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Never Forgotten

A few rays of uninvited light snuck through the blinds, streaks of pale yellow casting themselves across the curvature of room. The gentle sway of trees could be heard from past the clear panes, like tiny droplets of rain against glass. Winry was woken by the sound of hurried footsteps hastily passing by her door. Harsh voices broke through the placid peace in her room but she couldn't make out their owners. She was still half asleep, after all. It was not as if she could help it.

She propped herself up on her elbows, glancing absently around her room through two large cerulean orbs. Her hair tumbled down her back like strands of golden silk as she lifted herself up into a sitting position, giving way to a yawn. That was definitely the last time she would go without sleep for over a day – and this time she meant it. It was bad enough that she had to work over 12 hours a day several times a week; not the idiot Elric brothers were showing up out of the blue and demanding repairs! It was too much, too much for her.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes with a determination to get ready for the day ahead, despite her rather sleep-deprived state, she replayed the conversation that she had shred with Edward the previous morning.

.

"I should be finished fixing this in about an hour," she had said, a little strained from the sudden workload she had been given. She stood straight, stretching her back for what felt like the first time in days, then furtively wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Thanks again, Winry," was Edward's reply. He had rested his hand on her shoulder, a fairly friendly action from such a person, and gave her a reassuring, almost awkward, smile. "Sorry it was so last minute. It was important."

Winry arched a brow and couldn't help a small laugh escaping her lips. "I'm used to it; you guys just turn up at the doorstep all the time!"

"Heh, yeah, true. And each time I get a lecture from Al and a beating from you."

.

She pulled herself back out of her thoughts and giggled. Edward always managed to make her laugh somehow. But when he would just appear out of thin air, ordering her to fix his broken limbs (or even mutilated limbs, God forbid) then it would take all of her strength not to lob her wrench off his head by reflex. Rarely did she manage to restrain herself.

Finally mustering the strength, Winry dragged herself out of bed and made her way over to the wardrobe opposite her nice warm, cosy bed (wow, she really needed more sleep). She saw little point in dressing in her everyday clothes, no matter how much their comfort called out to her, for she would most likely be back to work in just a few hours. Slipping out of her baby pink pyjamas, she grabbed her usual denim overall from the hanger and threw on the fresh set of clothes.

Snatching her hairbrush up from her dresser, she began the mad attack on her hair. It was an utter nightmare to brush in the mornings, especially after having so little attention paid to it the last few days. It told tales to your eyes, disguising itself as a smooth, flowing fountain.

But as she tugged her brush though the knots in her matted haystack of hair, she couldn't help but think something was wrong. And while brushing her teeth, though she'd pushed the thought aside and done her best to ignore the damn thing as if it was nothing, she still had a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that felt as though it was burning a hole through her. It only dawned on her as she opened her bedroom door, reality crashing through her, the rest of what Edward had said the other day...

.

"Me and Al will be leaving early tomorrow, and, uh… well, we might not be coming back."

.

She froze up in the doorway. How on earth could she have forgotten that? How on earth could she have been so stupid as to forget what Ed had mentioned, just yesterday! Winry checked her watch, not forever thankful that she bothered to wear the dang thing on a daily basis. It was already 8am. 8am. The chance of them still being here was so slim… they hadn't even said good-bye to her…

A loud bang punctured the air like a firework, momentarily breaking through her painful silence. She didn't stop, back-track, to check if it was them; instead, she tore down the stairs, hair streaking behind her, until she reached the front of the house. There they were. Edward, with his crimson coat hanging off his shoulders and his golden-blonde, braided hair and Alphonse, the good old rusting suit of armour that continued to tower over her. At first site, you really wouldn't have a clue that they were related. Al, of course, looked inanimate, and when you discovered that they were related, well, he was of course assumed to be the older of the two. It angered Ed greatly and never ceased to amuse her.

Alphonse, sensing her presence (or hearing her from the way she was panting like a dog, no doubt), turned to look at Winry. His brother followed his gaze. "Winry? What're you doing up?" he asked, obviously expecting her to be sound asleep in bed. Idiot.

