A/N: In all honesty, I should really be doing my homework. But I say hell to work and I commit myself to this chapter! Because as some guessed and most will assume…This is the reunion chapter! Hooray! I'm excited….How sad is that? I'm excited over my own story…..Wait. That might be a good thing. Ah, who knows I just hope it turns out well. : D
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Winry sat in front of the window located in her new room and the Reuwich's Estate. Her eyes trailed people has they walked by. The gray sky became a common thing in her life now. She had learned several things over the past week of being there. Even the first day she realized how this world's society saw women, She constantly saw how Isabel gave into every whim her husband desired. She realized that in the image of the people here women where of the household, Winry disliked this aspect with a passion. She had also learned about some of the technological advances this world had, although she did witness it once before the first time Edward had returned. She also had learned of the difference in appearance she had. Her face and eyes where the same, but her hair was lighter than it was before. Her hair also wasn't as long it was, but it was still fairly long so she eventually bought another clip and set it in her hair. Other than that the worlds seemed fairly similar.
Although, there was something that she wasn't getting, there was something that happened in the past of this world that she was unaware of and no one seemed to speak of it. She realized it when she heard someone talk about a war. She knew it couldn't have been the Ishbal war, so something else must have happened. The only other thing she knew about it was it had to do with appearance, because Eustace made a comment about her blond hair and blue eyes. She was determined to figure it out in the end.
"Wendy?" Isabel called out.
"Yes?" Winry replied in an annoyed manner. She hated that name. Even though it was very similar to her own name she didn't like being referred to herself by that name. It didn't feel natural, but somehow Isabel thought it was more like a German name and not wanting to upset the people whose roof she was living under she decided to go with it for now.
"Well I was wondering if you'd be okay home alone for a while. Eustace and I are planning on going to a trip very soon, I would invite you of course but I didn't think you'd be interested. Are you okay with that?" Isabel asked kindly. That was the only thing Winry liked about her. She was perceptive on the fact that Winry wasn't interest in their affairs.
"I think I can manage." Winry replied with a giant fake smile. She also realized that one must be proper in this world. Another aspect she wasn't fond of. "When do you aspect to be leaving?"
"Tomorrow! Oh I'm so excited, but don't worry we have money so you can buy yourself food for the next couple of days." Isabel said smiling happily has she left the room. Winry sighed once Isabel was out of range. Although it was sudden Winry was glad that she was going to have time to herself now that she has been here a while. She would most likely look around the place and try to get used to her surroundings. She still wasn't familiar with the streets and such.
"I might actually have some fun." Winry thought silently.
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"Looks like were here Ed." Alphonse said trying to get Ed up from what seemed like his endless sleep. Alphonse had expected that his brother didn't get enough sleep, but he was surprised that he had slept the whole trip to Munich. Al nudged his brother once more as he woke up. "Its time to go Ed," He spoke once more.
"Okay, Okay," Ed yawned getting his things off the train and departing with Alphonse in tow. They looked around searching for somewhere to stay. They had stayed until they earned enough money to actually rent out a small apartment. Alphonse had found a good address to find apartments, so at the moment they were trying to get there. It wasn't until they explored a bit further down the road that they found the apartments they were looking for.
Edward sat by himself while Alphonse went to talk to the manager. Edward looked around the area. "It's not too bad, I guess." He thought. He looked at the stacked rooms and it reminded him of when he stayed with the other Alphonse. He smiled slightly at the memory.
"Ready?" Alphonse asked while he held up a key showing that he had successfully gotten a room. Ed smiled and grabbed there things as they headed to the room. Their room was number 107; thankfully it was on the first floor so they didn't have to climb any stairs. When they entered the room it looked like a simple house with a large kitchen/living room and two separate rooms each with a twin bed. Once they got everything in their separate rooms both brothers gathered in the empty living room and talked over the next plans in their journey.
"You still have Reuwich's last known address, right?" Edward asked calmly.
"Yeah, it's right here," Alphonse replied handing Ed the slip of paper with the address written on it.
"Alright, but what do you think we should do to get information…I doubt I can directly ask him like I did Grünewald." Edward sat thinking for a moment.
"Well, you could try to ask him to take you on as an apprentice." Alphonse offered.
"Huh?" Edward looked at his brother in a confused manner.
"Well think about it, if you ask to be an apprentice he probably wouldn't think too much of it and you could probably gather more information while still maintaining a good rep." Alphonse finished.
"Hmm…Sounds like a good idea. But what are you going to do?" Edward asked.
"I think I should stay here and continue studying the other possibilities of the bomb on whatever material they have possible down here. Which most likely is more since this is a larger city, and all. "Alphonse replied confidently.
