Stepping Stones
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist
Pairing: Roy x Winry
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creator of FMA. I own nothing!
#40 - History
It is strange how one singular event can determine the course of two individuals' lives, even though they have never met.
#08 - Thousand
During the war, Roy had calmly incinerated at least a thousand people - he was a soldier and it was his duty.
#13 - Change
Then he shot two innocent doctors and the whole world went mad (he was murderer, murderer, murderer. . .)
#38 – Wash
No amount of water could clean his hands of blood.
#19 - Soul
If you were to ask him, Roy would tell you that he didn't have a soul anymore.
#12 - Wait
During her parent's absence, Winry passed the time by running wild with the Elric brothers and experimenting on automail.
#33 - Never
She was only vaguely aware of the war in Ishbal; it had not occurred to her that she might never see her parents again.
#20 - Picture
When the door opened Roy recognized her right away—he had memorized her picture: blonde, beaming, blood-spattered.
#30 - Ghost
He killed her parents, but she was the ghost that haunted him—a gawky, gangly little girl with gold hair and frightened, accusing eyes.
#03 – Young
When he met Edward Elric's eyes and saw an old soul gazing out at him despite the young exterior, he thought: here is someone I can use.
#47 - Harm
But as he coerced Edward Elric into becoming a state alchemist, Roy felt a twinge of regret—he had already taken so much from her, and now he was going to take the rest of her family too?
#26 - Goodbye
Roy hoped that their paths would never cross again—things always seemed to end badly for her when they did.
#37 - Time
Seasons passed, enough for Winry to grow up and for Roy to grow lonely.
#28 - Fortune
One overcast spring day, they literally ran into each other on a crowded street; it was either a cliché or fate.
#17 - Vision
Roy blinked and shook his head, wondering if something was wrong with his eyes.
#24 - Now
They had seen each other on several occasions in the past, mostly because of Fullmetal—but back then she had still been a child; now no one could say that of her.
#05 - Wrong
"Would you like to join me for lunch?" Roy asked before he had time to think about it.
#27 - Hide
Winry said yes and then immediately regretted it—was it too late crawl under a rock?
#18 - Attention
At first, Winry was as stiff as a soldier under inspection and Roy talked too much to compensate for her silence—but they could not take their eyes off of one another.
#32 - Eyes
By all rights she should have hated him—he murdered her parents—but Edward admired him, he had saved her life once . . . and he had gorgeous dark eyes.
#39 – Torn
When he was still a faceless murderer she could loathe him with impunity; when she actually met her parents' killer and discovered he was a good man, her hatred had faded to resignation and quiet acceptance—but to be attracted to him?
#02 - Cool
When Roy noticed her shiver he stood without a word and draped his jacket over her shoulders.
#06 - Gentle
As their meal progressed, Winry realized that he was clever, charming, courteous; all the qualities of a seasoned rake—but he was also kind . . . and sincere.
#22 - Mad
Winry could not believe her train of thought, and she hastily reminded herself that he was a notorious womanizer and she was hopelessly devoted to Edward.
#42 - Bother
Thoughts of Edward only aroused intense irritation; she had come to Central in order to hunt the idiot down and perform maintenance on his automail, but she really didn't feel like going anywhere at the moment.
#25 - Shadow
"I have to leave," Winry finally said, after they had been in the restaurant for hours and the day was drawing to a close.
#46 - Drive
Mustang stood and proffered an arm, "Would you like a lift back to your hotel?"
#29 – Safe
"Thank you, but no."
#14 – Command
"You can give my driver the address."
#11 – Blur
Winry spent most of the ride watching the streets go by and trying not to think of the fact that his thigh was pressed against hers.
#36 – Stop
"Here we are," Roy said as he stepped out of the car and held the door open for her.
#04 – Last
This was, Winry believed, the last time she would ever see him again—so if there was anything she wanted to say she had better say it now.
#48 - Precious
I forgive you—Winry was surprised by how easily the words slid off her tongue; she was even more surprised to realize that she meant them.
#45 – Naked
"Say that again," he gasped, his formidable defenses stripped away by three small words.
#15 – Hold
Before she could even open her mouth she found herself enveloped in a bone crushing embrace; it was rather mortifying, and just a little bit endearing.
#35 – Sudden
Well, that was unexpected.
#16 - Need
Winry never did get around to seeing Ed; she figured that if he needed her, he would come looking.
#49 – Hunger
But she did see quite a bit of Roy; they met for lunch three days in a row, then four, then five—and then one day Roy didn't show up and Winry realized that it wasn't the café's chocolate gateau she craved.
#44 – Wall
When he showed up at her apartment (so new it still smelled of paint and she was using a refrigerator box as a table) wearing a sheepish grin and holding up a bag of take-out, Winry had to lean against the wall for support as her knees buckled.
#41 – Power
Roy wondered why Winry had the ability to affect him so very deeply; he was fascinated by her expressions; he delighted in making her smile, laugh, blush - and they hadn't even kissed yet.
#07 – One
She had never been kissed before, so he felt both proud and possessive as he trailed his mouth over her closed eyelids, elegant cheekbones, slightly parted lips.
#01 - Motion
Winry could never seem to keep still around him - her eyes, her lips, her hips were always in motion.
#23 - Child
She nagged like a spinster and was a veritable sage of all things technological (whereas Roy could barely look at a fountain pen without it bursting all over his gloves), but when it came to romance she was still an innocent . . .
#09 - King
So Roy magnanimously took it upon himself to educate her.
#31 - Book
And luckily for the two of them, this endeavor required quite a bit of hands-on instruction; not everything could be learned from books, although there were a few that came with rather enlightening illustrations.
#10 - Learn
Winry, who had been rifling through Roy's rather impressive library, nearly screamed when he glanced over her shoulder and asked her which one she wanted to try first.
#43 - God
"Oh, god," Winry gasped, her entire being straining towards nirvana . . .
#21 - Fool
"My name is Roy," the smartass was unable to resist remarking afterward.
#50 - Believe
"Well," Winry murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I think I've just found religion."
#34 - Sing
Roy had never been good at getting up in the morning, so when he was awakened at a disgustingly early hour by the sound of Winry singing in the bathroom, he was content to lie there and listen and wait for her to come back to bed.