Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Fullmetal Alchemist: Revised Version ❯ The House of the Waiting Family, part 2 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: FMA? T'ain't mine to begin with. Otherwise, it would have been like THIS.

 

Additional Disclaimer: Any lyrics I post with my chapters aren't mine. I borrow them strictly for…uh…advertising purposes.

 

A/N: I have found my muse again! REJOICE! -sprinkles cotton candy-flavored confetti in the air- My field is green again! -garden, brown and dry from underuse, springs to life once more with daisies and butterflies and birds twittering-

 

Peeps! Don't forget! In the law of equal trade, both writer and reader should benefit on equal levels. I posted the chapters, NOW you have to review. Ne? I'm not asking for much. I just want you guys to take a minute of your time to reviewwww, m' kay?

 

So, picture this. Alphonse…Rockbell. With a wrench and screws in his mouth. What do you think? -a tomato's thrown- Eheh.

 

Continuation of Chapter 9

 

But I did, I can

I was, I am

Only human, living, dying

Just like any fool who ever breathed

If love is blind

If love's a drug

It always is

It always was and

Love was surely made for fools like me

- Lisa Loeb

 

Crutch in hand, Winry walked out into the sunshine and followed Ed, who decided to rest under the shade of the tree outside the Rockbell home. She knew that tree. It was the very same one they'd climbed on the first day they met Al. Winry smiled at the memory of Ed crowing victoriously from the topmost branch while she was helping Al up. He'd never really been good at climbing trees.

 

Ed stifled a yawn, fist over mouth, and returned to his relaxed position with his arm crossed behind his head. He heard the clipped grass crunch beneath shoes as Winry sat down next to him with some ease. Den padded over to the pair and sat on Ed's other side, completing the set of afternoon nappers. It was a warm, peaceful afternoon. Even the birds' chirps were soft. Nothing but green grass, blue sky, and the occasional breeze that ruffled one's hair to preoccupy the three. It was a perfect picture to portray.

 

Winry leaned back against the tree, her jacket on her lap as she tucked her left leg beneath her. It was nice to be back. They really needed this break. And she was sure Ed wouldn't disagree. Not internally, anyway.

 

The blonde girl turned azure eyes to the boy dozing lightly beside her, Den resting his head on his stomach and snoozing along with him.

 

She blinked. So peaceful when he's asleep.

 

Winry thought it was endearing.

 

Much better than when he was awake, and raving like a maniac about conspiratorial milk farmers who sold their milk by bribing the food industry for approval.

 

“…Ed?”

 

An audible grunt to signal that he was awake and he heard.

 

“Do you think everything Mr. Marcoh said to us was true?” she asked. “The Philosopher's Stone…and how it was made…”

 

“He didn't say anything about how it was made.” Ed answered, sighing deeply with his eyes closed. “All he did was give us the location of his notes and sent us off.”

 

“Still, it makes you wonder what the Stone's really made out of.” Winry plucked a blade of grass and held it in her two fingers to examine. “What encircles its form, from where its power's manifested. I really want to know what the ingredients are.”

 

Gold eyes fluttered open, and he sat up to lean against the trunk as was Winry, folding his arm over his stomach. Den's head fell from Ed's stomach and shifted to sleep on his back, paws in the air. The alchemist looked out over the horizon, the quiet hillside and the sunlight reflected in his eyes. Even though he got what he wanted, there was something about the way Dr. Marcoh had warned him about the “truth behind the truth”. First of all, what was the “truth”? And the “truth” behind that “truth”?

 

Ed sighed again, brushing it off. “Anyway, we've got three days till we go back to Central. And when we have nothing to do, we really are on a break.”

 

To top it off, no libraries. he thought silently to himself.

 

Winry caught the disgruntled look on Ed's face and smiled encouragingly. “But isn't it nice to have one now? We haven't had it easy in a while, you know.”

