It was only the insistent growling of his empty stomach that stirred Ed out of bed the next morning. He would have been perfectly content to spend the rest of the day curled up with Winry in his arms, watching her sleep. It was an incredible, and still a little unbelievable, experience; though he knew eventually it would sink in that they really were married; together for good, no matter what. He suspected there would be a brief moment of panic, and then he'd shove it away. This felt so right; one of the few things he had done in his life that he knew, with certainty in his heart, had been a good move!
Reluctantly, he got up and got dressed to go down to the common room and find some breakfast. He couldn't help but admit that Al had been right yesterday. Briefly, Ed had tried to insist that they didn't need to spend money on two rooms in an inn... until Alphonse had firmly taken his brother by the shoulders.
"Ed, this is for your own good, as well as my sanity."
It had taken Ed a minute to actually realize what his brother meant, and that he had missed something that should have been entirely obvious! Al had turned out to be entirely right on that score. Ed had now permanently traded out his brother as room-mate, for Winry as wife-and-bedmate. It was going to take a little getting used to, but he definitely liked it!
Downstairs, the kitchen had a hearty breakfast going of sausage, eggs, and wheat porridge with honey; Ed could tell exactly what it was just from the scent. He also spotted Al already at a table, eating his own breakfast.
Grinning, Ed dropped down across from his brother as one of the waitresses came over. Ed ordered, the noticed his brother watching him with a look of smug amusement. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Al shrugged, still grinning.
"Yeah right," Ed frowned. "What's so funny?"
Al chuckled. "Well, I was just thinking I don't think I've 'ever' seen you so...relaxed."
Ah. Ed shrugged, and couldn't help smiling himself. In truth, he felt really relaxed; it was the best he'd felt in a very long time. A little heady and giddy too at moments. "I feel good this morning." His food arrived and he dug in with vigor.
"If I'd known all it took to get you to calm down for awhile was finding you a girl, I should have made sure you hooked up with a girl when you were fifteen!"
"Al!" Ed blushed, though he stared at his brother. "Geez, get your mind
out of the sewers this morning!"
Alphonse was laughing openly, though not loudly. The comment hadn't been all that loud either. Fortunately, the room was pretty much empty. Ed hated being embarrassed in public! "Sorry, Ed. I couldn't help it. I'm happy for you both, really. This is something that 'should have been' for a long time. It's just amusing to observe your reactions to things sometimes."
"Things?" Ed wasn't sure he wanted to ask.
Al shrugged again. "You got married yesterday, Ed. Don't tell me you and Winry played cards all night."
Ed tried to ignore the flush in his face again. "You're in rare form this morning, Al."
"Thank you," Al went back to eating as well. "I'm a little surprised to see you down here alone," he admitted.
"I was hungry," Ed shrugged, and then he smiled. "And I make it a rule never to wake a sleeping angel."
"Cause you've had that opportunity so many times," Al said, though it was clearly in good fun. Ed knew his brother well enough to know that Al really was just happy for them both, and probably enjoying having been 'right' about them all these years!
Ed smiled. "Well let's just say I'll cherish every time I get to make that choice." After they had both finished eating, Ed got back to business. "We need to head for Munich. Any ideas for travel arrangements?" He really wasn't looking forward to walking, though they could if they had to. It would only take a couple of weeks or so, depending on the weather. Though, if nothing else, Ed really didn't want to make Winry walk that.
"Actually, yes," Alphonse nodded, smiling. "Last night I ran into some old friends who happen to be camped just outside the city. They're heading right past Munich on their way East."
"Roma?" Ed asked softly. He and Al had traveled with various groups of Roma over the years, and reputations carried. They were as welcome among them as any of their own most of the time, having no home of their own to return to directly and because the brothers accepted people for who they were.
"Yep," Al confirmed. "They're heading out a little later this morning. They promised to wait until I let them know one way or the other, and they have space in the wagons."
Ed grinned. "Excellent. I wasn't looking forward to making the entire trip on foot. I hope Winry's ready to deal with gypsies."
Al chuckled. "I hope they're ready to deal with her!"
As it turned out, the Roma were as welcoming of Winry as they had been of Edward and Alphonse, though several of the younger women looked disappointed when they found out that Ed and Winry were married.
