Set about a year after Ed left Resembool
A few edits: Typos and errors
First fic ever written, so leave some feedback and criticism in your reviews if you want.
Certainly don't own anything
"So then I blurted, 'Equivalent exchange!' Hahaha I had no clue on what to say or how to say it," Ed informed Al and May.
"So then, you didn't really propose, did you, brother?"
"Our proposal consisted of one person kneeling, holding out a ring," giggled May Chang.
"Yeah, well all I've ever know is alchemy and equivalent exchange. I only started to consider taking things serious after I knew we'd both stop getting into trouble, Al."
"Well, maybe you can clear things up with Winry when we get back to Resembool..."
After some months, Ed had traveled from the west all the way to Xing. There, he got the news that Al and May Chang were engaged, and that the wedding was to be held at Resembool. May Chang didn't need to stay. After all, Ling Yao offered to protect her people as emperor of Xing. With that responsibility off her shoulders, her and Al were free to be together. As the trio journeyed to Resembool, Ed couldn't help but think of Winry.
"So how is Winry, brother?" Al asked.
Ed hadn't heard the question, as he was busy thinking about her himself. He had missed her so much, but no one would've noticed. He rarely called or wrote, and no one had ever really seen him talking to his "fiance" on the phone. WIth all the researching and traveling, he really didn't have the time to. Now Al, May, and Ed were headed back home, and he couldn't wait to see her again, especially seeing the two lovebirds acting the way they were.
As the train finally made its stop at Resembool, the three travelers couldn't help but be relieved that their long journey was over. They quickly gathered their bags and made their way to the Rockbell house. Soon, they could hear Den's barking, and made their way up to the small porch. Al knocked, yelling "Winry! Granny!" simultaneously.
'This is weird,' Ed thought. 'Winry or Granny would've opened the door by now.' After a while, they decided to get Al through one of the windows, and unlock the door. If they were anybody else, this would've looked like a break-in, but they were considered family of the Rockbells'.
"Doesn't seem like anybody's home," Al said.
They made their way upstairs, and they could hear some noise. Ed and Al looked at each other, and knew maybe something was wrong. On guard, the slowly went up, following the sound. They made their way to Winry's door. On the count of three the brothers kicked the door open. BAM
"AAAAAAAHHHHH" shouted Winry as a wrench made its way across the room. "Huh? Al? Ed? May?!" She looked at them in bewilderment, but the look on Ed's face was even worse.
There on the bed with Winry, was another man. He couldn't recognize the face, so it must be someone he hadn't met. It took a while for Ed to get his senses back, but he knew... He knew his heart had shattered right there in Winry's room.
Before anyone could say anything, Ed and Al once again looked at each other, and decided to give Winry some privacy and time to get dressed. Al and May went to their room to unpack, and Ed just sat there on his bed, lost in thought...
'Who was that guy? I thought she felt the same way I did about us? Didn't I propose? Was it 'cuz I didn't have a ring? Did she not know I was proposing? But she said she'd give me 80%. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening, right? She must be working with a customer... in her room? Whatever, I know that I made it clear to her what my feelings were, and if she doesn't want to wait, then screw her.'
Ed then realized that she didn't wait for him. That a year must'be been too long for someone to wait. He couldn't blame her for being with someone else, after all, he was always gone. He was never there for her, not before, and certainly not now. 'Obviously she had found someone who would, and I sure don't want to inconvenience her or her new boyfriend, or friend, or whatever.'
Al then saw that his brother was still packed and asked, "What's wrong, brother? Why haven't you unpacked?"
"I don't know, Al. I think Winry might be busy with some of her other clients, and my automail is in pretty bad shape. Hah, I never bothered to maintain it."
"I'm sure Winry can make time for you, brother. After all, your her favorite customer!" Al said cheerfully.
"I'm not so sure, Al... I mean, she's probably got some other favorite customers y'know?" Ed said as he got up and grabbed his suitcase.
"Wh...Where are you going, brother?"
"Rush Valley, I think. That's the only place I know for sure that I could get my automail tuned up."
"You're not staying, brother?! What about the wedding?"
"That's not for a few more months, and besides, you've got May Chang here to help you out. I'm just gonna go to Rush Valley, have my leg checked out, and be right back! It won't take long, Al."
"Brother..."
"Its fine, Al. Don't worry about me."
"Won't you at least say good bye to Winry? Or May Chang?"
"Just tell them something urgent came up. Tell them Fuhrer Mustang urgently called for me," chuckled Ed.
With that, Ed went down the stairs and left. A few minutes later, Winry finally got out of her room and went downstairs. She was a little relieved to see that Ed was not with Al and May at the dinner table. She wanted to avoid any awkwardness.
"What took you so long, Winry?" asked Al
"Oh, uhmmm... We just had a little talk is all."
"We?"
Just then, the man in her room came down the stairs, and introduced himself.
"I'm Matt, Winry's boyfriend," he calmly said.