 

His surly expression changed, and melted into a distant, if not resentful, look. Suddenly, she regretted having brought up the topic. Winry wasn't exactly feeling so hot about the recent events either. Nina…Alexander…Shou Tucker…the man named Scar…Ishval…

 

…That's right. Mom and Dad were there when the war began, weren't they?

 

Winry drew her false brows together in reminiscence, eyes staring blankly upon the landscape. Her father's hat, the jingling of her mother's wedding ring from her neck, those whispered promises that were never meant to be kept…

 

“DAMMIT! I HATE BREAKS!”

 

She was pulled rudely out of her reverie when Ed began to flail his legs and arm wildly in the air next to her, complaining about sloths, milk, cows, and…bananas?

 

There was a time when Winry would punch Ed lightly on the shoulder whenever his actions irritated her. But this time, she was glad for the distraction. And she laughed. How random was he?

 

“What are you talking about? If you don't take some time off from the job, you'll always be tired.” she told him matter-of-factly. “Besides, no sleep means lack of body growth.”

 

Ed threw her a glare, the kind he used normally for throwing opponents off-guard. “I sleep a lot, Winry. In case you haven't noticed. So much I think I'm suffering from jet lag.”

 

She just laughed again, and teased, “Well, you still don't drink your milk; a good reason why you're not getting any taller.”

 

“I am getting TALLER!” he blazed.

 

“Two centimeters isn't such an accomplishment, Mister Alchemist.” Winry countered, having fun now. “I think you're suffering from Dwarfism.”

 

“AM NOT!”

 

“What if you are?”

 

“I'D KNOW IF I WAS!” Ed blew the last of his fuse and slumped back down, his back to the tree. He didn't even wince on a splinter.

 

Winry muffled her laughter. She really wasn't trying to be mean. Ed was just so teasable when it came to his short physique. She had a weird, weird liking to the way he just bristled and wreaked chaos within a diameter of five feet from where he stood. It was kind of fun, and somewhat refreshing from his twenty-four/seven I-don't-need-help-from-anybody attitude. One minute cool-headed, the next, a raging ball of fire. She didn't think plenty'd changed about him over the years she'd lived under the same roof with him. As much as Winry got good kicks out of making fun of Ed, she'd rather when he was quiet and thoughtful the most. Or asleep. He was always so innocent-looking when he was out like a light. It was nice. And it comforted her somehow; made her feel strangely warm.

 

Besides, he was the same height as she was, last time she checked. Even if that was a year and a half ago. Today, he was about…a centimeter…and a half…taller than her.

 

…Really not the best achievement since her body never changed.

 

The girl scooted closer to the still-fuming alchemist, attempting to place her hand over his. Then remembered his right arm was up in Al's workshop, and reached across instead to take up his left hand in her own porcelain-like ones.

 

“I'm sorry, Ed.” she said softly, sincerity in her voice. “I was just kidding.”

 

He regarded her with his forehead creased. After some seconds, the lines faded, and he withdrew his hand to pat the back of hers, as a sign he forgave her, and she smiled with happiness. Feeling better, he sat up straight, resuming his relaxed position against the trunk of the tree.

 

“So. What do you wanna do?” he asked, closing his eyes again. “Like you said, we've got some time to kill for now. Nothing we can do about it.”

 

Winry leaned back too, fiddling with her jacket folded in her lap. “I don't know. Maybe we can…”

 

She trailed off. Then an idea came to her suddenly.

 

“Oh yeah. Why don't you go visit Aunt Trisha's grave?”

 

Gold eyes snapped open, staring directly ahead in contemplation. “Hmm…maybe.” then Ed tilted his head to her. “How about you?”

 

Winry paused, unsure. Sensing her discomfort, he reached over to take one of her hands this time. And she looked to him with lucid, glass eyes.

 

“Tell you what. Let's go visit my mom's together.”

 

She smiled, glad with the agreement and the gesture itself. “Yeah.”