"Sounds like we have a plan" Edward grinned. "I'll go to this address tomorrow and you'll head to get more research." He said plainly as a comment rather than a question.
"Yep, and you better get some sleep, okay brother?" Alphonse said with a bit of concern.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Edward smiled has his brother left for his own room. Edward then retired for his room only to find that sleep wouldn't come easily once more.
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Edward woke when the sun shined brightly through his window filling the whole room with light that Edward couldn't ignore. He yawned has he got dressed and stumbled into the kitchen only to find a note from Alphonse.
"I went ahead a let you sleep, I think you need it. Anyways I'm off to get research I'll see you later after you go to see Reuwich.
-Alphonse"
Edward read it again once more before tossing it aside. He searched the cabinets until he found a slice of bread to eat before he left. He ate in silence thinking the whole time. He walked down the street towards the Reuwich Estate, his current destination.
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Winry shuffled through her pockets while trying not to drop the two paper bags of groceries in her arms. Winry let out a cheerful yelp when she found the house key in her pocket. She carefully strolled in and shut the door softly with her foot. She set the bags on the table relieving her arms of the previous weight; she then returned to the door and locked it securely.
She was glad to have time to herself. She felt more relaxed. She was glad that she didn't have to pretend to remember nothing. She was able to act as herself before she entered this world. She felt better being without her caretakers. She had already gone to get food with some of the money they felt behind. She slowly unpacked the food making sure it went into the right place. She had even got a good idea how the roads were set out on her trip to the store.
"I guess I could get pretty used to this place." She smiled as she spoke a loud. She walked over to the window nearby and opened it slowly to reveal a small rose bush just barely out of her reach. She sat and looked at the window as she scoped the area. She always wondered why everything seemed slightly pale. Although she had noticed that her eyes stayed the same color unlike her hair which was only a shade lighter. She almost went into deeper thought about it until she heard a knock at the door.
"Coming!" She called out. Her steps seemed to echo has she stepped back to the front door and unlocked it with the key she had used earlier. She opened the door only to find the most familiar face she had seen yet. Her eyes widen, and his too when he saw her. She could have cried.
"Edward?" She said slowly. His eyes seemed to widen more at the mention of his name. Before he could say anything in reply she grabbed him by the wrist of his right arm and pulled his shelve up to show the automail arm underneath. "It is you…" She spoke in almost a whisper while still looking at the automail arm. Afterwards she swiftly put her arms around his neck as small tears formed at her eyes. "I'm so glad…" She whispered.
"W-Winry? But how…?"He said finally still in shock from the discovery and the current hold on him. Winry stepped back releasing him from her grip. She stared into his eyes another second before motioning him inside the house.
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Edward was completely shocked to find his childhood friend on the other side, and in the house of a scientist he is looking for. He knew it had to be her when she looked at his automail. No one else knew about that other than his brother and a few people they already left previously. He listened to her as she talked about having dreams about this world and her illness in the other. When she finally told the rest about staying here, he concluded that she had just taken over someone else's body, like what Edward had done the first time he came through the gate.
"So how come you're here?" Winry asked semi-interrupting his thoughts. Then it was his turn to explain about finding out that a bomb they had thought disappeared was recently found on this side of the gate. He also explained his search to find the scientists who created the bomb, one of which was Eustace, and his plans to get rid of it.
"So, you came here to talk to Eustace Reuwich?" Winry asked. Ed nodded in response.
"Well, actually him and his wife left yesterday…I don't think they'll be back for a while." She explained. There was silence between them until Winry spoke.
"Can I stay with you guys? I don't want to be in this place anymore. I hate pretending like I have no memories. I have to be some kind of robot for these people so they don't catch on that I'm from somewhere else. So…what do you say?" Winry finished with her eyes pleading like a puppy.
"I don't know Winry." Ed began. "I mean I don't want Eustace to think anything suspicious about you suddenly leaving. At the very least you can stay with us while their gone, but you'll probably have to stay here when they return." He finished looking a Winry the whole time. He watched her as he saw her think about the situation.
"Alright," She smiled. "I'm just glad that I found someone who knows what I'm going through." Edward smiled back at her. He was more than glad that she was here. He always felt bad about leaving so soon after she had helped him with his limbs on the other side. She had done so much for both him and Alphonse, so he could at least let her stay with them for a few days.
He waited as she got all her things ready for staying over. She seemed to smile the whole time. Then Edward wondered if there was a reason for that, but he stopped thinking as she returned back downstairs with all her things ready.
