It had been two long years since Winry had seen Ed leave on that train, two years since he tried to share his feelings, of course he could only do so using alchemy and equivalent exchange. She knew he wouldn't settle for some time, but she didn't know he'd be gone this long. Every month or so she would get a letter from Alphonse and Mai at the Academy of Alkahestry in Xing. That was comforting and while she didn't expect Ed to do the same, but she had mistakenly hoped that things would change.
She'd been with the brothers when they'd planned their next steps. Alphonse would stay in Xing with Mai and learn all he could of Alchemy, while Ed would head in the opposite direction, studying the different forms Alchemy took in other lands. Winry had to smile as she listened to their plans, if there was anything that made Ed happy it was research and studying alchemy.
She had stayed in their hometown, but her mechanic skills has given her a name in Rush Valley and Central. She had new orders every day and was constantly covered in grease and motor oil. She hadn't worked so hard since she'd first built Ed's automail limbs. But it brought in a decent paycheck, which she set aside for the future. If Ed ever did come home she didn't want him to use his retirement checks for everything. It was time that she repay him.
She heard that infernal dog barking in the front yard, the sound of his automail leg making a distinct noise as he ran circles in the yard. She sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She had taken to sleeping in one of the few shirts Ed had left here. Her favorite was faded olive colored button up. The shirts were oversized on her, the hem hanging over her grey shorts. Her bare feet padded over the wooden floor towards her window. Covering the glaring sun with her hand she looked out over the path that follows the rolling hills of the countryside.
Squinting, she could just make out a blond figure making his way down the path. Winry almost couldn't believe her eyes, the man's hair wasn't blond, it was golden, and pulled into a tight ponytail. The stair flew beneath her feet, her hair whipping behind her.
Pinako had gone to the market early that morning, before the sun was even up, and would not return until late that evening. The kitchen was empty as Winry zipped past, finding herself on the front porch of the house. It was a wave of déjà vu that stopped her in her tracks. Two and a half years ago she'd done almost the same thing, finding Ed and Alphone, returned to his human body, walking casually towards the house. The waves of relief, joy, excitement that washed over her that day were nearly doubled in this moment. There was something else swelling in her chest, making her heart thump harder.
He was now passing through the gate that closed off the Rockbell's yard, Winry noted that he'd grown taller. As he neared she could hear the sound of his gait. A soft thud of his flesh foot on the ground and then an acutely metallic clank as his automail leg.
Winry didn't so much decided to move but found her legs moving once again, this time of their own will. Still barefoot, and still wearing one of his oversized shirts she ran towards him, jumping into his arms, his surprise didn't stop him from catching her easily and holding her against his chest, her feet dangling just off the ground.
"Ed." She whispered against his shoulder, her hand on the back of his head, his face buried in the crook of her neck. She didn't realize she was crying or shaking until his strong arm on her waist and another around her shoulders steadied her.
"Please don't cry." His breath ghosting over her skin, voice rough and sounding slightly strained. He let out another warm breath when he felt her determined nod. Squeezing her tight before pulling back.
He looked at her with his soft golden eyes, void of the pent up anger and self-loathing they'd brimmed with in his adolescence. His thumb grazed her cheek before he pulled her close once more. Their lips colliding for the first time since those innocent days of childhood, before the brothers had delved so deeply into alchemy. She hadn't expected his lips to be so soft, and he had half expected her to hit him with a wrench before inquiring about his automail and its condition. But she was just as lost as he was in that moment, mind void of all rational thought.
It was the first time Ed hadn't started reciting chemicals to distract himself from his feelings.
Pinako was tired from the day of walking, though she'd never let anyone know that. But she hadn't expected to find two people in her home when she'd left only one. She should have been surprised but she'd had a feeling in her old bones that things were going to change. She never thought she'd be relieved to see the headstrong boy but his sudden presence hit her like a breath of fresh air. He was a man now that was clear enough.
She could already see the tension that had worked its way onto her granddaughter's face start to melt away. With a knowing smile the old woman hobbled up the stairs, leaving the children asleep on the small loveseat, but not before taking a picture.
Winry's blonde hair fell over her shoulder, covering the arm Ed had wrapped securely around her waist. Her head resting on his other arm. Ed was holding her close to his chest, their legs tangled together beneath the blanket that bunched up at their waists.
It was a few months later the first time they saw that picture, and although their relationship had become common knowledge both blushed profusely and nearly begged Pinako to take it off the wall of photos that all guests saw when they walked through the door. But they didn't have the heart, instead they asked the old woman for a copy.