Disclaimer: I obviously do not own in any way, shape or form, anything to do with Fullmetal Alchemist. But I wish I did ;P
Anywhos, this is a one shot. It is the first one shot I have ever written, and also the first FMA fanfic that I have ever written.
Constructive criticism is appreciated; flames are not! :3
Also, I realize that the introduction is pretty boring and unnecessary, since most people who read fanfiction already know the story line. XD
But it was my way of getting myself into the writing mood, and getting rid of the intro makes it not flow as nicely... I think :P
ANYWHOS, I hope you enjoy it!
In the small town of Resembool, excitement was a rare thing. The citizens were peaceful, and few. However, once the Elric brothers came around, excitement seemed to find its own way into the town's daily routine. The two Elric brothers, Edward and his younger brother Alphonse, were alchemists. Their father left their family when they were very young, and then a couple years after, their Mum died. Alchemy was the brother's way of making their mum smile in spite of how sad she seemed. Edward despised his father with a passion. He blamed his mother's death on his father. Alphonse didn't share this view. Al wanted the chance to talk to his father, maybe even start to feel like a family again. Ed strongly disagreed with that perspective.
Anyways, the brothers were well known in Resembool. Ed became a state alchemist at the age of 12, and Al was a giant suit of armor. Another thing you should know about the Elrics, is that both of them have experienced great loss and been to hell and back. Ed and Al are both gifted alchemists, especially Ed, and when they were younger they believed anything was possible with alchemy. They believed they could bring their late mother back from the grave, in order to go back to the way their life was before she died. The brothers missed their mother terribly, and were determined to bring her back.
But it all went wrong. Human transmutation is strictly forbidden among alchemists, and for very good reasons. The basic principle of alchemy is "Equivalent Exchange", and there is nothing that can equal the value of a human soul. In the process of the transmutation, Ed lost his left leg to the Truth. Al lost his entire body. In desperation, Ed bonded Alphonse's soul to an empty suit of armor in the room with a blood seal, and paid the toll of gaining Al's soul by giving up his right arm. The creature they had resurrected wasn't even human, nor their mother.
The Elric's and the Rockbell's were two very close families. Ed, Al, and Winry Rockbell were childhood friends. The Rockbell's ran an automail shop, and so when Ed lost his arm and leg he was outfitted with two strong automail limbs. Once Ed was rehabilitated with his new limbs, he journeyed to Central to become a certified state alchemist in order to find a way to get their original bodies back. In passing the examinations, Edward Elric became known as the Fullmetal Alchemist.
Enough introduction. Ed was now 15 years old, and Al was 14. It was one of the coldest winters that Amestris had ever experienced, and the brothers needed to travel to Central on request of Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. However, they were stuck in Resembool since Ed had broken his automail.
Again.
You can imagine how pleased Winry was when Ed walked into the automail shop, carrying his own right arm.
Needless to say, Ed was now experiencing a pounding headache and laying on the couch in the Rockbell residence while Winry was furiously correcting the damage to his automail. Al had gone to the market to pick up a few things for dinner, on request of Pinako.
"Winry!"
"Yes, Granny?"
"Come here for a minute, would ya?"
Winry sighed. Whenever Granny called for her like that, it was usually because she had misplaced something. But the item that was misplaced, was always exactly where it should be. Winry feared that her grandmother was becoming more and more forgetful, and possibly even ill. It didn't take a genius to realize that Pinako was seeming a little off lately.
As Winry was walking down the hall towards the kitchen/living room, she began to tie back her long blonde hair, sweeping it off of her face and out of her blue eyes.
Winry entered the kitchen, and her grandmother turned to her in surprise.
"Oh! Winry! I would have thought you would be busy working on Ed's arm…Do you need anything?"
"Granny… You called me, just a few moments ago… Don't you remember?"
Pinako stared at her granddaughter for a moment.
"Oh. Well, I guess it wasn't that important if I can't remember it!," Pinako laughed as she opened the door to go outside, " Go back to finishing your automail, silly girl."
And with that, the house went quiet.
Winry turned towards Ed, who had been uncharacteristically silent since he had arrived in Resembool.
"Everything alright, Ed?"
"Yeah…why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know. You just seem quiet, that's all."
Ed stared up at the ceiling for a moment.
"Oh."
Winry stared at her best friend. He was lying on his back, his golden hair braided back with his amber eyes cast towards the ceiling. His red coat as well as his black jacket were draped over the back of the couch, leaving him in his black shirt. It's funny, she thought, he's my best friend. And yet he never tells me anything about him, or Al, or their life.
Ed sat up and caught Winry staring at him.
"Uh…Winry?"
Winry snapped out of her reverie, and replied,
"Y-yes?"
"…Why are you staring at me?"
"I…I was just…thinking. That's all. I kinda spaced out there, sorry."
