Author Note: Last chapter! Yay or Boo? Which do you say? Anyways, Happy Elric Day!! It is my first Elric Day as a FMA fan, so I am pretty excited about it. Thanks for all the kind reviews, they really made my day. Hope you enjoy today's chapter -- this time it has dialogue!! This was also the original idea I had had. It had just some how got longer and I made the previous two chapters too. Hopefully, I'll be posting a few Royai stories soon, provided school doesn't load me up on the homework.
Disclaimer: I didn't own it last chapter, which was posted yesterday, and I still don't own it today. Bummer.
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Another year had passed since his passing, and Alphonse had finally returned to living like a relatively normal human being. He still hated milk and he still had a preference for apple pie, but he ate dinner every night now and he didn't wander off in any more hazes. And Winry hated him more than ever.
How could he have forgotten Ed so quickly? Sure, she had been annoyed with his previous behavior, but this was just as infuriating. To forget Ed was a greater sin than to live a living zombie in his memory. She reviled every time he stepped into the room, revulsion and hate balling in the pit of her stomach
Tonight, Winry sat alone in her room, wracking with silent sobs. Pinako was on her deathbed, and surely would die within the week. The misery and death in the passing years was too much for the old woman, even for the so called 'Leopardess of Risembool.'
Still that wasn't why she cried. Tonight, like most nights, she cried at the loss of Edward. Two years past, nearly to the day, and the loss was just as fresh as the day he'd died. Everything reminded her of Edward, and not a minute passed where Edward hadn't been included in her thoughts somehow. This obsession of hers had made her spiteful and bitter though, and she found many more things that she now felt abysmal hatred for, some nearly as much as her loathing for Alphonse.
There were so many things she hated now, such as young women, still jealous of any sort of feelings they might hate for Edward or, worse, Edward might have had for them. So much time had passed since his death, yet Winry was still looking for rivals over a long dead guy. The stupidity of it all was not lost on her, but she didn't mind acting like an idiot. To this day, she still felt her love grow more and more for Edward, who was dead.
She'd quit obsessing about automail, ever since his death she just couldn't find it in herself to enjoy the art behind it automail. Automail was something that belonged to Edward. Something that she'd once cherished and now hated.
Milk, too, was something she now hated. Everytime she looked at it, she remembered how Edward had hated it too. Milk, one of Edward's most hated enemies, and one she'd scolded for hating it so, was now her enemy too. Why had she been so insistent on Edward drinking it? He was perfect the way he was, or had been. He hadn't needed to drink milk; his short stature had been perfect for him. Besides, the last time she saw him, he had had a growth spurt, and was taller than her. There had been no need for him to drink milk. None at all.
Before the Promise Day, Edward had told her that he loved her, that he loved her the way she loved him. She'd been so happy, and they had shared a short kiss. It was all so unfair that he would be taken away from her. If she had her Ed, she would've been able to live happily no matter what happened. It just wasn't fair, she loved Edward so much, so why was it like this?
There was a soft rap at her bedroom door, and she jumped in surprise. A second later, not bothering to give her a chance for her to welcome him in, Alphonse came into the room. He watched her for a moment, taking in her tears and crumpled face.
"Winry." He murmured. Pain flashed through his golden eyes, and he came to her side, sitting himself next to her on her bed. He was silent for a long moment and then, "She's sleeping. Grandma Pinako may pull through this yet." The hope in his voice didn't carry to his eyes.
"That's not why I'm crying." Winry snapped bitterly. She rubbed at her eyes with her hands, trying to quell the tears that flowed.
"I know." He whispered quietly. He knew she still cried for Edward, but she'd already figured he did. She wasn't sure how long it had been like that, but sometime ago she'd discovered Al had the ability to look right through her and know every thought that passed through her mind.
She glared at him, her resentment building.
"It's not fair."
"It isn't." Alphonse answered, his voice but a whisper.
Another stab of hatred pulsed through her, and she gritted her teeth and tried to swallow the hatred that built up like bile in the back of her throat. "I miss him."
"Me too."
Fists clenched, she confessed, "I hate you."
"I know."
Fresh tears traveled down her cheeks. That was what she hated the most. The way he knew about her repugnance of him and just accepted it, not fighting it. The dam she'd built around herself, to keep the hatred from breaking out and drowning herself and everyone around, was starting to break and crumble, her waves of loathing being more and more violent.
"It's all your fault." She snapped.
A beat passed before, "I know."
And then the dam broke and she whirled around, snarling. "Fuck you!" She swallowed, trying to stop the words from falling from her mouth, but the dam was broken and trying to block the enormous waves with only her cupped hands to catch it all was not working out. "It's not fair. I love him… I love him so much… And you…"
"Edward loved you too… He told you that himself--"
"But he loved you more!!" She sobbed. "I loved him the most; as long I had Edward I would be happy… But he loved you the most. It is not fair! I would have died for him! I still would… To bring him back, to see him only for a minute, a second. And you--"
For a moment the declaration hung in the air, before Al took her by the shoulders, anger evident in his eyes. "What did you just say Winry?"
"You heard me. Without Edward I have nothing to live for."
Alphonse's eyes blazed, and brought his hand up to slap her. She winced, waiting for the blow.
But Al was still Al, and unlike Edward who said he didn't discriminate between hitting men and women, Al had principles. He refused to hit any woman, even if they were being an absolute idiot. He brought his hand back down to his side.
"Winry, if you loved Edward that much you would live for him. He wouldn't have wanted you to die. Especially not for him."
She sobbed harder, tears falling rapidly. They were the sort of tears that hurt to breath and made her choke, and still she kept crying. No matter how deeply she buried it, this was the reason she truly hated Al. The tears fell rapidly, without stop.
She loved Edward enough to die for him. Al loved him enough to live for him. She loved him so much it hurt, but Alphonse loved Ed more than even she did. She could forgive him for being loved more by Edward, but she couldn't forgive him for loving him the most.
"I love him."
"I know."
"You love him more." Al was silent, then wrapped his arms around her, as though an apology for loving him the most.
In the morning, the two would discover that Pinako had passed away sometime that night, leaving Alphonse, her most hated person and her enemy, as the only thing left in the world for her. Until then, though, she cried and found comfort in the arms of the man she hated.
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Author Note: The End!! Hope you liked it. It was my first multi-chapter fanfic, so that was a good experience. Hope it was up to everyone's expectations. Also, how do you like the chapter titles? It took me a while to decide on a name for all of them. I hope that my next fanfic will be humor… I've written only one that wasn't angst-y, haha. Please review, even if it isn't a review to tell me how good it is, I don't mind. Reviews telling me what to work on help a great deal, too. Thanks for reading!
