Different Beginning, Different Outcome
Authored by: The Sole Survivor Summary: Instead of getting his automail arm broken, it's his leg this time.. and it was stolen! What will Winry's reaction be and what will happen to Ed after he tells the story? NOT A ROMANCE!
Randomness level: 8.9 on the Weirdness scale
Winry groaned slightly as she was awaken from her deep slumber. She opened her eyes, immediately raising her arm to sheild her sensitive pupils from the bright sunlight. Sitting up, she threw her legs over the side of the bed, stretching her arms up over her head. "What a night.." She mumbled and stood to get out of her work clothes she'd fallen asleep in.
She walked slowly down the stairs, not at all surprised to hear Den's incessive barking until it registered in her head what he could be barking at. Her blue eyes opening wide, she flew down the rest of the stairs, flinging open the door to come face to face with shocked golden eyes and a white glove-covered fist poised to knock. But the problem wasn't that he seemed a little taller than normal, it was the fact that he had sweat slipping off his cheeks..
And the fact that Al held him around the waist, as if to keep him up...
Putting two and two together, she gasped and glared hatefully at the blond alchemist. "Edward Elric.." He winced at his full name before wiggling out of Al's grip, despite his younger brother's protest.
"Wait, Winry, let me explain first.." Once he set on solid ground, Winry's eyes widened double their size. Ed was standing on one leg. "Okay, listen, before you go all manic on me, this really wasn't my fault." Having got over her shock, she lowered her eyebrows and crossed her arms disbelieving, but moved inside, signaling for him to follow. She sat down on the couch in the living room, hearing Ed hop toward her to sit as far away from her as he could.
"Alright, Edward, what happened?" Her voice still tense, but her face projected eerie calmness, which scared the living daylights out of him.
'At least she's not screaming yet...' Al mused, sitting beside his brother incase he should do or say something wrong. Ed took no time in babbling uselessly about what had happened.
"Well.. see.. what had happened was... well.. uh.. I didn't do-- ..there was this.. --thing that .. I mean.." Moving his arms in elaborate gestures, he seemed to make his arms do all the talking for him. He stopped however, when he heard a very low growl echo from the young mechanic. Her icy stare drilled a hole through the blond's head, making him shiver on the spot. He sighed, defeated. "Okay, my leg was... mph.." He mumbled the rest. Winry raised an eyebrow, seeming not giving up on her eerie calm additude.
"Your leg was what, Ed?" He slowly looked up and sighed. She was going to beat him anyway, so why not get it over with? Looking her straight in the eye, he crossed his arms.
"My leg... was stolen." He stated, suddenly losing his cool posture, he drew his arms in front of his face as if to protect himself. Hearing nothing, he lowering his arms to see not an angry Winry with a wrench, but a shocked one.
"Stolen?" She echoed, confusion in her voice. Slowly, she got the idea. "Stolen?!" Her voice became like a shrieking monkey as she stood up and forcefully walked over to the State Alchemist. Ed tightly closed his eyes, waiting for impact of a metal object on flesh and bone contact. But the only thing he felt were her fingers wrapping themselves in the hood of his red coat, practically lifting him out of his seat up to her face. He opened his eyes to see her wide fiery blue eyes so close, he could feel heat radiating from them. "How could... HOW could you let MY precious AUTOMAIL get STOLEN?!"
"Wait, Winry, it really wasn't his fault! The old woman knocked him out!" Al desprately tried to free his brother from the death grip Winry had on him, but to no avail. Hearing the suit of armor, a dark cloud formed over her head.
"Well then, Alphonse... why didn't you do anything?" Putting extra emphasis on 'you', she smiled sweetly at the youngest of the Elric's. Being in a metal suit of armor, he sure did express himself well. His metal face sweatdropped, his soul eyes widening noticeably, realizing he dug himself a grave along with Ed's.
