Safe Haven
Chapter 4 – Regrets
Her white dress played with the wind as the dark-skinned girl twisted and twirled around and around in her dance, her arms following along to the music with graceful movements. Her face showed nothing but sorrow as she pivoted on her feet in a trance of rhythm and raw emotion. The people around her, dressed in black to show their quiet mourning, couldn't help but be mesmerized at the beautiful ritual of the Sinti and Roma. All except for one that is.
Ed's mind was elsewhere.
He couldn't help but think about the young man who had taken him in when they'd barely known each other. The man he'd almost considered his brother for two years. The man who had even believed his crazy story to some extent. At the very least, he'd believed it enough to sacrifice his life to allow Edward to return to Amestris.
Alfons Heiderich.
Just a few days ago the two blonds had been casually sitting at dinner table, discussing the recent success with their experiments on their rocket while the dancer idly prepared tea for them.
The world had seemed so... normal then.
And then all kinds of shit decided to go down, with a speed that it now seemed to him like everything had happened in a blur.
First, the mess with Mabusa, then the whole 'Shamballa' talk from that crazy woman from Thule Society, somehow talking to his brother by using that armor who looked like the one he'd been forced to call his body for far too long, the whole National Socialist Movement, seeing his father being killed right in front of him...
And suddenly, he'd been back. Back in Amestris. Back in Central. Back home.
Noah had told him when they first met that he didn't have a home. That wasn't true and Ed knew it ever since he'd been thrown into this world for the second time. It had been so foolish to simply state he didn't anymore, just because he'd burned his old house in a childish act of trying to cover up the fact that he was running away from his past. He did have a home. It had merely been out of reach for him at the time.
Just like now.
Ed still couldn't believe it. He'd been back in Amestris, had seen the people he cared for most, only to leave them again.
Only to leave her again...
Damn it! He'd seen her, he'd talked to her, she'd hugged him, she'd even given him new automail limbs which she'd been lugging around for who the hell knows how long and he still left her! Even though Al and Mustang had been trying to make him reconsider, even though he'd known how much he would regret his decision the moment they had uttered her name... he'd still left her in favor of trying to save the world she called home.
Even if no place would ever be his home again unless she was there with him.
But he knew how impossible that was and he accepted the fact that he would never truly return home. And although thinking like that didn't make it hurt any less, Edward still hoped that one day he could look back at his life, at all the things he did to help others, at all the mistakes he did, and at everything in between without drowning in regrets.
It would always hurt. He knew that.
But he needed to learn to deal with the pain or else...
It would destroy him.
"Ed...?" The young man was ripped out of his thoughts by a voice calling him. A familiar voice.
Wait! Was that...?
It was.
It had turned dark in the hours Ed spent standing in front of Alfons' grave almost by himself, lost in thought with his mind oddly blank, the last wisps of light from the sunset slowly disappearing from the sky long after the rest of the funeral guests did as the young man slowly turned around to look at the one uttering his name, ignoring the fact that Al beside him seemed just as shocked.
And there she was. He couldn't see very much against the light, but he could see that the woman in front of him... was her. He'd never forget the way she held herself, the way her voice played around his name, the way her locks of gold blew in the gentle breeze...
Wait.
How in the hell did she get here?!
"Winry...?" It was just a whisper, lost in the air between them, but the recognition in his face must've been enough for the girl for she took off to breech the few feet between them as fast as she could. As she reached him and let herself fall into his waiting arms, though, Ed found that something was different, though.
"Oh, Ed, you're alive! I knew it! I always believed that you were, no matter how many people told me you died that night...!" The girl ranted into his neck, having buried her face there to take all of him in, to fully enjoy the way he held her, while Ed found himself merely staring at her in a dumbstruck stupor. What was she talking about? It didn't make any sense! Winry just kept on mumbling to herself, though, oblivious to his confusion. Maybe she'd suffered a light case of amnesia after coming to this world? Seeking help, Ed glanced at his brother who seemed to understand something he didn't, judging from the knowing, but sad smile on his face.
What was going on? Anyone mind enlightening him?!
"Ed? Hey, Edgar, are you alright? You don't look so well..." As Ed looked down to meet her eye before answering, he finally took notice.
He was taller than her!
They had been equal in height that last time back in Amestris - he'd made sure that she wasn't wearing heeled shoes or anything - so how come that all of a sudden he outgrew her by a few inches?! It was impossible. And wasn't her hair longer? Now that he thought about it, it wasn't even the same shade of blond! The same thing applied for her eyes! And... why did she keep calling him 'Edgar'...?
