9/1/12: A/N: Happy September! I have the climatic chapter of this story already done, just working my way there. It's killing me writing the chapters leading up to the scene that I envisioned for this story since its inception. :)
Chapter 7: Three Days and Nights
You don't know how you move me,
deconstruct me and consume me.
I'm all used up. I'm out of luck.
I am star struck…
-"Sick of Myself" by Matthew Sweet-
The rain normally would dampen Winry's spirits, but she willed herself happy on the extremely short train ride to Border City. Once again in Amestris, she exited the train and made her way to the military base, which in reality, consisted of the whole city. She had the forethought of mind to bring her umbrella but the rain relentlessly hammered down, eventually soaking her through. She made it to the main gate and met the gray eyes of a bored young man.
"Hello." I need to see Allen Harris.
"What unit." It should have been a question but the man said it as a statement.
"Um, I'm not sure, he needed maintenance on his automail…"
"Your name?" She could tell the clerk was put off by having to inquire for her.
"Winry Rockbell."
The man took out a roster and picked up the receiver of a telephone. He had a brief conversation and hung up with haste.
"Wait here." He pointed to a bench under the eave of the building. Winry sat on the wet metal, but didn't really care, her shorts were soaked through anyway. She held her red umbrella over her head.
"What the hell?" After several minutes waiting, the voice echoed against the building and suddenly, she was looking up into the cheerful face of Mr. Harris. "Why did you come here in the rain?" He offered her a hand to help her up.
"You told me to look you up any time I was in Border City, well. I'm here!" She smiled.
"Miss Rockbell, you are so lucky I'm off duty or you'd have to wait a few more hours out here." He go her a visitor's badge and ushered her inside the gate. Before she could protest, he took her umbrella and held it for her. They made their way across the compound and into a vague gray building. Once inside, he closed her umbrella and placed it by the door and they tried to dry off. "One minute. Wait here." He disappeared through a doorway and was back in a minute carrying a few large fluffy gray towels. "Stolen from the work out room over there, I thought we could dry off a bit."
"Thanks, Allen." She pulled the towel through her we hair and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Can we talk somewhere?"
"Yeah, the mess hall's over here. Girls…um women aren't allowed in the male barracks, so, it's the only place we can go right now."
"That's fine, I could use a cup of coffee, if it's alright with you." They walked into the cafeteria, only a handful of men and a few women sat in the large room. Lunch rush was over hours ago and dinner had not yet begun. They found a table by the window and sat.
"Coffee flows freely here. I'll get us some. Sugar, cream?" He stood to leave.
"Black, straight up." She smirked.
"My kind of gal." He got them both a cup of coffee and joined her at the seats. "So, what brings you to Border city, did you just miss me?" He blushed through his mocha-colored skin. He couldn't believe he said that out loud.
"I wish this was a social, call, Allen, but I need your help."
"Oh, darn." He exhaled. "What on earth can a lowly dog of the military do for the world's best automail mechanic?"
"You can help me the best way a soldier can….I need to know everything you know about firearms, specifically handguns. Do you have one I can take apart?"
"W,what?"
"You know, you have to have a military issued gun, I need to know how those things work and I don't have time to scour the library. Besides, I'm hand's on, myself….I just need to see yours…" She grabbed at the holster he had at the back of this belt. He jittered out of her way.
"Winry!" He scooted down the bench. "You could get shot for trying to grab and enlisted man's weapon." He started to sweat. "Explain just why you want to see my gun?"
"I am incorporating a hand gun into a new automail design and I need a reference! I don't have anyone else I can go to right now to study this. C'mon, Allen, I saved your life on that train! You'd have dehydrated, shriveled up and DIED had I not bought you that soda!" She laid it on pretty thick and didn't forget to bat her eyelashes.
"Shhhhh!" He leaned in close. "Listen. I'll let you LOOK at my handgun, I'll answer questions, let you take it apart IF you can put it back undamaged…."
"That'll be no problem, I'm an expert!" She shoved her thumb into her chest.
"But…I need a favor from you." He smirked and slapped his hand on the table. When he removed it, a small metal object remained.
"A toe?" There was no mistaking the steel gleam of an automail toe, a big toe at that.
