AN: Hey, guys! I'm back with ANOTHER fanfic! I'm on a roll here! XD And shockingly...this one's going to be a multi-chapter fic! O_O I don't know how many chapters it'll be, but I ain't letting this fire burn out so soon! :D Anyway, let me get this out of the way, this particular fic was inspired by a fanart image I saw years ago. It had a young Winry with an Alphonse umbrella crouching down and extending a hand out to a tiny Ed who had cat ears and a tail (and in his usual attire). Honestly, the image itself was so cute that this idea sparked in my mind, but never got around to writing it sooner. So...yeah! FANART INSPIRED THIS FIC!

Disclaimer: I never had, and never will own Fullmetal Alchemist! Why would I even be here if I did, anyway?

The rain pours on in the outside world, never showing signs of stopping anytime soon. Luckily, Winry had brought her umbrella with her so there was nothing to worry about!

Nothing at all.

The young 6-year old snuck a peek at the other kids. Most of them were just mainly waiting out the rain or waiting for their parents to pick them up. Few others, like her, grabbed out their umbrellas and continued on their way. Occasionally, a few brave souls didn't have a care in the world as they made a mad dash out in the rain, all the while laughing. Winry smiled as she opened her umbrella and made her first step home.

It was pouring as hell. But he had no other choice but to venture out. If he was to survive, he had to find food. And finding food meant braving the rain—even as it soaks his little body. He could feel the cold water seep through his clothes as he dashed out into the rain.

Need...food...

His ears perked up at the hum of a little girl. Not wanting anybody to see him, he made a run for cover.

Winry lightheartedly hummed the Lullaby of Resembool as she skipped along the street, happily jumping in any puddle she sees as she goes along. Playing in the rain was always fun for her for some reason. But seeing as she didn't want to worry her parents with the chance of catching a cold, she kept the umbrella out. Out of the corner of her eye, Winry caught a glance of a...cat?...scurrying out of sight.

Well that was odd.

Curious, Winry felt the urge to check it out. She jogged to the corner the cat ran into only to find nothing but a bunch of crates. "Guess I imagined it," the little girl muttered to herself. Just as she was about to turn to leave, Winry heard small scuffling from one of the crates. She turned around to indeed find a cat running away and out into the street.

"H-hey!" the small blond called out, "Where are you going?!" and with that, Winry took off after the small feline.

He had to run. He was spotted by a little girl of all things! While he did need food to keep up his stamina, his first priority was to get to safety. There was no way, even if it was a little girl, that he was going to risk his freedom! He continued to run until he ran out of breath in the middle of the street. No one was really outside at the moment—who would be when it's raining? Letting out a breath he didn't know he held, he slumped his tiny body against the wall of a nearby building.

Hopefully, he managed to lose that kid.

Oh, how wrong he was.

The little girl managed to somehow catch up with him. But he was too tired and hungry to run any further. Plus, he was freezing from the rain! The little blond-haired girl stared at him for what seemed to be forever before she finally crouched down in front of him and extended her hand towards him.

"Hi!" the little girl said cheerfully, "My name's Winry. Do you want to come home with me?"

Well that was one heck of a question. If he thought about it, normally, crazy people wouldn't simply ask for an animal to go with them. Then again…they would…wouldn't they? He braved a glance up at the girl. Her deep blue eyes showed no sign of deceit. And her blond hair looked as warm as the sun.

Apparently, the little girl—Winry thought he was still frightened of her as he made no move whatsoever. "It's alright," she giggled, "I won't hurt you."

That's what they all say. But his instincts told him this Winry kid could be trusted. So he trusted in his instincts too. Reluctantly, he got up on his feet and stepped forward to Winry's outstretched hand. Winry giggled again as she picked him up and brought him close to her body to help warm him up from the cold rain. He could easily hear her heartbeat through the fabric of her dress. And it was her heartbeat that lulled him to sleep soon afterward.

Winry thought it strange when she got a good look at the cat. She now realized, judging by its size, that the cat was actually a kitten. But what confused her even more was what the kitten looked like. She noticed that it wore human clothes made to fit its tiny frame. And that it looked…human? That can't be right. Winry was positive she heard a term for these types of creatures somewhere.

Oh well. She'll dwell on it later. As the little girl made her way home, she glanced downwards at the now sleeping kitten. It wore a red coat, that much Winry could tell from the angle she was looking at, and it's fur was pulled back into a braid (could she even call it fur at this point?).

