Hi guys! LemunSkweez here with chapter two of Dreams Become Reality. If you are wondering who I am, I am the co-writer of this story along with Rebecca (imnotyourboytoy): She thinks, she writes, I re-write but it's her story—we're a good team. I hope you are looking forward to this as much as I am (because I'm left out until final edits). While I am here, I want to thank everyone for reading this and leaving your helpful and fun reviews! Enjoy chapter two and don't forget to R&R! Bye bye.

Chapter Two: Realization

It was a beautiful morning in Resembool, the hometown of the three young adults. Winry was asleep until she felt a light breeze brush by her. She opened her eyes and was welcomed by warm sunlight. She held the red jacket close to her, feeling a little less lonely knowing the sun was with her. She didn't feel so cold as before. Her heart feeling better, alleviated.
Winry sat up, and rubbed her eyes. She took a deep breath before her eyes rested on the land. The sky is so blue today, she noticed.
"Oh my God!" Winry brutally stood up and realized she was still on the roof. "Oh my god! I fell asleep on the roof! What if I had fallen off?" She said, still incredulous as she hurriedly made her way down the roof. She grabbed onto the edge of the roof, lowered herself and swung her legs into the window. With a huff, she safely landed on the bed and shut the window behind her. She stretched as she made her way down the stairs to check if Grammy was still asleep. But she didn't find Grammy. Instead, she found a note that read:

Winry, I went grocery shopping. I'll be home in a few hours. Love you and eat your breakfast, Winry!
-Grammy, xoxo.

She laughed and mumbled, "Yes, Grammy. I will eat my breakfast!"
Grammy was always reminding her to eat. Winry knew Grammy was just worried, but in the past four months and a half, she hasn't been eating as much as she used to. She was too depressed.
She looked through the fridge and grabbed some eggs and cooked them while she made herself a cup of coffee. She looked through the window above the sink and caught a glimpse of a blonde head. It couldn't be...Was that Ed?
Her heart started racing so fast. She was eager to see the face of the stranger whom she thought to be Edward. She ran outside without shoes and ran to where she saw the blonde. Her heart dropped through her stomach when she realized it was Alphonse and Mei!

"AL!" She managed to run up to him and hugged him tightly.
"Winryyyyyyyy!" He hugged her back. They separated and Winry gave the boy the once-over. Winry was disappointed it didn't turn out to be Edward, but she was still very happy to see Alphonse. So happy, that she spoke too fast.

"Oh my! Al, come in! You look so good! I missed you. It's been too long! How is your training?" Alphonse sat inside with Mei.

"Haha. Winry, you haven't changed a bit. My training is going well. I'm learning so much great stuff! Have you heard of big brother? Did he come visit you?"

Winry looked down and shed a tear without them noticing. She turned around to make some coffee for her lovely guests, but deep down she wished she was making coffee for Ed. He never came to visit or even called. Though it didn't numb the pain, Winry got used to the fact that he was gone.

"Haha, no no. He hasn't. Did you talk to him?" She said with a forced smile.

"Yeah, he called me today to come and check on you. He sounded a bit desperate. He misses you, you know that, Winry?" Al said with a concerned facial expression.

Those words put a great smile on Winry's face. She felt good that he would talk about her: It means he has never stopped thinking about her like she never stopped thinking about him.
"Pssshhhh! I know that! Duh! But let's not talk about him anymore...How about you guys? Anything new?"laughed Winry. Alphonse laughed and held Mei's hand. He looked her deeply in the eyes and said, "I have fallen in love, Winry."

Winry's mouth dropped as she looked at the lovebirds. It reminded her of Ed and herself, looking at each other with the same eyes...
"AWW! How cute! Congrats, you guys!" They both thanked Winry.

The alarm went off, so it meant the coffee was done. She handed down the coffee to the lovely couple.

"Did you tell Ed?" Winry asked.

"Wellllll. He knew I liked her, but I don't think he knows the falling in love with her part, yet."

"You should call him right now."

"Yeah! I should!"

Winry gave him the phone and Al struggled to remember his phone number. He pressed 564-877-4567.
Ring...ring...ring...ring.
It went to voicemail: You have reached Edward Elric. I'm not available right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEP.
Al hung up. "He didn't answer! How weird. Usually, he would always answer my phone calls. Oh well. He's probably busy."

"Yeah," Winry said skeptically, lifting an eyebrow.

The three of them talked for hours, and finally Grammy came home surprised to see that Al and Mei grew up so fast. She gave them both a hug.

"Do you wanna stay for dinner?" Pinako said with a gentle voice.