"Don't ask." He shrugged. "Let me just say, I lost a bet and now it's broke. Can you fix it? I wobble when I walk and the military's mechanic is terrible!"
"I can try." She picked up the toe and examined it. "If you promise NEVER to tell Mr. Dominic that I was the one to work on it….he's pretty possessive of his work. You'll let me see your gun?"
"Yeah, if you'll fix this for me." He extended his hand to shake hers. "Deal?"
"Deal!" Before he had time to complain, Winry had his shoe and sock off and was examining where the toe would fit into his automail foot. Allen nearly fell off the bench. "Aw, this is easy, I just need to tighten the bolt, I have a tool in my bag." She started fiddling with the toe as the young man tried not to fall off his seat.
"I have a confession, Miss Winry." He was sweating.
"Hmmm?" She now had a teeny screwdriver and was manipulating a bolt inside the toe joint.
"I've met the Fullmetal Alchemist before." He didn't look happy.
"Ed?"
"Yeah, when I was stationed in North City. He clocked me for calling him short."
"Sounds like him. Did you get hurt?"
"Nah, just knocked out cold. We were sent to arrest him…it was before the Promised Day incident. He was a fugitive."
"Serves you right." She barely heard him as she concentrated on fixing his foot.
Edward didn't go back to Julia's house. He merely walked out of the automail shop and onto a train heading West. After a two hour ride, he got out at a remote station. He felt immediately better seeing familiar surroundings: tumbleweeds and dry desert as far as you could see. He followed due west from the station, knowing he had about an hour walk to the small town of Tribute. He didn't think he'd be so thirsty on the way.
He left the rainy weather with Table City and now Edward roamed the desert with the sun high and the air dry as a bone. He felt his leg port start to heat up against flesh and bone. This was not good. Not good at all. Up ahead, the hot ground wavered and undulated in a mirage but there were some faint squiggles within this he was sure were real buildings.
"Just a bit further." He muttered as he pushed forward.
Much to his joy, those were buildings. He had reached Tribute at last. Looking around the small conclave of structures, Ed scanned for his destination. Upon finding it, he mustered the last of his strength and willpower to move and walked up to a large porch. The building was constructed of adobe clay and he knew that inside was cool and welcoming. He raised his hand and knocked on the thick wooden door. After a minute, the latch creaked and the door opened.
"Ah, Master Edward, you said you'd come back to us." An old man, a little taller than Edward, balding and wearing a loose brown tunic stood there smiling at the alchemist. "Praise God, you have returned." He opened the door wide and then opened his arms to welcome the young man inside.
"It wasn't God who sent me, Father, I decided to come back." He smirked, loving to enter ecclesiastical discussions with this man hoping to break his religious resolve. Instead, more often than not, Father Moore bested him in this area.
"Ah, but I'm sure it was God who put that thought into your head!" He moved aside so that Edward could enter.
"That's always a ridiculous argument old man!" He drug his body into the large room and exhaled deeply as the temperature of the room was a good twenty degrees cooler than outside.
"We've prayed for you, young Edward." He ushered him to a seating area.
"I told you last time, don't pray for me, I'd rather you bake me cookies." Ed plopped down on a hard wooden chair.
"All the same, the children have missed you and your antics." The priest sat next to him.
"Did I help any of them, last time?" Ed was genuinely concerned.
"Oh, yes. The ones you treated have almost completely recovered. But there's always illness here." He looked sad. "They keep showing up with the same symptoms. Especially when word leaked out that the others were healed. Many sick showed up hoping for the same. Do you think you can work your miracles once more?"
"There's no miracles, just sort of alchemy."
"You don't seem so sure…sort of alchemy huh?"
"Well, I can't perform alchemy anymore, so what I'm doing, what I can do now…I'm not really sure what to call it."
"How about God's miracles?" He loved goading the boy on this way.
"Ah! Quit the religious crap!" He slunk down. "Do you think you could spare some water?"
"Oh course, Edward, my son. Follow me, let's get you refreshed. You'll be tired again by the end of the day…when you are done. Just as the last time."
"Thanks, Father." Ed got up and followed the priest. "This time, I don't mind." Despite traveling this far away from Table City, that damned pain caught up with Edward. He actually relished the draining agony using this new ability would bring him today. That pain would surely drown out the old one. Surely.
