A/N: hey people!
I have had this idea for a while now so I finally decided to write it.
Not much more to say except enjoy I guess.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
He was here. He was actually here.
Back in this place where so many memories laid. Memories of smoke filled bars, playing cards until morning, alcoholic drinks being passed around, laughter, cursing, everything in his youth.
In their youth.
He remembered her every single damn day. She was hard to forget after all. Her laughter, her cursing, the smell of g-d knows what she put in her pipe.
Pinako Rockbell.
The first love of his life.
And the reason he waited for over ten years before setting down with his late wife Sophia.
He had a feeling the moment he saw Winry Rockbell, she looked too much like her grandmother to pass it over. But it wasn't until the short Elric boy had actually said 'Granny Pinako' that he finally confronted it.
She had gotten married.
She had a kid.
Who in turn had a kid.
Who was now that girl that delivered his own grandchild.
The Rockbell girl was a lot like her grandmother was when he first knew her.
They were both stubborn, determined, strong, and of course obsessed with automail.
It was what had brought him and Pinako together, they were fighting over whose automail was better.
He started yelling and threatening her.
She merely took her wrench and clobbered him on his head over and over onto her golden-eyed friend had stopped her and pulled her away.
In all truths he had no idea what the hell he was doing back here. He had a good life back in Rush Valley. Family, friends, clients.
So what in the world had dragged him to come back to this hick-town?
'It hasn't changed at all.' he thought as he walked passed the familiar buildings.
It was easy to find her house. The sign 'Rockbell Automail' was a dead give away. That and everyone knew everyone in Resembool.
He was shaking inside as he walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
A dog barked on the other side as a womans voice called out "Coming, coming."
When the door opened he was confused as it seemed that there was no one there then when he looked down he saw her.
She had changed drastically. She had gotten shorter, her hair had gotten grey, she was wearing glasses, and a dress.
She had sworn that she would only wear a dress when she got married.
The only thing that seemed to remain the same was the ever present pipe hanging from her mouth and her eyes.
To which her eyes widened at him.
"Dominic." she still remembered him. "It's been a while."
He nodded unable to swallow past the lump in his throat. "Pinako. You look well."
He cringed inside as he said that. 'You look well?' Seriously, you haven't seen her in years and that's the first thing you say.
She seemed to be thinking the same thing as she smirked at him and said "Come on in."
Minutes later find the two of you sitting at a table with a cup of tea in front of the both of them. Her ever present pipe hanging from her mouth, she sometimes banged it against her ashtray.
She didn't seem to be in a rush to start a conversation any time soon, she seemed content to just stare at him.
"I…ah….I met your granddaughter." he said. That seemed to be a good start.
"Did you now?" she asked rhetorically.
He nodded and took a sip of the drink. Strong. The right amount of sugar.
"She reminded me of you." he said suddenly.
Pinako looked up from her own cup at him. "A lot of people say that. What do you think of her?"
Dominic tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "She…she's a good kid. Determined. Strong-willed. Loves automail as much as her grandmother."
"And her grandfather." Pinako cut in.
He cringed inside at that. Her grandfather. Pinakos husband. Of course he would love automail as much as Pinako.
"I never got married."
It was their youth all over again, she always knew what he was thinking.
"Not really, I can just read your face very well."
Okay maybe it was that.
"It is."
"Stop that." Dominic said, starting to get annoyed.
He sighed. Maybe they should talk about something else.
"Keep in contact with any of our old friends?" he asked her.
"Almost none of them were really our friends Dominic, remember?" she said raising an eyebrow.
He nodded. "You seemed to get along with that one fellow. Ho-something." he said struggling to remember.
"Hohenheim. And yes I did. Introduced him to his wife, they had two sons, he left over ten years ago so I hadn't had any contact with him." she said taking a drink of the tea.
"Sons huh?" he frowned. "And he left?"
"Mh hmmm. Those two are now just fifteen and fourteen."
"Who's the girl?" he asked.
"Don't think you would've known her. Trisha Elric." she said.
"Trisha…" he frowned again. Her name sounded fam…il…i……ar.
"Wait a minute!" he said suddenly. "You mean that little girl? The brown haired green eyed girl?" she had to be talking about someone else Hohenheim was practically old enough to be her father.
"I guess you do remember her." Pinako said.
He stood up. "Pinako that's…that's sick!"
She looked up at him and he froze. After all these years he still was afraid of her.
"It was her choice to fall in love with him Dominic and if you are going to stand there and talk like that then you might as well get out now."
He slowly sat back down. "And he left her?"
She nodded. "There was something he had to do."
"And how is Trisha?"
"Dead."
Dominic blinked in surprise. "Dead? But…she was so young."
Pinako nodded again as she looked into her cup. "She was sick. The sickness finally took its toll."
"And the boys?"
"I'm sure you saw them." she said, tapping her pipe on the ashtray. "I heard from Winry that they had accompanied her to Rush Valley."
The image of two boys, one short with automail another wearing a suit of armor. The shorter one. He had gold hair and gold eyes.
Just like Hohenheim.
He groaned. "I was an idiot for not realizing it."
Pinako smirked. "You always were kinda slow."
The two drank in silence before he asked "So who was he?"
She looked up at him. "Who was who?"
"You know damn well who Pinako. Who was Winrys grandfather?" he said.
Who was the man who took the place where I was supposed to be.
She looked at him for a moment before saying "He was a good man. Loved automail almost as much as I did. A match in drinking and card playing and everything. Like I said, we never got married."
He leaned back in his chair and just stared at her for a moment.
"You really are slow you know that?" she said.
"Excuse me?"
Pinako sighed impatiently. "Winry. Is. Your. Grandchild." she said slowly.
Dominic blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Are you really getting that old Dominic that both your memory and your hearing are going?" she teased. "Or are you forgetting all those one-on-one study sessions we had?"
Even after all these years remembering those nights brought a blush to his face.
"Why did you leave?" she asked, she suddenly looked wearily and…well…vulnerable.
That word didn't go with her. Pinako Rockbell was never vulnerable.
Every excuse, every reason flew out the window the moment she asked him.
"I…I don't know." he said quietly.
They both looked into their semi-empty cups before Dominic said "So…that girl is my grandchild. How ironic."
"How so?"
"She helped deliver my second grandchild." he said without thinking. Too late he realized that he basically told her that he had been with another woman.
"So your married?" she asked in a monotone voice.
"She is, ah, gone. Died a few years back." he told her.
"I'm sorry."
After draining what was left in his cup Dominic glanced over at the clock. "I have to go…my train is leaving soon."
Pinako nodded and stood up to escort him out to the gate.
Once they had gotten the edge of the gate of the Rockbell property he leaned down and hugged her awkwardly.
"Dominic!" she called to him as he walked down the path.
Looking back he had to blink a few times to make sure of what he saw.
Pinako Rockbell in her youth and prime. Tall, confident, sarcastic, loyal, wonderful Pinako.
He blinked again and there she was in the present day.
"Next time don't wait sixty years to visit!" she said.
He smiled and waved good-bye to her once more before turning back on his walk to the train station.
Once he got back to Rush Valley he had a certain blonde haired blue eyed girl he had to visit.
Oh my g-d. I wrote fluff.
I feel bile rising up in my throat right now.
I actually wrote fluff, I think.
So what did you guys think of this?
And you know something? Dominic doesn't even had a place in the name slot place.
How mean.
Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this fanfic.
This is Phoenix-Fire Power over and out.