"Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair
Hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change
Hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Tell me, did you sail across the Sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that Heaven is overrated?
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"
---
"…and then when he got up, he had the stupidest face ever! It looked something like this…" A burst of laughter came from the dinner table as the short blond-haired teen made a somewhat-horrified face, which turned rather ridiculous when he couldn't resist the smile he tried to hold back.
The suit of armor that sat next to him shifted a little as his laughter subsided. "Oh, Brother, tell them about that one time with that guy and his shovel…"
Winry listened intently as Edward retold the story, her forkful of vegetables momentarily forgotten as she held back her laughter. As soon as the funny part came around, he nearly fell off chair from laughter, snickers interrupting his storytelling every few seconds. Pinako had to bang her spoon against the table to get the kids to calm down after Winry succeeded in spitting out her food when Alphonse added a part Edward missed, which erupted another round of chuckles and smart remarks.
It has practically been forever since Edward and Alphonse were last back home in Resimbool, and just like last time they were home for one reason: Edward's automail got busted and needed repairs. He had planned on leaving the moment he got his mechanical arm back, but thanks to Pinako, he had been persuaded to stay for another day (with the help of some strategically planned threats that Ed could've sworn the old lady spent a few nights on developing).
After a few moments devoted to eating, Winry nudged Edward's side with her elbow and gave him a smirk. "So, Edward, tell me about that girl you said you went out with…"
The question caused him to spit out his drink and cough a few times. After his esophagus had been successfully cleared, he retorted, "I didn't go out with her, I took her out to some festival as a favor to her father." He crossed his arms. "And in exchange he gave me some info on the Philosopher's stone." He snorted. "Which only led me to a dead end…" He angrily stuffed another slice of beef into his mouth and chewed on it ferociously.
Dinner ended shortly after then, and after the plates were stacked in the sink Ed made his way outside alone. Winry huffed as she began to wash the dishes. Alphonse had volunteered to dry them and put them back in the cabinets while Pinako had to go down to the workshop to quickly check up on something.
Of course he'd be all angry, she thought as she scrubbed gravy off one of the plates. He takes any failures of his lifelong mission personally. Still, the thought of him spending time with another woman, even for information, irked her and had her feeling pangs of jealousy. Edward was out there spending time with other women while she was here worried about him…
She shook her head. No, it's not his fault that he's not home. Well, it is but… She sighed. He's not the type to go out and waste his time with girls. He has a goal in mind and he won't rest till he achieves it. He even refuses to come home, and when he does it's barely for a day… Her grip on the dish tensed. Unless he does have a girlfriend and he's just hiding it from me--
"Winry?" The blonde jumped as she was pulled out of her thoughts. She looked to her side and saw Al looking at her, and even though his head was merely a helmet, she could tell that he was concerned. "Are you okay? You look like you're about ready to snap that plate in half…"
Winry looked down at the white dish and realized that Al had been waiting for her to finish washing it so that he could dry it and put it away. "Oh, sorry, Alphonse. I was just thinking." She handed the dish to him with a smile and got started on the next one.
Think logically, Winry, her thoughts continued as her body went into auto-pilot and washed the dishes on its own, Edward wouldn't get himself a girlfriend. He's traveling around too much and he has too much in mind. Besides, Alphonse would know and blurt it out, or he'd act all suspicious. I knew him long enough to know when he's hiding something.
"Hey, Winry?"
She looked up at Al with a "Hm?"
"How about you go out and relax for a while? You seem distracted. I can take care of the dishes from here."
Winry shook her head. "No, that's okay Al."
"No, really." He gently took the dish out of her hands. "It's the best I can do to thank you for the meal even if I didn't eat any."
She looked at the suit of armor before letting out a sigh. "Alright, thanks Al. Maybe I just need a breath of fresh air or something." Stepping back to let Alphonse take over kitchen duty, Winry quietly walked to the front door and, seeing that it was open, carefully opened the screen door. She was thankful that she had oiled the hinges earlier so that it didn't make a sound as she stepped out onto the front porch. She felt the chilly summer air blow through her skin and she immediately relaxed. She spotted Edward sitting on the front steps, absentmindedly opening and closing his State Alchemist watch, and took a seat next to him.
"Hey, Edward," she said, calling him back from his thoughts. He gave her a blank look before smiling and pocketing the watch.
"Hey, Winry." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "I thought you were taking care of the dishes inside."
