Winry's POV
I felt a groggy feeling as my eyes slowly opened to the sound of birds chirping. The light from the window seeped into the room through the blinds, making my eyes sting from the suns bright rays shining directly into them. Pushing my hair away from my face, I squinted at the alarm clock nearby on the nightstand, 12:05 P.M. I couldn't believe how late I slept in, but the night had been long and draining from the work. The time felt like it was dragging after Edward left, and Roy Mustang must have felt sorry for me, once seeing my nervous mind racking with worry, so he found something to help pass the time. The military was currently running low on staff for their automail needs, and I was beyond happy to lend a helping hand, so after a hefty amount of paperwork, there I was - contributing to making mechanical limbs for numerous soldiers. It did more than just pass the time during the day, as many of the men and women needed updated to the current mechanical standards this year, but the nights were hard to get through. It was quiet during the late night; it was too quiet, and while I tried every attempt possible at sleep - it was something that didn't come easy. Alphonse in his spare time would do everything he could to make me feel at ease, but finding information on the current situation took most of his time. My mind constantly whirled with agonizing over Edward, wondering if he was safe...or even alive. It had been the longest six months that I had ever experienced! At least during their journey to return their bodies I would receive letters from Edward, letting me know how things were - sometimes even getting an awkward phone call since speaking in general wasn't exactly his forte. But these six months? None of us had heard a single thing, and the hardest part was that interference could put the entire mission into detrimental states...so we had no choice but to wait patiently for some sort of contact. I raised my head at the sound of a knock on the door.
"Miss Winry? Are you decent?"
"Just a second!" I replied, quickly throwing the covers off of me, grabbing at my pants that I had slung carelessly to the floor. I raced over to the door, revealing a small framed woman who saluted me right away. Some of the soldiers felt it necessary to be official with me due to the amount of respect both Edward and Alphonse, but I'm sure it would have been more over the top had everyone known about Ed and I being engaged.
"Lieutenant Phillips would like to see you down at the automail workroom." The tiny woman perked up slightly. Due to her formalities, I made the safe assumption that she hadn't been in the military long, or she was nervous dealing with me because of Edward...since Ed's temper appeared to stretch far and wife across the military personnel. Oh god...did people think I was just as hot headed?
"Oh, Do you know what for? He said he didn't need me today since the new parts weren't coming in until tomorrow."
"Unfortunately I do not have any details, I apologize Miss Winry." She said, a nervous tone present. I waved my hands at her and smiled shyly.
"You can just call me Winry! I'm not sure if you've heard about Edward's short-temper, but I'm much nicer than he is!" I laughed awkwardly. The female soldier seemed to loosen her posture, but anxiety seemed to cling to her facial features. She brushed her short brown hair away from her eyes as she continued to stare at me intently. I shifted my weight onto my right foot as an awkward tension built between us. I normally wasn't escorted anywhere since I was safe on base...so I couldn't figure out why she hadn't left yet.
"Was there anything else?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.
"No Mis-...um, Winry. I will be leaving then if you no longer need anything from me."
And with that, she quickly spun on her heel and began to walk away before I could even say thank you.
"That...was odd." I muttered to myself, pushing my har behind my ear. Closing the door, I quickly threw on my work jumper, tying it around my waist while attempting to brush my teeth at the same time. Multi-tasking wasn't normally my finest endeavor, however I found my curiosity eating away at me for what the Lieutenant might have needed. Surely, I didn't make any mistakes on the last round of automail limbs we prepared?
Winry's POV cont'd
The first few times that I tried to find the automail workroom was like a maze. I wasn't really used to being on a military base - besides the times I would visit Ed and Al back in the day, but bounding around on my own hadn't been on my list of accomplishments. But after being stuck inside base for months - you get used to figuring your way around.
Skipping over the last step up to the door, I reached out for the handle, anxious to be in the workroom.
"Hello Miss Winry! I thought you had the day off?"
I smiled and waved at a few of the military personnel that were carrying in new parts.
"Lieutenant Phillips asked me to come in. I don't think I'll be here long, you guys need any help?" I replied.
"Nahhh. We're good! Once you're done speaking with the lieutenant make sure you get the hell out of here - you need to take a break! You've been working too hard!"
"Hahaha alright. I'll make sure I try and relax."
