The Night Goes On
by TheKittyRin
inspired by "Untitled" by Simple Plan
For Crow
Summary: "I miss the warmth!" His armor was shaking, and Winry glanced down at her touch, a touch he was unable to feel. / Winry lay awake at night, and finds that Alphonse couldn't, wouldn't be able to sleep either. /
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Winry stirred in her bed for the tenth time. She listened to the wooden bed creak under her weight and the light snores coming from her grandmother's bedroom, an ode to the sleepless night.
She groaned, shifting her body once again as she turned to the other side of her pillow, her blonde hair falling into her eyes and her white blanket intertwining with her nude leg. She shivered and stared ahead. In the dimness of the room, she could detect Den's black fur, gleaming under the rays of the moon and rising up and down as the dog continued to inhale and exhale deeply.
She felt frustrated at this sight. Everyone seemed to be blissfully asleep while sleep just wasn't coming to her. She frowned, debating in her mind the best methods to fall asleep when two familiar faces began to cloud her vision.
She had almost forgotten, but the Elric brothers were staying for an indefinite amount of time. She shuddered as she remembered every detail of the event that had occurred just around two weeks ago and how Alphonse had come in as a piece of armor, clutching onto Edward, whose body dripped with blood and torned skin tissue.
And yet, despite all of this, she felt a little comforted that they had come to her, and that they were both alive.
She sighed, bringing the blanket over her face, burying herself in the thin layer of cotton as she continued to think about the both of them.
She would never confess to either of them or her grandmother, but she kept having nightmares about what had happened. Things she pictured. She knew little about alchemy, just pieces of a much bigger puzzle, and it was in this ignorance that laid terror. There were several nightmares, all dreadful and frightening.
There was one where Ed and Al simply died in their experiment, and Winry was left alone to grieve for them. There was one where she was the one who performed alchemy, trying to bring her own parents back. But the worst of them all was the nightmare that Trisha Elric did come back, as a dark monster oozing with decay, dripping as she entered the house. Trisha no longer had her caring green eyes and instead, they were replaced by evil red eyes.
She trembled, taking deep breaths and wondered if the boys had nightmares too, where the most unspeakable things occurred.
A thought suddenly dawned on her as she realized she was not the only one who was not sleeping.
She yanked the blanket off of her as she stumbled upright, letting the cold of the night sting her. She put on a sweater made of wool, nuzzling her head in the soft material. She saw Den's head shift slightly, but she was glad to see she did not wake her up.
She went out of her room, tiptoeing, avoiding to make noise. Waking her grandmother was hell, a mistake she wasn't planning on making.
She went to their room, opening the door slowly and peering in. The room was dark, full of shadows barely distinguishable. Winry could only make out two figures in the room, despite the fact that one was gigantic.
Alphonse sat on the bed next to the window, his large metal armor seeming out-of-place in this cozy environment. His gargantuan body did not fit the minuscule bed, and he seemed forced to use one of his leg to balance himself.
She approached him silently, her white nightgown twirling with the air and following her every footstep.
Alphonse finally looked up when she began to breathe with more difficulty, her eyes locked on the other bed. Edward was snoring loudly, his hand resting on his bare stomach and his golden hair shimmering under the moonlight. One of his legs and one of his arms were missing, awaiting to be attached with automail.
He now appeared like a crooked being, with only one leg and arm.
"Winry." Alphonse whispered, surprised, bringing the young girl out of her reveries and back to her initial conquest.
Winry blinked, pausing. It was so strange to hear the familiar voice coming out of metal suit. It would take time to adjust to Alphonse's new body, but she felt confident that she wouldn't have a problem with that.
She smiled. "I'm sorry, Al, am I bothering?"
"Not at all!" Alphonse assured her, and she knew he meant it from the tone. This was one of the things she loved about Alphonse: his generosity in giving out kindness. "You couldn't sleep?"
She shook her head, peering at Edward's chest which rose and fell with heaviness. "Unlike a certain somebody," she snorted, and heard Al's quiet laughter join hers, like bells jingling in harmony. She turned her attention back to Alphonse. "Would you like to go for a walk?"
The metal head nodded.
Winry grinned.
X
They didn't go far. Winry knew that if Pinako learned about their little midnight escapade, she would not be happy, and Winry didn't want Alphonse to get into trouble because of her.
She had to jerk her head to take a better look at Alphonse since he was so tall and she so small. Still taller than Edward, thank god, but not tall enough to keep up with Alphonse's large steps.
They decided to sit under an oak tree that stood a few meters away from the Rockbell's house. Winry inhaled the sweet scent of summer, and the dozen of fragrances of flowers and grass made her brain buzz with energy.
"Are you sure you shouldn't have taken a coat? You could get a cold, Winry."
Winry rolled her eyes, gesturing for him not to worry. "Of course not, Al! It's summer and in summer, you can't wear coats!" She giggled, imagining Pinako's fur coat in the middle of summer. She told Alphonse about it and he laughed along.
