Four Long Years

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of their characters…..

I do however, own Zeke and this story!

Anyways, this is my first FMA fanfic (well not really my first, but the first one good enough to put on here) So I hope you enjoy it

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Chapter 1- You came back!

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Long blonde hair blew softly in the wind. Blank blue eyes that were once bright and clear stared silently ahead.

Nothing seemed to matter to this young girl of 18 anymore. Her grandmother she had once lived with had died, her dog she had had since childhood was gone as well.

Winry Rockbell, or what remained of her at least, lived all alone. Her two best friends in the whole world, who had been by her side for as long as she could remember, had disappeared off the face of the earth.

"Why have they gone?"

"Why did they all leave me here?"

"Don't they know how much it hurts?"

"Why?"

These questions filled her head constantly. She asked herself these same questions every day. She hopped out of bed and walked over to the mirror in the corner of her room. She stared at her reflection.

She looked awful. Her hair was a mess and looked as though it hadn't been brushed in years. She wore nothing but a white oversized t-shirt, what was the point of wearing anything else if she was just going to sit in her bed all day staring blankly at nothing as she had always done? Her face was as white as snow and she had horrible bags under her eyes. Her eyes were as dull as ever. She gritted her teeth and smashed her fist into the mirror, shattering it into a million pieces, taking her reflection with it.

She felt as though she was also being torn into a million pieces. She sunk to her knees and begun to sob softly.

Why was this happening to her?

Everything was fine, all of her friends and family were here one moment and suddenly gone the next.

Why did they leave her?

Why couldn't they just stay with her forever?

She couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and took a step out of her room, for the first time in days and walked onto the balcony.

The sun had begun to sink in the sky and the first star had come out.

Winry spotted a torch in the corner of her eye. She picked it up and put it on the railing. She flashed it on and off, as she had done many times before. This was a signal for her friends to return home.

Hours that seemed like an eternity passed.

"They're not coming." Winry whispered as she finally gave up.

She pushed the lamp over the edge and let it fall to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're pushing those things!" Came a call from bellow.

Winry's eyes widened as she looked down to see a young man no older than 19 years old. He was dressed in casual clothes and had messy chocolate brown hair and sky blue eyes. He smiled warmly at Winry.

"Who are you….?" Winry asked slowly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! How rude of me!" The young man gasped. "My name is Zeke Glentworth."

Winry cocked her head to one side in confusion.

What was this boy doing here?

What did he come here for?

"I came here because I heard that you were an automail mechanic, so I was wondering if you would take on an apprentice." Zeke stated, as though he had read Winry's mind.

For the first time in a long while, a smile formed on Winry's lips. Finally, someone had come. She wouldn't be alone anymore.

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Four years later…………

"It's been four long years…."

"Since what?"

"Since I last saw them…..since I was deserted by everyone."

"And it's also been four years since I first met you."

Winry turned to her husband, Zeke. She smiled.

"That's right." She said. "Since you came into my live and gave it meaning again."

Zeke smiled warmly.

"The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you would be the one for me." He said.

"The first time you laid eyes on me my hair was an absolute mess, my face was colourless, my eyes were dull and baggy and I was dressed in an oversized t-shirt." Winry added with a laugh.

"I thought you looked beautiful, even in that state." Zeke said with a smile. "But that's not why I fell in love with you."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush!" Winry cried, putting her hands to her red cheeks.

Zeke chuckled and kissed his wife softly on the cheek. Winry smiled and turned to him.

"Winry….I've been thinking this over for a while now…." Zeke began.

Winry looked at him with questioning eyes.

"We've been married for almost two years now, the only thing that will make our marriage even better would be a child." Zeke finished.

Winry's eyes widened in shock.

"I-If it's too soon for you, that's fine with me." Zeke said quickly. "I don't want to pressure you into something you don't want to do!"

Winry shook her head.

"I…I just need some time to think it over…." She said.

"That's fine with me." Zeke said with a smile.

There came a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Winry called as she rushed to the door and opened it.

Her eyes widened in shock and she let out a gasp.

"Is that really……you….?"

Standing before her in the doorway were two young men around the same age as her. One had long blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail, he was dressed in a plain white long sleeved shirt that buttoned down the middle that was tucked into some casual jeans. The other one had short brown hair and was dressed in a black tank top over a light green jacket and brown pants.

"Yes Winry, we're home." Said the boy with the brown hair.

Tears filled Winry's eyes. Her two childhood friends had returned home, at last.

"You really did come back." Winry said softly as tears trickled down her cheeks. "I always knew you would!" She wrapped her arms around the two young men.

"Hey Win, who's at the door?" Zeke asked, approaching the doorway.

Winry let go of the two boys and turned to her husband.

"Zeke, these two are my childhood friends who disappeared all of a sudden." Winry explained. "Zeke, meet Alphonse." She motioned to the brown haired boy. "And Edward." She turned to the blonde haired boy.

Zeke stared coldly at the two boys standing in the doorway.

"H-Hello." Al greeted.

"So you two are the ones who selfishly abandoned Winry here all by herself?" Zeke questioned, strangely calm.

"A-All by herself??" Al asked in confusion. "She has Den and Granny."

Winry looked at the ground.

"They're gone….." She said softly.

Al's eyes widened.

"G-gone?!" He questioned.

Zeke frowned.

"You still abandoned her here!" He growled. "You don't know what she's been through! Did you even consider how she felt?! Waiting for you all of these years?! You-"

"That's enough Zeke." Winry interrupted.

Zeke turned to Winry.