"At least we can still admire this one," one of them teased, smiling at Al who looked slightly embarrassed, as always, but smiled back. They had both gotten used to the ways of the Roma. As playful and flirtatious as the women played, virtue and purity meant a lot to their people.
"Married just yesterday?" The Elder smiled when he found out. "No marriage should go by without being marked by a proper celebration! Tonight, we feast!"
"You really know everyone here?" Winry asked, clearly a little overwhelmed by the friendly familiarity of the greeting.
"Not all of them," Ed admitted, looking around as they loaded their things into the wagon they had been assured was 'theirs' for as long as they traveled with them. "The Roma truly are wanderers. Sometimes, people wander in and out on their own as well; not always traveling with their clan. That's why there's an extra wagon right now." Alphonse was sharing one with a couple of other young bachelors. Ed and Winry had been given one entirely to themselves. There were even a couple of Roma outfits in Winry's size that they insisted were gifts, something more comfortable for traveling than the more metropolitan clothes she had been in.
"But they have trucks too," Winry pointed out. "Why travel this way?"
"Why hurry?" Ed shrugged and smiled, sitting down on the bed. "The truck is useful for carrying them to and from their primary sources of income; traveling shows and the like. There are carnivals and events going on all over the countryside, not just in the big cities. They can go, work a day, and easily catch up with everyone else in the evening."
"That is pretty convenient," Winry nodded, picking up one of the dresses that she had been given and held it up, blocking Ed's view. "These are beautiful," she commented softly. "Though I'm still getting used to how 'conservative' everything is here."
Ed chuckled. "Yeah. What I wouldn't give to see you in a mini-skirt."
Winry poked her head around the dress and stuck her tongue out at him, though she smiled afterwards. "You can just be satisfied with whatever I'm wearing."
"I'd like to see you in that," Ed nodded at the dress she was holding. The dress really was beautiful; traditional Roma in over a dozen shades of blue, with the base color a medium blue, a couple of shades darker than her eyes. The skirt started out lighter, fading to a very dark blue as it reached the edge skirt, though the ruffling at the hem and sleeves was white.
"Really?" Winry gave him a slightly doubtful look.
Ed smiled. "Previous comment aside, I think you look good in anything," he replied honestly.
Winry smiled. "I see."
"I've always thought so," Ed admitted. He could say it now, even though he would never have admitted it to himself when he was younger; still, it had been hard to ignore Winry when she liked to walk around in that black strapless top with her coveralls tied down around her waist when she wasn't working; and her preferences for skirts and shorts had always been on the smaller side too. "You're beautiful."
Winry looked almost embarrassed for a moment, but obviously pleased. "I guess I'll get changed."
Being this open, making comments like that and having conversations this open and intimate was still awkward at moments, but it made Ed absolutely giddy at times that they 'were' having them! He suspected that he would feel that way for quite a while yet; that incredible rush that came from being with Winry, and knowing that she was his as absolutely as he was hers.
Winry looked as good in the dress as Ed had anticipated. He whistled when she stepped out from behind the dressing screen in one corner of the wagon. It fit perfectly.
Winry blushed and laughed. "And here I thought you kept me around for the auto-mail," she teased. "You know you're much more agreeable this way."
"I just figured that was why you were always following 'me' around," Ed replied with a laugh as he stood up, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close. "It's just starting to really sink in that I'm not dreaming. Even in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined this. I tried not to. It hurt too much…"
One of Winry's hands moved from his chest to finger his hair. "I had so many dreams like this," she said softly. "Not the specific locations of course, or the circumstances; but of you and me. I felt so bad about all the things I never said when I the chance; the questions I never asked. I would remember conversations we had, even fights, just to make sure I never forgot."
"Wow." Ed really wasn't sure how else to respond to that. He smiled. "Sorry to cause you so much trouble."
Winry smiled and shrugged. "That's all right. You've been causing me nothing but trouble since we were little."
"And you still insisted on marrying me?" Ed asked.
"I figured I might as well get something out of it. If you and I hadn't killed each other after all that, it had to be 'true love'," Winry laughed, kissing him.
Ed wasn't about to question her logic; he was just as happy to lose himself in her arms, and the intoxicating reality of her kiss.