"Uh.." Al let go of Ed's red coat and backed up a few feet. "I'm sorry, Winry, I tried, but you know I can't run fast in this armor.." He even added his own personal touch by using a child-like whimper that made Winry's eyes soften a little, the cloud disappearing.
"Oh come ON, Al!" Ed suddenly screamed and began to thrash as much as he could with one leg in Winry's grip. The mechanic growled and tightened her grip, shaking him like a owner would their dog.
"Calm down, Ed! What are you talking about?" Her voice wasn't as shrill, but still held a threat. Actually being able to look at her without tilting his head upward, he glared. His golden eyes flashing almost dangerously. He extremely hated being scolded.
"Okay, if you really wanna know, we were BOTH immoble! Al's bottom half was melted while I was, as mentioned, knocked out." Winry's grip slacked barely as she took in the information. Her glare disappeared completely as she looked at Al, then to Ed. Finally, she noticed that they both looked a bit rough. Al had dents and scratch marks in the upper torso of the armor, but the bottom half was sleek and shiny, as if a new model. That made sense, Ed must've used alchemy to put Al's legs back together. She turned to Ed, and gasped, her blue eyes widening. He had had blood trickling down his forehead and it dried in a spot above his eyebrow. His face was dirty with the earth's elements, and she noticed that his coat was rather filthy also. Why hadn't she noticed when they came in?
"Ho--How did this happen?" Her voice had lowered noticeably, which made the Elric brother exchange glances. Turning, she slowly lowered Ed to the ground, not even acknowledging when he staggered a bit before crashing to the ground, screaming as he went. "When did.. this happen..?" Her voice was breaking and Ed saw a shimmer of sparkles in her eyes. She turned back to them, but locked her eyes onto the short alchemist who was still laying on the ground on his back. Ed felt his face sag. He hated it when women cried, especially over what he'd done. He frowned and stood up, leaning against the arm of the couch. But despite the scene before him, he gave a cocky grin and raised an eyebrow.
"We just told you, machine junky." Almost losing his balance from her sudden hateful glare, he waved his hands in front of him in a non-threatful gesture. "Okay, I know what you mean. Uh.. well.. what happened was.."
Flashback TIME
Walking down the hall, the young alchemist prodigy and the suit of armor known as his brother were seemingly very calm. But to another's eye, they would notice how stiff the armor was walking and the burning fire in the golden eyes of the short older brother. The two Elric's were currently heading down the hallway of Central Headquarters to General Mustang's office. He'd called them for 'important news' from their dorm room.
"Nii-san?" Al asked tentively, as if testing his limits with his brother. He heard a low grunt he barely caught, but supposed it was a sign to continue. "What do you think Mustang's important news could be?" Ed sighed and slowed his pace, showing Al that he'd calmed down somewhat.
"You're asking the wrong person, Al." Finally reaching their destination, Ed braced himself before opening the door, ignoring his brother's cry or protest. Stomping up to his superior's desk, he tried his hardest to stare down at Mustang, but by the smirk that appeared after the initial shock melted away on Roy's face, he knew he'd failed again. "What is it, Mustang?" He asked quietly, sitting down on the couch. Chuckling, the General got up from his desk and walked around from behind it. Giving a nod to Al as the armor sat beside Ed, he leaned against the arm of the couch that the eldest of the Elric's had his elbow on.
"Glad to see you showed up so quickly, Full Metal." Mustang mused to himself quietly, the smirk still on his face. Ed desprately wanted to wipe it off of him, but knowing him, if he attacked, he'd end up being burned on the spot. "I have news for you and your brother, so I suggest you listen." Ed scoffed and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, just hurry up and get it over with." Roy sighed and shook his head before the smirk came back.
"What, got a date, Full Metal?"Flashback.. HALTED
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mustang asked you what?" Ed sighed at the interruption and leaned onto the couch arm. "Why'd he ask you that, Ed? Was it sarcasm or did you really have a date?" Winry inquired, amused when a slight blush formed it's way onto his cheeks as he roughly shook his head.
