Salad Leaves

AN: Just a fun, impromptu little piece.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Okay," Winry sighed as she set her spanner down, "now that I'm done with this, I suppose I'll have to prepare dinner for you."

Edward didn't reply. Winry frowned and looked down at her patient, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the Fullmetal Alchemist lying limply on the table. One arm – his flesh arm – had dropped off the edge and dangled lifelessly. Winry blinked rapidly, wondering with a surreal air if he'd upped and died when he coughed and opened his eyes. "Is it just me, or does the nerve connection hurt more every time?" He eyed her warily. "Are you doing that on purpose?"

Winry sighed irritably. "Yes, Edward, because my only goal in life is to cause you pain," she retorted sarcastically. Edward grinned at her in a lopsided way and hopped off the table, flexing his new arm experimentally. It was as good as ever, he noted with satisfaction. Evidently, Winry wasn't angry at him anymore.

Well, all right, so she still looked like she was ready to hurl something much heavier than a spanner at him, but, well…

"Dinner would be great," he responded to her earlier statement. Winry looked annoyed again, and Edward had just begun to start fearing for his brain cells when she did an abrupt about-turn and sighed once more.

"Yeah, okay. Put your shirt back on and go get Al, I just need to heat it up."

Edward wriggled back into his black shirt and slipped on his boots, heading outside. Alphonse had left earlier to visit Paninya, despite Winry's protests that the former pickpocket would probably end up at Garfiel's place sooner or later. The blond-haired boy started to wonder where exactly Paninya lived. Had she gone to live with Dominic and the other LeCourts? In that case, it would take forever to get Alphonse back – surely he hadn't really gone tramping all the way up the mountains?

"Brother!" Alphonse hurried towards him, sunlight gleaming off his armor. Paninya strolled alongside him and offered Edward a cat-like grin. The boy scowled – he knew exactly why Paninya was grinning.

"C'mon, Al," he spoke gruffly. "Winry's getting dinner ready. I dunno if she'll have enough for you, Paninya."

"There's lots left over from yesterday," the dark-skinned girl assured Edward. "Winry is just warming that up again over the fire. Don't worry, there's plenty to go around!"

Edward grunted in reply.

By the time they returned, Winry had set the table and placed the giant pot of stew in the middle. It steamed gently, letting off a delicious, meaty aroma. Edward's stomach growled embarrassingly at the smell, but he was far too hungry to care. He pulled out a chair and seated himself, barely managing to suppress the urge to lick his lips.

Winry eyed him with a faint smile and placed her own plate on the table. Edward cast it a cursory glance and noted, with faint surprise, that it contained nothing more than a few salad leaves. Shrugging – Winry's choice of food was her own, and she would probably hit him if he said otherwise – Edward ladled stew onto his plate and dug in with gusto.

As he mopped up some of the stew with a piece of bread, he felt someone's eyes on him. He looked up briefly – Alphonse was chatting with Paninya, and neither of them were looking at him. He switched his gaze to Winry, whose eyes were fastened on her plate. She was pushing one of the lettuce leaves around the plate in a half-hearted manner.

Edward frowned, feeling worried. Winry had always been quite the voracious eater, although she was much more polite about it than he and Alphonse ever were. Why had she suddenly decided to start eating only salads?

"Winry?" She looked up, blinking in confusion. "Aren't you…" Edward coughed. "I mean, what's that you're eating?"

Winry gave him a 'you-are-so-stupid' look. "It's salad, Edward," she replied slowly, as if speaking to a little child. "Surely you know what that is?"

Edward felt his face flush. "Of course I do," he muttered sulkily in reply.

Alphonse looked up, and everyone could hear the reproving tone in his voice as he spoke. "Aren't you going to eat more, Winry?"

The mechanic shrugged. "Oh, no," she laughed, albeit in a forced manner. "I've been told salads are the best meal, especially for girls my age." She offered everyone a smile. "Don't worry about me, guys."

Edward harrumphed. "What nonsense," he replied rudely. "You shouldn't eat so little, you stupid girl. You'll fade away and die, and then who will fix my auto-mail?"

His words were harsh, but there was a concerned undertone to them, and Winry smiled into her salad. She'd been waiting for him to notice.

She put aside her plate and helped herself to the stew.

AN: Winry, dieting… the thought boggles the mind. I know the sentence structure here and there is awkward, but I wasn't sure how to fix it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

803 words.