The 'END' of the Story's End.
By: Ichi-chan (DaRkNeSs4IcHi)
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA (though I wish I do…), respecting FMA, I will do my best to make this Fic' realistic and acceptable. Hope you guys enjoy it! ^_^
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(Ichi wrote: Ah, before I start with "Chapter 4 – The Inevitable Possibility" I would want to clear something 'coz it may confuse some of the anime fanatics, ahaha! So here I go: I am going to base Winry and Rose's friendship on the manga version instead of the anime version, and so, Rose doesn't have a kid. ^_^ I just wanted to clarify that so you wouldn't wonder about where did her kid go. ahahaha)
Chapter 4 – The Inevitable Possibility. (Revised)
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Demanding fist continued to pound against Rose's door.
"Coming! Coming!" Yawn. "Who is it?" she asked while opening her door a little to peek at her late-night visitor.
"Rose-san!" The strange called, her voice cracking.
"Eh?" Rose said squinting. "Wi…Winry-san?"
***
"Rose-san! I can get them back! Ed and Al! they can come back!" Winry stated after finishing her story of how the Fuhrer had visited her home and told her the good news. "Can you believe it?" Winry chocked out, her voice cracking while fighting down tears.
Rose had let her in and served her coffee and biscuits in the kitchen. "They can come back…" she sobbed dryly again, her whole frame trembling with the idea of Ed and Al coming home. Rose hadn't interrupted her while she recounted her and Mustang's conversation, she just listened to Winry while keeping a calm face.
"Winry-san…" Rose finally said. "Please don't get your hopes 'TOO' high." Rose finished off her sentence, staring at Winry with a tortured and pained expression.
"Huh? But Rose-san the Fuhrer said he can bring them back." Winry stared blankly at Rose, her eyes looked like they would tear.
"Don't make the same mistake I did Winry-san." Rose looked down at her own cup of coffee tears building up, "Don't get your hopes up too high. Edward won't be here to comfort you if it gets crushed this time." Rose closed her eyes, letting the tears flow down her cheek and drips on to her drink.
"Stand up with your own legs, and keep moving forward."
Edward has told Rose before.
Winry's eyes widened, her lips automatically pressed in a hard line as her heart skipped a beat.
"Edward won't be here to comfort you this time…"
The words echoed in her head.
Winry looked down, unable to speak, her heart beating off rhythm as her chest tightened. "Ed... Al...." her mind screamed their names. She found herself on the brink of tears, and then she remembered something. Her hands shot up towards her face in one swift move and PINCHEEEEEDD each cheek so hard she shrieked, "OWWEEEIIIIIIIIIII~!" making Rose jump out of her seat in alarm.
"Winry-san what are you doing?!!" Rose asked in bewilderment as she saw Winry's cheek swell and redden due to her own powerful pinch.
"Ahahaha!!" she laughed, now rubbing her sore cheeks. "I just couldn't cry. Not yet." She smiled at Rose as her cheeks continue to ache.
***
"Hey Winry-san? Is the bath water hot enough?" Rose called at Winry, while she stood in front of the bathroom door.
"Yes Rose-san! It's just right! Thanks for letting me use your bathroom!" Winry answered back, relaxing in the tub filled with ward water and scented bubble bath soap.
"Just tell me if you need anything okay?" Rose called again, shifting her position, about to leave when Winry suddenly said, "AH! Wait!"
"What is it? Do you need anything else?" Rose paused mid-step.
"About last night, thank you."
Rose Froze. "Winry-san I haven't done anything, there's nothing to thank me f~"
"No! you stopped me from hoping too much! … I appreciate it…"
"Ah, Winry-san, it's not that I didn't want you to… believe in it, it's just that, you were…."
"Expecting too much?" Winry finished Rose's sentence.
"Hai… I don't want you to put too much trust in it, and get hurt as much in return if something 'Inevitable' were to happen." Though Rose and Winry weren't staring eye to eye, Rose averted her gaze, hating herself to be the bearer of bad news.
"Inevitable…" Winry repeated the word, sounding unsure of its meaning.
"Winry-san, there are so many things that could go wrong. All of them are possible to happen, sorry for sounding so pessimistic, but there is a big chance that things might not go the way you expect it to be." Rose explained, her painful experience of losing her family and boyfriend, then getting even more hurt when she was forced to accept that her beloved can never come back, served as a reminder to her, it made her strong and thought her that she should always keep her guard up 'coz the inevitable can happen and there's nothing she can do about it but to accept it, and move forward. Like Edward had taught her.
"Stand up with your own legs and keep moving forward."
"Hey, Rose-san, can you tell me those 'Inevitable' things that can happen…" Winry asked her as she dipped herself more in the tub, feeling as though she wouldn't really want to hear about it but still asked for it anyway. "I wanna know everything that 'could' happen."