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Winry walked in comfortable silence as Edward showed her the way to his apartment. She couldn't even begin to describe how happy she was. She had left a lot of people behind on the other side, but she was glad to have someone who knew her well. Especially the fact that it was Ed also helped. They continued to walk down the road a ways until they reached a small apartment complex.
"This is where you guys live?" She asked. It was pleasant. A plain beige color covered all the buildings.
"Well, only until recently have we been living here." Edward answered and they continued to their room. "Here we are." He announced has they entered they room. Winry looked around seeing a normal house with few items in there. She then realized how recently they began living here. She glanced around a second time.
"Where is Al?" She asked slightly anxious.
"Oh yeah, He is busy getting research on those scientists I mentioned. He should be home soon enough though." Edward replied.
"Oh, Okay." She said. Winry then walked over to the chair Ed was sitting at. She sat next to him and motioned something.
"What?" He asked confused.
"Let me see your automail again," She explained. "I may not be able to do maintenance on it yet, but I still want to see how you have kept it up until now." It made since. Usually every time she saw him was when he needed help with his automail. Even when he returned the last time she helped him with it. It only made since that after two years without seeing him she would want to check it like old times. Edward took off his gloves and pulled up his right sleeve just enough, then held his automail in front of her. She grabbed his wrist lightly and turned the arm so she could see every angle of the metal, then she began twisting the joints to see if anything was wrong there. Soon enough she let go of his arm. "Nothing seems to be wrong, but I don't have any tools to check deeper. Although I'm impressed you haven't broken it yet." She smiled jokingly. He gave a small smile in response.
He did try his hardest to keep the automail in shape. It was the only thing he had of her, at the time, and he intended to keep it in the best shape he could. He thought of this has she continued on to check his left leg for anything either. He smiled again when she said that nothing was wrong with his left leg either.
At this moment Alphonse arrived seeing Winry and Edward at their dinner table. Alphonse could only stand their in surprise as Winry got up and hugged him as a greeting.
"Winry?" Alphonse asked still slightly surprised. She nodded still smiling. "Winry Rockbell?" He asked again.
"Yes, yes, it's me!" Winry replied once again. Then at this point Alphonse was briefed on what events took place earlier that day that lead to the discovery of one another. Then Winry explained how she arrived on this side of the gate to Alphonse's curiosity. All of which took about an hour.
"Well, I'm glad that you're here Winry." Alphonse finished with a yawn. "Oh that reminds me, where are you going to sleep?" Edward and Winry looked at each other nervously. They both hadn't thought about that.
"I can stay out on the couch and Winry can stay in my room." Edward offered.
"No, no. You don't have to do that. I can stay out here on the couch." Winry said in a tone that meant to not pry further.
"Alright, then it's settled." Alphonse announced before more was said. "Winry will take the couch, and I'm heading to sleep now. Night you guys." He finished and with another yawn he retired to his room.
"I guess we should go to sleep too." Winry suggested. Edward agreed as they both settled in for the night. Only sleep decided that Edward would have to suffer in silence. He couldn't sleep even if he laid there with his eyes closed for a long period of time. Soon enough he just sat there staring at the dark ceiling with thoughts running in and out of his head, until he heard a noise in the main room. He stepped out of his room to see Winry walking around in the middle of the night.
"I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?" Winry asked quietly.
"Actually I've been awake…I just can't sleep." Edward admitted.
"Well…If it helps I couldn't either. Do you wanna just talk?" She asked.
"Uh…sure." He said as he took a seat on the couch and Winry followed sitting next to him.
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Winry hadn't been able to sleep, so she was glad to find out that she wasn't the only one. Although it might have been awkward at first, she found that she was talking to Ed normally like she had before. Also, Ed seemed to be talking to her more than he had on his last journey.
They sat together on the couch and just talked. Winry asked questions about different things that occurred in this world. Most of the conversation was her asking questions. Edward asked her a few about their original world before she had ended up in this one. Once their talking had met a dead end they just sat there in comfortable silence. It wasn't until Winry felt pressure against her shoulder that she noticed that Edward had fallen asleep and was now resting against it. Not wanting to wake him after he had just fallen asleep, she also rested her head on his and soon followed a dreamless slumber.
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A/N: So!? How did you like it? This was definitely longer then another chapter I have written so far. I hoped you liked it.
Do I need to explain anything? I don't think so….but if you have a question just review and I'll reply to it.
Speaking of Review. Thanks to all the people that reviewed. And thank you to the readers who are silent, but are still heard.
Um…My next update may be in a while. I have a new term approaching, and this means work, work, work. BUT, I have a four-day weekend. Although I need to plan ahead on the story a bit, I'm going to try to update as soon as possible.
: P
Later.