"It's as if you don't care about your own suffering…just like the martyr's of old…." His voice trailed off as the two exited the room.
"You and I are going to talk about this, whether you like it or not." Alphonse paced the plush red carpet of Julia's room. He couldn't believe they had fell into this again. Al knew she was moody over just seeing and leaving her brother again as well as whatever the hell was going on with Ed and Winry. Not to mention the pressure she was under about Amestris taking over Milos.
"Al." She fell back on her pillow and pulled up the sheets around her naked body. "Why does it have to be a thing to talk about." She rolled on her side to see him. "We are both the same age, we both like each other and we both are on our own." She sighed. "It just makes sense we, you know, comfort each other."
"Comfort?" He smiled at that description of sex. Yes, it was comforting. He didn't deny that he welcomed the sensations it caused his body. Alphonse actually sought out as many new sensations as possible since getting his body back. He remembered the first was eating. Winry and Ed couldn't get enough food in his frail, emaciated form. Oh and Winry's cooking was wonderful, especially all the apple pie she made him when he returned. Next it was sleeping. Having not slept for five years makes a boy itch to stay in bed for a while. He had nightmares at first, but having overcome them, his dreams became incredible and he sought them out as many times as he could. His brother and the mechanic grew frustrated with him for a while when he stayed in bed for days at a time.
Over the three or so years he was flesh and blood again, he yearned to experience as many sensations as possible to make up for all that time trapped in metal. As soon as his body recovered, he even began running with Edward, only Al took it to extremes, longing for that endorphin rush as his body became deplete of glycogen.
Logically, when Julia, a beautiful and soft young woman showed him physical affection he didn't draw back nor was he ignorant of her advances like Edward would have been. He knew where she was going that night they returned from the pub. He didn't stop her. Al actually wanted to experience this, he wasn't afraid or timid but curious and actually confident. She was right, they both were adults, they answered to no one and what they wanted to do in the privacy of her home they could. And they did.
"It's just, I really like you, Julia." He sat next to her. She picked at the black kitties on his pajama bottoms.
"Me too, Alphonse."
"I don't want to leave." He got caught up in her blue-green eyes.
"I don't want you to."
"But, I'm not done in Xing." His face contorted to a very sad expression.
"I know. But, if you have to leave, I'll always be here, if you want to return." She raised her hand up to his cheek. "I don't mind, you know, waiting."
His heart broke. Winry had waited for his brother for as long as he could remember. Sure, she had said it was for both of them she waited, but he knew the truth. That girl tore herself up inside waiting for Edward to get their bodies back and return. He lowered his head. Once they returned, they left again. Alphonse didn't want to cause any girl that pain, anymore.
"You shouldn't wait for me. I'll just hurt you."
"Stupid." She rolled over. "Who said it would HURT me to wait for you? Maybe that's the exciting part? Did you ever think about that?"
"Exciting?" He didn't think of it that way.
"Yeah. I'll have something to look forward to, when all these politics and international dealings are over with. It'll probably take that long, you know." She turned her head back to him. "I'm going to be very busy, myself for a while."
"I didn't think of it like that." He scooted next to her and wrapped his arm around her. Al leaned his chin into her neck and spoke softly into her ear. "If you are fine with whatever this is we have, then I will be too."
"Al?" She rolled over to embrace him, they both stared into each others eyes.
"Will you just be with me now, while you are here?"
"Yeah, Julia." He was so close, she could feel his warm breath on her face. "I will." He pressed his lips to hers.
Three days and nights. That was how long it took Winry to complete Ashley Crichton's arm and construct the mechanisms that would hold his hand gun. She built it in the mansion's shop only leaving to relieve herself. Maria threw fits when she discovered the girl wasn't eating so she regularly brought her trays and trays of tempting goodies which Winry barely touched. Alphonse told the woman that he'd seen the mechanic do this once before when his brother had busted his automail and she pulled three all-nighters in a row to get it finished. The girl was just driven once she had a goal…sort of like Edward in that respect.