That was when it dawned on him.
This wasn't his Winry...
"Ed?" But she looked so much like her, so much that it was almost painful to keep looking at her the way he was but at the same time he didn't want to look away either. Just for a second longer he wanted to go back a few seconds in time, back to the bliss he'd felt when he'd believed her to be his Winry. Because this might not be the girl he loved, but he surmised it was as close to her as he would get for a long while, if not ever.
"Win-..." No, this had to stop! It wouldn't help anybody if he lost himself in a fantasy. No matter how much she looked like his Winry, no matter how right it felt to hold her in his arms, this was not her! And he wasn't her Edgar! Knowing that, there was no way he'd let himself be overcome by the fact that he missed her. Pushing the now utterly confused girl away gently but resolutely, Ed couldn't help but feel bad for having to break this girl's heart. "I'm sorry, but... I'm not the guy you know."
"What do you mean? You look just like him, you have to be him! Did you hit your head and get yourself a case of amnesia or something? Don't worry we'll recover your memories. Everything will be fine again...!" She must've known this world's Edgar really well if she was this desperate to see him again... But then again, what other explanation would anyone come up with in a situation like this...? Hell, he'd thought the same just a minute ago...! He needed to set this straight, Edward realized, any more confusion and false hopes would be too much for him. And who knows, if she was anything like her counterpart from Amestris, this girl might be willing to believe them instead of calling the authorities to cart them to the local loony bin. He hoped she would.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not Edgar. My name's Edward. Edward Elric. I... I'm not from around here." Her disbelieving, incredulous gaze told him that he'd have to go a little more into detail if he wanted her to actually be convinced by his story. "It's kind of a long story." Kind of. Yeah. That was probably the understatement of the century.
A raised eye brow urged him to start explaining, but he didn't really know how to say this.
"How about we discuss this somewhere else? The cemetery doesn't appear to be an appropriate place for discussions like this, does it?" Al finally decided to throw himself into the conversation as well and Ed wasn't sure if he'd ever felt as relieved to not be on his own.
"... Alright, I guess."
"So you're trying to tell me that there's an alternate universe with people who look just like the ones here, but the whole world is different, yet you speak what we call English as a native tongue and there's some kind of mysterious power called alchemy that brought you two here even though you're actually from that other world...?" This girl was trying really hard to wrap her head around all the stuff they had tried explaining to her, Ed could tell that much. She wouldn't have tried to understand all that stuff if she didn't. She would've laughed it off and called the cops like he hoped she wouldn't. But would she actually believe them their crazy story?
"That's right." Al agreed while his brother nodded solemnly, still anxious about how she would react, even though he didn't really know her. She just reminded him too much of Winry. He could hardly look at her without thinking about his mechanic - and realized time and time again how painful it must've been for the girl to be called something so impersonal, even though they were actually childhood friends (at the very least).
"... You have to admit, that sounds like some seriously weird crap you're trying to make me buy...!" Winifred - because that was what she was actually called and that was also the reason why she'd reacted to the nickname; because fate was just too cruel to just let him live in this world without not only having to see her face again but also calling her almost the same name as the one he whispered in his sleep (according to Noah anyway) - laughed out without any real humor and Ed could just guess the kind of headache she was suffering from right now. He sure as hell had one massively throbbing skull when he'd stumbled into this world for the second time as he tried to somehow figure out how he'd ended up here again.
Honestly, he could feel another one heading his way if he didn't somehow manage to block thoughts about her Amestrian counterpart out of his mind for the time being.
"We're aware of the fact that it's not exactly a story one can believe easily." His sibling admitted, slightly disappointed she was able to laugh it off like this. Honestly, Ed didn't blame the girl. Though, that could also be related to the fact that he was used to people not believing his crazy experiences. Al wasn't. After sipping from the beer in front of him - since alcohol was only prohibited until the age of 16 in this country (and he'd made ample use of that right for the last two years) - the older Elric continued where his brother had left off.
"It's the truth, though, so you can either believe it or wave it off. Your choice."
"But why are you telling me this if you know how unlikely it is for anyone to actually believe it?" Winifred asked, intrigued. She didn't seem too convinced yet, but at least she didn't completely write them off as liars. Ed found enough solace in that little fact to continue. He didn't want Al to handle this one - he'd specifically asked his brother to deal with what was to come. He owed this girl that much, for taking so much from her.
"I just thought you deserved the truth..." He explained, unwilling to look at her lest he get distracted again by her appearance. The young man wanted to do this as sincerely as possible. "... As well as an apology."