"I-I'm sorry…." He apologized.

Winry shook her head and turned to Ed.

"Edward…..why haven't you said anything…..?" She asked.

Ed sifted his gaze towards Winry. He looked her up and down. Nothing had really changed about her. Her long blonde hair hung loosely behind her back and over her shoulders and her blue eyes were as clear as ever. She was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt and light blue jeans.

"Hello……Winry….." Ed said softly.

Winry smiled.

"Welcome home, Ed." She said.

Winry gazed into Ed's eyes, they were as lovely as they always were. Zeke placed his hands on his hips and stared at Ed. There was something about the way that Winry looked at Ed that he didn't like.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Winry exclaimed suddenly, breaking the silence. "Ed, Al, this is Zeke my…."

Ed and Al looked to Zeke. Winry's smile faded, for some reason her heart felt heavy.

"Zeke is my…." Winry continued, for some reason something inside her was keeping her from telling Ed and Al that she was now married. "He's my….my…h….husband."

Al and Ed gasped.

"Y-you're husband??" Al questioned. "When did this happen? Winry, congratulations!"

"Thank you." Winry thanked.

Ed remained silent. Winry looked at Ed, just looking at him made her heart fell heavy.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both." Zeke finally said. "My name is Zeke Glentworth."

"Nice to meet you too." Al said with a smile. "I'm glad that you've been taking good care of Winry while we were gone."

Al and Zeke continued chatting. Winry wasn't listening to a word they were saying, she was too busy wondering what Ed was thinking.

Was he happy?

Sad?

Confused?

Angry?

Or couldn't he care less?

"So Ed, Al, where were you planning on staying?" Winry asked.

"Well….we were hoping we could stay here with you." Al replied. "But if it's too much trouble, you being married and all, we could find somewhere else to go."

"No, please stay here with us!" Winry said.

Al smiled and nodded. Winry turned to Ed.

"Of course, if that's what you want to do, Edward." Winry said.

Ed turned to Winry.

"Yeah." He said softly.

"Well, come on in then." Winry invited.

Ed and Al entered the house and Winry shut the door behind them. Ed and Al looked around.

"Nothing much has changed here." Al stated.

"Of course not, why would it?" Winry asked.

Ed plopped down on a couch, Zeke, Al and Winry did the same.

"Oh Ed, I almost forgot!" Winry exclaimed. "Do you still have your automail?"

Ed looked at Winry and nodded.

"I thought you would." Winry said with a smile. "So in my spare time I constructed a new set of limbs for you, since I figured you would have grown, which you have, a lot."

"Oh, thank you." Ed said.

"I'll attach them for you later." Winry stated.

"So boys, what have you been doing these past four years?" Zeke questioned.

"Oh, well….it's kind of hard to explain….." Al muttered.

Zeke looked at Al in confusion.

"It doesn't really matter, as long as you're here now." Winry said with a smile.

The room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of crickets chirping outside.

"So Zeke, what do you do for a living?" Al finally asked.

"I'm an automail mechanic as well." Zeke answered. "But I'm nowhere as good as my Win."

Winry smiled.

"Oh, of course you are." She stated. "I think you're almost better than me."

"Nah, I couldn't beat you." Zeke said.

Winry and Zeke smiled at each other.

Ed stood up.

"I'm going to take a walk outside." He stated as he walked out the front door.

Winry stood up and hurried after him.

"What's your problem Ed?!" She questioned. "You leave me for four years and you can't even talk to me?!"

Ed turned to face her.

"Do you even care about me?!" Winry yelled as tears formed in her eyes. "Why can't you stop sulking and just be happy for me?!"

"Who said I was sulking?!" Ed questioned.

Winry ran to Ed and hugged him tightly. She started sobbing softly.

"Winry??" Ed asked.

"Ed you fool, do you have any idea how worried I've been about you…?" Winry whispered.

"You know we always come back….." Ed said softly.

Winry let go of Ed and look up at him.

"Hey, you're even taller than me now." She observed, smiling slightly.

"Yeah." Ed agreed.

There was an awkward silence.

"So what do you think….?" Winry asked.

Ed looked at Winry with a confused expression.

"About me being married?" Winry looked up at Ed, waiting for an answer.

"Well I think it's good." Ed answered. "You've had someone to look after you while we were gone, someone who can make you happy."

For some reason, hearing Ed say those words made Winry fell as though her heart was being ripped into two.

"Well we should get inside before your husband gets worried about you." Ed said as he headed towards the door.

Your husband.

How Winry wished she could never hear Ed say those words again.

Ed walked inside. Winry followed after behind him.

Al and Zeke were sitting on the couch chatting away. Ed joined them on the couch. Winry stared at them silently.

"Hey Winry, are you just going to stand there day dreaming all day?" Ed asked.

Winry looked at Ed and shook her head.

This was all too good to be true. Maybe this was all a dream. If it was, Winry didn't want to wake.

Winry sat down next to Ed and pulled on his cheek.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!" Ed questioned, catching the attention of Al and Zeke.

Winry pinched her own arm, leaving a mark there.

"You really are here, it isn't a dream….." She confirmed.

"Of course I'm really here." Ed said.

Zeke looked to Winry. For some reason he felt as though Winry was attracted this 'Edward'. The way she looked at him and talked to him made Zeke fell uneasy. But Winry was married to Zeke, she was in love with him, and there was nothing Ed could do to change that.

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Authors Note: Okay everyone, that was chapter 1, I really hope you liked it. Reviews will be greatly appreciated. Please no flames, helpful criticism is welcome though.

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