A/N: I was sure I would make a liar out of myself, but here we are with the second instalment. Please enjoy, review and remember I do not own the material.
Ed sat on the roof staring up at the stars above him, not really thinking for once, just contemplating. Thinking spun his mind in circles without coming to any real conclusion. He wasn't sure how long he'd been up there but with the cool air settling around him, he was glad he brought his jacket. His reflections – or lack of any real thoughts – were interrupted by Winry who was climbing the ladder to the roof.
"Ed," she began, "what are you doing up here? Dessert's almost ready." Ed just grunted in response and continued to sit on the roof. He hoped Winry would leave, but another part – just as strong, wanted her to stay. She made the decision for him by settling herself next to him.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked. "Not really thinking about anything," was his quick response. He felt Winry shift next to him and could imagine her eyes boring into him, as if wondering how to beat the information out of him. He looked out of the corner of his eye and instead saw eyes filled with concern, she then asked something he had hoped she wouldn't, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Did he? Yes. No. Did he even know what the issue was? She continued, "Something big must be bothering you. You've only been back for a couple of weeks since The Promised Day. Although you've been happy, you've seemed... Off. Sometimes you get this look in your eyes like you're lost. Or you're searching for something." She trailed off for a moment before continuing in a quiet voice, "All I've ever wanted to do is help you. I used to feel so useless staying at home, not really doing anything until you came back with broken automail. But, I've already tried to be here for you and improve my skills, not just for my own sake but so it could help you on your journey. So, please Ed, let me support you however I can." Ed sighed and stared up at the stars before speaking, "The stars here are much brighter than they are in central – did you know that? But they're not as bright as the ones Al and I saw during our month training on the island. From their view, our lives must seem so insignificant, and our problems so tiny."
Ed gathered himself for a few moments and Winry waited with a patience he had never really attributed her with, but one she must have possessed for being able to support him from so far away. "I feel like... I shouldn't be having this issue in the first place." Ed paused again, not sure how to go on, or how to begin in the first place. "Is it about your alchemy?" Winry prompted. "I will never regret giving it up. It was worth it to bring Al back and having that power... It was too much. I began to rely on it for everything. Thought that alchemy could solve all of our problems. But it was those ideas that got us into trouble in the first place." He gave his left leg a pat, a constant reminder of the power alchemy can make you feel you have, and the lie that power is.
Edward glanced over to Winry, who was still gazing at him with concern but as always underneath that, was endless affection. Her earrings glinted in the moonlight and the reminder of their promise gave him strength to confess, "I don't know who I am. I've been the Fullmetal Alchemist for years, and just an alchemist for years before that. I willingly gained the title of a Dog of the Military." And with a laugh he said, "And I'm barely 'fullmetal' anymore. When Al and I were on our journey, our main goal, or mine at least, was just to get our bodies back. Al had grand plans of what to do after but I never thought that far ahead. And now I don't know what to do. Or who I am anymore. What is my goal now?"
He looked to Winry, ashamed and confused at his own weakness, but the look on her face confused him more, as did her obvious anger, "Edward Elric, are you an idiot? Yes, obviously, that can be your identity now, Edward Elric the idiot." She paused for a moment and in an obvious attempt to calm herself, took a few deep breaths and laid a hand on his arm. "Ed, you are the same stubborn, arrogant, annoying boy you've always been. The same idiot who rushes in to danger with no thought of his own safety and destroys automail at every opportunity. You are angry and rude and caring and compassionate and kind and you're loss of alchemy cannot change that. So what if you're no longer the Fullmetal Alchemist? This gives you a chance to just be Edward Elric, and you get to decide who he is and what he does with his life."
Ed stared at her, trying to let the flood of insults and kindness sink in. Then he just laughed and nearly fell off the roof, which only increased his desire to laugh. When he was finally able to breathe again, he saw Winry, who had an indignant – and slowly becoming angry – look on her face. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you," he managed to splutter out. He wiped a tear out of his eye and managed to say, "You make it seem so easy, Winry. And maybe it is, I probably have been thinking about it too much." He smiled at her and hesitantly put his arm around her shoulder, "I would like to be just Edward Elric."
She smiled back and let out a small shiver, that's when he realised how cold she must be – she was only wearing a t-shirt. "Winry," he said, slipping out of his jacket, "the least you could do was bring your own jacket before you came to berate me." She laughed as he put the jacket on her shoulders, "You're not allowed to tease me for a bit," she declared, "I just helped you out." Ed chuckled and they sat in silence for a time, just admiring the view and appreciating the silent – but understanding – companionship.