"Winry-san, are you sure you want to know? I don't think you should force~"
"Please Rose-san!" Winry pleaded burying her face in her hands to hide the pathetic frown she knew now dominated her face.
"I want to know what may happen. I don't want to just sit around and wait then just get surprised if something DOES happen…" She explained as her voice sounded hoarse while she fought back tears.
"Now is not the time to cry!"she told herself bravely. "Edward promised the next time you cry would be out of HAPPINESS!" she reminder herself.
the possibility of Ed and Al returning was overwhelming, but she also knew that she shouldn't get too excited about it, knowing that it was still too good to be true.
"Please tell me…" Winry pleaded again in a much calmer voice.
"…" Rose paused and leaned on the bathroom door, "Winry-san I understand how you feel, you want to believe you can get them back don't you? But you also know that something can go wrong?"
"Yes… I know, please tell me what you think could go wrong."
"Ed and Al left to close the gate on the other side right?"
"Right."
Rose took a deep breath before she continued.
"Well, things might not go according to plans on this side. The Fuhrer might fail to re-open the gates…." Her voice trailing away, not utterly comfortable on doubting the Fuhrer's capabilities.
"… True. There is that, but I believe Mr. Mustang can open it."
"Well, yeah, he might be able to." Rose agreed, trying to sound not so convinced so that Winry won't expect so much. "But there's still Edward and Alphonse's side."
"What do you mean?" Asked Winry. Confusion swept across her facial features, not able to follow Rose's chain of thoughts.
"They knew that they may never be able to come back, bit still went. They gave everything up and expected to be stuck there…" Rose went on, recounting everything Winry has told her about the sacrifice the brothers has done to close the gates that connected the Alchemy world and the other world.
"They… have probably made that world their home by now…"
Rose smiled sadly, knowing that the brothers were capable of moving forward to this extent, accepting a new home.
In the bath Winry stared wide-eyed at the water's surface that was now covered with bubbles. Her mind racing in sudden realization. "Of course! They probably thought they will never be able to come back!"
"Uhm, we don't even know if they're ok. They could be… they could be…." Rose hesitated, wondering if she should even tell her.
"'they could be' ~ what Rose-san?"
"They could be… They could be dead for all we know." She chocked the words out in such a low rush that it was nearly impossible for Winry to understand the words. Rose hated herself for even having the idea.
A long pause.
"Don't worry Rose-san…" Winry's voice sounded hoarse, Rose would bet anything that she had been silently crying in that long silence. "They won't die easily." She assured her, her faith in those brothers never fading.
"Yeah, you're right, they are tough." Rose gave a nervous laugh, not pressing the idea more. But then something in her mind clicked.
"Winry-san, please don't think much of this, it's just a possibility okay?"
"Huh? What is? What possibility?"
"They could have moved on," She said in a small voice, another sad smile on her lips. "Started their new life. Even if the Fuhrer successfully opens the gates, what if they've already got new lives there? What if they wouldn't want to come back?" Rose asked feeling crestfallen. There is no denying it. This possibility was the most likely to have happened by now.
Winry realized what Rose meant. A sense of dreadfulness took over her, eating all hopes that resided in her "Masaka...! That can't happen right?" she thought forcing her mind to accept her argument but failed. "But… no… that would be normal, anyone would do the same, Ed and Al will surely move forward… then…" She stopped the thought there, forcing herself to concentrate on scrubbing her left forearm to avoid admitting the odds.
"Winry-san? Are you okay?" Rose asked nervously, Winry's sudden lack of response and sudden silence scared Rose.
"Ah! Yeah! I'm okay! Sorry I was just scrubbing my arm!"
"Winry-san please don't think too much of it! It was just an Idea and~"
"No, it's okay! I'm fine! Uhm, Rose-san I'll talk to you later okay? I'll just finish my bath." Winry called from the tub, her tone unreadable.
"Ah, okay." Rose didn't argue and left.
End of Chapter 4 – The Inevitable Possibility.
Ichi wrote: Yay! I'm done with chapi 4! Nyu! =3 thanks you for reading my fic! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think of it! Please send me your reviews~! Domo arigatou minna-san! Nyu! =3
Watch out for Chapter 5 – An Opening.
Ichi notes:
Ah! Thank you all for reading my fic! I really appreciate it! I'm so happy that only after 3 days, 79 people have already read my story! Thank you so much for sparing some time to read my Fic! DOMO ARIGATOU!
I would also like to thank my Best Friend Hotaru for helping me with the story by editing some of the parts I have over looked! And I'm also really grateful to her for always supporting me!
Oh, I would also like to dedicate this Chapter to Ä3-kun.
Belated Happy Birthday Ä3-kun!
Sorry I wasn't able to finish this fic in time for your birthday! Gomen for that!
(Ä3-kun, bday 05/31)
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR READING THIS!
I will do my best on the next chapters!
^_^