Winry started to roll over into a new position, but the motion brought several aches into sudden and glaring life. Her eyes shot open and she frowned at the unfamiliar room. Her eyes adjust gradually to the dimness, the only illumination coming from the cracked door across the room. From that cracked doorway she hears an odd, repetitive squeaking. Clearly this is not her comfy, shabby chic bedroom in her apartment. The furniture in this room is all sleek and modern. Lots of black, white, and silver.
Huh. No windows.
She slowly sits up, cringing at the various pains blooming into her awareness. She reaches up to rub her left shoulder as she glances around to make sure she is alone. Seeing nobody, the events from earlier in the evening come back to her in hazy flashes. The last thing she remembers is the piercing gold stare of her rescuer.
She glances to the cracked door and bites her lip. She's suddenly terrified of being alone in this big, dark room. Stumbling out from the black throw that she'd been snuggled under, she barely makes it to her feet before her right ankle protests. With a frown at her shredded clothes, she notices a pair of black workout pants and a plain white tank top, both men's, laid across the foot of the bed. With several pained winces, she manages to change with some glances at the crack of light. Finally she stands and wraps the fuzzy blanket around her shoulders to limp towards the door, slowly opening it and blinking at the large, much brighter room before her.
Directly before her was a recessed living area with black leather couches and chairs surrounding glass and chrome tables. To the far left was a grey kitchen with all modern appliances, and totally bare countertops. Next to the kitchen, and hallway disappeared off to what she assumes is the door. Before her and to her right, above the recessed living area, are floor to ceiling windows showcasing a fantastic view of the city lights. About knee high all along the windows are packed bookcases, some occasionally pulled out and left lying open on top of the shelves.
Nearly straight across from her, in front of the window, the blonde man from earlier is scribbling frantically on a large, wheeled whiteboard. He's juggling three different color markers, apparently color coding the equations he is spouting out. He takes a step back to study his latest addition with a frown, then stiffens slightly as he apparently becomes aware of her presence. He turns and smiles softly at her as she leans against the door frame, trying to keep weight off of her bad ankle.
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
She bites her lip and shrugs, which she immediately regrets at the extra twinge it causes. "Um, sore. But fine, thanks to you."
He sets his markers on the silver tray running across the bottom of the board and crosses over to her. He takes her elbow and with one hand and wraps the other around her waist, then leads her over to the couch. With a couple hops down the steps, she settles onto the couch with a smile of thanks to her rescuer.
"Really, I can't thank you enough. You saved my life!"
He smiles, but it seems a strained and embarrassed, "It's nothing. I couldn't leave you there . . . Anyway. I would have taken you home, but I couldn't find your purse."
She sighed and nodded, "Yeah. That's why I was there so late. I got all the way to my apartment's lobby and remembered I'd left my purse at work like a total ditz. I guess it's still there." She smiled softly at him as he settled on the other end of the couch. "I'm Winry, by the way. Winry Rockbell."
"Edward Elric. You should probably get some more rest. You're welcome to crash here tonight, I'll be up for hours still, working."
He gestured vaguely towards his marker creation, and her eyes follow briefly before smiling shyly at him.
"Honestly? I . . . I don't think I can handle a dark room alone right now. Is it ok if I just sit here on your couch for a bit? I promise I won't disturb you any more than I have-"
His eyes widened and he waved his hands between them, "Oh, no! Really, it's no bother!"
Crap, way to go Elric. Make the girl who nearly just got raped and murdered feel guilty for crashing on your couch.
"Do you need anything? A glass of water? Some tea?"
He half rose but she shook her head, "No, thanks though. Maybe I could just sit here for a little bit?"
He nodded and stood, "Of course." He walked over towards the kitchen and dimmed all the lights but the ones over his work, being sure that he didn't make it too dark since she seemed understandable troubled by that. "I have to go . . . um, in the morning. So I probably won't be here in the when you wake up. But, the doorman downstairs, I think it will be Havoc, will help you get home."
She nodded and smiled her thanks before lying back on a red velvet throw pillow. He went back to his board and picked up his markers, staring at the notations and equations to regain his place before diving back into the work. Before long he'd completely forgotten about his guest and was totally absorbed in his work. It was only when the alarm on his phone reminded him that it was almost dawn that he looked away from the frustrating figure before him.
When he turned to head toward the door next to his bedroom, he froze. He really had forgotten about the blonde curled up on his sofa. He frowned and turned back to the board, scribbling a big note in bright red on an empty corner. Then he went into the second door and picked up the phone hanging from the wall as he locked the door.
He pushed the button programmed for the concierge desk downstairs and waited for a moment before it clicked and he was greeted with a chipper, "Morning Chief, what can I do for you?"
"Hey, Havoc. Um, I had an unexpected guest last night. She had a pretty rough time, so she'll probably be a little out of it. Could you get her a cab when she comes down and make sure she gets home? Oh, and she doesn't have her purse, so handle the fare, will you?"
"Sure, boss. Sounds like she had a rough night."
Ed nodded, "Yeah, she did. Oh, she said her name's Winry, uh, Rockbell. Thanks for taking care of her for me."
He could hear the smile in Jean's voice, "No problem, Chief. Not the first time you've helped someone out, right? Just doing my part."