"Brother told me she had a fur coat, but I never believed him."
"Yeah, well, that alchemy freak shouldn't have sneaked around in our house! No wonder grandma was so livid and hid that coat."
They laughed once again at the the memory of Edward's stupidity, but it was soon replaced by silence. Winry pursed her lips, glancing at the metallic body and hesitating. Since the accident, Alphonse and her had not talked alone. Although she was glad that they finally were, she felt a little lost with the contact and wasn't sure where to begin.
"Are you alright, Winry?" Alphonse asked, his voice concerned as he bowed down to take a better look at her.
Winry grinned, nodding. Always the perceptive one, she thought. "Of course! Actually, I have a question."
Al chuckled, his laughter echoing in the hollowness of the armor. "Okay. You can ask me anything, you know."
"Well... how are you?" She blurted out, leaning towards him, her blue eyes seeking his but not finding them. She wished his body were back to normal, and that she could meet the warmth of his golden eyes.
Alphonse made a surprised sound. "Oh, um, well, I am fine. I'm alive, right?"
Winry retreated in her initial position, studying him carefully. The tree's branches shook lightly with the blow of the wind that danced with the leaves. She felt the gust brush her skin, and couldn't help but shiver. She shrugged, crossing her arms over one and another and creating friction with her hands.
"I told you you'd be cold." Alphonse sighed, worried.
"I'm alright!" She insisted, placing her hands on his metallic armor and forcing him to stay put. "I meant beyond being alive. You've been so concerned about Edward, but nobody has asked you about you. How are you?"
He took a deep sigh.
"You and Brother are both the same. Always urging me to tell you things when you should be concerned about yourself."
"You're one to talk," she laughed. "I just think some stuff has to be talked about. Edward won't talk to me about anything but alchemy, but I hope I can expect more from you, Al." She smiled, pausing. "Just please talk to me."
"Okay." He caved in, shifting his body so his head was facing Winry properly. Under the dim light of the stars, Winry marvelled at the softness of the metal. "To tell the truth, I'm a bit lonely." Winry blinked, a bit shocked by this revelation. Alphonse seemed to understand her surprise. "Not because of you all! I am grateful for you, for Brother, for Granny Pinako and for Den. I... just... the nights are the worst, you know? I..." His voice began to shake.
Winry placed a hand over his leather gloves. "Go on."
"The night goes on and on, but I remain. I can never talk to anyone and I miss people."
Pause.
"I miss sleeping. I miss tasting food. I miss smelling things. I miss the warmth!" His armor was shaking, and Winry glanced down at her touch, a touch he was unable to feel.
"I miss being alive. I'm just a soul in a suit of armor, and I..." He stopped talking, almost like he wan't able to add anything else. The silence strained the air, but it did not alter the connection between the two. He finally added, "Please don't tell Brother all of this."
Winry frowned. "Why not?"
"He doesn't need to worry more. He needs to recover, and if he starts to worry about me, then he'll only grow with insecurity. Brother will do great things, but only if he's confident in who he is."
"Honestly..." Winry pouted, not understanding the strangeness of boys. She smiled. "All right. It'll be our secret, then."
Alphonse laughed weakly, agreeing.
"For what this is all about," Winry said with a happy tone, "I think your metal armor is so cool." This was no secret, of course, as everyone knew that Winry Rockbell loved nothing more than metal and metallic bodies. This seemed to be a strange passion of hers. She wanted to become an automail engineer, after all. "When you get too lonely during the night, you're allowed to wake me or Ed up, you know."
"Thanks Winry."
"And don't you worry, Al!" Winry got up with defiance, putting her fists midway up into the air and clenching them with conviction. "With me as his automail engineer, Ed's gonna be up and running in no time! Then, the two of you can get your body back!"
Alphonse chuckled again, his light laughter vibrating against the metal. "I know, I know. Just be sure not to take too much care of him or he very much might fall in love with you."
"Ha! That little shrimp doesn't stand a chance." She jerked her head. "I've already told you I'm not gonna marry someone's who's shorter than me!"
Alphonse got up, his massive body leaning against the tree as he shrugged. "Brother's gonna grow. You'll see."
"Perhaps." Winry smiled. "If he drinks his milk." They both laughed, this time louder. When they both had calmed down, Winry added, "Oh but Al. Promise me you'll talk to Ed about your feelings, one day. Maybe not soon but talk to him, okay?"
"Alright, Winry." He answered with defeat and relief. Winry grinned, grabbing Alphonse's metal arm.
"Come on, let's go wake up Ed."
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What's up everybody? I hope you enjoyed this piece. If any of you know me, you'll know that my favorite relationships in fiction are friendships and there aren't nearly enough platonic Alphonse/Winry that depict their bond, so there you are! As always, feedback is very much welcome and appreciated, and I hope you have a lovely day!