When the Elder of the Roma had said they would feast that night, he hadn't been joking. Ed and Al had witnessed a couple of Roma marriages. The ceremonies meant little; the promise more important than ceremony, but the celebrations were fantastic, going on for days sometimes. Ed doubted this one would; they weren't family, and they were trying to make good time, but he appreciated the gesture. Few outside of the Roma would get this kind of reception!
"This is incredible," Winry commented softly as she sat between Ed and Al that evening as they ate with the rest of their hosts. They had roasted an entire goat and a full pig on spits as soon as camp had been established earlier in the evening, and then the fire had been built up again for light. "They really are nothing like the rumors I heard."
Ed nodded. "Much of their reputation is unfairly labeled, based on the interactions of a very few people and a lack of understanding. It's not so different as anywhere else."
"Like Ishbal," Winry nodded thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever received this warm a welcome from complete strangers before. Of course," she smiled. "They're not strangers to you. Though you said this isn't one of the groups you've traveled with extensively."
"It's not," Al answered. "Just a couple of times. But if you're a friend of the Roma, you're a friend; especially these days. Names get around. So we have a good reputation and relationship with them."
"A good reputation, you?" Winry stared at Ed, though he could tell she was joking.
He finished the bite he was chewing, swallowed, and then cut off another bite. "What? I'm not always hard to deal with. Sometimes, I'm quite companionable."
"Except when he's eating," Al ribbed him.
Ed glared at him, unable – or at least unwilling – to talk with his mouth full. Not that he really minded; the three of them talking together reminded him of fond memories; he wasn't really mad.
Once the feast itself was over, or at least, most people had finished eating, the music and dancing Ed and Al had come to expect most evenings among the Roma commenced, though even Ed could tell tonight was special. There were more musicians out tonight, and almost everyone was either singing or dancing. Even the little children, save the smallest, were leaping up to dance with the joyous abandonment that showed the lack of self-consciousness they possessed.
Ed settled down off to one side, his arm around Winry's shoulders as things got going. He smiled as Alphonse joined right in; something he did without hesitation now, they had spent so much time with the Roma. Sitting around the fire and watching made Ed feel at home in its own way now too. It was comfortably familiar, if nothing else; a place where they were always welcome, with a bed and a meal and no expectations to tell them everything they had been up to.
He enjoyed watching Winry as she watched the dancing; he could see the interest and a hint of awe in her eyes. It wasn't like any dancing Ed had been familiar with in Amestris, and he remembered his own reaction the first time he had seen them dance. She laughed once when Al danced by, obviously enjoying himself.
"You should join us," Al suggested with a broad grin. "Ed knows how."
Winry turned a speculative, and slightly skeptical, eye on him. "You do?"
"Oh, no!" Ed held up a hand in protest. He was going to get his brother for that later. Al had promised never to tell anyone! Not that either of them had anticipated Winry's arrival back in their lives when he made that promise seven years ago. "I mean, sort of, but please, not tonight!" He rarely joined in anyway; he was too self-conscious to really get into it, and usually he felt pretty stupid taking part; at least if he was completely sober, which was most of the time.
"Why not?" Winry chuckled. "Not even with me?" She ran one finger along his collar against his neck.
Ed managed not to whimper. "Oh, come on, Winry. You know me, I barely waltz, let alone in public!"
"Loosen up, Ed," Al grinned. "This celebration's 'for' the both of you after all."
"He's right," Winry said, standing. "And the only people here who will ever tease you about it are Alphonse and I anyway; and he's already seen you."
"But I'm stuffed!" Ed played his last card. If he'd thought 'Winry' would try and talk him into dancing, he might have eaten less at dinner.
"Whose fault is that?" Winry replied, smirking playfully as she grabbed his hand. "Please, Ed, for me?" She twitched her hips, making the skirt swish.
"Aw hell…you don't play fair!" Ed groaned as he got to his feet.
. Winry kissed him and then led him out to join Al. "Of course not," she said softly into his ear. "If I'm going to potentially embarrass myself, I'd much rather enjoy it with you. I've never done this before."
Ed smiled, relaxing a little. "I'm sure you'll be great." Even if she wasn't, Ed knew he would at least get to enjoy the view!