"Hi, Matt. I'm May Chang, Al's girlfriend." Al just sat there in silence, carefully surveying Matt. "And this is Al, my rude boyfriend!"
Al suddenly realized how silent he was, and apologized to Matt and Winry.
"Uhm, where's the other guy that was with you?" Matt asked Al.
"Yeah, where is Ed, Al?" Winry wanted to avoid talking about Ed for now, but seeing as Matt brought it up, why not.
"Oh, bro... he uhm... Fuhrer Mustang requested for him right away!" Everyone was a little shocked by Al's sudden answer.
"But he... all of you just got here. I didn't even get a chance to check his automail!"
"Brother said he was going to stop by Rush Valley first. He felt rude to ask you on such late notice without an appointment, and he thought you were busy enough with other people-"
"What't that supposed to mean?" Matt asked with a slight attitude.
"What he meant is that Ed didn't want to intervene, y'know, with Winry's schedule. Isn't that right honey?"
Al nodded in agreement, and Winry noticed the diamond ring on May's finger. Her eyes grew in excitement as she inspected May's ring like it was a piece of automail.
"YOU TWO ARE ENGAGED?! Al! Why didn't you tell me? I've always wanted a little sister!" Al chuckled a bit at the scene before him.
After dinner and cleaning up, Al and May were getting ready to go to bed. Al noticed that Matt and Winry were still downstairs, and after a while, Matt left.
"He's not staying here?" Al asked Winry.
"Oh no... haha Granny wouldn't allow it."
"Haha she wouldn't allow him to sleep here, but she'll let the two of you be alone in your room?"
"Oh, shut up Al"
"Where is Granny anyways?"
"She went to do an emergency repair in town. One of the farmer's boys got his arm stuck in a tractor, so she's there until she makes him a new arm."
"I see... Well, it's been a long trip Winry, and May and I are exhau-"
"Al..."
Al stood there, waiting for her to keep going. "What is it, Winry?"
"Ed... Did Ed leave because of... earlier?"
"Oh haha you know brother, he's probab-"
"Al, I know when you're lying to me..."
"I'm sorry." Winry nodded. "Well... you, brother and I have always known each for such a long time, and we were practically like family. With what happened to brother and me, we sort've just left you and granny, and it wasn't right. But we couldn't say anything. The less you knew, the safer you were. Haha obviously you didn't care because you still found a way to be there. Brother would never say it, but he loved having you around. Not just to take care of his automail either, but he felt that a piece of home was there with us. Then after all that, after the promised day, I got my body back and it seemed like everything was going to be okay. We may have lost the ability to do alchemy for a while, but it was well worth the sacrifice. Brother... well he felt like he could do things he couldn't do before, like maybe have a girlfriend. He told me about the last conversation you had on the train station, about equivalent exchange..."
Winry smiled at the memory of this. She remembered it as a bittersweet day. 'After all of the the things that happened, I never could understand why Al and Ed had to leave again. There was no more bad guys, right? So why did he have to leave?' Right before he left, he did say something that made her smile.
"That was a year ago, Al. Besides, he never even made an effort to call or write to me. He only called once or twice, and I never received a letter from him. Maybe he was busy, Al, I don't know. But I got tired of waiting for nothing. I won't be young forever, and he had his chance to stay and be here for me, but he left. So I moved on..."
"And found Matt?"
Winry was a little shocked at his question. "Yes I found Matt, and he is a loving, sweet, and sincere person."
Al smiled at her and said, "Well I'm happy for you Winry, but brother will be my best man for the wedding, so I hope the three of you can find a way to make it work without coming at each other's throats. Brother still has feelings for you. I know because the way he was acting on the train ride home. I've never seen him that focused, not even when we were researching for the Philosopher's Stone. He couldn't wait to see you Winry, and he got his heart broken. I'm just saying, because we both know that brother won't show it when he comes back."
"I know, Al... Thanks." Winry cut him off before he could finish, and he wanted to go on but sleep was finally catching on to him. He figured that any problems can be solved in the next few months.
Three weeks later, and still no word from Ed. As Al's best man, he was expected to be there for fittings and things of that nature. Knowing Ed, he probably didn't want to do any of that stuff anyways, but he would for his brother.
"Maybe he won't come back because of Winry," said May.
"He'll be back May, I know he will. He probably needs his time, so let's give it to him."
"What about all these best man duties he has to fulfill? His measurements and his erran-"
A blue flash appeared, and suddenly in front of her was a life sized statue of Ed.
"Al! I thought you couldn't do alchemy anymore?" asked Winry.
"Well, our research in alkahestery and the alchemy of the west showed us that there are different kinds of alchemy. By harnessing the information given from these different places, we were able to find a way to do alchemy again." Al noticed that Winry was avoiding Ed's name, an effort to keep him out of her memories and avoiding any awkwardness.
Winry didn't even pay attention to Al. She just stared at the statue of Ed, and realized that he was slightly taller and broader. "Hey Al, are you sure this are precisely Ed's measurements for his tux?"