Soon enough, Winry saw the familiar yellow house in the distance that was her home. Feeling rejuvenated at seeing warm shelter, Winry quickened her pace to the house—being extra careful so as to not wake the kitten that peacefully slept in her arms. Somehow, luck seemed to be on her side as the front door opened by her father.

"Hi, Dad!" Winry exclaimed as she ran up the steps. She paused to hand her umbrella at her dad (to his confusion) since her arms were still preoccupied.

Taking the umbrella from his daughter, he said, "Welcome home, sweetie. How was school?" Urey gave Winry that fatherly smile.

The little blond girl turned to her dad, "It was great!" Winry beamed, "We learned about the early history of automail today."

"Sounds like you had a splendid time at school," Pinako commented from the table. She was putting wires together before connecting them to an automail limb that sat on the table in front of her. It must be for their newest patient, Winry decided.

Winry nodded. School has always been fun; save for when she sleeps in math class. But she always enjoyed being with the other kids. Suddenly, the girl remembered that she still had to give Al his homework—he had caught a cold earlier this morning and couldn't make it to school today. And speaking of cold...after making a quick announcement that she'll be in her room doing homework, Winry quickly made her way upstairs to her room where she can help dry off the little kitten and keep it warm. If her dad and granny saw what she held in her arms, they didn't say anything about it. After all, saving lives is what a doctor does and Winry must have a very good reason to pick up a stray cat.

Once the 6 year-old girl was in her room, she immediately set off to bundle her blanket to make a soft cushion for the kitten and set it on top. Winry let out a triumphant hum as she stepped back to examine her makeshift cushion. Once again, she took a good look at the kitten now that she was no longer holding it in her arms. For some strange reason, it looked more human than she thought. But it did have the cat ears and tail that matched the color of its hair (she now identified properly). It also seemed to love sporting the red and black color scheme. The coat was red, but the rest of its clothes were black with a small hint of white. Winry decided to ponder about it later after she got her homework done. She turned to her desk after folding part of the blanket to cover the small creature and keep it warm and began working, occasionally glancing back at the still sleeping kitten...whatever it was.

The first thing he noticed was how warm he felt. The second thing was that he no longer felt the rain drenching him to his core. He opened his eyes and his sight immediately met the light blue fabric of the blanket that covered him. He sat up and looked around at his surroundings. For one, he was no longer outside where it was still raining. From the looks of the room he was in, it appeared to be a bedroom—at least he thought, he didn't know for sure. His ears perked up at the sound of a pencil drop. The little creature's golden eyes snapped up to see the girl who had confronted him earlier that day lean over her chair to pick up the pencil she had dropped to the floor. Suddenly, he felt awkward. Did this girl really go out of her way to give him shelter? And what would happen when the rain stopped?

Curious about the girl's antics, he pushed himself out of the warm embrace of the blanket that was his makeshift bed and sat at the edge of the large bed.

He didn't know whether it was him staring at her, his sudden movement, or just an instinct of her own, but he found the little blond girl glancing back towards him. Time seemed to freeze at that very moment. Cerulean blue eyes met piercing gold. Thankfully, the silence didn't last too long as his stomach chose that very moment to growl at the world.

The little girl giggled, "Sounds like someone is hungry! How 'bout I get you a little snack?" With that, she got up from her chair and left him alone in the room.

He sat still for a few moments before he sighed and fell back. He wasn't so sure if he could even trust this girl—what was her name again? Winry?—but he wasn't about to complain anytime soon if food was involved. He couldn't even remember when the last time he ever got a proper meal was. All he ever got was just some strange mush and that was it. It was enough to keep him from starving, but at the same time, it wasn't all that filling either. On a rare occasion, they would give him a dead mouse (much to his disgust at first).

Soon enough, Winry came back holding a small can of tuna and some water. "I was told that cats can't stomach cow's milk, so I went with water instead," she said as she set the bowl of water on the floor by the bed, "And I hope this tuna will be enough for you!"

He watched her every movement, but didn't budge. He wasn't sure if it was okay to even go down to the floor to drink the water she got for him, let alone eat something he's never had in his entire life as far as he knew. But her gentle smile said it all. Slowly but surely, he climbed down the bed to make a beeline for the bowl. He then grabbed the bowl by the rim with his hands and tilted it slightly when—

Winry let out a loud gasp. "You can lift the bowl by yourself?" Apparently, that was enough to rouse questions.

It seems, he thought, normal cats don't use their front paws to hold a bowl of water.

But before anymore could be said, someone had knocked on Winry's door before stepping in. It was a woman who was taller than Winry, yet looked similar to her as well. The woman had wavy blond hair and blue eyes that reminded him of how Winry's looked. The woman quickly glanced his way before turning her attention to the other occupant, "Winry, I just want to let you know that Auntie Trisha is here. Do you want to say hi to her?"