Speaking of the Elder Elric, he'd also been gone for three days. Ivan told Winry what Ed had asked, that she go home. Winry told Ivan if he saw Ed, to tell him for her to "go to hell." She wasn't leaving until she was good and ready and she wasn't ready. Ivan told Alphonse Ed said he'd return soon, he had some business to take care of in the West. Al knew his brother's disappearance could only have to do with him thinking that Winry had been with Ashley that night and Al wished his brother would just come home so they could work this all out.
One rainy morning as Julia and Alphonse enjoyed one of Maria's fine breakfasts, the two were shocked when a rag tag and exhausted automail mechanic plopped herself down at the large wooden table and demanded coffee.
"It's done." She grumbled and took the mug that Maria offered. "My best work since…since…Ed's." She smirked at the memory.
"Honey, you gonna kill yourself." The housekeeper placed a large plate of sausages, eggs and toasted bread in front of the girl. "Please slow a bit and eat."
"Thank you, Maria." Winry picked up a fork and started to devour her food. Now that her mind was off the automail, it was down to business with her own needs.
"I'm happy you've finished it. Maybe you can relax a bit." Julia smiled as she spoke. "Why don't you have him come here to install it. Maria can fix a nice supper." She winked at her housekeeper.
"Doesn't matter to me. Are you ok with him coming here?"
"Yeah, we need to talk and I think he's ready to face me finally." Alphonse placed his hand over Julia's and squeezed.
"That's good." Winry didn't miss the sign of affection that Al gave Julia. It was her first realization that there was something going on between the two.
"Miss Julia, you are going to be late." Maria scolded.
"Right!" Julia wiped her mouth and stood to leave.
"What's going on today?" Al was concerned because she hadn't mentioned anything.
"The Prime Minister, Marshall has called a meeting to finalize our decision to accept or reject the Amestrian offer." She grabbed her leather briefcase that was by the door.
"What will they do?"
"I don't know, Al. But I'm voting yes. We cannot keep going like we are without the protection of Amestris and I don't trust Creta." She closed her eyes. "As much as we fought for our sovereignty, Milos is simply too small, to helpless against these two mightier nations. We have to chose between the lesser of two evils."
"I'm sure you will do what you think is best." He got up to see her to the door.
"Julia!" Winry stopped eating and turned to speak. "If you want to, I'll tell Ashley to come here tonight for his arm. Even if he doesn't want to see you, I know he's been waiting for me to finish it and will come."
"That would be just fine, thank you." She didn't know what she was more nervous about-giving up Table City or talking to her brother.
Two rather scruffy looking men exited the train from Creta. Their travel papers passed the inspections and they traveled with no luggage. They made their way to Table City Hotel for a certain room on the third floor. Following them closely was a stout man, more sturdy than fat. He wore an air about him as if he were wearing a military uniform instead of a three piece suit. It was evident to all who noticed the trio that this larger man was the superior and the scruffy one's his subordinates. They waltzed passed the inquisitive desk clerk and climbed the stairs until they came to the room they sought. The leader took his walking cane and tapped the sterling silver wolf's head tip upon the door three times. The door slowly creaked open.
"Colonel Herschel or should I say, Ashley Crichton?" He smirked.
"You knew?" Ashley asked. His heart beat faster knowing his superior stood before him and he knew the truth.
"Always have." He pushed him aside and he and his men stepped inside. The last man slammed the door shut and stood blocking Ashley's escape.
"You gave me total authority here." Ashley knew any sign of weakness would not be tolerated.
"I did, but you are taking too long and it seems you are enjoying the company of Miss Rockbell as well."
"Just using her and gaining her trust. I have a meeting tonight with her and my sister." His eyes stared the man down. "Nothing has changed. It is a benefit she is making me an arm, that's all."
"A benefit?" His voice raised.
"You don't need to worry, go back, everything is going as planned."
"As you planned or as we planned? Did you know the array is already set up in the valley? Did you know they have been waiting on the alchemist for days?" Anger swelled up.
"Yes."
"Where the hell is he?" His gray eyes burned through the back of Ashley's head with anger.
"There are complications. The alchemist has disappeared. I hope to learn his whereabouts tonight."
"Disappeared? You can't even keep track of ONE single person? Incompetent!" He stood. "That's why these two are going to make sure you do your job!" he motioned to the two men who snarled in return.
"God-damned chimeras." Ashley muttered under his breath as one of the men came toward him cracking his knuckles.
