Let's pretend it didn't take me almost four months to update. What can I say, I'm a busy girl, it's my senior year of high school, I'm doing my first year of a university Language Diploma (Japanese), I'm trying to edit a Silent Trilogy for publication...
But you don't care about any of that. You want the story.
So, here it is.
Winry lived out towards the country, where people had large backyards, but they weren't living kilometres apart. They used to be neighbours, until around six months ago when the house started to seem too empty, took too much effort to maintain, and all Ed could think about was how disgusted Mum would have been.
"C'mon, short stuff," Envy barely managed to avoid the punch, "let's get my bike and go."
Translated from Envy, that sentence was really an invitation for death. As much as Ed had had to think about death in the past months, his thoughts weren't favourable at all. He should have known Envy was an emo, with his stupid black skirt and his stupid hair and his stupid pale skin that put moonlight to shame…
Ed really hated his mind.
Envy was persistent and, without really saying anything and just making loud 'blah' noises over Ed's yelling, he dragged Ed back down the street to school where the death machine was. Envy's bike was a testament to how little he cared about social norms; it was splattered with mud, it was huge, it was black, and it was so loud that the entire school could hear when Envy was trying to cut class.
He didn't do that much any more. At least, not in the classes they shared.
"I am not getting on that," Ed growled.
"Fine," Envy said, snatching the necklace from Ed's hand, "then I'll take this to Winry myself. And while I'm there, I'll tell the bitch to back off."
Common knowledge; Envy and Winry hate each other. Ed had the theory it had something to do with them both being such horrible violent people, and it most likely didn't help that Envy had a tendency to tell Winry to get back in the kitchen, or thank her for flashing so much ugly cleavage and her ugly face cos they were helping to turn the straight population gay.
But what did Envy want Winry to back off from? Probably the kitchen. Maybe he'd seen Winry's cooking.
Ed would be a really horrible person if he let Envy go to Winry's alone. She wouldn't be expecting it. She'd probably beat Envy to death.
"Fine," Ed said with a scowl.
He regretted getting on the bike immensely. Not because of Envy's speed, sharp turns, or anything that he'd seen before when Envy was turning up to school half an hour late and Ed was in maths staring vacant out the window. No, because Envy didn't do any of that; his speed was moderate, his turns smooth, and it was nothing like how Envy biked normally and it was really fucking confusing. Ed's head hurt the entire thirty minute ride, maybe because his heart wouldn't stop pounding so hard.
Envy was so confusing. It'd probably take Ed a lifetime to figure him out.
Winry's house looked the same as it had when they'd been neighbours separated by a long field of long grass. Ed kept his eyes locked on the yellow house to keep from acknowledging the eerie space where their house should have been. It wasn't his house, it wasn't Al's house, and it definitely wasn't that asshole father's house, it was their house, and she was what made it a home. It had been nothing without her, and that was why it had to burn.
Ed took a deep breath and knocked.
The door immediately flew open, as though expected. Ed would've found this a little suspicious if Envy's bike wasn't so obnoxiously loud (just like him). Winry gasped at the sight of him and hugged him tightly.
"Oh, Ed! I've missed you so much!" Then she smacked him around the head with the wrench. "Dammit Edward, why didn't you come sooner? And what was with that, trying to cut me out of your life?"
"Shit, Winry!"
"Just because your mum's dead doesn't mean the rest of us are too, you know," she said, half a shout, half a plea. "I'd've been there for you, if you'd just let me…"
Ed swallowed heavily and held up the necklace. "You lost this."
Winry grabbed it with a gasp. "I was wondering what happened to it! I just woke up this morning and it was gone." She tied it back around her neck, before filling Ed with an expectant gaze. "You coming inside? I've got something to give you."
"OI, KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING SLUT, I'VE CALLED DIBS!" Envy shouted.
"NOT LIKE THAT YOU WHORE, GOD, QUIT BEING SUCH A TRASHY BITCH!" Winry shouted right back.
"COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT!"
Winry threw the wrench with such precision, Ed wondered if she'd ever been kidnapped by ninjas. But something that fantastically weird could only happen to Envy.
Ed went inside with Winry. The place didn't look any different. Something about the familiarity made him feel better than he had in months. Or maybe it was something about just sitting down talking with Winry. She was practically his sister, and Ed wondered how he'd managed to avoid her for so long.
They talked for about an hour. Ed started to wonder what Envy was doing, and was amazed that Envy hadn't burst into the house to start screaming at Winry. It was hard to imagine Envy with any remote trace of patience, but then again, it wasn't hard to imagine Envy going to extremities to impress Ed.
"Oh, yeah, this," Winry said, handing Ed a small neatly decorated card. "This was on my bedside table this morning. Here."
Ed twitched at the familiar typeface.
Sorry about your necklace, Winry.
It's for the greater good.
You'll get it back around 4:20 pm tomorrow, delivered by Ed.
As for you, Ed.
I'll see you on top of the school at 6 pm tonight, with your prize, should you choose to wait and accept it.
Next chapter won't take so long, promise! So won't you be a darling and bless me with a review?
