Car Trouble

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Son of a bitch, Ed thought, slamming the hood of his car in frustration. The piece of shit hadn't been working right in ages, and it chose today, of all the god forsaken days it could have picked, to die on him. How was he going to pick up Al from the airport now?

He slummed against the bumper and let out a shout of frustration. He supposed he could ask Ling or Lan Fan for ride (as weird as they both were, he had come to actually like hanging around them), but right as that thought came, he remembered that Lan Fan was helping her grandfather lead a black belt test at his dojo. Shit.

"Looks like I'll be calling a cab," he muttered to himself, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and collapsed back on the beat up hood.

He didn't hear Winry exit the building, nor did he hear her humming as she walked down to the parking lot. When she stopped beside his car and watched him agitatedly surf the web, she had to clear her throat to catch his attention. It was something she had to do often, and damn was it annoying!

"You alright?" she asked in an amused sort of tone.

Ed huffed and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't suppose you know anything about cars?"

Winry perked up at the statement. "Actually, I do. My granny owns an auto-shop back home."

Edward nearly got whiplash with how fast he sat up. "No shit?!"

"Seriously," she smiled, and hiked the strap of her purse higher up on her shoulder. "Want me to take a look?"

"Please," he exclaimed, and hopped off the car with haste.

Winry handed him her purse and popped the hood up. "So, what's it doing exactly?"

"Um, the engine isn't turning over," he explained. "Not sure why."

"Ah," she said, examining the car's inner workings. "I might not be able to spot the problem then."

"It makes weird noises when I try to start it," he added.

"That's something I can work with," she replied, and motioned for him to get in the car. "Go ahead and show me."

With a quick nod, he moved to the drivers seat and plugged the key into the ignition. The engine click-click-clicked, but never started. Winry's eyes widened as she listened, and lifted her hand to tell Ed to stop.

"Sounds like your starter's shot," she explained, and closed the hood. "You're going to have to take it in and get it replaced."

Ed's expression dropped. "Of fucking course."

Winry seemed to wince a little as Ed flung his head back against the seat.

"Is there somewhere you need to be?" she asked, almost apologetically. "I mean. I'm running out to the grocer's. I don't mind—"

"I have to be at the airport in twenty minutes to pick up my brother," he interrupted. "I don't think you'd want to drive out that far."

Winry went silent for a moment, but her face hardened as she walked over to the driver's side door and yanked Ed out. "Let's go."

"W-what?" he exclaimed, earning an overly-exaggerated eye roll from the blonde.

"It's not a big deal," she said, and directed him towards an old, but refurbished-looking truck. "I had nothing better to do today, plus this will make us even for the alarm thing."

"If you say so," Ed muttered, and Winry pushed him a little harder.

"I do say so," she replied with a glare, but in a playful, friendly type of way.

She shoved him towards the passenger's side and plucked the large door to the driver's seat open. "Now, hurry up and get in!"

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Alphonse stepped out to the pick up area with a tinge of worry. His brother hadn't sent him any confirmation texts about getting to the airport, nor was he able to get a hold of him.

"Please let him have remembered," he whispered to himself. He knew Ed had been so stressed out with the new job and the big move; he wouldn't have been surprised if he ended up sleeping through his calls or the alarm he made sure to have him set.

Standing awkwardly in a sea of friends and families reuniting, he looked around in hopes of seeing his brother's beat up old car. Yet, there was no sight of it.

What he wasn't expecting to see, was a truck speed up from its slow pace and park right in front of him. He also wasn't expecting to see his brother get out of the car, beaming, and with a very pretty girl.

"Hey, bro!" Ed greeted, and pulled Al into a tight hug. "Sorry I'm late- car trouble."

"Hello, yourself!" he chuckled, and peered over his shoulder at the smiling girl, who was waving at him from the driver's seat. Car trouble, my ass.

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