I playfully shot them a salute as I continued making my way into the workroom. It was a strange but good feeling, since when I first walked into this building I felt a bit overwhelmed with the amount of experience I was dealing with, but with time the men and women treated me like I had always been there. It was a nice feeling that I welcomed and helped whenever Alphonse was locked up in Mustang's office trying to dig up information on the current mission at hand.
Yanking my bandana from my pocket, I quickly tied it up in my usual way, keeping my bangs from straying into my sight. I looked around closely at the rather large workroom, on the look for an older man with dark hair, and found my stomach skip at the sight of a hand waving me over.
"Ah Winry! I'm so sorry to call you in on your day off. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Lieutenant Phillips exclaimed, giving me an apologetic glance before fixing his eyes back onto a list he was check marking.
"Oh, no! I actually would much rather be here; it keeps me busy and makes the days go by faster! What can I help you with? Short on help with connecting the nerves again?"
He shook his head, frowning down at his list.
"Actually it's a bit of a longer errand than that I'm afraid. I have to go meet with the Brigadier General in less than an hour, but we're out of parts for the newest model A08 - for the frontline men? We were supposed to get a shipment in today, however someone marked down the wrong list of materials needed. I've called around the shops outside of base to see if we could buy the rest of their stock until our shipment comes in on Tuesday. I wouldn't normally approach things in this way, however the military personnel in need of their automail limbs to be complete are shipping out tomorrow. If I'm being frank - you're the only one I trust that knows exactly what to get. It shouldn't take you too long; the shop is right by Richmond and you'll be accompanied by 3 of my men to help you load the truck. I would do so myself but Mustang sounded like he was in one of his moods. So...would you help an old man out?" He chuckled embarrassed.
"Uh..." I stuttered, my head fogging up with my own thoughts. To be fair, he didn't know that I wasn't to leave base - it was information a bit out of his territory. I guess everyone trusted me to stay on base and be responsible to some degree, but at the same time...getting off base would be nice, and I'd be back before anyone even knew! Did I risk the fact that Lieutenant Phillips could run into Alphonse at Mustang's office? Well..yes. He did know that I was on base because of some connection to the Elric brothers, but that was pretty much all he knew!
"Winry...?"
I found my heart ready to beat through my chest and bit my lip nervously. The lieutenant didn't have anyone else to do this - something I found surprising to say the least - and it was pretty imperative to the military to have those parts...
Straightening my posture, I grinned the best I could to not show my nerves.
"I'd love to help. When do we leave?"
I watched the older man sigh heavily with relief as he gripped the clipboard tightly.
"I'd need you to leave now actually. My men are already waiting for you in the truck outside. I wanted to be prepared in the case you accepted. Thank you so much. You are saving an old guy from lots of paperwork and an angry Brigadier General!"
I nodded, keeping my smile plastered on my face like cement. I just had to keep calm enough for a little while. Richmond wasn't very far from what I remembered, and the shop selling us the parts was already aware of us coming...There really wasn't anything to worry about when I thought about it, besides an exasperated Al if he found out that I had snuck off the boundaries of safety. I couldn't help but feel guilt slightly tugging at me, creating grief for the younger Elric wasn't something I wanted to do, but I was suffocating being trapped on base, and there was no way I was passing this opportunity.
What's the harm of getting a few parts?
Edward's POV
"What the hell are we even doing...I don't get why I had to tag along for this." I growled, accidentally putting my elbow on the button that made the window go down. I swore under my breath and removed myself from leaning against the car door. Christian shot me a warning glance, something I was used to receiving from him. During the past months, we had grown to be a good team, but considering the circumstances - we could only trust each other anyways.
"Why Edward, you don't enjoy the company you have at hand? Besides, we need an automail mechanic who know's what they're doing. That last imbecile I couldn't tolerate any further - he couldn't get my nerves connected properly." Replied Roma, stretching out his mechanical arm and flexing it's fingers.
Roma was a lean built man, in his early thirties. He held handsome characteristics and had a charming appeal, but any positive notion of the man was rendered bleak in comparison to the sick and twisted rage that bubbled underneath his perfect smile. He was the one to call upon when you needed someone to disappear. While most people would cringe at the thought of torturing - Roma had a passion and talent for it. The elders adored his gift for the blade - some of them even watching while he slowly sliced through his poor victim's flesh. It was rumored that his precision was due to OCD, but I think that's bullshit. I think he's just a sick fuck.
