A/N: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Polarized Penmanship's (and by that I mean my) first attempted at this thing called writing! Ok, it's not my first time writing, but it's my first time writing fanfiction.
I'm not sure what happened to this story, it was supposed to be a big and dramatic breakup between Roy and Ed and somehow it turned into AlWin (which I don't really ship) mush with a crappy ending. Oops.
Anyhow, I apologize for any mistakes in spelling, grammar, or facts about the story. This was typed on unbelievably laggy and old IPhone 3, so I apologize again. I think that's everything.
Roy: No flaming or I will flame you back!
PP: Thanks Roy.
Ed: Don't forget the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all other related titles belongs to Hiromu Arakawa and other rightful owners. I make no profit off of this work and claim no rights to the rights. If anything, this fic promotes more people to buy Hiromu Arakawa-San's work so this is free advertising. Let's face it, I wish I did own FMA.
Enjoy!:
It was a warm spring day, one of those afternoons that was just cool enough to wear a sweater, but you could get away with a T-shirt if you wanted to, where birds make a racket in the trees above your head, and puddles lie hidden within flowerbeds. It was one of those days where the morning set the tone fir a carefree and lax afternoon, and the afternoon wasn't one to disappoint.
Al walked down the sidewalk, avoiding another puddle, following Winry, with his arms full of paper bags. The bags themselves contained tissues, dish soap, coffee, coffee cream, sugar, baking powder, ibuprofen, a chocolate bar, and other assorted items any normal household would contain. The only thing that confused Al was that they needed all of this stuff at home themselves, so why on Earth were they taking them to Ed's?
"Hey, Win?"
"Mmf?" Winry replied, popping another mint into her mouth.
"Why exactly are we taking all this to Brother's? He doesn't even drink coffee."
Winry tossed him a candy and Al caught it expertly in his mouth.
"Ed might not but Roy sure does. He drinks almost three whole pots a day. As for the rest of the stuff, both of them are so immature and disorganized and...and just THEM that they need a bit of a woman's touch around the place."
"Win, that's sexist."
"Not when a women's saying it."
"Mmf..."
Winry turned to face him, blue eyes filled with concern.
"You ok, Al?"
He shook his head,
"Yeah, it's just that I never saw it coming. All of this."
She smiled understandingly and stopped, putting the pack of mints back into the bag she was carrying.
"Al, none of us did. I mean, they're the two most incompatible people in Amestris. I think even Miss Riza was surprised when they told us."
Al laughed,
"They didn't TELL me anything. I had to find out the hard way, all on my own. I wish I could forget THAT!"
"Oh yeah! I never did say thanks for that. After THAT happened, I guess Ed was so flustered he didn't really know what to do, so he told EVERYBODY."
"And then he quit the military."
"Yup."
"And moved back here to live with the Brigadier General."
"Yup."
"I still don't fully understand Brother."
"I never even began to!"
They laughed, and started walking again.
"But Winry...think about it. They shouldn't work at all. A relationship is about trust and compassion and mutual understanding and freaking maturity. You know that Brother and the Brigadier General both lack all of those qualities, but the last one is the worse!"
Winry didn't respond for a moment. When she did, she sounded skeptical,
"I wouldn't say that Al. He looked after you for a long time after Aunt Trisha died, I think that shows maturity. Also, he's responsible in someways, like staying focused on his goals."
"One word for you. Automail."
"Damn it Al, don't remind me about that! I get all angry and want to smash someone's skull in!"
Al laughed, jumping around her and jogging backwards so he could see her face.
She smiled.
"It's true though, I can't see a single reason why this relationship has survived. I sort of expected them to kill each other in the first week, in all honesty."
"I thought Brother would somehow forget that food is a necessity and starve."
"I think you don't give Ed enough credit."
"I think you give him too much."
Winry shook her head, and pointed to a bench set away from the road.
"Want to rest for a while?"
Al's arms felt as if they were about to fall off, and he sank gratefully onto the flat planks.
Winry sat down next to him and linked her arm into his, resting her head on his shoulder.
"No, I don't think Ed'll accidentally starve himself one day, but I certainly have my doubts about the two of them. Ed's out of work, so Roy has to pay the rent and feed them out of his own salary, and we know that's still not all that much, even if the military is back to normal. I'm afraid that one day they'll open their eyes to all the prejudice and disapproval around them, and get the wrong idea about themselves. I'm afraid that they'll let everything collapse around them at one point because one missed something in the other's actions, or added some nonexistent sting into his words. All these little things adding up, and them drowning in them, that's what makes me scared."
Across the street from them, a couple knelt on the grass of a community garden, with their kids. They were hand in hand, and the woman held a baby in her arms. A little boy sat on her lap, running a miniature car along the grass. A young girl stood up and brushed grass off her dress, tapped her brother on the shoulder and ran off, shrieking, as he gave chase.
Al nodded, watching the family as the father got up to join his kids.
"They're always going to have to struggle with that, I think. Brother and the Brigadier-"
"Oh for Lord's sake just call him Roy, Al!"
"It feels weird on my tongue!"
"Al, it's his name."
"Fine! Brother and ROY certainly don't have an easy road ahead of them."