Winry broke the silence first, "You know, Ed, I was only able to help you because I had the same issues myself." She smiled at him shyly before continuing, "I didn't want to be just 'Winry the automail mechanic' anymore and I wasn't sure what to do, and I realised that only I could change that, so I did. It's based off something I saw in Rush Valley. I will always love it there – the holy land of automail – but I realised it was unfair to make everyone who needs automail go all the way. People I spoke to talked about transportation and accommodation costs as well as paying for the automail and I wanted to change that. I wanted to help more people. And more than that, once I found out what really happened to my parents, I wanted to do more to help the Ishvalans they gave their lives for. So, I had an idea – several Rockbell Automail shops around Amestris in strategic locations near transport so more people can access automail and get maintenance."
Winry's eyes had taken on the same shine they always did when she discussed automail and her whole body seemed to radiate with happiness as she discussed her plans. "Now the fact is, automail is expensive, but that can't be changed and lowering my prices wouldn't be fair to other engineers. So I thought we would have to introduce some sort of loan scheme and the Rockbell Automail shops would only have basic models – still top quality – so speciality stores in Rush Valley still get business. And..." She trailed off, "You don't think it's silly, do you, Ed? You're staring at me oddly." Ed shook his head to break the trance she had created over him, "No, I think it's incredible. It's an amazing dream." Winry smiled and stood up, "Come on, the pie's going to get cold." Ed followed her down the ladder, giving one last look to the stars above, they were endless, just like the possibilities for Edward Elric.
"Here", Winry said once he reached the ground. She was passing him back his jacket and Ed hesitated, remembering a promise from not that long ago, one that gave him strength when times were tough. In his times of reflection, he realised how much Winry had done for him, not only crafting his arm and leg – and always aiming to make it better – but supporting him emotionally and helping him to move forward, to stick to his goals and stay true to himself. He found himself smiling, "You hold onto it for a bit longer, I'll only accept it when Rockbell Automail shops are in strategic locations around Amestris."
Winry stared at him, shocked then a grin broke over her face, "It's a deal, Edward, I'll give this back to you eventually." And with that new promise made the two went inside where Granny and Al were waiting. Al teased them about what they were doing on the roof and Granny laughed in appreciation, but both were secretly glad that Ed seemed more content and not as lost as before. The family talked into the night and although they were curious, Al and Granny never asked about the jacket. Winry kept it with her for a long time, not only to remind her of their promise, but to draw strength from Ed's presence when it seemed impossible.
The years passed and Winry sometimes wondered if it was ever going to work out. But when she had these doubts and she couldn't handle it herself, she snuggled herself into Ed's jacket and the memory of their promise gave her strength. The whole experience would have been a lot easier if Winry had accepted funding from the military, but they wanted to make a deal to receive her automail first and she wanted it available to everyone. Little did Winry know that Mustang and Grumman both became major anonymous donors to her automail chains. The mass scale of the project sometimes made Winry's head ache but she was especially pleased when her first shop opened in Ishval and she was able to give it a special name, Urey and Sara Rockbell Automail. It was a fine summer day in Reesembol when Winry hung up the phone, a smile on her face. She went to her wardrobe upstairs and pulled a particular jacket out, grinning all the way back downstairs. Ed was in the lounge room, their son bouncing on his lap. Winry took a moment to appreciate the looks of pure joy of both of their faces before walking into the room.
"I have something to return to you, Ed. You'd better accept it." Ed and their son looked up to her with identical expressions of confusion before Ed's quickly changed to pride. "You did it," he said. He stood, son on their hip and pulled her into a loving but somewhat awkward hug due to her pregnancy, "I'm so proud". He kissed the top of her head and their son tried to do the same. Winry took him for a moment while Ed grabbed the jacket and to her amusement, pulled it on. "It's a warm day, Ed, what exactly are you doing?" Ed merely grinned and replied, "This is a good jacket, I've missed it so I want to reclaim it quickly." He gave it a quick sniff and said, "It smells like you." He pulled her into another hug and they stayed like that until Ed declared it was too hot and wandered away to get a drink. Winry followed after, wondering whether she should get Ed to borrow something from her so she could get him started on those schools for orphans he had been thinking about. She took a kick from her baby as a sign of approval and started formulating the new plan.
A/N: And there you have it. I never really understood why automail stores weren't everywhere - it never seem fair to make all these legless and armless people go all the way to Rush Valley. But maybe there are shops everywhere that I just never noticed. Regardless, that's how that story goes, if I'm wrong, I'll change it. Maybe. Also, the 'their son's might be a bit weird, but I didn't want to name him. That seemed like a big deal so I thought I would just awkwardly skirt around it (I did consider using the name Lucas from the amazing Triumvirate fanfiction by Lady Norbet but again, seemed like a big deal). Anyway... Until next time!