 

-sss-

 

After some reassurance to Pinako and Al, the twosome agreed to have an escort: Den. The old woman, considerate of Winry's state, decided to fashion her with a different type of prosthesis to avoid curious eyes. She attached to Winry's thigh a leg made purely out of aluminum. It was the simplest type of transfemoral prosthesis she'd ever made; no double-casing, no joints. Though it wasn't made for easy movement and required no nerve attachment, it was still easy to adjust to with the help of the crutch. It closely resembled Ed's training leg on some level. Al suggested that Winry have a change of clothes and wear pants to hide the leg, to which she agreed too.

 

Sometime later, Ed and Winry were making their way towards the local cemetery, Den trotting on their heels. Ed kept looking to Winry, gait slowing to let her catch up to him. She'd been insisting that she was fine. Leaving the rest of his clothes back at the Rockbell residence, he took only the pants, his boots, and the red coat, changing only his shirt. Winry chose to change her clothes entirely, and got into a pair of blue overalls and a fresh white, sleeveless blouse she had, plus a pair of comfortable sneakers. Everything else went into laundry. She kept her hair up in the usual ponytail.

 

They bought flowers at the florist's on the way(Den holding them), stopping to greet some of the people they knew.

 

“Hey, Edward! Winry!” cried a boy of Ed's age from over his family's sheep pen. “We haven't seen you guys in a while! Whoa, Winry! What happened to your leg? Did you break it?”

 

They waved from the road.

 

“Hi, Tom!” Winry called out, waving her free hand. “No, I'm okay! I just broke it, yeah!”

 

Tom made a beeline for the gate and stopped in front of the pair. “How's it going? You know it's been kinda boring without you two around.”

 

“Two missing people really shouldn't make that kind of difference around here, you know.” Ed remarked, grinning all the same.

 

“Aw, come on. You know we're pretty small, but everyone around here's family.”

 

They smiled tightly at the same time Tom had said that.

 

“Oh! Say, Winry!” he suddenly approached her, intensely close. She took a step back, bewildered. If he got too close, he might notice something weird.

 

“Y-yeah?” she stuttered, nervous all of a sudden.

 

Small, green eyes fixed on her face. “Do you have a boyfriend now?”

 

A pregnant pause.

 

Ed stared. “…”

 

Winry stared. “…”

 

Tom stared. “…”

 

Somewhere far off, someone yelled, “Free Bird!”

 

“Uh…Winry?” Tom tried again, a little braver. And if by brave, I meant “arrogant”, then yes.

 

The pretty blonde's mouth moved soundlessly, wondering where the heck this question came from. And why Tom was feeling a little…close today. Meanwhile, Ed just stood there. And as motionless and quiet as he was the whole time, he didn't exactly like where this was going. And the monster in his stomach was starting to growl, along with him.

 

“Um, uh, well…” Winry managed, “…n…no. No, I don't have one.”

 

Tom's face actually lit up like a lamp. “REALLY? SERIOUSLY? So does that mean you're free tonight? How long are you gonna stay? You got plans? When are you free? Do you like pasta? I can make pasta! If you wanna come over, I could—“

 

His sentence was never finished, because Ed suddenly darted forward and threw his left arm around the other boy's neck. To their surprises.

 

“Hey, Tom!” he barked sharply, his tone a cross between concealed anger and forced cheerfulness. “Forget Winry! You know you should take your mind off girls, and hang with the big boys instead! How about you and me go out tomorrow? Do the bonding and crap!”

 

Winry blinked. Ed? Bonding…?

 

Tom, wide-eyed(partly because his airway was being partially cut off), choked out, “E-eh? But, I wanted to take Winry—“

 

“NO YOU DON'T!” Ed's grin tightened, if ever possible, and the “brotherly” hug became more headlock-ish.

 

Was it just her, or was the vein on Ed's temple throbbing?