She breathed a sigh of relied, still gasping for breath. Her legs ached slightly from the sprint she had made over to them, something she obviously did not do often enough. Edward focussed his gorgeous golden orbs on her. She assumed he worried about her lack of a reply (could he not see how out of breath she was?) and let out a sudden laugh. She walked towards the pair of them, stopping directly in front of Edward and saying quietly, lungs not fully recovered yet; "You idiot…"

Ed gave her a questioning look, unable to hear her. Winry's eyes narrowed. "You idiot!" she repeated, her usual resolute expression returning as she smacking upside the head.

By instinct, Edward covered his head with his hands and shot a glare in her direction. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He scrunched up his eye due to the paint she had inflicted to his skull. Oh, it wasn't that bad!

"You thought I was just going to let you leave without saying good-bye?" she shot back at him, placing her hands on her hips and wearing he other usual expression; that don't you question me one.

"Oh…" he rubbed the back of his head nervously and glanced at his younger brother. "Well, I… didn't want to wake you up. After all the trouble we've put you through…" A small pout graced his lips.

Winry gave him a blank look. "Don't I always tell you to tell me when you're leaving?"

"Er, yeah… but you always hit me when I wake you!"

"Now where did my wrench get to…"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" he raised his hands in from of himself defensively. Sure, he had fought hundreds of "bad guys" (or sneaked up on them – same thing really) in the past – he still fought the Homunculi quite frequently, to be honest – but Winry was just plain scary when you were the one committing the sin of angering her.

She sighed. He hadn't woken her for her own good, and probably his won too now that she thought of it, but still… and so for the good of all of them, she changed the topic. "So what was that bang before?" Edward's cheeks flushed a light shade of red and he averted his eyes from Winry's gaze.

Alphonse was the one to supply her with a reply. "Brother got frustrated 'cause he couldn't find his watch."

"His watch?" Winry repeated. She turned to the elder of the two brothers. "Didn't you leave that on the dining table last night?"

"See, I told you brother!"

"Shut up, Al!" Edward shouted back, shooting past the pair of them and back to the house to recover the precious alchemist watch. Winry laughed lightly, both had his forgetfulness and his embarrassment. Really, if it was so important wouldn't he have remembered such a thing? One way or another, he made her laugh.

When he returned she was still chuckling slightly, much to his annoyance. "Hey, you're laughing at me!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger in her direction accusingly. His expression changed, again, to that of a pout and his eyes narrowed. "It's not funny, you know."

"Heh, you idiot."

Expecting another whack over the head, Edward flinched slightly. Needless to say, he was quite surprised when he didn't feel anything collide with his head. In fact, he was almost mortified when Winry pulled him into a tight hug.

His eyes flew open and, though he attempted to hide it, his cheeks burned red, even more so than hers. This wasn't at all like the Winry he knew; where was she hiding her wrench? Those were always the words she said right before abusing him. Though… perhaps this was another of those off nice moments, the ones he had with her every now and again. Like the time had completely busted his auto-mail trying to get information from Laboratory 4 and she wasn't mad at him in the slightest. Good times.

"You'll stay safe… both of you… won't you?" he heard her whisper into his chest.

His eyes relaxed. A small, soft smile spread across his lips and he settled into the hug as best as he could for an awkward teen. "'Course we will Don't we always?"

She moved slightly and he could tell that he had mad her laugh, reassuring the both of them. He leaned over a moment later and whispered something in her ear before kissing her on the forehead and pulling away, leaving her puzzled. He turned his back on her, Alphonse following suite, and began to leave the Rockbell residence with his brother, waving lazily with the back of his hand.

Uninvited tears began to roll down Winry's cheeks, leaving salty stained marks. She watched the pair of them until they were mere specks in the distance; in fact, for long after she had lost sight of them. Her heart was still racing, until each beat became ever so slightly slower than the last.

"Don't ever forget that I love you." He had said.

"I love you…" her lips formed the words, gently, carefully. And suddenly the tears stopped. And her heart went back to its normal pace. Her lips curved, followed with a small giggle.

Fin.