibberish to the boy, “What’s it this time anyway? Any interesting, new alchemic discoveries?”
“Yeah, I’m actually learning how to permanently lock my window forever so no Xingese weirdos can climb through it.”
Ling simply laughed at the jab, understanding the joke. The joke being that Ed very much knew how to keep his window glued shut with alchemy but, despite his complaining, never felt the need to actually do it.
“So, what are we doing today?” Ling leaned toward Ed who shot him a disinterested face.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m—” Ed cut himself off as he glanced back at the book he had been failing to concentrate on, “I’m actually not doing anything.”
Ling’s features brightened, “Great! So, you’re free then?”
“Yeah, I guess. But don’t get used it—I’m not just gunna drop everything whenever you come crawling through my window.”
“I know, I know,” Ling laughed, carefree—the kind that always put Ed in a better mood. Of course, having to kill that very mood, Ling teased, “Thank you for gracing me with your presence today, Mr. Alchemist.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ed huffed in amusement. Okay, maybe he hadn’t killed the mood. “So do you wanna see if Al and Winry are around? I guess Lan Fan’s busy, huh?”
Scratching the back of his head, Ling glanced toward the floorboards, looking almost shy. “I was actually thinking it’d be just the two of us today. But, you can definitely ask Al and Winry to come if you’d rather...”
Confused, but not wanting to press the subject, Ed conceded, “No, it’s fine. What’d you have in mind?”
“Not much. Just… Have something I want to show you!” Back to his normal self, Ling hopped off the bed and held out a hand for Ed.
Accepting the help up, Ed’s confusion only deepened, “You can’t show me here?”
“Well, that’d be hard, since it’s not here,” Ling mused as he made his way for the door, still holding onto Ed’s hand.
“What is it, though?”
Ling opened the door—Ah, he does know how to use them—and pulled the alchemist along, “It’s a secret.” Just as Ed had been dragged through the entrance, Ling turned around to catch his shoulders, smiling sweetly, “Wanna go for a walk?”
—
Past the cleared land behind the Rockbell’s house, the two boys made their way into the woods that bordered Resembool. Ed had hardly ever gone back this far, always told by his mom that it was too dangerous. He was far more absorbed in the scenery around him than the story that Ling was telling about some fight Lan Fan and Fu were having. But Ed didn’t stop him either. Though he liked to complain about Ling always running his mouth, just listening the sound of his voice was a relief to Ed’s senses after a long day of studying. He had needed to get out of the house anyway.
“I really thought Lan Fan was going to jump across the table, but Fu—”
“Hey, Ling?” Ed interrupted as they crossed the second stream they had run into deep in the forest.
“Yeah?”
“Where the hell are we going?”
“I told you: it’s a secret!” Ling’s smile remained as he continued his trek further into the woods, “It’s actually not anything that great, though; I don’t wanna get your hopes up too much. It’s just… Something I thought you could appreciate.”
More curious than ever about what the hell it was that Ling wanted to show him, Ed mused, “Is it like… Some alchemy thing?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Like I said it’s nothing special.”
Ed hummed in thought, still curious, but let Ling indulge in his secrecy. “Do we still have a long way to go?”
Taking in his surrounding, Ling concluded, “No, we’re actually almost there.” Without warning, Ling grabbed his friend’s hand and pulled him forward into a light jog toward their destination.
“Hey, Ling, wai—” Ed’s flustered gripes were cut off as he caught sight of what it was Ling had brought him so deep into the forest to see.
Just over the small hill that Ed had been pulled up onto laid a secluded field of bright, yellow flowers that covered his view. There was just enough of a clearing in the canopy of the trees that shone sunlight directly onto the meadow, making it look like a pool of gold.
“So? What d’you think?” Ling turned toward Ed, a bit unsure of the great reveal.
Still a bit dazed, Ed didn’t even turn toward his friend to say, “It’s beautiful.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Ling tugged on Ed’s hand, “C’mere,” Ling took the two of them down into the field and squatted in front of the flowers to get a better look, signalling for Ed to do the same.
As he got closer, Ed realized they almost looked like sunflowers. They were a lot smaller, though, and not nearly as tall. But they were still clustered together by towering stems. No wonder everything in the field looked so yellow—there were probably hundreds of them.
Ed reached out to pluck one of the flowers and study it, before turning to Ling, “This really is amazing—don’t get me wrong—but why did you want to just show me?”
Ling pulled his hand away from Ed’s to scratch the back of his head as he looked away slightly; the same action he performed when he first admitted to wanting to bring Ed here alone. He took a moment before responding, “They just… reminded me of you, y’know?”