 

“We really should bond!” he went on, the lilt in his voice growing louder that it was starting to scare Tom. “It's been a while since I hung out with a guy! Not to say that Winry's boring and all, but I need a man to do manly stuff with! I need to broaden my senses, touch my environment in a more manly way!”

 

Winry blinked again, totally lost. In a more…manly…way…?

 

“You catch my drift, Tom?” the alchemist gave the victim's…er…boy's neck another brief but tight squeeze before letting go. Tom grabbed his neck in his own hands and bent over, gasping for air.

 

“Uhhh…” he choked out, “n-no thanks, Edward. I-I think I'll just stay at home, and ummmm…yeah, I'll just stay at home.”

 

His gaze fell on Winry, winced, and ran back into the pen. Tripping on a few of the sheep as he ran off.

 

Ed dusted off his left hand on his coat and grinned broadly at her. “Well, come on. We've got more of these guys to tackle.”

 

Winry just stared.

 

(A/N: Did she even catch the double meaning?)

 

-sss-

 

Luckily, no other boy thought to make “advances” on Winry. But the very few village girls they'd met along the way developed a certain interest in her life-long buddy, who was, by the way, as blonde and as thick(and as cute) as can be when it came to women. And in his stage(and situation), puberty was out of the question. Even if a girl was waving him into her house for dinner with semaphore flags, he still wouldn't get the message. Winry, on the other hand, did. And startlingly sharp she was to it too, as much as Ed caught on to guys trying to play for some hot pepper with her. But why would Winry get worked up over a few girls? Why should she? Ed wasn't her boyfriend, and definitely wasn't boyfriend material.

 

…At least, she thought so.

 

All the same, she shot all the girls with a slight glare and shifting the crutch to the left, hooked her right arm with Ed, while trying to keep the chummy mood between them rather than make it look like they were an actual couple. An image she struggled to block from her mind's eye. The other image she was trying to keep out was how they looked in that position.

 

Den was still keeping up with them, flowers still in his mouth. Soon enough, they were stepping into tall grass, where rows of headstones stood out from the ground. Ed, free from Winry's “hook”, plunged ahead with the black-and-white dog, his brilliant eyes singling out the grave where his mother was buried.

 

Winry caught up to him as he stood over her. Trisha Elric.

 

Neither spoke. They didn't have to. The pair just stood there, taking it all in: the name, date of birth, date of death, comments left for that dearly departed mother that Ed loved so much…

 

Den whined beside him. He turned, and remembered the flowers. Thanking the dog, he reached down and placed the small bouquet over the grave. The cold wind blew over the grass and in the trees, catching Winry's hair. She didn't make a move to turn her head in the wind's direction. She was too busy, trying to remember Trisha's smile. A smile she admired and loved.

 

Winry's gaze fell on Ed to her right, and she caught that expression on his face as he stared down at his mother's headstone. She knew what he was thinking. Not specifically, but she knew the big picture. Of their plan, their goal, their dreams and achievements…that was how well she knew her friend. And there were times when she thought he looked lonesome that way. And a piece of her heart went out to him.

 

Shifting the crutch again to her left, her right hand fell over his left. He looked up to her, and seeing her smile brought a small one to his own lips. It was reassuring, comforting, to have a friend beside him. To have her beside him.

 

Then, Ed's eyes fell eastward, to where his…no…their house used to be, and frowned slightly. Winry followed his gaze, and understandingly, decided to suggest, “Let's go there?”

 

He hesitated at first, but another supportive squeeze of his hand made him surrender to the idea. “Yeah. Come on, you two.”

 

-sss-

 

Some kids liked to pick up some fond memories from the houses they used to live in, and kept them as treasures. Others just turn their backs to their past and celebrate their new home.

 

Ed and Winry…preferred to stand in silent recollection, side by side. With nothing but the wind to disturb them. Den whined some when the cold draft hit his fur and he shivered.