They were nearing Munich. While Ed knew they wouldn't be there tomorrow, he almost felt it coming closer, day by day. They had hooked up with the Roma band not that far outside of Metz, which was where the Lannets lived, and traveled with them across the Alsace region into Germany, down through the city of Ulm. They had split off just outside Augsburg after two weeks of travel. He wasn't sure what they would find in Munich; Hauskisson, hopefully, and yet the idea knotted his stomach too. Ed had thought, years ago, that he had kind of gotten past worrying about death. He didn't look forward to it – he wasn't crazy – but he'd already died once, and had enough scares that he had figured he was at least a little numb to it. Now, however, it occurred to him that not coming back meant breaking his promise to Winry. He had no intention of hurting her again, not ever. More than anything else, he was determined not to waste any more of the time in their lives; they had always proved uncertain, and he was tired of regrets.
"You look pensive," Al commented, coming to stand next to him. Ed was leaning against the rail of a second story balcony in the house they were staying in. It belonged to a friend, another research scientist – they knew several – who had room. It was better than paying for rooms unnecessarily. "Usually that means you're depressed."
"Not depressed," Ed shook his head, looking down at the little garden that was the back yard of the city house. "Just thinking. There's no way to know what we're running into, anymore than usual. Hauskisson may very well have people waiting for us. He knows we're after him. We're most likely walking right into a trap."
"Sounds depressing to me," Al chuckled and shrugged; then his brow creased thoughtfully. "It does seem odd that, in all his travels, with the friends he's garnered, he spends his time avoiding us."
"He probably thinks we're more of an annoyance than threat," Ed sighed, sipping from the glass of juice in his hand. "He knows how difficult it is to use alchemy on this side of the Gate. Which means he may still under-estimate what we're capable of coming up with. We may well have him right where we want him, finally back on familiar soil. So now seems like the worst time to hesitate. I never have before."
"You doubt we can take him?" Al asked, curious.
Ed shook his head. "No. I know we'll get him eventually. I just…. I think this is why Winry and I never told each other how we felt, when we were younger. We never talked about it; but I think this is what we both knew would happen."
"She never wanted to make you choose between what you felt you had to do, and her," Al nodded. "To be the reason you hesitated, or made a mistake. But that was a long time ago, and you've both made the decision to deal with that now. You're not planning to just give this up are you?"
"Of course not," Ed scowled. "Putting an end to this is too important. I just need to figure out how the balance works. I want to do this right." He knew he wasn't perfect; far from it, but he was determined to be all that he could for Winry. While he had certainly never had a problem lying when necessary, or twisting things around with clever play, promises and vows he took very seriously. "For however long we have, I want her to be happy."
"So, what makes her happy?" Al asked, though it definitely sounded like a rhetorical question. They both knew her equally well.
"Other than tinkering with machinery?" Ed chuckled, watching a bird perch on a bush below; its wings outstretched as he found purchase on a branch and settled down. It reminded him a little of one of the maneuvers he had seen a stunt pilot do. "Actually," he considered that thought further, much as it had started as a joke. "That's not a bad idea." There were a lot of technological wonders here that they didn't have in Amestris. He wondered what they had in Augsburg at the moment. "I think I'm going to take a little walk around the neighborhood."
"Put these on," Ed tossed a pair of pants over his shoulder in Winry's direction. "Trust me, you don't want to be in a dress today!"
"Not that I mind," Winry chuckled as she caught the pair of brown pants out of mid-air with a one handed snatch, "But are you going to tell me why?"
"That's my surprise," Ed grinned as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Just put those on, and make sure the top doesn't have anything loose that can get caught in something either."
"I'm not sure these will fit," Winry commented skeptically, though Ed heard the rustling of fabric as she stepped into them anyway.
"Why not?" Ed pulled his hair out of the neck of the shirt and straightened things. He was looking forward to today's excursion! He knew Winry was going to love the surprise he had in store for her today. "You and I are almost exactly the same height."
"It's not the length I'm concerned about," Winry chuckled.
Ed, still seated on the bed, bent down to tie his shoes. "Then what?" He saw something move into his field of view and looked up-
- to find himself staring right at Winry's rear end. "Unlike most men, I have 'hips,'" she commented.