Winry's cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red as she quickly turned and left the room. Ed stared after her, clearly confused about it.
Ed got up from the couch and went to get a glass of water. It felt weird, not being able to use his right arm for the time being. As he drank from the glass, he glanced out the window and saw that Pinako was cutting up wood to bring in for the fire. She had already done that, twice today. He was on his way out to tell her to stop, when Al came barrelling into the house carrying two large paper bags full of food.
"Brother! You're never going to guess who I saw at the market!"
"Who?"
"You remember when we were little, and there was that guy who always tried to get Winry to be his friend? And he would make fun of your height? I think his name was… what was it… was it Michael?"
"Yeah. That was it. Is there a reason you're telling me all this?" Ed asked, slightly annoyed at the memories.
"He's completely different now! He seems so nice, and when he realized it was me he started asking me a bunch of questions about you. And he even said that Winry was friends with him now, too! He said he wants to learn more about alchemy, and so I told him that he could come over and maybe we could help him out a bit…"
"You WHAT?"
"Come on, brother. He really isn't all that bad, and he said he would be only a few minutes along after me, so he should be here any minute now."
"Alphonse…" Ed…growled. (Yeah, I suppose growled is the right word…)
"Sorry! But I'm right, you'll see-"
"What will your brother see, Al?"
"Oh! Winry! You know Michael, from when we were little?"
"Yeah, of course I know him. Him and I are friends now."
"See, big brother? If Winry is friends with him, how bad can he be?"
Just then, there was a knocking on the door.
Winry opened the door, and low and behold, there was Michael. He was fairly tall (especially in comparison to Ed…) and had raven black hair that fell just above his green eyes, and framed his angular face.
"Michael!"
"Hey Winry. Alphonse invited me over, to learn more about alchemy." Michael said as he stepped inside and Winry closed the door behind him.
"Oh, really? That's great! I'm just fixing Ed's arm, so I won't be around for a little while longer."
"Alright."
Once Winry left the room, Michael turned to Ed.
"So, you're now known as the 'Fullmetal Alchemist'? Sounds a little intimidating, for such a small guy…"
Ed was about to lash out at Michael, but Al restrained his brother and said,
"SOOO… Michael, what was it you would like to know about alchemy?"
"Mike is just fine, Michael seems so… formal. Anyways, Ed, you travel a lot. Met any girls?"
"Not in the context you're referring to."
"Huh. Figures. Must be difficult to find a girl who can put up with you…"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Just that you never make time for people, you're never in one place for long, you have the most annoying personality, and not many girls like shorter guys."
Al restrained his brother yet again from lashing out as he watched the conversation unfold.
"Oh yeah? And I suppose girls love guys who are two sided bastards like you." Ed retorted.
"Excuse me?"
"You act all polite and nice in front of Winry, but the second she leaves you drop the act. I hope you realize how see-through your act is, and that no one in their right mind would like you."
"Brother…" Al warned.
"Don't worry, Alphonse, it's quite alright. So, I suppose that you're saying Winry isn't 'in her right mind' for liking me, then?" Michael said slyly.
"Riiight, because she would be stupid enough to like an asshole like you."
Both boys stared each other down, Al standing behind Ed, nervously watching the situation.
Just then, the front door opened, followed by Pinako.
"Oh, Ed – I see you've met Michael here. Will you be staying for dinner, Michael?"
"I wouldn't want to impose, you've got your house full already…"
"Nonsense! There's enough room for everybody!"
"Dinner!" Pinako called into the house.
Ed and Al had gone upstairs to their room for the time being, while Michael had gone to Winry's workshop.
The 4 teenagers filed into the kitchen and sat down – Pinako at the head of the table, Ed and Al on one side and Winry and Michael across from the Elric's.
"I've finished your arm Ed. We can reattach it after dinner, okay?" Winry said, in a weak attempt to break the awkward silence.
"Sure." Said Ed, with little emotion.
"So… Winry, when I get my body back, can you bake that apple pie that brother loves so much?"
"Sure thing, Al! I'd be happy to."
"Winry, you do make the best apple pie. How come you've only ever made it once for me?" inquired Michael.
"Oh…," Winry slightly blushed, "you've never asked for it."
Michael put his hand on top of Winry's, and said,
"Well, you definitely got to make it for me sometime soon."
Winry briefly looked over at Ed, who was momentarily fixated on Winry and Michael's hands, before she averted her gaze to her dinner plate and mumbled out, "Alright."
Everyone at the table, apart from Winry, was watching Ed. They all expected him to react in some way, but instead he just avoided eye contact and continued on as if nothing had happened.
Michael narrowed his eyes at Edward. It was clear that Michael was trying to get a reaction out of the older Elric.
OOOOooooOOOO
After dinner, Winry along with Ed, Pinako and Michael went into the workshop while Al cleaned up the dinner dishes.