 

The tree, their tree, charred and bare, stood alone forever unchanging from the previous six months it died along with the Elric's home. Remnants of their home stayed preserved and forgotten; the bricked foundation continued to wear away slowly with time. The faint smell of burnt wood still lingered in the air, nostalgic and painfully so. These were all that remained of the place that Ed and Winry once called home. Their memories were only what stayed untouched, memories they released into the air for the sake of their goal.

 

But today, they were gathering the pieces again. As Winry took a step towards the rubble, crutch making thumping noises at each slow stride.

 

“Winry?” Ed called to her. Den watched beside him.

 

She stopped some feet after she'd stepped over the spot where their front door used to be. Then she turned to look at him. And smiled.

 

“Some good memories are in this spot, I think.” she told him. “I stopped at this exact spot from the moment I stepped into your house. Then Mom and Dad left me here for Aunt Trisha to take care of. And then…”

 

Winry paused, before maneuvering her way over to a corner of dandelions growing on the grass, and stopped. Furrowing her brows in thought, she turned to Ed once more. “I think…yes. You were standing here on that day, and you just stared at me from behind your mother. I think I thought of you to be a quiet little boy at first.”

 

To her secret amusement, she saw his eye twitch at the word “little” but refused to break the moment.

 

“Guess I wasn't as taciturn as you thought I was.” Ed strode forward himself, and came to stand at eye-level with her. Winry blinked, having to lift her eyes just a tad to lock gazes with him. “But after that, we had fun, didn't we?”

 

She blinked again, and a smile crossed her lips. “Yeah. I wasn't all that interested in alchemy at first when you were. But I guess…”

 

His eyes glazed over.

 

“After some time…” she went on…

 

-sss-

 

10 years ago…

 

“Where are my Mommy and Daddy?”

 

Trisha Elric ran gentle fingers through the sobbing child's hair, whispering soft words of comfort in her ear.

 

“I'm sure they're coming back for you.” she reassured the little girl. But deep down, she was worried. The war had been declared over several weeks ago. The Edgestones should have returned by then, for their daughter. So why didn't they? Unless…

 

Trisha tried her best not to let those terrible thoughts show on her face. Winry needed a great deal of comfort now.

 

A younger Edward stood at the doorway of his and Winry's room, a tiny wooden horse in his hand. Something he'd made himself through alchemy. Something he'd meant to give to Winry as a present.

 

“I want my Mommy and Daddy!” she wailed again in his mother's arms, fat tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

Now, he wanted to give her something else. Something to make her happy with.

 

-sss-

 

Ed's gold irises had fallen closed. And he opened them again to meet Winry's intent, cerulean gaze. And he reddened slightly, realizing just how close he'd brought himself to her.

 

“Well,” he said in an off-handed manner, averting his gaze with a cough, “that's the past. Some things were worth remembering and some things weren't. We just have to remind ourselves that not everything's forgotten here, right?”

 

Winry listened to him, warm all over. And she knew, Ed didn't throw the past away like that. He cherished it as much as she did. She smiled as much as her porcelain face let her.

 

A whine from Den pierced the silence, and she realized just how late it was.

 

“Damn…” Ed cursed under his breath, eyes on the sunset. “Winry, come on. We'd better head back before it gets dark.”

 

“Un.” she agreed, gathering herself up to follow him.

 

Suddenly, Ed stopped mid-stride and pausing some, turned on his heel towards Winry, who stopped abruptly herself. Then slowly, a flesh hand extended out towards her.

 

Ed smiled, a true one. One that made her non-existent stomach do flip-flops.

 

“They're all waiting.” he said, smile still plastered to his face.

 

Winry blinked.

 

And some foreign emotion made her face break out into a joyful grin, and launch herself forward with her crutch to grab his outstretched hand, laughing happily.

 

End of Chapter 9…or is it?

 

A/N: Har-har hardy-har-har! Once more, I broke off! Sorry, because I think this one chapter's going to be a long one! I mean, what are you gonna do with me? XD

 

I hope you loved that one! Now, REVIEWWWWWWW!