Ed swallowed. And how! "And they look a lot better in those pants than I do..."
Winry turned around and laughed, grinning down at him. "I'll keep that in mind. So they're not too much?" She was still getting used to the differences in styles and what was 'appropriate' attire for women.
Ed shrugged and stood. "Women don't wear pants as often, but they do wear them, and those don't look too tight," he grinned pulling her into an embrace. "In fact, I'd say they're perfect."
"So you won't mind if dozens of other men are staring at my backside?" Winry chuckled.
"They can be jealous all they like," Ed laughed. "You're mine."
"While normally I would hate to be considered anyone's possession," Winry smirked. "I'll let you get away with that comment this time."
"It's all right," Ed smiled. "The possession is mutual."
"I guess I can live with that," Winry said as she sat down next to him and pulled on her own shoes, low heeled boots not unlike the ones she preferred anyway, just in local style. "I'm really curious to see what you have in mind," she grinned. "Yesterday was incredible! To think that making movies is really that simple!"
Ed chuckled. "I'm not sure I'd call it 'simple,'" he teased, "But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He and Al had taken Winry to see a movie the afternoon before, and afterwards Ed had talked the projectionist into letting Winry take a look at the projector. For her part, she had behaved and 'not' tried to take it apart! Though she had cooed and gushed and muttered to herself for nearly an hour as she looked the thing over top to bottom.
"It was less complicated than I had thought," Winry replied with a slight shrug as she tied the laces on one boot. "I could probably make one myself honestly. These are better than the ones they have in Amestris."
"I'm sure you could," Ed leaned over and kissed her cheek. Much as he had teased her during their lives about her obsession with anything mechanical, he found her enthusiasm endearing and often amusing to watch. If she was happy, it was worth the time spent standing around while she enjoyed herself. Though she had assured him later that she had enjoyed seeing the movie as well! He suspected she would like today's little adventure even more.
"There it is," Ed gestured as they came over the crest of the hill. Below them, spread out in the flat area between the surrounding hills, was a carnival.
"A carnival," Alphonse grinned. "Been a while, hasn't it?"
"It has," Ed grinned.
"It looks like fun," Winry smiled,looking a little bemused. "Though I hardly seem dressed right for it...Ed." Her tone clearly said she blamed him.
Ed laughed and gestured beyond. "That's because the part we're going to be visiting first, is over there." Beyond his hand, further away, was a small line of airplanes. "That's the air show."
"Air..." Winry's voice dropped away as she absorbed his words, then her eyes lit up. "Airplanes?" Ed and Al had mentioned them of course, and she had seen a few in the sky.
Ed nodded and grinned. "I happen to know a friend of ours is working for that show. I ran into him a couple of days ago, and he said after the show, he'd let you take a peek inside..."
Winry's expression was exactly what he had hoped it would be; wide-eyed wonder, quickly replaced by enthusiastic excitement. "Well, let's go!" she grabbed his hand and headed down the hill.
Laughing, Ed didn't resist, following along with Alphonse laughing just as heartily behind him.
Even though Ed and Al had seen an air show before, and Ed had engaged in a couple of dangerous stunts involving planes, they enjoyed the show immensely. Winry was captivated by the fact that they were flying machines; but just as appreciative of the aerobatics and stunts the pilots were capable of pulling off in them; even if, for her, it was all about the quality of the engineering that made it possible. "That was incredible!" she gushed as they got down from the stands later. "Can you fly one of those?" she looked between Ed and Al.
Al shook his head. "Haven't had the chance to try," he admitted.
"More or less," Ed chuckled, slipping his arm around her waist as they walked. "But nothing like that."
"Yeah, he's lucky to take off and land without turning it into a stunt," Al snickered.
They walked across the field to the parked planes. In the last one down, the pilot was just jumping out of his cockpit, pulling off his cap and goggles. He spotted them coming and waved. "Alphonse! Edward! Good to see you," he called in heavily accented English - a definitely French accent - and strode over, paused, and whistled appreciatively. Then he extended a hand to Winry with easy gallantry. "Edward said you were as lovely as you are reported to be talented with machinery; but if I'd known where to find such a beautiful mechanic, I would certainly not be working with these guys!"