"Okay Ed. You ready?" Winry asked as Ed was sitting on a chair while Pinako and Winry adjusted the automail to begin the attachment. Michael leaned against the worktable, looking bored.
"Yeah. I'm ready."
As the nerves attached, Ed fought back the urge to yell out in pain. There was no way he was going to make himself look even more pathetic in front of this Michael character. Once the automail was attached, Edward began to move around his arm.
"How does it feel? Too heavy? Too light? Just right?" Winry always asked a thousand questions whenever she had to reattach a limb.
Ed smirked, and said, "It feels great. Thanks Winry."
Winry sighed in relief and went over to her worktable to begin putting away her equipment as Pinako went to help Al with the dishes.
Ed turned his attention toward the bored looking Michael.
"So… Michael. Why are you still here? If you don't mind my asking."
"Oh, you didn't know? Winry and I are together." Michael paused, watching as that information sank into Ed's brain. "As in, we're dating. She's my girlfriend. And I'm her boyfriend."
"Okay, Michael that's enough." Winry gave Mike The Look as she put away the last of her tools, "I think it's time you left."
Michael was about the protest, but it was clear that Winry was not happy with him, and so he left.
Ed remained silent, as he had been for the majority of the day.
"I'm sorry about him. He normally isn't such a jerk, he was probably just feeling a little threatened by you, seeing as you and I have known each other for forever." Winry watched Ed's expression.
Ed remained silent and expressionless.
"Look, Ed. I really don't know what to else to say other than I'm sorry! I just… I don't want you to hate me. But I feel as if you do, and I…I don't know how to deal with that."
Edward stared at the floor. Moments of silence passed.
"Why?" Ed finally spoke.
"What?"
"Why? Just tell me why."
"Ed… I… I don't really know what to tell you. But I don't think you realize how lonely it gets around here without you and Al. You don't realize it, because you and Al always have each other. But here, I don't have anyone to talk to. Sure, there's Granny, but I'm scared for her. I think she's getting really sick, and I don't know what to do about it. I need someone to talk to, and just hang out with in order to keep me sane. Michael is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met, tonight was the first time he has ever come across rude. I don't know what else to tell you, other than that I miss you every single day and I wish you would come home more. But you have no right to be mad at me for anything! I haven't done anything wrong."
"Winry… I'm not mad at you. I just don't understand why out of all people, you chose him. I know you said that today was the first time he's come across as rude, but he's not really as polite as he seems around you. He's actually just an asshole who's playing you."
"Who do you think you are? You don't even know him, or me for that matter! Sure, we've been friends since we were little, but you never tell me anything. We barely see each other. All I am to you is your automail engineer, you're the one who doesn't care about me." As she said this, Winry began to cry.
"… Do you honestly believe that I don't care about you?" Ed said, his voice barely a whisper, as he looked up and met Winry's eyes.
Winry dropped his gaze and stared at the floor. Edward stood up and was almost out of the door when Winry grabbed his hand and turned him towards her.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that. I was just upset, and I was hurt, and I wanted to hurt you too."
They both stared at each other.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. You're right, I don't have any reason to be mad at you and it wasn't my place to say anything. I'm sorry, Winry. I guess I was just…" Ed trailed off, realizing where that sentence was going and hoping Winry would let it go.
Of course she didn't.
"You were just what?" Winry said with a small smile, the only evidence of her crying was the tear tracks down her face.
Ed's face turned a light shade of pink.
"Nothing. I don't know what I was going to say."
"Oh really? Are you sure you won't going to say, for arguments sake, that you were…oh, I don't know…jealous?"
Edward's face burned into a deeper crimson colour.
"That's….that's a possibility, I suppose, for arguments sake…."
Ed couldn't meet Winry's gaze now.
"Admit it Edward. You were jealous!" Winry teased, a knowing smile on her face.
"I can't admit something that isn't true… I was going to say that… that…"
Before Ed could finish his pathetic excuse of a sentence, Winry shut the young alchemist up with a kiss. Winry's lips pressed against Ed's, and his eyes widened in surprise at the feel of her lips. Winry deepened the kiss, and Ed's face was definitely a burning scarlet colour by now. Winry pulled away and said,
"You really need to learn when to shut your mouth."
Thanks for reading! I realize it's kinda fast paced... But that'll get better the more I write (hopefully.)
OH
and if any of you have read (I siriusly doubt you have read it, but whatever.) if any of you readers have read my other story on here, the Harry Potter one, I honestly don't know where I'm going with that story, but hopefully that will get updated soon...I'm just procrastinating. But if you haven't read it, it would mean a lot to me if you did :3 The first chapter is absolute shit. But the writing quality does improve throughout the story!
BUT anywhos.
Thanks for reading!
Reviews are greatly appreciated, and I hope you liked my story! :D
Ta ta for now!
-HazelEyes8D