Winry's Travellin' Soldier, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

Edward Elric walked nonchalantly through the glass doors of the cafe and sat down at a corner booth. A gum-chewing waitress was promptly standing by his table, holding a pen and notepad. "What'll it be today?"

"A bowl of chicken soup please," he replied.

She twirled her pen in her fingers and jotted down his request. "I'll be right back," she said politely.

He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said "Would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me?
I'm feeling a little low."
She said "I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go."

He smiled politely back. "Um, wait a sec. Would you like to sit down and talk for a bit? I'm kinda lonely."

She snapped her gum and said, "Sure. Your soup's on the way. By the way, my name's Winry."

"That's a pretty name. I'm Ed Elric."

Winry smiled.

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said "I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"

It was windy outside. Winry smiled and pushed her hair from her face.

"You know, Ed Elric, I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid."

"Neither have I, Winry. Um, I wanna ask you something. Have you got a boyfriend? I mean, not like I wanna be yours or anything, and---Shit. That came out wrong, didn't it?"

Winry giggled. "No, it's fine. I suppose I don't have one. Why?"

Edward sighed. "I'm goin' away to war in a bit, and I want to send you letters. To tell you what I'm seeing."

"I'd like that."

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

Winry brushed away joyful tears as she read Edward's latest letter. She had at lest ten of them piled on her kitchen counter-- all of them read five or more times.

"I really am glad I met you, Winry," the current letter read. "I really am."

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of

"We're in 'Nam now, Winry, and I wish you could see it here--everything's just so different! But, I'm always thinking of you. Always."

He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

She smiled as she thought of him; he was her soldier, and she was his girl. She closed her eyes to remember his face-- all the details, right down to the very hue of his chilling amber eyes.

The next letter would have mentioned a lot, had it not been for the armys' censors.

Mosty, it was Edward telling of the things he'd seen, just as he'd promised he would.

Winry treasured every word from him, nonetheless.

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said "Folks would you bow your heads,
For a list of local Vietnam dead."

"This isn't happening; this can't be happening," Winry muttered to herself. "He's my soldier; he can't die."

She wandered her way out of the grandstands, choking on sobs as she went.

Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

She was sitting on the ground near the corner of the snack building, sobbing.

"Somethin' wrong, hon'?" a piccolo player asked her.

"He was my soldier," she replied, now trying to fight back tears; to be strong. "That boy was my soldier."

"I know, sweetie. He was my brother."

Winry was speechless; this was too strange. And what about this "brother" business? Ed had never talked about a brother before!

"Now get up. You've got legs; use them. Death is just a part of life, hon'," he said distantly.

He helped her get up and pulled her into an embrace.

"It'll be alright; I know it will."