There was some good natured guffawing and shouted insults from a couple of pilots, and the mechanics behind him that were already checking the planes over after the show. From what Ed could see, several of the pilots did a lot of their own work on their planes.
Winry was looking immensely pleased. "Thank you," she smiled. "for the compliment, and for this! Can I really get a look inside?"
"As long as you don't take anything apart I can't put back together," he laughed. "Maurice Devereux, aerobatics expert, at your service."
"She'll behave," Ed grinned. He was glad Maurice spoke English; it was the closest, Ed had found on his original trip through the gate, to that they spoke in Amestris, and the easiest for himself, Al, and now Winry, to adapt to. Though Winry was already picking up a decent amount of French, and a little German. It also made it easy to claim they were from England when people casually asked 'so, where are you from?'
"Oh I have no doubts of that, not from such a charming woman," Maurice chuckled. He was a pretty good looking guy, Ed supposed; if typically French, with a thin frame, slightly beaky nose, and dark hair. He was, however, also four inches taller than Ed. "First though," he grinned. "If your amant doesn't mind," he glanced meaningfully at Ed. "Would you like to go for a little ride?" he gestured to another plane than the one he had just exited; one of their two-seaters.
Ed frowned briefly. "Hey Maurice, elle est ma legitime épouse!" he accented the last words, making the statement in French to emphasize the meaning.
Winry blinked, looking between the two as if she realized she had missed something. "What?"
Alphonse had one hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh behind it.
Maurice chuckled. "I am teasing you, my friend. Don't worry," he smiled at Winry. "Just a joke between old friends. I have often told Edward he needs to find himself a girl; no man should be without a woman's love so long, or at least," he grinned. "A woman's interest. I am pleased he finally took my advice. Still, you would like to fly, no?"
"Yes!" Winry smiled, shrugging off the momentary confusion immediately.
"Then come with me," Maurice led them all over to the plane, offering cap and goggles to Winry, who had the good sense to have already pulled her hair back and out of the way. "You will sit here," he gestured to the front seat. "I'm sure Edward can get you properly secured. Now, how daring do you feel?"
Winry swallowed, but Ed knew she wouldn't back down from a challenge, even if he could tell she was a little nervous. She grinned confidently. "I'm up for whatever you want to throw at me."
Maurice laughed. "A remarkable woman! Beautiful and brave. Please," he stepped aside, leaving her room to mount using the wing. "Welcome to my home."
Ed did help Winry secure the straps. Not that it was difficult, but he knew how to make sure it would remain comfortable, not just functional, during some of the students he expected Maurice might try. "Have fun," he grinned, kissing her briefly.
"Why do I feel like I might be crazy for doing this?" Winry asked quietly before he got down.
"Because you'd have to be! Don't worry, Al and I survived! We've been up a few times, and Maurice knows what he's doing." Ed chuckled as he dropped to the ground. "Take care of her," he yelled at Maurice. "Or you'll have to deal with me!"
Maurice gave Ed a thumbs-up. "Don't worry," he called down as the plane started. "I make it a point never to damage my cargo."
Winry didn't hear Ed's response as the air from the props wiped out most of the sound around her. She was excited, but definitely nervous too. Flying! This was going to be absolutely incredible, and yet she wondered if she would be too terrified to enjoy it. She had never been up that high, and not trusting to a flying machine to do it!
"Relax," Maurice called to her from behind. Winry craned her head around to look at him briefly. "Even Edward can handle this baby," he patted the plane with a loving hand.
"I thought Ed could barely fly one of these," Winry commented in reply, remembering Alphonse's earlier comment.
Maurice laughed. "He is no expert, but Edward could be quite the most daring pilot ever if he cared to. He has natural instincts that most pilots would die for. His take offs and landings may be a bit rough sometimes, but you should see him in the air."
Somehow, that was the most reassuring thing he could have told her. Winry smiled. "So, are we going to fly or sit here on the ground and enjoy conversation?"
Maurice grinned. "You are definitely my kind of woman. What a shame I did not meet you first." It was clear that, while he was pleased, his flirtatious manner was meant in jest.