"No! I didn't have a date! It's just an expression, I'm sure Mustang didn't mean anythi--..." Ed trailed off before his eyes widened. He face-palmed. "Why am I sticking up for that bastard.." He muttered to himself before looking back at Winry, glaring when she looked highly amused. "Can I continue, or do you just wanna be curious about what happened to your 'precious' automail?" He asked, a teasing tone to his voice, but at the same time, threatening. She glared and crossed her arms before nodding.
Flashback.. continued..
Immediately after that sentence left his mouth, Ed's face took on a new color for the word embarassment. Mustang smirked. How he loved being in control. "Anyway," he continued, "I need you two to go pick up something for me. I'll need it here by at least noon. Got it?" Totally forgetting about the statement, Ed jumped up from his seat.
"What!?" His glare intensified. "You called us in here to do an errand for you?!" From the smirk still on Mustang's face, he could tell that's what he's been waiting for; Ed to snap. "Come on, Full Metal, do something nice for your superior. I'll even give you some clues about the whereabouts on the Philosopher's Stone." The young State Alchemist's blood ran cold and he froze on the spot, his face losing color rapidly. Even Al had stiffened. "What is it you need, General?" Al's voice was like a knife, cutting through the silence. Smiling at the still stiff Edward, he walked back to his desk, picking up papers he'd been filling out. "Full Metal, what I need you to do for me is just to take these forms to a friend of mine in town. That's all I require. I have no time to do it or I would've gone myself." Handing out the papers, Ed quickly grabbed them and stood, reading over them. "And when we get back, tell us everything you know about the stone. Deal?" Mustang smirked and waved his hand lazily, faking a yawn. "You'd better hurry, Full Metal. I have my friend waiting near the lake." Growling, Ed saluted stiffly and walked swiftly out the door, Alphonse trailing behind after bowing politely at the General. After leaving Central Headquarters, Ed and Al walked quickly in the direction of the lake. "Nii-san?" "What, Al?" Ed's voice was tight. "Do you really think the General has information about the Philosopher's Stone? I mean, he could be tricking us into thinking that he does so we'll do his work for him." Ed sighed, his voice had lowered almost to a whisper. "I don't care, Al. Even if it is fake news, I'll take it. Any means to get your body back." Al stopped walking and stared at the back of his brother's head. Sometimes he wished his brother would stay on one emotion for more than five minutes. Grinning on the inside, Al picked up the steps to reach his brother, who had continued to walk ahead. "And to fix your body, Nii-san. I may not be able to feel anymore, but you do. And that automail can be very painful on you." Ed sighed and straightened up, seeing the lake in view. "There's the lake, Al. Let's hurry and--" He was cut off, however, when they saw a figure standing ahead of them, wearing a dark black coat. Their hood was over their head, so Ed couldn't see if it was a man or a woman. Growling, Ed took a fighting stance. "Who are you?" He shouted, his glare nearly reaching the bridge of his nose. If there was one thing Ed hated, it was detours. "Nii-san, I think.. I think that's a woman." Confused, Ed squinted his eyes, and sure enough, the person had long hair and breasts. "Hey! Are you the General's friend that needs these forms?" He shouted, noticing when the woman's eyes widened dramatically. Her mouth opened and she outstretched her hand. A strange gurgling sound echoed from her throat as she fell on her knees, her eyes bugged out. The cloak fell off of her and revealed her as a nearly 70 or possibly older woman, seemingly choking on something. Alarmed, all Ed could think to do was run to her aid, Alphonse close behind. "Ed, what's wrong with her?" Al's panicked voice flew in and out of Ed's jumbled mind. Kneeling down beside her, Ed grabbed her hands that were desprately trying to rip her own throat out. "I don't know, Al, I'm not exactly an expert on the human anatomy!" Feeling her throat with his human hand, he held the urge to gasp loudly. There was a huge abnormal lump in her throat, definately not normal. "Al, there's something in this woman's throat. Help me get it out of her!" "Right." Standing behind her, Al wrapped his arms around her stomach and squeezed as gently and as rough as he could so the object could fly out. Then, in the blink of an eye, the woman had flipped Al over on his back and was standing in front of Ed, very menacingly. She began to chuckle.