"I'm sure. Haha brother's slightly taller than I am now, and he has gained a few pounds here and there."
Ed surely has grown into beautiful man... Winry hadn't noticed because Ed had urgently left before she could even speak to him. Even then, what would they have spoken about?
"There's my lovely girlfriend!" yelled Matt, shaking Winry from her day dream.
"Ugh, here comes that obnox-"
"Honey!" May Chang interrupted Al before he finished his sentence.
"What? I know you're thinking it too." May Chang giggled as Al nodded in agreement. "You should go and get started on your errands, and let me know if you hear something about Ed, ok?"
"Sure will. Love you." With that, Al made his way into town. He finished his errands as quicly as he could, and went to the local post office. He checked to see if there was any mail, and received quite a few. The lady at the desk asked him, "You're one of the Elric brothers, right?" Al answered her. "Well I've got a message for you from your brother. He couldn't call you directly because the call was from another country."
'ANOTHER COUNTRY?!' thought Al.
"He said that he is currently in Drachma, and that he would be gone for quite a while. He also said not to worry, and that he'll be back in time."
Al thanked her for the message and headed home. While he was walking, he looked through the different mail they had gotten. Most were bills here and there, but one caught his eye. It was from Ed, dated about a year ago! The post stamp said it came from Aurego, south of Amestris. 'I wonder why brother's mail is barely getting here?' he thought. 'Anyways, I should give this to Winry, it is mailed to her after all.'
Al waited for Matt to leave before handing Winry the letter. When she saw it, her eyes grew curious. "Why is this letter a year old, Al?"
"I have no idea, Winry. I just saw it in the pile of mail we got today at the post office. Oh and by the way, brother is in Drachma, probably sent there by Fuhrer Mustang himself. Must be important if brother accepted the job, especially in another country."
Then a thought occured to Winry. At the time of the letter, Aurego and Amestris had some trouble concerning the Promised day. It took a few months before things settled with the two countries, and that's probably why the letter took so long to get there. It seems as if Al figured it out too. She said good night to Al and went to her bedroom to read the note:
My dearest Winry,
I'm sorry to sound all sappy, but I'm not used to this. Uhm, I want you to know that I miss you, and that I should've never gotten on that train. The truth is that I've missed you ever since I left, and I can't stop thinking about you. I'd call, but without my State Alchemist salary, out of county calls would take me into debt. That's why I've decided to write instead. I don't want to bore you with my alchemy research, so I really don't know what else to talk about. I really can't seem to get you out of my mind, Winry. Well, I guess that's all I have to say. I'm sorry it's taken my slow brain this long to figure out that I can send letters, but this is the first, and it hopefully won't be the last. I'm not going to be that kind of guy that sends letters everyday. Haha I'd just rather wait for your letter then I'll write back again after that, Ok? Once again, I miss you Winry, and I can't wait to see you again.
Love,
Edward Elric
PS- I haven't been maintaining my automail. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but I'm hoping the less I take care of it, the faster I can go home and have you look at it.
Tears were streaming from her eyes, and after reading the letter six times, her eyes were too watery to read anymore. 'Stupid Aurego' she thought. 'Stupid country bickering. If they didn't have any problems, that letter would have arrived, and... and... and maybe I wouldn't be feeling this way...'
One month before the wedding
Colonel Hawkeye makes her way to Resembool, with approved leave of 2 months from the Fuhrer himself. She sees Al and congratulates him. "The Fuhrer and our team will attend your wedding, Alphonse."
"Really? Wow, I can't believe that Colo- I mean Fuhrer Mustang will be here!"
"He is the Fuhrer, Alphonse. He can do whatever he wants!" The two laugh as Winry spots them.
"Good to see you again Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Winry shouts at her.
May Chang finds her way to them as well, and corrects Winry. "She's been promoted to Colonel, Winry!"
"Oh my, congratulations Colonel Hawkeye!"
"Winry, please. Just Riza is fine." They all catch up with stories about their lives, introducing people they haven't met to each other.
"By the way, where is Edward?" Riza asks. Everyone looks at her with a confused face.
"Didn't... Fuhrer... Mustang... send him to Drachma?" Al breaks the silence asking the Colonel the only piece of information he has.
"What? No. Last I heard he was at Rush Valley, and he was going to come back to Resembool right after." The Colonel was very confused as well. She never heard the Fuhrer give any orders to anyone, especially Fullmetal to go to Drachma. "I'll contact the Fuhrer's office in the morning and I'll get to the bottom of this, Alphonse."
Al thanks the Colonel, and calls it a night. Riza, May, Alphonse, Granny, and Winry all can't sleep, wondering what the heck that runt is up to.