"An apology?"
"Can I ask you to try to hear me out...?" Seeing Winifred nod, Edward took a deep breath before continuing. Here goes nothing. "It was my fault... that your Edgar and Alfons... died. And I'd like to apologize, even though I know that there is no way for you to forgive me. If it wasn't for me, they'd both still be here and you could spend your time laughing and having fun instead of hearing crazy stories from two guys who look like them. Hell, if it wasn't for me, none of this would've happened at all...!"
"Brother..."
"When I first came to this world, I didn't have my own body. I took over the body of my counterpart, Edgar, right when London was bombed. Hohenheim, I mean the Hohenheim from our world was there as well and after I convinced him that I was his real son, he tried to explain what was going on. But when he got ordered away, he left me- Edgar somewhere outside of the city and... a zeppelin crashed right where he was. He died that night, because I forced Hohenheim to take me with him so he'd tell me what I wanted to know. If I hadn't been there, he could have escaped safely...!" Blinking away the surplus amount of water in his eyes, Ed tried taking another deep breath before continuing on. It got stuck in his throat, but he pushed his words out anyway. "And Alfons... he sacrificed himself for me. The rocket project he'd been working on... he strapped me to it when I was unconscious and sent me back to my world even though he knew his superiors wouldn't let him live after that." Ed was still not looking up, ashamed of himself but somehow he felt relieved to finally be able to get this off of his chest. It had been weighing down on his heart for so long...
Neither Edgar nor Alfons had ever done anything to warrant death, they hadn't done anything wrong, they were innocent and now they were dead. And he - the one who had committed so many crimes, who had hurt so many people with his actions in both worlds - was still alive and kicking and regretting every second of it.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! I don't expect you to forgive me. But I wanted you to know the truth. I thought I owed you that much at the very least after I destroyed so much that was precious to you. I understand if you never want to see me again, if you want me to leave... But I really want you to know how sorry I am for that and for everything happening the way things did...!" Finally, the older Elric glanced at the girl across the table. Her eyes were widened with shock and glistening with partly unshed tears after having heard how Edgar had been killed. But other than that she seemed too composed, considering her situation. She was sobbing a little, but then again it was probably even more to take in than their story from before. She'd need time to come to terms with it, Ed realized as his eyes softened in sympathy.
"Stop apologizing, you idiot...!" Her voice suddenly prompted him to refocus on the young woman. "... What's done is done. You can't- we can't change it. Alfons must've seen something in you to sacrifice himself like that, so there's no way you're as bad as you make yourself believe." Winifred sniffled, her voice still betraying the tears she tried to swallow but she was doing her best to speak clearly. The golden-eyed teenager couldn't help but sigh at how much she sounded like the girl he'd known for almost his entire life, how even in a situation such as this one he couldn't even keep his mind off of her. "I-... Thank you. For telling me the truth."
Goddamnit, this girl was so strong...! Ed couldn't help but admire her for that, unable to stop wondering how in the world she managed to (apparently) not completely hate him even though it was his fault everything was taken from her! He didn't know what he would've done if their roles were to be exchanged, if he'd actually have to deal with losing Al and Winry again, for good, with absolute no chance of them having survived...! Knowing that he'd never be able to see them again and still searching desperately, restlessly for a method to return anyway had almost been too much for him. Who knows how long he would've been able to continue on the way he did if the Shamballa matter hadn't been around...?
"I-I'm just glad that I finally got to know what really happened to those two... They were practically my family, not just because we've known each other since even before we could take our first steps..." Winifred interrupted his thoughts quietly. Sorrow was the sole emotion her face showed, even through the slowly forming, nostalgic smile on her lips as the young woman explained herself. She'd been able to control her sobs somewhat so that at least her words were understandable, tears however were still freely streaming down her pale face. But to be honest, Ed would've felt worse if she'd been composed about this. "I mean... the three of us were childhood friends, inseparable in our school days to the point where we were called triplets... and even though Alfons moved to Munich in order to study rocketry, we'd managed to all get together every once in a while. He was supposed to be the best man at Edgar and I's wedding..."
'What...?!' Ed choked on the sip of beer he'd just taken as he took in the words uttered by the girl in front of him. He wanted to ask her about it, but even if he hadn't been busy coughing his lungs out, he wasn't sure he could've formed a complete sentence with the mess in his head.
"You two were engaged?" Al asked in his stead, interested, but not as surprised as he should've been (at least in his opinion). Winifred sniffled slightly before answering with a nod.
