Finding Winnifred

Chapter One

It's hard to get clean during the day when you start your day feeling dirty. And that was what Ed felt as he stared at the ceiling. Dirty. He closed his eyes, slowly, as if that would somehow erase the memory. He didn't want the event undone, he just wanted the memory to go away, somewhere it wouldn't bother him.

He managed to crawl out of the bed. He looked at his clothes on the floor. He felt too dirty to put on new clothes, so he just put the old ones back on again, grimacing. Besides, he didn't really have any other clothes to put on, anyway. He was planning to go to the shower immediately after being dressed, but he paused, sitting on the edge of the bed.

It wasn't really his body that felt dirty, he realized. It was more of that his mind felt dirty, and he wasn't even sure why. He had thought he wanted this for the longest time. He should be laying in bed, being happy, smiling in his sleep and things like that. At least, that was what he had always thought he would do when he got to this point. Maybe he had been wrong? Or maybe he was just a making a big deal out of things? Maybe everyone else felt like this at the start too, and he was just being ridiculous. That had to be it.

With a sigh, Ed slowly stood up, intending to go to the shower. He ran a hand through his bangs. He was stressed, one way or another. He shouldn't be making such a big deal out of things that didn't need to be made big deals out of. It just stressed people out. Especially him. He needed to just chill and go with things. Do what he was supposed to be doing.

There was a rustle from the bed, and Ed looked down. A pair of blue eyes met with his, questioning. Oh, right. He wasn't really supposed to be climbing out of bed and thinking deep thoughts at sunrise. He was supposed to be cuddling and smiling in his sleep. He leaned down, putting his eyes at the same level as hers.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he said, trying to smile. "I just need to think. I'll be back... with breakfast?"

The blue eyes stared at him, then blinked. It was too early for her. Then a nod, almost like a child. Ed nodded back, and went to leave. No, wait, he was supposed to show affection. He turned back around and kissed her on the forehead. She flashed a big grin and settled back under the covers with a squeak.

He went to the shower, trying to figure out what he was going to do for breakfast. He didn't even know how one got breakfast this early in the morning when they didn't have a kitchen, but that was what you were supposed to do after having sex with someone for the first time. Right? He had to be helpful and stuff, right?

He shook his head and climbed into the shower. He had a hard time knowing. He hadn't had some dad around to teach him all this stuff on what a person is supposed to do when they have sex with a girl for the first time. Everyone just assumed that it would all come naturally. And he supposed they were right to some extent, but he was past all the stuff from the night before. This was so much harder to know what to do. He hadn't even really known what to do before, but it was at least easy enough to figure out. She had told him everything she wanted him to do, anyway.

The water was warm. He was strangely used to it after all his time using indoor showers in Germany, but he had almost been expecting the same freezing cold shower that he'd always had at the Rockbell house. But there was no way they'd be able to afford something "frivolous" like an indoor shower any time soon. Not unless Ed decided that he wanted four metal limbs instead of two.

Ed shook his head. That was in the past now. He wasn't a state alchemist anymore, and he didn't have money to just randomly throw at automail mechanics. He wasn't going to be able to just throw money at Granny and Winry and hope they would manage with it. Even the tiny amount of money he did have was in a currency they didn't understand. Winry had just given him a new arm out of the goodness of her heart. Though he supposed he had sort of paid for it in a way.

Ed grimaced at that thought. That hardly seemed fair. He wasn't some sort of prostitute that paid for autmail with sex. Winry would never even accept that, anyway. He wasn't even sure why that thought had come into his head. Granted, she had known a lot more of what she was doing, and he had felt a little pressured, but he had wanted this. He had been wanting it for years. He had been picturing it. So it wasn't like she had forced him into it or anything. He had even been the one to suggest. He just hadn't been thinking quite as... short term as she had been, apparently. He had been thinking a lot farther in the future, not that night.

Ed sighed and shook his head. He was happy. He had been trying to get back for forever, and he was happy. This was what he had been wanting, and he was going to be happy. He hadn't thought that his return would be greeted with Winry welcoming him into her bed, but he wasn't going to complain about that. It was what he had wanted. He had no reason to be complaining. No reason.

The water was starting to get cold. Ed looked up at the shower head. He didn't think he had been in there thinking all that long. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do for breakfast. But, one way or another, the water was getting colder by the minute, and he didn't really want to stay in there any longer than he had to. With a sigh, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

The towel that was waiting for him was soft and fluffy. Like most hotels in Central, this place kept itself nice. It was part of the competition. Hell, Ed didn't even know how fancy of a place he had run into last night. Everything had been a bit of a blur after the crash.