Ed awoke with a startling sound on the roof of the train. 'There can't be anyone up there, it's too cold to be outside in this freezing weather.' Ed rubbed his leg, as the weather was causing some pain to his stumps. 'Still, I have a bad feeling about this.' As Ed made his way to the roof of the train, his visibility was very poor. The wind and the snow wasn't helping at all, and he couldn't see anything or anyone. 'Probably just some rocks,' he figured. He sat back down and just looked out the window. 'One more month, and Al will be married. I can't believe he got a girlfriend before I did.' Ed chuckled at the thought, but his mind was abruptly followed by negative thoughts. 'I'll be by myself afterwards. Al has May, Bastard Mustang has Colonel Hawkeye, Granny has Den, and Winry was with... that guy.' He sighed, as he hadn't thought about Winry for quite a while.
-Flashback
After Rush Valley, Ed boarded a train going to Central, not Resembool. He went to seek out Fuhrer Mustang, even if the thought of asking him for anything was unpleasant to Ed. After all, Ed was angry and sad at the same time. He couldn't bear to face Winry or anyone else for that matter. All he wanted was to get away from it all.
"Fullmetal? What are you doing here in Central?" Mustang was a surprised, to say the least, to see Edward in his office.
"Long time, no see Bastard Mustang."
"I'm the Fuhrer now, and maybe you should watch what you say to me, you little runt." The Fuhrer was very annoyed at this, as Ed was maybe the only person left who still treated him as if he wasn't the Fuhrer.
"Short jokes don't work on me anymore Bastard Mustang. As you can see, I've grown a bit."
"What do you want Fullmetal?" Fuhrer Mustang was very busy, with negotiations and uneasiness with the surrounding countries, it was up to him to settle those problems.
"May and Al's wedding isn't till a few months, and I'd probably get bored and annoyed with all the lovey dovey stuff. I need something to occupy my time. Is there anything I can do... for... you?"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were asking me for help, Fullmetal." Mustang grinned at this. It wasn't often that Edward ever came to ask him for anything. However, it was unusual to see Ed like this. 'Why is he asking for this? Doesn't he want to help May and Al? What about Winry?'
Ed interrupted his thoughts. "So... I don't care. I'd just rather be awa- busy than doing nothing back at home."
The Fuhrer could see that Ed really wanted to be occupied, and even though he didn't understand, he still needed someone to go to Drachma, Creta, and Aurego to help settle the differences between all the surrounding countries. "I do have some things that need to get done, Fullmetal. Knowing you, you'd probably get all this done in time before the wedding. I'll have 2nd Lieutenant Breda have the briefings ready by the morning. This will be a long trip, Fullmetal, and this requires you to leave the country."
"Perfect!"
-End Flashback
Ed had thought that time away from Winry, from Resembool would help him get over his feelings for her. 'After all, she is with another man. I surely don't want to take her happiness away from her.'
Winry didn't get much sleep the night before. She was worried about Ed, and she was partly to blame. 'I wish I had gotten his letter back then.' Reading Ed's letter brought back some old feelings, and it really didn't help knowing that her anniversary with Matt was coming soon. 'Why didn't Ed tell us about where he's been? I don't blame him for not wanting to be here. Al is right, Ed is heart broken, but he'd never admit it.' She missed him so, but it made things easier for her to deal with her boyfriend, Matt.
The day the three arrived at Resembool a month before, she and Matt had a big fight. Matt saw the look in her eyes when she had seen Ed, and he wasn't too happy with that. If Ed stuck around, for sure there would have been more fights concerning Ed. 'So maybe Ed being away helped my relationship with Matt grow,' Winry thought.
"I've just contacted the Fuhrer, he said that Fullmetal volunteered a few months ago for a dangerous mission to Drachma."
"A few months ago? So where has he been since then?"
The Colonel looks at Al, "Since then he's been volunteering on all these different assignments and missions all over the country and out of it. Fuhrer Mustang said that he doesn't know why Edward went on all these missions, but that his latest one ended recently. Fullmetal should be back on his way here to Resembool."
Al gives the Colonel a grin, but knows in his mind that something is up. He knows the look on Hawkeye's face when something is up. 'What has brother been up to? I'll have to apologize to May, I don't want any surprises on our wedding day.'
3 days before the wedding
"What do you mean Fullmetal's still not here?! He should've been back by now!" Fuhrer Mustang was on edge.
"Fuhrer Mustang! Colonel Hawkeye reporting for duty, Sir! We've had zero contact with Fullmetal, and worse yet, his absence could cause some uneasiness with the marriage. He is the best man after all, Sir."
"I don't care if Fullmetal is best man or worst man, but what worries me is that he should've been here by now."
"What sort of assignments did he sign up for Fuhrer?" Winry overheard the military officers from inside and was worried about Ed too.
"Fullm-... Edward Elric. I'm sorry, but that information is classified."
A wrench aimed for Mustang's head was intercepted by Colonel Hawkeye, and Winry's face told the Fuhrer she didn't care if the information was a concern for national security.
Ed's absence only worried her and Al more as the days went by. Ed had made no attempt to contact them, and they had started to think that he was in trouble.
"I sent Fullmetal to negotiate with Drachma, Creta, and Aurego, hoping to settle the differences and bringing peace to the 4 nations."
