My first published story!
This came out of a small conversation that popped into my head one day. I expanded upon it, and it became the simple scene below.
It's not really set in any particular time frame, but it's early on in the story in my own head.
* Fullmetal Alchemist characters are © Hiromu Arakawa *
The kettle blew shrilly into the otherwise peaceful air of the kitchen in the Rockbell family home. Winry took it off the stove and poured the contents into the teapot.
It was just getting to be sunset. Winry could see the sky taking on a pale orange hue through the window over the sink. She placed the lid on the teapot and put the kettle back down. While she waited for the leaves to steep, she gazed absentmindedly out the window.
She and Granny Pinako were enjoying a rare visit from Ed and Al. The brothers said they had had business in a town to the south, and stopped by Risembool on the way back to Central for a tune-up on Ed's automail. That was always the reason for their visits – only when they were close by and only when Ed's metal limbs were on the verge of breaking completely. Of course, Winry and Granny were always happy to oblige, but Winry did wish that they might be able to come up with an original excuse for once, one that would bring them to Risembool more often, preferably.
Winry had already finished the work on Ed's arm and leg (and given him the mandatory scolding to be more careful and do proper maintenance… which Ed mandatorily ignored). The boys planned to leave by the earliest train the next morning. Once again, as per tradition, they could never stay longer than was absolutely necessary. Winry wondered if they behaved this flighty everywhere they went, or if Risembool was the only place that they couldn't seem to stand to be. She wouldn't know; they never talked about their travels much, except in what related to the reasons for the injuries to Ed's automail, and even then they were never quite specific. Winry sighed. She sometimes wondered if the brothers really trusted her or if they were actually protecting her from something going on in the world, something scary. She would prefer the latter reasoning. Though, in actuality, she would prefer the truth.
Judging the tea to be ready, Winry poured two cups and took them outside to the porch. Ed was out here, sitting on the top steps, gazing at the sunset as she had been from the kitchen window. She joined him on the step, passing him a teacup, for which he muttered his thanks. Granny was busy in the workroom, and Alphonse had gone for a walk with Den, so it was just her and Ed for a little while.
They simply sat in silence, sipping their tea and admiring the colors changing in the sky. It was quiet and very peaceful. Winry wondered if such a moment was rare for Ed, or if he was just constantly going from one dangerous situation to the next. She glanced over at him. Not much had changed in his facial features in the years since he and Al had left. His hair had gotten longer, and he had, of course, grown (a little), but for the most part he still looked like the boy who burned his house down before abandoning the ruins to go off and join the military.
Ed was still staring straight ahead at the sinking sun. He brought his teacup to his mouth with his right arm, the automail one. Winry watched the metal digits clench the cup and tilt it up. The minor motor functions were certainly of the highest caliber, she concluded, smiling slightly, allowing herself some congratulations on her craftsmanship.
A random thought struck her, and she found herself breaking the contented silence on a whim.
'Hey, Ed?' she said.
'Hm?' he replied, cutting his eyes across to look at her, hardly changing the rest of his position at all, teacup still pressed against his lips.
Winry bit her lip before continuing. 'What does automail… feel like?' she asked.
Ed quirked an eyebrow up at her. 'Shouldn't you know?'
Winry rolled her eyes. 'Well, of course I know what it feels like, the hard, metal plates and all that, and what the patient feels when the nerves are attached – pain – but what does it feel like to… have it? To operate an automail limb?'
Ed took a moment to consider the question. He looked down at his wrist, and moved it back and forth a couple times, delicately so as not to spill any tea (those minor functions really were extraordinary, thought Winry). 'You know when part of your hand or your foot goes to sleep?' Ed asked.
'Yeaaaah…' Winry replied hesitantly.
'And then it goes numb, before you get the pins and needles. You can still move it slightly, and you know it's there, but you can't really feel it, least not in the way you should?'
'Uh-huh.'
'That's what an automail limb feels like.'
Winry bit her lip again, unsure whether she should feel sorry for Ed (or anyone operating a prosthetic limb, really) after this revelation. But then, Ed would never let anyone feel sorry for him. After all the horrible things he'd been through with his brother, she knew he hardly ever shed a tear for himself. He would never allow anyone else to do so in his stead. Winry didn't feel that was the way it should be; someone had to mourn for their situation.
Still, for the moment, Winry merely took in a deep, steady breath and turned her gaze back to the sky, which now appeared as if it were completely on fire.
'Winry,' said Ed.
Slightly taken aback, Winry turned and looked again at her friend, who had now turned his attention to her as well. 'Yes, Ed?'
'Don't worry about me, ok? I'm lucky, I've got you as a mechanic, so I'd imagine that I've got the best automail limbs in all of Amestris. Maybe even better than conventional ones!' Ed said, supplying Winry with a big smile, the kind that made his eyes shut tight. 'Besides,' he continued, 'there are much worse things to worry about in life than nerve endings.'
That was exactly what worried Winry so much about Ed and Al going out and getting into fights all the time. In spite of that, she returned his silly grin with a small smile of her own, fairly sure that he was lying to her as much as she was putting on a brave facade for him.
They both turned to look back at the horizon, and finished the rest of their tea in mutual silence as the sun slowly sank out of the sky.
Again, just something simple and sweet.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review if you like.
-RD