"Sure, if it's okay with Mei." Al glanced at Mei.

"Well, of course!" She said with a happy voice.

Grammy made dinner for the family. They ate, they talked, they had a lot of fun. With Al and Mei around, Winry finally ate a decent meal. It was a good atmosphere. Out of the blue, Al brought up Winry's birthday.

"Hey Winry, isn't your birthday coming up soon?"

"Yes, it is. In 3 days." Winry fake giggled.

"We gotta do something for your birthday! You can't just stay here alone on your 20th birthday!" Mei said with the sound of joy. She was always the happy type and that would make Al fall in love with her even more.
"No, no, no! You don't need to. I already spent my other birthdays here with Grammy. It's fine. don't worry about it, guys. Really." Winry insisted while shaking her hands.
"You silly girl. You would always be sad on your birthdays." mumbled Grammy. Winry angrily whispered Thanks, Grammy!
"So it's decided! We're throwing a birthday party!" Mei said, bringing her arms up in celebration!

A few hours later, Al and Mei had to leave for Xing because the train stations were closing soon. They had to leave Winry and Grammy's house. Winry didn't know what to do for her birthday, but she let Mei do everything since she so wanted throw a party. But she hoped to see Edward there.

In the East, the sun was rising. The color of the sky is orange-yellow with a tint of red: It's such a beautiful, perfect color. Edward woke up with tears on his pillow. He remembered that last night he had cried himself to sleep, but tried hard to convince himself it was drool on his pillow.
He went to the bathroom to wash up. When he looked into the mirror, he sighed heavily, noticing how sad he was, how disappointed he felt. He never smiled since the day he left. He was disgusted with himself. He hated what he became. Anger boiled up inside him and he hit the mirror in frustration, breaking it in pieces. His knuckles were bleeding because he hit it so hard. But he didn't care. He didn't care about much it hurt him physically, because nothing would mend the pain in his heart.
All was silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the drops of blood hitting the hard wood floor. He laughed at the pain.

"What have I become?"

He cleaned up and put a band-aid around his knuckle. He checked his phone and saw it was 7:30 in the morning. He never woke up so early, but he wasn't surprised that he had.
He saw that he had one missed call from Al. Maybe something happened to Winry? He hastily dialed Al's number. It rang twice before Al answered.

"Ed?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't answer the phone yesterday. Sorry if I bothered you."

"It's okay,. Is Winry all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine! But I think she's more messed up about this whole situation than you are, big brother."

"Oh... is she really?"

"Yeah. Listen, her birthday is coming up. She won't spend it alone. Not this time...Will you come?" Edward had totally forgotten about her birthday.

"Oh. Uh. I don't know."

"Okay, big brother. I know you're always busy. I didn't forget about you, too. Your birthday is coming up too."

"It is, but focus on Winry's birthday. She needs it more than I do."

"Yeah, you're right...I'm dating Mei, by the way."

"Oh, congrats! I'm happy for you. Well I'm gonna leave now. Have a good day, Al."

"You too, brother!"

Edward hung up the phone. He rubbed his eyes thinking I can't believe it. I just can't believe it...I feel so bad I might miss her birthday. if I don't, I should go shopping for something...What would she want?
As he was thinking, he stomach growled. The golden haired boy got up and got dressed to go eat.

An hour later, Edward was walking the streets of the village rubbing his now full stomach. He thought about the whole gift thing. Last time, he did kind of propose to her. He should get her a ring.
He walked around the village, the sun so bright. The kids were playing. Seeing smiles on everybody's faces. Everybody's face but not his. He never smiled but when he did, it was a fake gesture. The only person that would put a smile on his face would be Winry.

Ahead, he saw a jewelry store with the perfect ring in the window. He looked at it more closely. The sun was reflecting off of it, bringing brilliance to the ring. It was perfect for Winry. He looked at the price: one thousand coins. His jaw dropped. He dug in his pockets, but he didn't have anything. Not even a penny. He remembered his bank account. He walked to the bank. He had exactly the same amount of money for the ring. He took the money out and ran to the store. He opened the door quickly so nobody had time to buy it before him. He walked up to the counter to speak with the clerk.

"My good man, I would like to buy that ring in the window for one thousand."

"Ohh, of course. For a special lady?" The clerk asked while he took the ring off the shelf window.

"Yes, a very special lady I left back home." He said solemnly.

"She's very lucky."

"You think so?"

"Well of course!"

Edward gave him the money and thanked him. He left the store with the closest feeling of happiness he would get. I'm coming Winry. Wipe those tears away.