"And why did you send HIM? Don't you have other officers that you could've sent other then Edward?"
"Edward Elric ASKED to go. He came to me, he asked for these assignments and volunteered to do it."
A look of shock was on everyone's faces. No one but the Fuhrer and Ed knew about their dealings, and everyone knew Ed just wouldn't come to Mustang for anything.
"I know, it was weird. Fullmetal would rather face 'Father' again than come to me for anything."
Al realized that Ed was avoiding Winry, knowing that his heart broken, Ed probably couldn't face her just yet. He had no doubt Ed would show up to the wedding, he knew for sure Ed wouldn't miss that for the world.
The wedding day
It was the day of the wedding, and Al's best man was still no where to be found. Fuhrer Mustang used all of his resources to try and find the pipsqueak, but to no avail. They were all worried about Ed, but they had to continue on with the wedding, with or without him.
Ed could hear the wedding march being played in the distance. His train had just arrived, and he was going to be late. He hurriedly made his way to the church. 'Al and May are going to kill me if I don't show up for their wedding... even if it'll kill me to see her again.'
At the church, Fuhrer Mustang was about to walk May Chang to Al, when everyone could hear the sound of metal rythmically pounding on the ground. As it got closer, Colonel Hawkeye was on alert.
"Everyone please calm down. It's only brother." Al had the biggest smile on his face. 'Brother made it,' he thought.
The door flung open, and Ed saw all these eyes on him. He first saw Mustang, then May, then Al waiting on the altar. He closed the doors and made his way to Al.
"Cutting it close there Fullmetal."
"I wouldn't have been late if you didn't send me on a last minute run back to Drachma, Bastard Mustang." Mustang had a look of confusion. He gave no order for Ed to return to Drachma. Before he could say anything, Ed was already halfway to Al.
Ed was making his way down the aisle to Al. He saw that the man Winry was with was at Al's side. 'Probably made him one of his groomsmen,' thought Ed. On the other side, he noticed the bridesmaids... and the maid of honor. Ed couldn't take his eyes off Winry, for she had never looked more beautiful to him. Matt saw Ed eyeing his girlfriend, but kept quiet to avoid ruining the wedding.
"Brother! You barely made it!"
Just then the wedding march started again, and the Fuhrer and May made their way down the aisle. It was a beautiful ceremony, and their vows caused a few tears here and there for the guests. Ed was happy for his brother and May Chang, and it made him feel good that Al finally found happiness. After some pictures, everyone made their way down to the reception. There were food and drinks for everyone, and Ed made his way straight to the apple pie. He had missed Gracia's apple pie for so long, that he couldn't wait to get his hands on it.
"Skipping directly to dessert, I see." Ed was startled by Granny's voice. He hadn't heard or seen her in such a long time. "Wow Ed, you certainly have grown."
Ed was pleased by this, "Thanks Granny. I see you've gotten even shorter." Chuckled Ed
Before she could say anything, Ed knelt down to give her a deep hug. She couldn't deny missing the boy, but he had now become a man. "Well I'll leave you to eat, come visit more often Ed. I don't see why you can't, with everything in order now."
Ed felt slightly guilty. She was right. He had never bothered to see her, and even worse, he was about to leave again.
Winry and the rest of the bridesmaids sat along the tables with the newlyweds and the groomsmen on the opposite side. She could see Al and May having the time of their life, and Matt on the other side. The seat for the best man, however, was empty. She looked upon the crowd to see if she could pick out the braided hair of Ed's. She focused on the food, specifically by the desserts, and there he was. Gathering as much apple pie as he could. She noticed he wasn't going back to sit down with the rest of the groomsmen. 'Where are you going, Ed?' she wondered.
She tried to get up and follow him, but some one wanted the newlyweds to have their first dance already. Matt made his way to her so that they can dance after the newlyweds. She lost sight of Ed, 'oh great' she thought. After the dancing, Granny came to Winry, asking if she remembered to bring the gift for the newlyweds.
"I'm sorry Granny. I forgot, it's been a hectic day."
"Oh don't worry, I'll go get it."
"No, Granny, I'll get it. It is my fault anyways."
Winry decided to walk instead of drive. It was only a 10 minute walk anyways, and the walk could help with all the food she had ingested. As she made her way to her house, she saw the Fuhrer and Colonel Hawkeye having a conversation. 'Military stuff probably' she thought. Her mind then drifted back on Edward. He was nowhere to be seen during the dance, and last she saw him he was walking out of the reception. Upon seeing her house, she could see that there was some mess on the front porch. Upon closer investigation, it was a bunch of apple pie crumbs and plates. 'Ed must've eaten here then. He's probably in the house.' Inside, she noticed that no one was home, so she quickly grabbed the gift and made her way outside. Colonel Hawkeye was on her way to the Rockbell house.
"Colonel Hawkeye, hey! What brings you here?"
"Fullmet- Ed hasn't been here has he?"