"Al volunteered to do them." She looked at him, a small smile curving her lips. This was the first time in a while that she had spent time with Ed, and she felt at peace. He nodded and turned to look out at the grassy yard in front of him, his eyes glazing over as he went back to thinking.
Winry, observing him a little, realized that while Edward was being himself like usual, he had changed. Between now and a few years ago, he seemed more…grown up, and not in the height sense.
Of course, it's expected that he'd be more mature between being twelve years old and now, but she could tell that he was much older mentally. With everything that he's been through for the past few years, he has been forced to mature so quickly beyond his years in order to face the challenges life decided to throw at him while taking care of his brother. There's no mistake that Alphonse is the same way, but with Edward…it just amazed her.
"Hey, Edward?"
"Hm?"
Winry drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Have you ever wanted to just come home?"
Edward seemed surprised by the question, but he put on a thoughtful look. Another clue of his early maturity: he's calmer and apparently thinks more. She can tell just from his expression that he doesn't let his actions do the talking as often as he used to, and it looked like all of life's lessons are right there in his face.
"You know the reason why we burned our house, right, Winry?" he said after a moment of silence. "So that me and Al don't have a place to go back to when things get rough. Without a home to go back to, we'll just keep going forward until we reach our goal." He held out his right hand and clenched it, the whirring of the automail gears barely audible in the silent night.
Winry frowned. "But, Edward, you have a home to come back to right here." She placed a hand on his automail arm and he looked up, taken aback by the sorrow in her eyes. "You don't have to always go out and risk life and limb for some lead that possibly isn't true."
"But, Winry…"
She shook her head. "Stop trying to push yourself too hard, Ed, and try coming home once in a while, we all miss you." She put on a sad smile. "And I'm sure you miss us too, right?"
She got up, dusted the back of her pants, and started to make her way back inside, but she stopped when she felt a gloved hand on her shoulder.
"Winry, Al and I do miss you, but it's not like we can come back every chance we get." Winry's head lowered, her bangs shielding her tearing eyes. She heard a quiet sigh behind her. "But, to tell the truth, we're pretty glad to have you here, Winry. Without you…I don't know where we'd be at this point…"
Edward's hand lowered from her shoulder. "It's like all of our childhood memories keep us going, that if we finally succeed in returning our bodies to the way they were, everything would be back to the way they were before. With you here, we have someplace to look forward to as soon as we reach our goal, even if we haven't even gotten close as of yet…" He heard a noise come from Winry and he looked up. "Winry…?"
He was taken by surprise as Winry spun around and latched her arms around him, her face shoving into his shoulder and sobbing. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment before wrapping his arms around her. The two stood there for a few moments, with Winry's sobs quieting gradually and Edward rubbing her back in hopes of calming her down. Finally, she pulled herself back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Sorry about that," she whispered. "I…don't know what came over me…"
Edward put on a half smile. "No, it's okay, Winry, really."
She sniffled a little bit and smiled back. "So, you really think everything will be back to normal when you get your bodies back."
Ed shrugged a shoulder and scratched the back of his head. "Well, more or less…of course not everything will be the same."
Winry turned around and started to head back inside. "So I guess that'll mean you'll go back to causing a riot and leave me and Al to solve your problems, huh?" She looked back with a little smirk.
Edward, in return, glared. "Nuh-uh, I'm not that much of a trouble maker."
Winry shrugged. "Really? Because perhaps when your automail's gone, you'll gain a few inches in height and that'll get you all riled up…"
Ed followed her in, doing his classic "Who're you calling so short…!" rant while flailing his arms around. Winry just smiled and quickened her pace. She had felt better, and she needed to remember to thank Alphonse for the suggestion.
---
"Can you imagine no love, pride, deep fried chicken?
Your best friend always sticking up for you
Even when I know you're wrong?
Can you imagine no first dance?
Freeze-dried romance five-hour phone conversation?
The best soy latte that you ever had
…and me?"
Hey, everyone, thanks for reading my little EdWin oneshot. It's nothing special, just an idea I had floating in my head that I wanted to write for Valentine's Day. Sorry if you think the fic doesn't exactly tie in with the song, I didn't want it to go along with the lyrics or else it'll sound too cheesy. Well, I was pretty much in love with this song (it's one of my fav love songs) and I wanted to do an EdWin fic, so here we are.
Reviews are appreciated! I love to hear what you people think of it. :3