"Just for a short while... His father just showed up one day even though he was supposed to be on a business trip in the States or something. I didn't even get to ask him how he was already back before he suddenly suggested we get married. We were both pretty shocked since at the time, Edgar and I weren't even going out, but... in the end we agreed. His father seemed to want to hurry the process along for whatever reason, so the date was already set the same day. But..." The woman responded, not looking at either of them, but gazing at her fingers curled around a warm cup of tea.
"That's when the city was attacked?" Al guessed correctly as confirmed by a silent nod.
Meanwhile, Ed couldn't believe what his old man had done. He showed up in another world and practically ordered two people he didn't even know to get married?! What the hell is- was wrong with the guy? Just because they looked like his biological son and his childhood friend - neither of whom he'd seen in something along the lines of ten freaking years! Seriously, who knew if they'd even felt that way about each other...?
Well, he felt that way about his Winry - eh, the Winry from his world - that much he was sure of, and he wouldn't be all that surprised if Hohenheim had noticed as much during the few hours he'd visited Risembool before their fight against Dante. The old man was just creepily perceptive like that, no matter the fact that Edward himself had still been stuck in denial at the time - or maybe that was what made it so obvious...!
The fact remains, though, that things could've been entirely different here. Then again, Gracia and Hughes were pretty much the same as his former superior always told him back in the day, so maybe it did work like that, maybe feelings are likely to develop similarly here. They might not be the same people as the Amestrians, but they're still their counterparts.
Still, why did he suggest something like that when Edgar and Winifred weren't even dating or anything?
'... Maybe he just wanted to see his son be happy. I know I would be if I could be looking forward to marr-' Ed stopped his thoughts there by taking another sip of his beer, mentally scolding himself for thinking about nonsensical things like that. This and that were two entirely different things. This was not his world. This was not him they were talking about and this was not Winry he was talking to. He needed to get that into his thick skull! So why did he always end up comparing this whole damn situation to his own fucked up one?! With a quiet, but deep sigh he settled back into his chair, absently staring at something he couldn't even see.
And even though he'd just chastised himself about it, his thoughts strayed back to Winry, back to how she might have taken losing Al and him... again.
Of course, it wasn't the same. He and Winry weren't like that (no matter how much he now wished he'd at least told her how he felt last time, any time, just so he'd know that she knew and maybe if she felt the same). They were childhood friends, though, almost as close as siblings and they would've probably been even closer if not for him and his goddamn stupidity. Seriously what did he ever think he was doing?! Trying to bring someone back from the dead, burning down the one place with memories of that person, keeping those he loved at an arm's length and hurting them over and over again, all with the reasoning that it was for the best...!
But they weren't closer and he didn't tell her and they weren't like that and now he would have to deal with the consequences because those were the choices he'd made and regretting them wouldn't change a damn thing...!
...
Somebody get his brain to act accordingly...!
In the end those consequences also made themselves known in the form of dreams. They weren't even necessarily bad dreams, or so Ed told himself. They were merely fictive visions of what could have been - if he hadn't been so stupid for years.
He'd see a house- no, a home in Risembool, unmistakable by the lush green hills, the river winding down on the side of the road and the familiar dog sitting in front of the porch. A figure was approaching, a male, but that was all he could tell because there was always a shadow over his face and there were no further distinctive signs as to who this man could be. Opening the door after being welcomed by Den, the figure would continue on into the kitchen where a beautiful blonde-haired woman was cooking dinner.
Winry...
As the guy would walk up behind her silently and hug her from behind, kissing her cheek while lovingly rubbing her growing stomach, she'd squeak a little, but quickly regain the content smile on her face, still stained with grease from work. Her mouth would open to greet him with a giggle in her voice and sometimes a smiling Al would join the happy scene by sitting down at the kitchen table and starting a conversation with the two of them and Ed could almost hear their voices, but in the end the air around him would stay silent.
This scene wasn't meant for him to witness, after all.
And Ed would wake up in cold sweat, unable to comprehend what it was about this dream that made it so awful to watch. It wasn't like any other nightmares he'd had before. His loved ones didn't die in his arms because he was too weak to protect him, they weren't hurt when he wasn't there, they didn't declare their hatred to him...
They just didn't care about him at all.
Ed didn't even know which way to interpret this whole thing hurt him more: The thought of Winry having moved on easily after he left her again (which he wouldn't blame her for either, but it still hurt) or to see it as what could've been if he hadn't been stupid, to see what he could've had, but couldn't have now...