"Uhm, I think he was here. There was some plates of apple pie laid out around the porch. Looks like he left in a hurry."
"Ok thanks, Winry. Be sure to get back to the reception right away."
Winry knew something was wrong. 'What did Ed do now?'
Ed was casually eating all the apple pie at the Rockbell porch. He couldn't stand being at the reception, and he knew Al would be too occupied to realize Ed wasn't there. Suddenly, Ed clapped his hands together, and transmuted a spear. From inside the house, a chimera launched at him. 3 more showed themselves and surrounded Ed. From a distance, he noticed a blonde haired girl was making her way to the house. He quicly decided to lure the chimeras away from the house to avoid Winry getting hurt.
Hawkeye and Mustang realized that someone else had contacted Ed to go back to Drachma, and neither of them knew who or why. Hawkeye saw Winry walking towards the house, and noticed 4... things running away from the house. Informing the Fuhrer, she made her way towards the Rockbell house, and saw Winry coming out. She asked if Ed had been there, and Winry showed her the empty plates of apple pies. 'He was certainly here alright.'
Mustang caught up with Hawkeye and had 2nd Lieutenant Breda escort Winry back to the reception.
Al finally noticed his brother, Winry, and the Fuhrer was not at the reception anymore. He wanted to investigate, but he couldn't leave his wife by herself.
Ed, being chased by the chimeras, drew them to an open clearing. 4 against 1, the advantage was theirs. 'Better to die here by myself, instead of risking Winry's life' he thought. The chimera's made their move and Ed quickly defended himself.
The Fuhrer and Hawkeye had a hard time tracking down Ed. By the time they found him, he was surprisingly fine. The 4 chimeras were disposed of, and Mustangs men took them into custody. They took care of Ed as best as they could and headed back to the reception.
Some of the waiters and cooks at the reception turned out to be chimeras, and they all tried to threaten Al to find Ed.
"I don't know where he is, but I'm not going to let you hurt him."
"Al! You just got married, don't try and risk your life like this." Winry was worried. 'Why are they looking for Ed?'
Suddenly, smoke gathered in the building, and panic ensued. Al, and some of Mustang's men tried their best to help everyone out. Al got May out, but couldn't find Winry. 'Matt must've gotten her out,' he thought.
As the smoke cleared, the Flame and the Fullmetal Alchemist stood before the chimeras. This large number of chimeras was easy for them to handle, with their abilities they both disposed of the chimeras easily. However more chimeras made their way in, and Ed noticed Winry and some other guests who didn't make it out hinding under some tables.
"Bastard Mustang! Look, they're after me for some reason. I'll distract them and you get the rest of these people out of here.
Fuhrer Mustang couldn't argue, as they were surrounded by chimeras. Ed made his move and the chimeras focused on Ed. Roy got the rest out, and by the time he had gotten back in, Ed was in bad shape. Mustang easily got rid of the chimeras with his alchemy and helped out Ed. They all gathered at the hospital, and wondered why there were so many chimeras after Ed. The Fuhrer did receive some updates from Ed while he was on his missions, but the messages were short, and he had no idea what Ed had meant in some of the messages.
"May I take a look, Fuhrer Mustang?" Al wanted to see the notes, as alchemists sometimes have a secret code when it comes to their writing. To everyone's amazement, Al cracked Ed's code, and revealed to them that there was more to just the uneasiness between the countries. Some of the military men from those countries wanted to replicate what had happened on the Promised Day, and Ed did everything he could to stop them. "No matter how much brother stopped them, the information was still out there for anyone to get. This message here reveals brother asking you why you were sending him back to Drachma? I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out, Fuhrer Mustang. You are a fellow alchemist."
Roy stood there dumbfounded. It never occured to him that Ed was maybe trying to communicate secretly, knowing that the military of the other countries were monitoring Fullmetal's letters toward Amestris.
Al continued, "Brother never finished his investigation. It seems that there are some messages missing."
"They must have confiscated those letters after he arrived at Drachma. He probably figured it out, but had to rush back here to Resembool. The chimeras were probably sent to kill Ed before he got a chance to talk to you, Fuhrer."
"Good work, Hawkeye. We'll keep security here for Fullmetal, just in case anymore chimeras try anything."
Winry headed home with Al and May. They were surprisingly calm, considering their wedding just got ruined. 'I guess Ed's life means more to them than their wedding day.'
"Where's Matt, Win?" asked Al
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since the smoke hit the reception." Winry wondered where her boyfriend was, and decided to go visit him.
Ed woke up in pain. He was woozy and lightheaded, and realized what had happened. It was dark already, but he could see 2 figures outside his door. 'Security detail probably.' Ed was a little annoyed that he needed security. He chuckled and realized that they were only concerned with people getting in, not getting out. He transmuted a rope from the blankets, and made his way down the window. He wasn't fully healed, but he sure didn't want to stay at another hospital for days. 'I've gotta sneak in my room and get my stuff.'