"Well well, the Full Metal runt has decided to help an old woman like me. How touching.." Ed's eyes widened, then hardened immediately, his body becoming rigid.
"Who are you calling a RUNT?!" He shouted, his little chibi body flying in the air, his fists poised to punch her senseless. But, as his luck would have it, the old woman moved out of the way with the skill of a 20 year old woman. After picking himself up from the ground, he gasped and turned around as she grabbed his left arm. He growled threateningly. "Nii-san!" Ed turned around slightly and saw Al on the ground, but something was different. His bottom half was gone. Ed's eyes widened, panic in his eyes. "Al!" Laughing bitterly, the woman twisted his arm behind his back. "Let's see.. which arm was it..?" Thinking out loud, the woman began to feel his shoulders. "Hey, what are you doing? Get off me!" Kneeling down, he swung his left leg behind him, knocking the woman off her feet. She grunted as she collided with the rough ground. Ed moved quickly and transformed his automail into a two-pronged spike, which he drove into the ground, a spike on either side of her neck. She scowled at him before she tore her eyes loose from his cold glare to look at his exposed automail. Catching Ed off guard, she wrapped both her hands around the cold steel of his hand. Just then, Ed noticed something odd about her eyes. They were a dull green and practically lifeless. His eyes widened before he jerked the blade out of the ground, effectively releasing her grip on his hand. He jumped up and backflipped toward Al, turning around to inspect his damage. You're a clever one, runt." Her rough voice cut through his nerves like knives. Instinctively, he turned around and tried to cut her with his blade, but again, she ducked. Ed was half expecting the woman to materialize into Envy, the shape-shifting homunculus. The other just wondered if she had just forgotten to take any medication. Veins popped in his head, but he resisted the urge to shout negative words at the old woman, lest he be charged for verbal abuse. But he did have a few choice words for her. "Ed! What are you gonna do?" Al's voice broke his thoughts of a private homocide, and caused him to glance in his direction. "I don't know, Al. But what I do know is if this woman keeps pissing me off, I will go off on her," Ed half-whispered, and all of a sudden lost sight of her. "Hey, where-- OW!" Wincing and recoiling, he drew back from in front of Al to see the woman holding the suit of armor's metal head in her hands, still in the 'I'm-gonna-beat-you-stupid' position. Ed grunted and grabbed his head where the spike on Al's head had hit him. He pulled back his hand and winced when he saw blood smeared across his glove. "Dammit, lady, what the hell's your problem?!" As soon as he spoke, he saw a flash of green so close to his face, he immediately began to back up to find the woman in his personal space. "Don't you raise your voice to me, young man." Ed froze and glanced up at the woman, who had taken to glaring at him sternly with her hands on her hips. 'Damn, talk about your mood swings...' He thought dryly, but his expression was a different story entirely. He was staring at her with such confusion and agrivation, it was beginning to give him a headache. "Now you march over there and help up your father, mister! No dessert for you!" With the strangest expression on his face, he began to walk toward Al before reality set in. Frustrated beyond all reason, Ed took double steps back and began to furiously wave his arms around his head.
"AARRGH! Dammit, lady! Did you just escape from the loony bin or did you just forget to take your pills?" He shouted, sweat beginning to form on his brow from the confusion of it all. "I'm starting to wonder if this is worth fake information on the stone.." He muttered and before he could blink, he saw Al's head fly at his head again before blackness clouded his vision. "I'll take this as punishment.." He heard the woman say and felt a click of metal. "Nii-san!!" He heard Al's panicked shout before he fell into unconciousness. Flashback TIME over..