"Of course! Is Al here too?" Winry asked.

The woman shook her head, "Uncle Hohenheim is watching him. His fever has gone down a bit, but it's still pretty high. Trisha is here to pick up medicine for him." She turned to leave before pausing to examine the tiny occupant. He gulped. She was so much taller than him—heck, she was taller than Winry! "What a strange looking cat," the woman mused, "Did you find him on your way home, Winry?"

Winry nodded, "Yes," she solemnly said, but quickly added, "But I didn't want him to catch a cold in the rain and he was already wet, so I...I..." Winry turned her gaze to the floor, tears pricking at her eyes—for some reason, he can't stand to see a girl cry. "Did I do something wrong, Mom?" her voice was barely a whisper, but the guilt was clearly there.

Winry's mom bent down to be at eye level with her daughter, "No, sweetie," she cooed, "You did the right thing by helping a living being in need." Winry looked up at her mother and smiled. "But—" her mom added a bit more sternly, "that doesn't mean you can pick up any stray animal from off the street. You can take care of him until the rain has subsided enough that he'll be able to manage on his own. Alright?"

Winry nodded. And with that, her mother gave her a reassuring smile before leaving her room. The room stayed utterly still until Winry finally picked up her bag and pulled out some sheets of paper. He looked up at her curiously and she only responded back with that sweet smile of hers before muttering, "I'll be right back," and taking off in the direction her mother went.

He only continued to stare at the door for a few seconds after Winry had left the room before turning his attention back to the tuna and water before him. His stomach only growled some more so he took the chance to dig in.

Winry had just descended down the stairs as Trisha was about to leave. "Auntie Trisha!" the little girl exclaimed.

Trisha turned around only to be met with a head of blond colliding with her in a hug. The brunet gently laughed and returned the hug. "Hello, Winry," Trisha started, "How are you today?"

"Great!" Winry beamed. "I have Al's homework from today. Can you give it to him for me?" she held the papers out to Trisha.

"Why, of course!" Trisha said, gently taking the papers from Winry's small hands, "I'll be sure to tell him. You're such a kind friend. Thank you."

Winry blushed. She liked being thanked by other people. It made her feel accomplished.

Her mother, Sara, and Trisha exchanged a few more words before the latter left to return home. The little blond-haired girl went back upstairs to her room where the little cat was waiting. Speaking of…she knew she could only look after it for a little while before the rain stopped. But there was so much she wanted to learn. As far as she knew, those types of cats are uncommon. Yet, she could be wrong.

The moment Winry entered her room, she was met with a small voice, "Winry Rockbell, grade 1. From the looks of it, this seems to be...a bunch of numbers!"

Winry let out a loud eep and hurriedly glanced around the room. Her eyes soon fell on the little cat that now stood on her desk in front of her math homework. She knows cats can stand but this one...

This one stood on its hind legs.

As if it noticed her presence, the cat turned its tiny head to her direction. The two made eye contact for a few shockingly still moments before the cat grinned and the same voice broke the silence.

"Thanks for the lunch! It really helped me out there!"

Winry stood frozen at the doorway. She couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't believe her ears! The little cat she had picked up on her way home from school was standing perfectly fine on its back legs with no difficulty whatsoever. And most importantly...

It—he TALKED!

If Winry were older, she would've most definitely screamed right on the spot. But being the 6 year-old girl she is, she was more amazed than she was scared. "You can talk?" she asked.

"Of course I can talk!" the cat snapped, seemingly annoyed, "I've always been able to since...umm..." he trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.

"It's alright!" Winry reassured, having already recovered from the shock, "I can't remember the first time I spoke either." She stepped inside her room further and closed the door behind her.

The cat made an inaudible sound before slumping back down on the desk, ears and tail drooping.

Winry felt bad for him. But she quickly changed the subject, "Umm—if you don't mind me asking," she started carefully. She waited a few seconds before asking, "Do you have a name?"

At this, the cat perked up again, ears and antennae (?) pointing upwards, "I do have one," he said, "It's Edward. But you can call me Ed."

Here is chapter 1, folks! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed typing it (okay, I know that's a long shot!)...I'm only kidding! Let me know what you guys think of it! Cute, cringey, decent? Anyway, feedback is appreciated (this coming from the one who nearly failed English class her senior year...) and I will see you guys...NEXT CHAPTER!

~KaylinElemental15...OUT