A bit embarrassed at the comparison, Ed’s face started to redden as he let out a “Huh?” Smooth.
“They’re just so golden… Like you,” sitting down all the way, Ling used his right hand to grab the back of Ed’s own, and used his left to lure the flower out of his friend’s grasp. Keeping his eyes on the golden plant the whole interaction, Ling continued, “I was just taking a walk the other day when I found this place, and it immediately made me think of you—of your eyes and your hair.”
Ed was already beyond flustered before, but then Ling reached out to tuck the blonde’s bangs behind his ear, placing the flower there as well. Ed felt his cheeks burn at the interaction, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Ling who was smiling so fondly at the alchemist.
Regaining enough of his senses to form a sentence, Ed finally turned his eyes away and muttered, “Al’s’re the same color, y’know.”
Ling let out an embarrassed laugh, “Yeah, I guess they are, huh?” He ran a thumb across Ed’s palm, and felt his friend tense up at the act, but neither pulled away. Ling was looking at their hands as he continued, “I don’t know, I just thought they suited you more. The flowers seemed so bright and bold; so very Edward Elric.”
Ed looked back at Ling who was smiling so patiently—so vulnerably—at the boy in front of him. However, Ed, who was incapable of holding such intimate eye-contact, turned his gaze away again. He may be confrontational, but Ed wasn’t good with compliments. “What’s with this cheesy shit,” Ed remarked in a subdued voice, feigning annoyance.
Ling laughed, airy and warm, “Oh, you know me. I’m as cheesy as they come.”
Letting out a snort, Ed playfully hit Ling’s chest with his free hand and turned back toward the flowers, “They really are cool, though. I can’t believe there was something like this in the forest all this time.”
Ling hummed, “I’m glad you like them. I was kinda worried you’d think it was too… girly?”
“What? No. Flowers’re cool. Nature’s cool.”
“Right, of course,” Ling laughed, relieved by the casualness of the situation. “Do you want to bring some back for your mom? I’m sure she’d like them.”
Ed considered the offer before deciding, “Nah, she’d just plant them in her garden anyway, and then it wouldn’t be… Y’know.” It wouldn’t be special.
“Suit yourself. Guess that just means we’ll have to stay here a little longer, huh?” Ling was smiling again like he always does—that stupid, reassuring grin.
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
—
Darkness had begun to shroud the field of gold, so the two boys decided to head back home. When they made their way to Ed’s house, they ran into Al who had been working in their mom’s garden.
“Oh, hey. Welcome back,” Al looked up from his work with a streak of dirt across his nose.
“Hey. We’re not too late for dinner, are we?”
“No. Mom’s finishing the stew right now.”
Ed beamed at his brother, “Oh, hell yes,” he then turned to Ling as he offered, “Do you wanna stay for dinner? If Lan Fan and Fu are still fighting then—”
“Brother?” Al interrupted with a confused face, gesturing toward his own ear.
Realizing what his brother meant, Ed lifted his hand to see what Al had spotted. When he detangled the flower his hair, Ed whipped around to confront Ling, “What the hell, dude?! Why didn’t you tell me that was still there?”
Ling let out a carefree laugh, “Because you looked cute!”
“I’m gunna kick your ass!”
“Brother!” Al jumped up to stop Ed from going through with his threat, only for Ed to turn back around in frustration.
“Whatever, you’re not invited anymore. Go home.”
“Aww, but I was really looking forward to that stew!”
“Don’t be silly, brother. Ling, you can stay.”
“No, he can’t!”
Ling hadn’t stopped laughing throughout the whole interaction, but sedated his amusement to add, “It’s fine. I’ll leave if that’s what you want, Ed.”
Ed glared at Ling in irritated contemplation before deciding, “I don’t care. If Al wants you to stay, you can stay…”
Hugging Ed in exaggerated elation, Ling thanked the alchemist only to be pried off as Ed made his way inside.
Al waited until his brother was out of earshot before inquiring, “Not that it matters but… Why did he have a flower behind his ear?”
Ling hummed in satisfaction, “Because I put it there.”
“Oh?”
Before Al could further question him, Ling followed Ed into the house to thank Mrs. Elric for her delicious cooking. That didn’t stop Al’s curiosity from eating at him as they sat down for dinner. To Ed’s relief, though, Al didn’t ask about it again. And, in turn, Ed didn’t ask Ling why he had brought him to the field alone, and why he was so nervous about it in the first place. Both brothers were curious over the situation, but decided not to worry about the details. Soon, life returned to the humdrum flow of Resembool. As much as he wanted to know the answer, he wouldn’t ask. Besides, in such a quiet, peaceful town, Ed didn’t mind having somebody as peculiar as Ling to think about every now and again.