Rating: T

Pairing: Edwin/Edward Elric x Winry Rockbell

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Word Count: 1008

Title: Twelfth Birthday

Description: Ed comforts a hurting Winry when she's reminded of her parent's absence.

A/N: Comments are always appreciated. Enjoy!

Edward • age 12

I'm reading in the front yard when Al sits down next to me.

"Winry's crying again."

I lower my book and look over at my brother, the suit of armor, and then to the glass doors on the second-floor balcony. The curtains are messed up, giving me a partial image of the little girl curled up in the corner, her face buried in her knees.

"What is it this time?" I ask quietly, averting my eyes to the grass in front of me.

"Seriously, brother? Don't you remember what day it is?"

I give him a confused look, and he sighs before reminding me of the date.

Fuck.

I wince, closing my eyes. Her birthday. She's twelve today, like me, and her parents aren't here to celebrate it. Again.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" I look back at Al, my words sounding harsher than I intend.

I mean…I hate this for her, but it's not like I can fix it.

"Go talk to her."

"Why can't you go talk to her?" I grumble. "You're better at this stuff anyway."

"Because my body is made of metal," he reminds me softly. "She needs a hug or something."

"I'm not exactly cuddly either," I say, holding up my still-healing automail arm.

"You still have one real arm, which is more than I have."

My stomach rolls at his words. I already feel so guilty about what happened. When he mentions it, I can barely breathe.

"Just go try," he sighs. "You have to do something."

"Fine." Rising to my feet, I stand in the grass beside him and brush myself off before heading inside.

I go straight up the stairs before I can overthink it and chicken out. Her door is cracked when I reach it, so I gently push it open without knocking.

"Winry?"

"Ed?" Her voice sounds thick, which I know is from crying, and I see her scramble to her feet as I walk in.

"Are you–"

"What do you need?" she cuts me off, frantically wiping her cheeks. "Are you in pain? Is it your automail? I can–"

"Winry," I interrupt her softly. "I'm fine."

"Oh…but–"

"Are, uh, you…okay?"

She blinks once before ducking her head. She starts to nod gently before she sniffles and her head jerks to the side. She shakes it frantically and her eyes start brimming with unshed tears.

Crap.

"I…I just–" she hiccups and covers her face with her trembling hands.

"You miss them," I supply quietly, taking a step toward her.

A sob tears out of her throat, and suddenly, I'm catching her in my arms. I go back on one leg to keep from falling, and I feel her tears soaking my shirt. My real hand slides into her hair, and I start shushing her softly, hoping to calm her down.

Slowly, I ease us to the floor where she curls up between my legs and continues crying into my neck. I'm not sure anything I'm doing is actually soothing her, but I can't stop. Not when she's holding fistfuls of my shirt as tightly as she is.

Usually when Winry gets weepy, it's over something I don't get. Like when we were seven and I fell out of a tree and broke my wrist. She started crying while Al when to get Granny. I just sat there and waited, staring at the strange way my arm looked while Winry knelt next to me and started whimpering. It wasn't even that bad of a break. And it wasn't even her arm!

This though.

Missing your parents? Your mom? Wanting to see her again?

I understand this.

A lump forms in my throat, and I immediately clench my jaw. I try rubbing her back to see if that helps, but she just keeps crying.

A cough from the doorway surprises me, and my head whips around.

"Dinner is, uh, ready," Al announces quietly.

I jerk my head in a nod, my hand still moving in little circles over Winry's shoulder blades.

"Granny made a cake."

I open my mouth to respond when Winry sits back, pushing her hair out of her puffy eyes. A few strands are stuck to her damp cheeks, but I resist the urge to fix them.

"I'll be there in a minute," she murmurs.

"Okay."

Al leaves, and we sit in silence until we hear his large metal body reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Ed, I–"

"If you don't want cake, I can tell Granny–"

"No. Cake is fine."

"Oh." I frown.

"I…" She leans forward and loops her arms around my neck. "Thank you, Ed," she whispers into my ear, her damp cheek rubbing against mine. "Really."

"Of course," I answer quietly. "It's your birthday."

"Right." She pulls back, fixing her skirt. "Well, it means a lot."

"Sure." I nod, feeling awkward again.

"I'm gonna miss you when you go to Central," she adds quietly.

"Oh. Well, I'm not leaving yet. I have a few more weeks before–"

"I know," she breaks in. "But I wanted to say…to tell you to be safe, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." I nod.

"I mean…make sure you come back," her voice wavers, and I see more tears brimming in her eyes.

I wince internally. Her parents left and never came back. That's what she's trying to say.

"I promise, Winry," I tell her gruffly. "As soon as we get our original bodies back, we'll be here."

She nods and wipes at her face again.

"We should go eat," I mutter, glancing toward the door.

"Come on." She gives me a watery smile and grabs my hand, pulling me out into the hall.

I don't tell her happy birthday, since I know this isn't one. Granny and Al sing when they bring out the cake, and I squeeze her hand under the table. She perks up after that, even though I know she's still sad.

Some hurt never goes away. We just learn to live with it.