Conversations
Summary: A conversation on Ed between two characters who did not share many scenes in the manga. Manga-verse
Characters: Roy Mustang, Winry Rockbell
Warnings: Contains spoilers for the Laboratory 5 battle and its aftermath.
A/N: I don't know where this thing popped out from, but it did, and now it is here for your viewing pleasure. This does take place in the Manga-verse, not the Anime-verse, so there is no big "OMG TRAGIC" between Roy and Winry. I'm sorry if I put Mustang as OOC for you, but constructive criticism is always appreciated!
It was not often that Roy Mustang visited Edward Elric in the hospital. Not because he hated Ed, but because there was only so much verbal abuse he could take from the other alchemist.
So it was a strange occurrence when he found himself drawn to the hospital, on a day when Edward happened to be in its care.
It was even more strange that on that particular day, Winry Rockbell just happened to be in that hospital taking care of Edward's automail.
"I swear, if I see one more photograph of Hughes's daughter, I will torch him the second I meet him," Roy Mustang grumbled under his breath, having returned from his second conversation with Maes Hughes that day. "Why can't that man just shut up about his daughter already...it's not like she's going to disappear tomorrow..."
Just then, he bumped into a blonde-haired girl of around fifteen or so, who was carrying what looked like heavy machinery.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the girl exclaimed, quickly picking up the parts.
"Don't be. It was my fault for not looking. Here's a screw you missed."
Roy placed the aforementioned screw delicately on top of the shuddering pile of metal.
"Thank you!"
Something about the metal didn't sit right in his head. What is so familiar about that pile...?
Suddenly, it clicked in his head.
"Hang on a second. That isn't... automail, is it?"
"It is! You're familiar with it?" she seemed excited about it for some reason.
"Yes, actually. One of my subordinates has automail in his arm and leg."
"Arm and leg?" she questioned.
"Correct. Is there something wrong with that?"
"No... but...wait," the girl stuttered out a reply, grasping for words.
"What?" Roy gave a neutral stare to the girl, wondering if she was one of those people, who regarded automail as something unnatural and wrong. It didn't seem like it, as she was carrying a pile of automail...and what was that the girl had said?
"Did you say something, young miss?"
"I just asked if you were Colonel Roy Mustang."
Odd. The girl seemed a bit distant and blunt. Did he say something wrong?
"That is correct."
"The Flame Alchemist?"
"Do you know any other Roy Mustangs in the military?"
"No, but I do know Edward Elric."
"Fullmetal? You know him?"
"I'm his next door neighbor, and conveniently, also his automail mechanic."
"So you're the Winry he talks about!"
It was a burst of realization for Roy. This was the terrifying Winry, feared by both Fullmetal and his brother?
"He talks about me?"
"Yes...but he seems more scared of you than anything else. He's always constantly checking up his automail to make sure he didn't break it."
"He better have not!" she ground out, angrily clutching a wrench in one hand.
I can see why he's so scared of her. She's like Hawkeye, except less collected.
"Does he talk about me? I was wondering how you knew me," Roy asked curiously.
"Mhmm. He calls you 'the bastard from the pits of hell', or 'Colonel Bastard', and some other...colorful names."
"I can guess those."
Roy realized that something seemed to be bothering Winry, as she had a far-off look in her eyes.
"Is something wrong?"
"...Yes actually."
"Want to tell me?"
"Since you are Ed's commander, you should know...but...he still might not want me telling you..."
"I'll keep it a secret. I'm good at doing those."
"I see. Well...yesterday, Al had a bit of an...existential crisis."
"Explain."
"He...um...blew up at Ed, saying that 'he didn't want this body', and that we 'created him' so he wasn't real, he was just a fake brother for Ed, because Ed said to him before the Fifth Laboratory that he was scared to tell Al something."
"You heard this?"
"Yeah. Along with Mr. Hughes, Mr. Armstrong, and Miss Ross and Mr. Brosh."
"Did Ed do anything after the explosion?"
Roy was genuinely curious now. It wasn't often that he learned something new about Fullmetal.
"No. He just said 'I see' and walked off."
"I'm guessing you were upset at Alphonse."
"Extremely. I don't know what happened. I just threw my wrench at his head, and started screaming at him about being an idiot."
"Why?"
"The thing that Ed didn't want to tell Al...it was whether Al blamed Ed for the transmutation."
"Oh."
No other words were needed. He understood how upset Ed would be if his brother said that he was just a created golem, when all he wanted to know was if he was blamed or not.
"How do you know this?"
Roy honestly wanted to know. It was eating at him how a mechanic could know this private, personal detail of Edward's life, even though they were childhood friends, it was unlikely that Edward would confide in her to this extent.
"During the automail surgery...most men scream, cry, and curse, but Ed didn't do any of that. He didn't let out one little sob. All he said was, 'Oh god, it was all my fault, and I'm sorry Al, and God, it was all my fault. You're going to blame me, Al, I know it, and I'm sorry, so sorry. I'm a pathetic excuse of a brother. I'm the worst big brother who ever lived. Mom said to take care of you because he left; I messed up, and I failed you, and Al, and I am so sorry.' It was the bravest thing that I've ever seen," she swallowed heavily, as though the very memory pained her.
Roy was stunned. Sure, he knew that Fullmetal had issues with the transmutation, but he never knew that he blamed himself so much over his brother, to the point where he could ignore the screaming pain in his arm and leg.
"He was vomiting blood for three months, did you know that, because he decided that he would get better in one year, not the required three," she said in an oddly detached manner, "he had this will to make his brother better, and although he said that he wanted his arm and leg back, you could tell that he wanted his brother to have it more. Are you alright?" she asked, seeing his face creased with thought.
"Fine. I'm fine."
The revelation was hammered into his brain: Fullmetal just acts immature. He feels so much more regret than I will ever feel, even after Ishval, because I didn't destroy anyone who was personally related to me. If I ever have wished to be Fuhrer, I need that determination.
"After the...incident, they fought it out. Ed won, and convinced Al that he was real, and that they were going to get their bodies back."
"So a happy ending for all, huh?"
"Yep. Except Ed, 'cause he still has a gaping side wound and needs to get his automail fixed."
"Same as ever, then?"
"Exactly."
And so Roy Mustang, the esteemed Flame Alchemist, the so-called 'Hero of Ishval', walked away from his strange encounter with the blonde-haired girl with a little more knowledge about the enigma known as Edward Elric.