The engines roared, and the plane began to move, taxiing out to the strip that served as a makeshift run way. Then they were speeding up and, before Winry could so much as gasp, they were rising! The ground fell away and the trees, and people, and the carnival beneath them shrank quickly into miniatures. Winry could see the hills rolling away, and a small stream glistening in the sunlight a couple of miles away. "This is beautiful!" she exclaimed, not sure if she could even be heard.
"Welcome to my home!" Maurice replied. "Up here, I am in my element."
"I can see why," Winry said. "It all seems so peaceful from up here."
"Cleaner, less crowded, definitely quieter," Maurice chuckled. "It is easier to be alone with my thoughts, and let the wind take them where they will. The world is mine for as far as I can see. No one owns the sky."
They just flew for a couple of minutes, enjoying the scenery. Winry took it all in as much as she possibly could. This was truly likely a once in a lifetime opportunity!
As they looped back towards the airfield, Maurice spoke up again. "Ready to try something a little more adventurous?"
Winry grinned. "Absolutely!" Her confidence in the quality of the engineering in the plane had grown tremendously now that she had experienced first hand just how secure and well designed it was.
Maurice didn't reply, but suddenly the plane fell into a steep dive, Winry watched the ground race toward them until the plane pulled up sharply, climbing again. The stunt was followed by a few vertical loops, a couple of barrel rolls, and several spins and other dives. Nothing quite as daring as some of the stunts she had seen earlier during the show, but some of those had looked a lot riskier!
Finally they leveled out with just enough time that Maurice brought it in for a landing, touching down and coming to a stop back where the plane had been parked before.
Ed and Al came over as soon as they stopped. "So what did you think?" Ed asked, looking up at her. Winry could tell he had been a little nervous, though whether it was over if she would like the flight, or how safe she would be, it wasn't clear. Likely both!
"That was amazing!" Winry laughed, unbuckling her straps and pulling off the cap and goggles that had protected her head and eyes. "What a fantastic feeling! I can't wait to get my hands in her and see how she works!" She swung out of the seat and down to the wing, where Ed reached up and helped her down to the ground, where he didn't immediately take his hands from her waist.
Ed smiled then, and chuckled. "That's you, fearless as always. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Maurice was chuckling as he dismounted as well. "I wish all my passengers were so brave," he smiled. "If you ever have the time, Madame, I would love to teach you how to fly."
"Really?" Winry gasped. What a great idea! "That would be wonderful, thank you." Not that she had any idea when that time might come, but she certainly would take advantage of the offer if it were ever possible! She could barely take her eyes off the access hatch on the side at the moment however.
Ed had obviously noticed. "Thanks, Maurice, but you'd probably better open her up before you test her self-control any more."
Winry glared at Ed briefly, but her attention was immediately grabbed as Maurice opened the access hatch, and the next several hours were spent in ecstatic delight as he explained the finer points of the airplane's design and answered her questions. At the point he put tools in her hands, she was in heaven…
Ed finally managed to pull Winry away from the airplanes when Maurice actually had to be elsewhere. He smiled patiently as she gushed all the way back to the carnival itself, and for quite a while afterwards as they explored. They viewed the side show acts, played a couple of games, ate cotton candy, and he took for a ride on the Ferris wheel – not because it was particularly exciting compared to flying, but because it was something they could do together.
As the sun began to set, they walked back up the hill towards town, Ed's arm around Winry's shoulder.
Winry was still gushing. "The last couple of days have been incredible, Ed! There are so many wonderful things in this world; so many things I could never have expected. I always wondered how you 'could' come back here; but it really is so much like our world, but there's so much wonderful engineering!"
Ed laughed. "That would be why you think the world is beautiful."
"That's why you showed these things to me though," Winry countered, leaning forward in his arms. "I know you. You've been so different, these last couple of months though. I've never seen you so 'alive,' Ed. Not unless it had to do with some alchemical discovery or hunting something down," she added with a chuckle. .
Ed stopped walking, turned, and pulled her closer, smiling into those captivating sapphires. "An old soldier once told me, Winry, that the best thing about a dream, is that it's just a fantasy. If it comes true, than it was never really a dream. The first two years I lived here, I felt like I was living 'in' a dream, like reality was still on the other side of the Gate, a place I couldn't reach; no home, no alchemy, it seemed 'real' enough, but not 'my' reality. It's hard to live in a place when your heart isn't there, and mine... was in Amestris." Winry blushed, but didn't interrupt. "Even getting Al back, I realized that there was something missing, and that I'd lost something just as important to me, when it seemed only a dream that I could ever fix that. But," he smiled. "Now you're 'here,' and all the things I could only dream of showing you that I've wanted to for all these years; I have that chance! And I'm enjoying reveling in my dreams brought to reality while I can."
