The Girl Who Waits
Japanese Vocabulary
Obaa/baa-chan: granny/grandma
Doshta: what's wrong
Urusai: shut up
Nani: what
Nandemonai: nothing
Baka/bakayarou: idiot
Nii-san: older brother
Yokatta: what a relief
Doko: where
Sugoi: awesome
Prologue
Winry always gets left out; Edward and Alphonse don't tell her anything anymore. At least, that's what she thinks. She's fed up with the silence and lost words. She has a secret but she's afraid to say anything for the fear of what will happen next. Every time Edward and Al come back, she's worried that something incredibly horrible has happened.
Edward is no longer a State Alchemist, but he still works for the military because of his skills and inside information. Al is aiming to be just like Edward and become a State Alchemist, despite Edward's wishes. Colonel Roy supports young Al and occasionally spars with him.
One day, Winry learns that Edward has been hospitalized and is barely alive. This makes Winry realize that she can't stay silent. She rushes to his side without hesitation. After Edward recovers, she gets her chance to tell him how she really feels.
Will she confess her hidden feelings, or remain silent forever?
Chapter 1: I Miss You, Ed
[Winry]
"He's never here!" I mutter to myself as I fix Ed's automail for when he comes back.
"Urusai, Winry!" Obaa-chan yells. "Whining about it isn't gonna bring him back, now is it?"
I sigh and shake my head. "No, it's not."
She smiles, walks over to me, and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I know you miss them. So do I. But we have to—"
"Trust them and believe that they'll be back. I know." I say sourly as I get up and look for something else to tinker with.
Obaa-chan sighs and blows out another puff of smoke from her cigar. "Al has improved a lot, hasn't he?"
I start tinkering with an old watch and nod. "He sure has. He looks a lot like Ed did when he was his age."
From the corner of my eye, I can see Obaa-chan smile. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"
"Yeah…It does."
I stand and go up to my room. It seems that all I do nowadays is worry about Ed and Al. But mostly Ed because he's so reckless. I can't count how many times I've fixed his auto-mail these past few years. I sigh and sit on my bed. They used to be here all the time. Then that happened and they became obsessed with alchemy. Now they're never here.
I miss the times when we were kids. I miss seeing them every day at school and out of school. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I also miss when Ed was a State Alchemist. Ha…But most of all, I miss Ed himself. The hell are you thinking, Winry? He'll never feel that way for you! Never has, never will!
It's clear that Ed and I will always be friends, but not much else. Sure, he's been teased about me being his girlfriend and such, but it's never amounted to anything. Not that it's supposed to, but I'd like it to. I just wish he'd notice me.
I remember the first time I saw Ed with his hair down and no shirt. He was washing himself off. The sun made his golden hair almost sparkle and his body glistened because it was wet. I stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. I ran and hid to make sure that he didn't see me. My heart pounded and for the first time, I was nervous around him. Me nervous around him. This was Ed! My childhood friend! I shouldn't have felt that way. But I did.
Anyways, from then on, I'd always had to hide what I felt. I would hit him with a wrench or whatever else I could get my hands on. But the one thing I would not do was tell him the truth. Then he disappeared. That was the worst time of my life (except when my parents were killed). Poor Al saw me crying in my room one day and asked,
"Winry? Why are you crying?"
I looked at him and said, "I just…I miss Ed…"
He walked over to me and hugged me. "Don't worry. I'll find a way to get Nii-san back. I promise."
I held him tight. "Al…"
From then on, my only thought was: I miss you, Ed.