Glad To Be Of Service

A request for kash30032000

Dear Winry,

I wanted to say that I'm sorry. It must be a hassle, always dropping what you're doing just so you could repair my automail. You're always telling me that I should be more careful. Instead, I just thank you for the fix, and charge off to do what I do best:

Be reckless.

I don't want to be a burden on you, Winry. I'm a real jerk for making you worry all the time. So I'm going to learn how to be more responsible for my automail from you…but after you fix it one last time.

Please?

-Ed

Winry Rockbell never felt so appreciated and insulted at the same time. She personally thought it was sweet of Ed to apologize to her about the times she had to fix his automail, but to follow it all up to her having to fix it for the umpteenth time? She sighed. What could she expect of him, after all? There was a package that came along with the heartfelt letter. After opening it, she groaned. It was full of her precious automail, broken down into tiny screws, bolts, and gears. The sight was almost enough to reduce her to tears. There was a box tossed carelessly (typical of Ed not to know the basics of packaging) among the various metal parts.

"What's this?" Winry asked, picking it up. It was a robin's-egg blue, with a crimson ribbon tied around it. She gently pulled it off, then set aside the lid on her worktable. There were train tickets to Central and a crinkled paper inside, wearing Ed's near illegible handwriting. They seemed to be directions to some place in Central City. The automail mechanic taped the first package back up, tucked it under her arm, and left out of her workshop where Den was peacefully napping. She petted the dog's head before going into her house. She had to tell Granny Pinako that Ed needed her assistance again.

"Hello, dear," the old woman greeted, that pipe bobbing between her lips. "Done working already?"

"Hi, Granny. Yeah, I'm done. I'm gonna have to go to Central, though," the blonde girl replied, taking off her scarf to comb out her mussed up hair. Pinako raised an eyebrow, blowing out a stream of smoke.

"Ed?" she guessed.

"Ed."

"I swear, that boy goes through automail like it's paper. Well, tell him and Al I said 'hi.'"

Winry nodded her head. After freshening up and packing her things, she set out for the train station. As she waited for the train, she wondered what Edward was up to. Sure, it was obvious that he wanted her to repair his automail. But what was with those directions he wrote on that paper? Was it some sort of place they could go for some supplies? If that was the case, she had the right to feel even more insulted. How could he think that someone like her who has repaired his automail more times than she could count couldn't be prepared to bring her own supplies?

The horn of the train briefly shattered her thoughts. She presented her ticket to the conductor then sat at a window seat. The golden hills of Risembool passed by while her brain was wrapped around the mystery, even as she slept. She came to when she heard a voice announce that her destination has been reached. Winry stretched her limbs and left the train, the package full of automail scraps in tow. She referred to the directions more often than she'd like to, sometimes stopping in her tracks to examine the city with worried blue eyes.

Eventually, she found the place.

Thanks to the help a good Samaritan offered, Winry was in front of a fancy-looking hotel. Of course, she thought, wanting to smack her forehead. Leave it to Ed to string her along like this. He and Alphonse were all over the place usually and it would be kind of hard to find them if they didn't settle down for once. Reluctantly, she adjusted the package in her hands and went inside. It would've been hard to believe that Edward could afford a stay at such a ritzy hotel if she hadn't known that he was a State Alchemist; whatever he's been doing, it earned him a hefty amount of money. Observing all of the stylish and marvelous décor, it was clear to Winry that she didn't seem to belong in a place like this.

"Winry!" called a familiar voice, snagging her attention. It was Edward, waving at her while showing off that infectious grin of his. She was tempted to smile herself until she remembered why she was here. At this realization, she put down the package and got out her trusty wrench, ready to whack Ed with it.

"Ed, you idiot!" she exclaimed, holding the wrench overhead in a menacing arc. The shorter blond flailed dramatically, spouting his personal mechanic's name like a mantra as if it would help stop the impending blow. Winry noticed, as he held up his hands in surrender, a glimmer of metal where his red coat sleeve met at the wrist. She grabbed it, sliding the sleeve upwards and frowned. "Your automail seems fine to me."

Gingerly, Ed removed Winry's grip on his right arm. "Y-Yeah…"

"Then where did these scraps come from?" she questioned, her voice low and scary. She sounded like she had a wrench with his name on it, and it was about to be acquainted with his forehead.

"I-I bought them," the State Alchemist explains, backing away from the dangerous aura that materialized around Winry's enraged form.

"And why would you do that, Edward?"

"I can't tell you, yet, Winry."

"Then can you at least"-the wrench barely misses the crown of his head-"tell why I'm here!?"

Edward, instead of answering her, ran away. Thus began a chase that bewildered many people witnessing it. The two blondes rampaged through the reception area, and ended up in a large dining area, interrupting the few people who were in the middle of enjoying their meals. Edward ducked and dodged, but in the end, couldn't avoid the might of Winry's wrath. With the sound of a ricocheting clang, the short blond went down and a red curtain covering a reserved area came along for the journey.

"Happy Birthday, Winry!" cried a cacophony of voices.

Once the blonde girl recovered from her fit of rage, she looked up to see everyone she and Ed's gained as friends. From Mei Chang to Paninya, Lan Fan to Lieutenant Hawkeye. Even her employer, Mr. Garfiel. They sat around a table that sported a large sheet cake wishing her a happy seventeenth birthday. She was sure that it wasn't for another five days, at the least. Time must've slipped by far too fast for her to notice.

"Yeah," Ed groaned from the floor, nursing the nasty red bump appearing on his forehead. "Happy Birthday."

Boy, did Winry feel bad for hitting him so hard. She offered a hand to help him up, then pulled him into her arms to hug him.

"Thanks, Ed! And you, too, everybody!" she said, truly grateful. Even though Ed lied to her, she thought that it was very kind of him.

"You're welcome, Winry. It's the least I could do for dragging you out here to fix my arm all the time," he replied, a light blush covering his cheeks.

She knew that, for Ed, she'd be glad to be of service.

Hope you liked it! I'm sorry if you didn't; Winry's not my best character to write...