"And .. so that's what happened. After I'd woken up, I fixed Al, and headed back to the Headquarters to yell at Mustang, then we headed here." Ed finished, his arms folded snugly against his chest. Silence greeted him uncomfortably, and he was almost afraid to look at Winry, but eventually forced himself to. As he raised his head, he caught sight of her shivering form, her fists clenched at her sides. 'Okay, she's angry..' Ed mused as he continued his journey to her face. As he looked into her eyes, he saw not anger or frustration, but amusement. That completely threw him off. Ed sent her a strange look, that sent her over the edge. She lost control and burst out laughing, her arms folded over her sides as she began to cry.
"Oh my GOSH, Ed! You should be an author! You tell the funniest stories!" Ed, even more confused than before, raised an eyebrow questioningly. That seemed to make her go into a fit of giggles.
"But, Winry, that's what happened." Al small voice managed to be heard through her laughter. Winry hiccuped before letting loose another giggle. She sat up and wiped her eyes, the huge smile still on her face.
"I know, I know that's what happened. But Ed, you totally know how to tell a story." Winry told him, standing up and walking over to him. Ed seemed to still be mulling over her reaction for his face was scrunched up in deep thought. His deep golden eyes were unfocused. Before she knew it, she'd begun laughing again, this time with nothing to hold onto except the blond alchemist below her. She reached down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and just laughed, her forehead pressed into his back. That made Ed come out of his thoughts and he stiffened, turning his head to look at her over his shoulder.
"Um.. Winry, are you okay?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her odd behavior. Ed turned to look at Alphonse who shrugged, just as clueless. Just then, a thought ran through his head. How long could Winry hold her breath? When she was laughing, she wasn't making any noise anymore and had taken to just silent laughing without breathing. He grinned deviously and reached back with his human hand and poked her side, satisfied when he heard her gasp of surprise before she began giggling again. She let go of him to attempt to cover herself but to no avail. Ed had gone into a tickle fight mode. He turned around and began to mercilessly poke and feather her sides with his fingers.
"Nii-san.. are you okay?" Al asked, standing sort of awkwardly off to the side. Deciding that this was better than having them argue, he swiftly slipped out of the room to let them have their fun. After Winry had laughed so much she couldn't feel her mouth; it was so dry, she got her strength and pushed Ed off of her and cornered him in the floor, tickling him in the same manner.
"Haha, Win! Wi-.. Haha.. WINR--..Hahaha!" He couldn't get a word in. Damn her for knowing all his ticklish places. She crawled away from the chair Ed had her cornered in and began to squeeze the tip of his knee and feather his neck with her fingers, which drove Ed to laughing to hard his face turned red. "No--Hahaha--FAIR!" He managed to get out and tried to kick his leg to get away from her. Taking pity on him, she stopped and got comfortable on his chest while he caught his breath. Winry turned her head as he raised his to look at her. "You... suck.. Win.." He muttered as a grin made it's way onto his face.
"I know, but you know what?" She asked him as he rested his head back on the floor. Winry reached up with her hand and moved the bangs away from his eyes. "This is more fun than anything I've ever done." She whispered, knowing that Ed had heard her. He raised his head slowly to look at her, surprised when she had tears forming in her eyes. Confused, Ed sat up slightly, making them both in a half laying down, half sitting position.
"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. He was looking down at her now, and she still had her head against his chest, her hands now curled up in the soft fabric of his red coat he still had on.
"I mean that I have the most fun when I'm with you and Al. Even if I do cry sometimes when I'm with you two. Especially you, Ed." He raised an eyebrow at that statement, but didn't question her. He knew she was sad everytime they left, but she also knew why they left. Without warning, she laughed slightly. "I'm sounding so selfish, aren't I? Here I am on the floor, holding on to you crying and telling you my problems when you've got ten times more than I ever could." She began to get up when she felt arms encircle her, pulling her deeper into the boy beneath her. Red engulfed her vision and she wrapped her arms around Ed tightly.