Winry finally made it to Matt's house. It was already dark, but she needed to see him. She knocked on the door, and moments later, Matt opened it.
"Winry! I'm so happy to see you! I was so worried."
"I couldn't find you anywhere after we got out of the building Matt. I thought something had happened."
"Uh, something did happen Winry. Didn't you see all those... THINGS?!"
"Yeah, they were chimeras, an-"
"Doesn't matter what they're called Winry! As soon as I got out of there, I ran here. I didn't want to be anywhere close to them!"
"It's all right, Matt. The Fuhrer and Edwa-"
"I don't care Winry. My life was in danger, and right now I don't want to be anywhere near Al or Ed."
Winry felt a little amused by Matt's behavior. "It's not like your life was in any real danger, and besides, Roy and Ed tried their best to clear out the room so no one else could be hurt. You got out with the rest of them, so you were safe after that."
"Look Win, I'm a little traumatized by all this. I don't know when I'll be able to recover. I think we need some time away..."
Winry was shocked to hear this. After all, she had experienced chimeras before and she never felt "traumatized." 'I don't know why Matt is acting like such a baby. Now he wants some time away from me? Is he being serious?'
"Winry? Did you hear what I said? Look, its not you Winry. Its me."
Winry couldn't beleive it. "Fine," she blurted. With that she turned around and started walking home. 'I can't believe this affected him so much. When I experienced it, I was a little scared, but I knew that everything would be okay...' She realized that it was Ed and Al that made her feel safe. 'Ed...' her thoughts suddenly came to Ed, and she smiled. 'Ed was always there for me, him and Al. Even though I was scared, Ed was there to make sure I was safe. Ed was scared of some things, sure, but he never cowered in fear from it. If anything, he stood up against it and fought it if he could.' This made her giggle, as Ed was always getting into fights back then. 'Seeing Ed today, fighting again, it was like old times. Not once did I feel I was ever in danger. I knew Ed and Roy was going to save the day. I knew Ed would come through, and he did. He was badly hurt, but he came through. He sacrificed himself so I could get out, and now he's in the hospital, badly injured.' Winry was worried, but decided that in the morning, she make more apple pies and bring it to Edward at the hospital. 'This gives Ed and I another chance, a chance that I never should've given up. I'm gonna visit him tomorrow, and the day after, and I'll make sure I'll spend as much time as I can with him. I don't care if he wants me or not, but I'm going to be there. I know I've hur-'
Her thoughts were interrupted by another chimera.
"Would you hurry up! I can smell his scent on you, and its taking forever following you to find him!"
Winry quickly turned around and ran, but to no avail. This chimera was lightning fast, and it grabbed her with one hand.
"Where is the Fullmetal boy? Tell me or I'll slash it out of you."
Its grip was tight, and Winry was slowly losing consciousness. "I am not going to tell you where Ed is, never..." Winry passed out and the chimera was losing its patience.
Walking over to the Rockbell house, Edward was wondering if Winry made it out ok. 'Today is probably the last time I'll ever see her.' This thought made Edward a little sad, but he knew it was probably for the best. 'I'll have to etch today's date into my watch, or something. After today, I'll never look back and I'll move forward. Even if it means I'll be alone for the rest of my life.'
A few steps further, he heard a weird voice. He could make 2 silhouettes, one was clearly a girl from her petite frame, but the other was unusually large. In a swift movement, the large figure swiped the girl with one hand, and Ed thought he had heard Winry's voice. He dashed towards the figure, exerting himself and worsening his wounds. As he got closer, his suspicions were correct. The female had been Winry, but she was unconscious. Furiously, Ed demanded the large figure to put her down. "You're, you're another CHIMERA!"
A quick blue flash, and Ed had transmuted a spear. He charged for the chimera. "I said LET HER DOWN!" Ed was furiously attacking the chimera, and it was caught off guard.
As it fell, it released Winry, and Ed caught her before she hit the ground. He slowly put her down somewhere safe and made his way back to the chimera. "I'm guessing you're in charge of the others who went after me?"
The chimera, shocked at Ed's quick discovery, admitted who he was.
"You ruined my brother's wedding..."
The chimera was taken aback to this.
"You've injured some innocent people..."
It started to circle Ed
"I don't care if you had killed me by myself, but now you've gone and hurt the one person I love..."
Trying to surprise Ed, the chimera attacked from his side. Ed, focused and angry as he was, defended himself pretty well. The chimera couldn't believe Ed still had enough energy. After all, he was badly injured, and exerting himself only made it worse. Yet, Ed seemed faster, stronger, and perfectly healthy fighting against the chimera.
"NO ONE, takes my happiness away from me. NO ONE takes my brother's happiness away from him. And NO ONE, takes away her happiness."
With one move, Ed disabled the huge chimera. Unconscious, Ed transmuted ropes and a fortified cage around the chimera. "I'll deal with you in the morning..."