The towel was only just around his waist when Ed heard a loud crash from outside that made the entire building shake. After a moment of surprise, he bolted for the window. He couldn't see anything other than a trail of black smoke.

"Shit," he muttered, running back for his clothes and pulling them on as quickly as possible. "Shit, shit, shit."

He ran back into the room as soon as he was dressed. Winry was sitting up, wrapped in a blanket and looking confused.

"Ed...?"

"No problem!" he yelped while running over to the edge of the bed and shoving his feet into his shoes. "Just a little... shit." Winry looked worried at that, so he added, "It's fine. Just... something I have to take care of. I owe you a breakfast, okay?"

"Okay," she said, obviously still not comprehending. He gave her a quick wave over the top of his shoulder and then was out the door.

The streets were in pandemonium. People were running around as if they had found that invisible dinosaurs were roaming the streets. Ed paused in the middle of the chaos and stared up at the sky.

The profile of the ship through the dark smoke was unmistakable. Ed had thought that Eckhart's men had been close behind him, but he had thought when they didn't show up after a few hours that he was home free. He didn't think that they would show up a day later than him. But then again, time in the Gate was screwy. And he had managed to get through without getting stopped at all. He couldn't say the same for the big behemoths he had seen following him. Carrying large amounts of men and weaponry came at a price.

Ed ran in the direction of military HQ, his coat flaring out behind him. If anyone was going to be putting up a last stand against the foreign invaders, it would be the military, not to mention it would be the first place Eckhart's men would go for. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous, the big white government building right smack in the center of the city. It was as if they were asking for a big attack.

It was in his almost mindless pursuit that he managed to run head first into someone going the same direction as him. He had been so busy avoiding people that were streaming by the thousands away from the capitol building, that he hadn't thought to look for anyone heading in the same crazy direction as him. He hadn't really been thinking that there would be anyone crazy enough to head towards the danger instead of away from it.

He held a hand to his head with a groan, trying to regain his balance. When he opened his eyes again, he wondered why someone had put a mirror in the middle of the street.

Then he realized that he wasn't wearing a red coat any more. And the supposed reflection was staring at him with an open mouth. And something about the jawline was incredibly familiar.

"Brother," Al breathed, and then there was a pair of arms around his neck, with the crowd streaming around them. Ed was so dumbstruck, he had trouble pulling himself together enough to realize what was going on. His hand had only barely touched Al's shoulder before Al was pulling away again.

"Where have you been? Where have you been?! I been looking for you for forever! No one even believed me when I said you were still alive!" Tears were forming in the corners of Al's eyes. Ed was still too surprised to fully comprehend what was going on.

"Al," he croaked out.

The arms were around his neck again. This time he was a little more prepared, and he hugged Al back. He couldn't believe that Al was actually there, in front of him, after so many different dreams of finally finding Al, he hadn't thoughts he would just randomly run into Al on the street. First there was the different set of events with Winry, and now Al. It seemed as if nothing could go as well as it had in his multitude of daydreams.

Al pulled away again, with wet streaks down his cheeks. "The-The General will want to see you," he stammered.

Ed frowned. "The General?"

"General Mustang."

"Oh." Ed blinked. "General." He frowned. Things really had changed while he was gone. He wasn't sure why, but he had been practically expecting things to be exactly the same as when he had left. It seemed like a silly idea now that he was looking back on it, but it still left him shellshocked to see Winry wearing a bun like a grown woman, Al wearing his old coat, and Mustang being called a General. He ran a hand through his bangs.

"Brother, these machines... Everyone says it's war. Is it?"

Ed grimaced. "I sure hope not."

Al gave him a look that crossed the line between fear and pity. Ed wasn't really sure who Al was pitying, but he started heading towards the capitol building again. Whether Al followed him or not, he had invaders to stop. Even if Al didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing, Ed had too much practice, and he didn't entirely want Al to gain the experience anyway.

Well, here I am with another story. This was a dream I recently had, and it's just been bothering and bothering me. So when I finally set down to write it, it ends up coming out longer than the oneshot I originally intended. So, maybe this will be a novella, but not too long. This story kind of has ended up being close to my heart, and has been really emotional for me to write, so please bear with me.