"Even a little fun means something serious to you doesn't it?" Winry commented softly.
Ed chuckled. "I don't take anything for granted anymore, Winry, least of all the people I love most. " It came out soft, and probably sappy, but he didn't care. "I can't let doubts, fears, or skepticism hold me back, or I'll miss out on all the important things in life."
"You've really given this a lot of thought, haven't you?"
"Lots of time to think," Ed replied. "I've learned a lot about myself, living here all this time. Not Edward Elric 'Fullmetal Alchemist' child prodigy, son of the mysterious," he actually stuck his tongue out, "Hohenheim of Light, Hero of the People, and military dog; but me. Here almost none of that matters. I mean, even while I have the knowledge, I'm not even technically an alchemist anymore."
"I hadn't really thought about that," Winry admitted, looking up at him as if searching for if that hurt him or not. "Neither you nor Al have talked about it much."
Ed nodded and shrugged. "I still have all my other skills, but there are a lot of smart people out there, and a lot of people who are well trained fighters. No one here knows who I am except those I have associated with directly, or people directly connected to them who have any reason to know. It's a big world, and I'm just a small part of it, more like just 'one of the crowd' than I've been since I was ten."
"You were never just 'one of the crowd,' Edward," Winry chuckled fondly, leaning against his shoulder. "You were clever, rambunctious, and quite the trouble maker when you set your mind to it; not always in bad ways either. You were always unique."
"I was short," Ed quipped back, surprising her a little with the amusement in his tone. "Short tempered, cocky, and all together too confident when I really shouldn't have been."
"So what's changed?" Winry rose to the challenge, teasing back as she always did.
"Me," Ed shrugged. "I've had a chance to reconsider who I am as a person in a lot of ways; to look at the mistakes I've made, and the right choices, and decide if I'm going to keep being that way, or if I need to change; as well as how much I have changed."
"And?" She really seemed to have little idea of where he was going with this.
"And I know who I am now; more than I did before. Without all the titles, the prestige, the heroism... if you strip down everything I took on, or had piled on me, as a kid, I'm just Edward Elric; incapable of staying out of other people's business when there's dangerous situations, sticking my nose in where it probably doesn't belong; an older brother, and now husband. And you know what," he smiled, squeezing her with the arm around her shoulders. "That's enough for me."
"That's more than enough for me too," Winry chuckled.
"I know," Ed met her eyes. "And looking back, I know it always was, and that means more to me than just about anything."
"That may be one of the sweetest things you've ever said," Winry smiled, kissing him on the cheek.
Ed turned his head to catch her lips with his. "I promise you, it won't be the last."
Alphonse walked behind his brother and Winry, giving them space, and stopping when they paused; giving them a little privacy and aware that, for the moment at least, they had forgotten his presence.
And that was as it should be. Al was sincerely happy – thrilled really – that his brother and Winry were finally together. He knew that, while they now shared something new, it did not lessen the bond the three of them shared or his relationship with his brother. There were no limits on how much a person could love. So he didn't feel left out. How could he? Al was well aware that these little steps, putting that line up that gave Ed and Winry the personal time a marriage needed and deserved, were just as much his doing.
They were kissing now. It was a little like getting his own private showing of a romantic movie; cute couple, sunset….
If Al left it up to his brother, Ed would feel guilty, and apologize, when he and no need to do either. They had been 'all they had' for so long, that it was mostly Al's time without his brother that allowed him to have a different perspective on things. Ed would always do whatever he could for Al, and Al would always do whatever he needed to see his brother safe and happy as well. That didn't mean their lives wouldn't diverge, that they wouldn't be shared with other people as well. They could do that without lessening their relationship as brothers.
Winry was waving at him now, and Ed looked embarrassed. As Al had known they would, they remembered him. Laughing, he headed up the hill to rejoin them. They had always been a family, and they always would be.