Ed picked up Winry, and headed back to her house. 'What the hell are you doing outside so late, Win?' he had thought. It was still 3 kilometers away from her house, and he was suddenly feeling the injuries kick in. "No. I've got to get you home, Win." His determination had finally gotten them home, and with one breath, yelled out, "AL!"
Winry, having a hard time staying conscious, could swear she saw Ed fighting that huge chimera. 'It can't be, he's still in the hospital.' She assumed she was dreaming or hallucinating, or a combination of both. She then felt like someone was carrying her. She opened her eyes as much as she could, and she saw Ed. Before she could say a word, she passed out again.
The next thing Winry remembers is waking up in her own bed. 'How did I get here?' she thought.
"Ed carried you here." As if reading her mind, Granny answered the question for her.
"ED?! I thought he was at the hospital?"
"He was... He snuck out in an attempt to leave again."
"Leave... Again?"
"It seems as if Ed was going away again. No one knows for sure where h-"
"He left?"
"No. He's still here. He had lost too much blood, opening his wounds again from fighting that huge chimera they had found just 4 kilometers away."
'So I wasn't seeing things. That was Ed, fighting for me.' The thought had brought a smile to her.
"He's ok. He's been unconscious for the past few days as well."
"How long have I been out, Granny?"
"4 days"
"4 DAYS?! What about my clients? Oh gosh, I can't believe I've been out that long."
"Don't worry about them, we've had some help in dealing with your customers. All of your friends took turns helping to make new automail limbs or just tune up some of them."
Winry had to thank them when she had a chance. "Thanks, Granny..."
"Ed is still unconscious in his room if you want to see him. I'm going to make lunch."
Winry decided to take a shower first, and freshen up for Ed. 'He's still unconscious, but maybe he'll wake up soon.' She was excited to see him. This was their second chance. As she entered Ed's room, she noticed that his bags were packed, but untouched for quite a while. She sat by him on his bed, and just stared at him for quite a while.
Ed could feel something on his bed. Maybe it was Den, just coming to lick his face. 'Why the hell can't I open my eyes?' he had thought. He then felt a warm hand on his on shoulder. After some time, he was slowly opening his eyes, and he could barely see that Winry was the one on his bed. He noticed that she was just staring at him all this time.
She didn't notice his eyes had opened because she had been so deep in her thoughts. 'Ed... I'm so sorry that I broke your heart. I know that I was wrong to not wait for you, and that I should've made an effort to contact you when you were gone. Now that w-'
She was interrupted by his voice. "Good morning, Winry." He smiled at her, and she blushed. "Why are you here Win? Shouldn't you be off with your boyfriend?" Even though her answer might hurt him, he told himself that he wouldn't stop her from being happy, even if it was with someone else.
"Matt... He uhh... We... We broke up."
The look on Edward's face made her laugh a little, and he ended up smiling uncontrollably.
"Why were you leaving again, Ed? Granny told me you snuck out of the hospital..."
"Oh. That... Hehe uhm." He didn't know where to start, and it was starting to get awkward. "Well Winry. I was leaving because there was nothing left for me here. With Al marrying May, they had each other. Granny has you, and you have Matt."
"Had." Winry smiled at him.
"Yeah, had. Sorry. With all of that going through my mind, I didn't see anything for me here."
"Not even me, Ed?"
"You were happy with someone else, Win. I didn't want to make things complicated for you. I wanted you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me."
"Is that why you never came back?" Tears were forming in her eyes. "Is that why you took on all those assignments from Fuhrer Mustang? Is that why you openly volunteered to risk your life?" The tears were streaming down her face now. "I'm sorry I broke your heart, Ed. No, shut up," she stopped him before he could say anything. "Al and I know you'd never admit to having your heart broken so shut up, Ed. I'm sorry. It was my fault. I didn't wait for you, and I should have."
"No you didn't Winry. You have your own life to worry about, and you don't have to wait for me, and you didn't have to. I'm always leaving Winry, and I'm never here for you. That was evident after I realized you were never writing back again. I kne-"
"Ed... That letter you wrote. I only received it about a month ago. If I had received it back then, I would've wrote to you in an instant. I would've wrote you 10 letters at once. Its just that... The stupid problem within the countries delayed your letter."
"Oh..."
"Oh? Ed, if I could go back in time I wou-"
"Winry, we both can't take back what's already done. Haha I of all people should know that."
"Ok well, fine. If we can't take that back, then let's just give each other a second chance, Ed. Please forgive me, Ed. I really am sorry that I've hurt you."
"Win, stop." Ed started wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Winry felt his hands on her cheeks for the first time, and it felt wonderful.
"You don't need to cry about this. It hurts me to see you cry, Winry."
"I remember." She smiled, "you said that the next time I cried, it'd be because of happiness."
"Well you already cried about that back when w-"
"That doens't mean I can never cry of happiness ever again, Ed."
They both smiled at each other, and they both knew that this was only the beginning. Granny popped in Ed's room and told them that lunch was ready. Winry and Ed headed down the stairs, hand in hand.