It always hurt to think that had it not been for his foolishness all those years back... then it could've been like that right now. He could've been happy, without automail, Al would've never had to live with his soul attached to an empty, cold armor, they would still be in Risembool and they would be happy...!
And even though Al was always asleep somewhere in the vicinity, emitting comforting slow breaths as he dreamed about whatever, the former alchemist couldn't help but feel utterly alone and homesick whenever he awoke from a dream like that and the regrets started to consume him once more.
Because, damn it all to hell and back, WHY hadn't he at least told her when he still had the chance?!
He'd known about his feelings for her, no matter how hard he'd been trying to deny their existence! He'd always loved that girl too damn much for his own good, too much for her own good and it always endangered her so he held back, but damn it, he should've told her anyway! Why hadn't he fucking told her?!
He'd known two years ago that they were leaving for the final fight and that if he didn't win this one, there'd be no coming back to her, no coming home. He'd wanted to tell her then, in a quiet moment away from all the others, but there was just always someone else with them, keeping an eye on them, interrupting them...!
He'd known that he would have to tell her then if he wanted to go out without regrets in case he really didn't make it. (Not that was planning to die but he was trying to analyze the situation realistically and the chances of a 16 year old beating a couple of practically immortal homunculi were pretty... damn low...!) He remained quiet, though, because he didn't find the 'right moment', because someone interrupted them, because he was hella frightened of being rejected even though he knew- well, no. That was the problem. He didn't know what to expect and that scared him shitless.
And suddenly - two years after having given up - he got a second chance at talking to her in somewhat private (but who the hell cared about that stuff anyway?!) and he'd known that if he didn't tell her now (because he might've given up on ever returning home but he could never even spend a day without thinking and worrying about and missing her and wishing he'd told her everything) he'd probably never get to do it...! Even the chances of seeing her again that last time had been second to none! His luck was sure to have run out by now...!
And still, he hadn't said a goddamn thing!
Even though she'd shown him so openly how much she cared, how much he meant to her, he couldn't even tell her that he missed her!
And now the regrets were destroying him so agonizingly slowly from the inside...
Eventually, Winifred decided that the Elric brothers could be trusted and Ed couldn't help but feel relieved and torn at once. Relieved, because as much as she wasn't Winry, she still looked like her to some degree and he couldn't help himself but compare them. At least he was still able to see her. Torn, because he had to see her, because she wasn't Winry and because no matter how much he wanted to he wouldn't be able to ever again embrace the woman he loved. He'd have to look at her, focusing on not losing himself in the illusion that she was his Winry- eh... Ugh, he didn't care anymore...!
The brothers and the young woman would meet up every so often, mostly discussing the differences between their worlds. Winifred was greatly interested in this art called alchemy that was said to be extinct on Earth because of insufficient documentation since alchemists wanted to keep the secrets of their success. So Ed and Al often recounted tales of their research, but also of their travels and adventures. Risembool, its people and any events having taken there were left out or avoided skillfully, however.
Too personal. Too many painfully happy and sad memories. Too many regrets.
Up until now, anyway.
Because, apparently, Al had decided to let Winifred in on all of their childhood stories.
Starting with the most embarrassing ones.
"Of course, little Ed tried to get the book back from Winry and started chasing after her, all the while shouting at the top of his voice to give it back to him." The younger brother explained, ignoring the way Ed kept glaring at him. Honestly, if looks could kill, there wouldn't be many people left to call the former state alchemist short.
Seriously, what was the sense of reminiscing in something they would never be able to experience again? Why did he have to bring up all of these memories? Was he trying to prove a point or something? If so, he could've just done so without the familiar-looking girl around!
"You never told me about my other self from your world... What is she like?" Winifred asked curiously after calming down from another fit of giggles.
See?! That was what he'd wanted to prevent! As if speaking about their past in general with all its pain, angst and messed up decisions wasn't hard enough already. No, now he'd have to relive all of these damned feelings for a certain blonde because a girl that looked far too much like her for her own good decided to be nosy.
"Why don't you handle this one, Brother? You know, I still need to stop by Ms. Gracia's to help her out in her shop." And with a mirthful twinkle in his eye, Al was gone. Well, whoopdie-fricking-doo! This couldn't get much worse, could it?
As he sighed in annoyance, however, he caught sight of Winifred's curious gaze and decided to just go on ahead... and tell her.
"..." Tell her.
"She..." Ed didn't know how to say it. Heck, he didn't even know what he wanted to tell her! Sure, they were friends, but was it really alright to tell her the truth about his... feelings?