"I feel bad for doubting them."
Al blinked in surprise.
"I don't think we're doubting, I think we're worried for them."
"Think about how Ed would take it if I told him how I felt."
Al could see it clearly. First, blushing, because they had mentioned Roy. Then, denial: 'Stop doubting me! I'm not a kid, you know!' Then he'd start blushing even more until they stopped looking at him.
Al ran his fingers through Winry's hair.
"We know we're just concerned. However Brother wants to interpret it is his issue."
Winry nodded, and they sat like that for awhile, watching the family in the park play, arms entwined. The sun slowly inched its way across the sky, and just as shadows started to appear, Winry wrapped her arms around Al and buried her face in his neck.
"Love you, Al."
Al kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too."
Without another word the two stood and continued on their way. This time they walked side by side in silence. Both were worried for Ed and Roy with that unique relationship of theirs, worried that it was too rushed, too rash, and they were just too incompatible.
They walked up a flight of short steps to a condo that was anything but unmitigated. The lawn was a cross between a rose garden and a war zone. Amid random piles of transmuted earth there would be a bush with bright yellow or red flowers blooming fully.
Looks like Roy's getting the hang of it, Al thought happily at attempts at other types of alchemy outside of fire. The house itself looked as if the owners couldn't decide what color to paint it and had settled with a mixture of grey and black, which wouldnt have been a bad choice had they painted it corectly and not in verticle stripes. The front porch was the same, as if a war had been waged on what to dump outside, and had been disputed by deciding to put everything there, from gardening tools and a pack of chalk to a dog statue that Al had a nagging suspicion Ed had forced out of the house.
Winry raise a hand to knock, but hesitated. Al placed a hand on her shoulder, and she rapped the door with her knuckles three quick times, just as a telephone went off with shrill calls.
"Fuck! We have got to get a different ring for the fucking phone it's driving me insane!"
"Ed, watch your-"
RIIING
"-language. I'll get the door, you get the phone."
"But the-"
RIIING
"-door is closer to me!"
"Then-"
RIIING
"-get the door! I don't care!"
RIIING
"Wait, Ed! Watch out for the-"
CRASH
RIIING
"...coffee table. Wheeze. Never mind."
"Owww..."
RIII-
"Oh for God's sake! Hello, this is Roy Mustang speaking."
Al opened the door, and almost burst out laughing.
Ed was lying face down practically at Al's feet, wearing an oversized shirt of Roy's, automail leg still flung over the upturned glass table and his other tangled in the phone cord. Roy had been pinned under the table, and the phone cord was wound around his arms before the actual receiver was tucked under his ear.
"...yeah, what about it?"
Al walked right in, stepping around his brother's head and setting the bags down on the kitchen before attempting to untangle the mess in front of him. Winry was still at the door in silent laughter.
"Yes, he's here, automail leg and all, which is currently scratching my glass coffee table."
"It's just a fucking table, you bastard, there's nothing to get upset about! Even if it was a big deal, which it's not, the table isn't even worth a few cens!"
"Sorry, hold on a moment. You're right Edward, the table is as big an issue as you are. Pardon me, I'm back."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE-"
Al untangled the phone cord from Ed's leg, at one point having to roll his brother over.
"-MICROSCOPIC PLANKTON-"
"Compatibility? Zero."
"-HAVE TO USE- wait. Roy? Who is that?"
Al pulled Ed to his feet, and Winry finally wiped the tears from her eyes and set her own bags on the counter to tackle the knot in the living room.
"Zero again. Fourteen. Yes, years"
Ed frowned, pulling his hair into a loose ponytail.
"Roy..."
"Almost a year. Ninety-eight percent."
Al and Winry succeeded in getting the table off of Roy, who gave them a thumbs up in thanks.
"As far as I know, yes."
Ed put his ear as close as he could to the receiver without actually sitting in Roy's lap. The older man just turned his head.
"No. Of course I'm sure, what kind of a question is that? Yes. Your welcome. Good evening."
He set the receiver down with a click.
"Roy? Who was that? What did they want? That call was awfully suspicious. It was a survey wasn't it?"
"Yes, Ed! It was a survey! Why does it matter?"
"They're nosy! Why do we have to-"
Winry shook her head and Al chuckled. Typical Ed. He had guests and he acted like he didn't even care. They watched for a moment as the two bickered, Roy remaining calm and rolling his eyes through the whole thing, and Ed, as loud and self-conscious as ever. Somewhere along the line, watching his brother bicker with his lover, Al felt something in his brain click. What made Ed and Roy's relationship work; why they were compatible, was because of their incompatibility.
It was true, the two of them were as different as day and night, light and dark, black and white. Nobody could spend five minutes with them and not agree. However, they balanced each other out, like a Yin and a Yang.
If Al ever tried to explain it to Winry, he knew she wouldn't understand. But watching Roy and Ed just be themselves around each other, Al felt that something was right, even if he couldn't really explain it.
For Al, it was enough to understand that it was going to work, that Ed and Roy would be just fine, and that everything he and Winry had worried about was null and void.
It was enough to know that the love was real.
Reviews are love! :D
Constructive Criticism is great!