"I'm sorry we worry you, Winry. Really, I am. But things you have to understand are that I made a promise to him. I can't break my promise, even if it means to my own death. I will return Al to the flesh, Win, you can count on that." Touched, Winry felt her eyes cloud with tears once again. Thinking on it, she was always worried for him and Al, but mostly him. She'd always wondered why, but now she had put the pieces together. Wiggling slightly out of his embrace, she pulled herself up to his face. Seeing his confused golden eyes, she had to smile lightly.
"Ed, I don't want you to die." She said, her voice below a whisper. Smiling a little more confidently, she pushed her nose to touch his. "I've always wondered why I didn't. At first, you know, I thought it was just because you and Al were my best friends. But, now I'm starting think of you as something else." Ed blinked and cocked his head slightly.
"Something else as in..?" He asked, confused as ever. Winry rolled her eyes and sighed playfully, leaning back and punching his arm slightly. Deciding to mess with him, she reached up with both her hands and poked his cheeks, grinning when he glared. "What are you doing?" His voice was muffled when she pulled his cheek outward. Giggling, she replied,
"Seeing how funny you look when I pull your face." He raised an eyebrow and watched her fingers as she pinched his nose and pushed a finger up his forehead. She began to laugh when he released his grip on her to swat away her hands.
"Leave me alone." He muttered and brought his leg up to his chest. She laughed at how cute he was when he pouted. Rolling her eyes, she knelt behind him and rested her arms on his head.
"Come on Shorty, lighten up. All I mean is that you are like a brother to me." Winry laughed when he raised his head slightly to look at her with a strange expression. After what went through his head what she said, he glared.
"Who... WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORTY?!" He sceamed and attempted to get up when she said something else.
"And I love you for it." Ed relaxed slightly, seemingly forgetting she'd insulted his smaller than average height. He was so confused at that moment, but at least now he knew what she was trying to tell him. He thought it over, and sure enough, he found his feelings for her as his sister felt mutual. Grinning, he reached up and pulled her over him, making her land on her butt in front of him.
"Okay, but if I'm your illegal brother, then I have special rights to pick on you, right?" He asked, not really expecting an answer when he grabbed her head, rubbing his flesh hand over it so fast, he gave her static. Her hair stood up straight and leaned toward his automail arm.
"Edward!" She growled as he chuckled, waving his arm about his head, watching amusedly as her hair followed. Grinning, held up his hands, almost sent into a laughing fit when her hair stuck to his metal arm.
"Okay, okay!" He clapped his hands and pressed one on the top of her head, the static in her hair disappearing completely, the strands of hair falling down back in place. Winry sighed and stood up, leaning down and grabbing both his hands, jerking him into a standing position. She was grinning maniacally when she heard a loud thump as he once again, crashed to the floor, yelping in surprise. The mechanic grabbed his ankle, pulling him in the direction of her workshop.
"Come on, you turd, let's go rebuild you another leg."
Okay.. yeah.. another strange pointless oneshot by.. MEH! Yes. I have problems. Leave me alone. Like some fandoms, I enjoy EdWin, but in the back crowded section of my mind, I've always thought of them too like siblings. So this is where this story originated. Weird, yes. Entertaining, I'll let you be the guest on that. I wrote what I had. And despite the fact I'd been working on this instead of my other stories for 4 days doesn't help. ... (gulps) Ah well.. And yeah, I've switched my adorations to Edward, isn't that nice? Mmhm.. (nodnod) And I've also noticed, that when this story starts out, it begins like it actually has a plot, but then it goes into nothingness. Great. Ed and Win, I think are also OCC a bit, don't you think? I have no life, so I write pointless fanfics. Special, no? Kay, I go now. Nice to see you, BYE! (runs off)
Disclaimer: I don't own any FMA characters, but oh how I wish I did own Edward.