I can't... I can't tell her...
"I mean..." She had told him about her relationship to Edgar, though, so what was the difference now?
I want her to know first...!
"It's..." Why was it so hard to even start with something general?
Because... it hurts. It hurts to even think about her, damn it...!
"She's not... dead... is she...?" Winifred's careful approach stunned him.
"Huh?" Did he look that pained when he contemplated what to tell her that she would actually come up with a reason like that?
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked like that... And yet, here I am, looking like her while you guys probably-" Before the young woman could even start to blame herself, she was interrupted.
"No! No, it's not like that!" Guilt washed over him as Ed realized his mistake. He made a woman who had lost her fiancé and her childhood friend because of him blame herself because he couldn't come out and tell her about her counterpart...! All the while she had spoken about those she lost through her tears to comfort him of all people. "It's not like that at all. I just... miss her, I guess..."
"... Were the two of you close? I mean, I know you're childhood friends but, like-... Did you still have contact with her before you were sent here?" The blonde male gulped. He was going to do this, no matter how much it would hurt him. It was only fair to tell her... And it wasn't like he had to tell her everything, but at least as much as she wanted to know.
"She was-... is my automail mechanic." He told her, taking of his right glove to show her the mechanical arm that caused him the title of Fullmetal Alchemist.
"A moving prosthetic?! These fine motor skills are amazing! It must've been so much work to create something like this...!" Well, figured. Of course Winifred would be just as fascinated with automail as another certain blonde gear head.
"Oh, trust me, it is. Every time I damaged my arm or leg by accident, Winry would throw a fit about all the hours of hard work she had put into my limbs and chuck a wrench at my head to prove her point." He chuckled. It might've been painful at the time, but in the end he realized that he needed someone to knock some sense into him whenever he overdid it like that. "But she always fixed and improved them even further to suit my needs. She's the best mechanic I know. And the best friend I could've ever asked for..." A strained, sad smile lingered on his face as he contemplated how often he should've told her all that when he still had the chance to do so.
"She must be amazing to be such a skilled mechanic at such a young age..."
"She is. To think she started learning about it because of me in the first place... I still don't know whether or not she would've actually taken that line of business if it wasn't for me."
"Whether she would have done so or not isn't important, at least in my opinion. If she stayed your mechanic for such a long time, then she must've enjoyed it, if only because she could help you like this."
"It does sound like something that idiot would do. Always worrying about me, like there wasn't anything else to worry about...! As if she wasn't busy enough worrying about herself!" But in the end neither of them ever worried about themselves, they were too concerned about each other to do so.
Even now, Ed couldn't quite help himself but worrying about how she was doing right now. And it was frustrating to speculate because he had no way of changing anything in her life anyway. There was nothing he could do, but he was still beating himself up over it. He realized that it might not be the best combination but in the end it was always pointless.
Well, there was one thing he could do.
He'd made a promise after all. Right, the promise. How could he have forgotten? He'd promised her he'd do whatever it takes to come home to her...!
"Hey, Edward... I know it hurts but... Can I ask you one more question?" Looking up at the familiar face once more, his resolve was finally steeled as his face set into a look of determination with an almost unnoticeable nod. He'd get to see the real deal again or he'd die trying!
Taking his silent nod as an approval to continue talking, Winifred pressed out the one question that had kept her mind occupied the entire time the male had talked about her counterpart.
"... Do you love her?"
Finally, Edward returned to their conversation. Surprise was written all over his face at her unexpected query before it softened slightly. She might've just wanted to know how his counterpart felt about her since they'd never really gotten to even tell each other, even though they were to be married. And if he knew anything about himself (which probably applied to Edgar as well) then that he freaked out whenever it came to talking about feelings.
But that would have to end now.
He wasn't going to lie anymore. He wouldn't deny his feelings any longer. He was going to be honest with himself, like he should've been for a long, long time.
"Yeah."
And eventually, I'll tell her so...!
That's it for the fourth chapter! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Tell me your thoughts in a review!
(It's so frustrating to think that I felt pretty much comfortable with this chapter until I wrote the last part because ever since I did, I found that the rest was just as sucky... .3.)
Next chapter will probably be the last one!
Thank you very much for faves and follows: sentimental-obsessed, Dika Kai, Literature work, SimSoprano, Bladethorn4296 and leonidasking!
I'm very thankful for all my readers' support!
And last but not least: I don't own anything! Seriously, even the ideas belong to the plot bunny hiding under my bed!
-Tracy247