"Why bring me along though...I could be researching back at the estate." I glared up into the rearview mirror, his green eyes coming into contact with mine. Smoothing his dark red hair back, he grabbed at the front seat in order to twist his body to face me, the driver shooting us a nervous glance as Christian cleared his throat, warning me to keep my mouth shut. The thing was...I never did.
"Your automail needs serviced as much as mine does. Look at your damn leg, you can't even walk properly on it. You and I both need to keep in shape since we're low on security anyways. Besides, we aren't the only ones with automail back at the estate who needs upgrades. Enjoy your time out, those old bastards can wait for your research discoveries."
The car hit a bump in the road that forced Roma to grab at his seat. He shot a glare at the nervous driver beside him as I bit a smirk. Arrogant fucker deserved it.
"Where are we going to find a mechanic? Did they have specifications on who or where?" Christian spoke up, clearing his throat.
"Nahhh. They just said to make sure we bring back someone who knows what they're doing this time, so this next guy better have his prayers in order or I'll be happy to rearrange his body parts. I've been thinking about breaking my record lately..." Roma stated, tapping his chin as he drifted into thought. Christian was afraid of Roma and he made it well known to the sadistic man, who often enjoyed making people feel uncomfortable with his pleasure in causing pain.
If it hadn't been for Christian in the car with us, I would have tested the asshole's patience with my undying sarcasm, but decided to bite my tongue for the sake of the poor man beside me, who was already pulling at his collar anxiously.
"So how are we going to know if the mechanic is good enough?" Christian spoke up again. Roma sighed, exasperated by the constant questions and rolled down his window in boredom.
"I don't know, guess we will just see if the guy can properly fix limpy's leg back there. We should be coming up on the little shop I saw the other day soon - we will check there first. The guy who owns it normally just sells parts but it's probably a hot spot for automail mechanics."
I rolled my eyes at his response, but it would be nice to find someone qualified enough...if only I could get to Winry somehow. She seemed to be the only one capable of making my artificial limbs immaculate - it was her work after all. I felt a certain sadness overwhelm me inside, but made sure to not let it show. I couldn't help but wonder how Winry and Alphonse were doing...I knew they were safe since the last report anyone did on brother was that he seemed to disappear from the city. If Winry ever knew half the things I'd gone through already - she would bash my head in with her beloved wrench most definitely. I bit back a grin, picturing her face fuming. While she may have thought she appeared scary, I couldn't help but always think her face was sort of cute when she was having one of her fits. My heart felt a sickening tug as the thought of her hit me hard...I really missed that gear head.
Winry's POV
"Whoa whoa whoa hold up!" I exclaimed, waving my hands at the soldier carrying 3 boxes. He paused, confused by my outburst and watched me crouch to the ground, picking up a rather large size rock and throwing it off to the side. "You almost tripped over that." I said, giving him a thumbs up to continue heading to the truck.
"Thanks Miss Winry!"
Eyeing a few other boxes that were already sitting outside the shop, I quickly checked each one to make sure it was the parts we needed back on base. Muttering to myself as I counted, I found myself distracted by voices from within the shop, and peered in slightly through the screen door.
"I'm sorry sir, I just sell materials to automail engineers! I'm not one myself or I'd help you, but I can give you excellent recommendations to some fine places."
"Oh..." Replied an older man, feeble with his age. "I don't have very much money, but I was hoping to have someone take a look at my hand and give me an estimate. I can't move the fingers anymore and tried to work on it myself...but it was pretty hopeless for me to attempt it."
I frowned slightly, feeling sorry for the elderly man. My head snapped back over to one of the guys with me who tapped my shoulder lightly.
"Miss Winry, we've finished loading the truck. Was there anything else you needed from the store?"
"Um...actually, if you don't mind - I'd really like to help that older gentleman in there...but these parts need to be back on base and in the workroom right away. The gate isn't too far from here, you guys go ahead and I'll walk back okay?"
He shifted uncomfortably, I think it was guilt for leaving me behind, but it was more important for the materials to be in the workroom asap in the end.
"I'll be fine, it's a nice part of the city and like I said - the gate isn't very far from here. It should only take me 10 minutes most to walk back." I reassured him.
"Okay..." He replied with uncertainty. I could tell he really didn't like this, but at the same time was thankful that he wasn't aware of my situation. Was it the brightest idea to be off base? Ehhh no...and was it a smart decision to be alone off base? Well...it's not like Edward or Alphonse would ever find out!
I watched as the soldiers hopped into the truck and heard the vehicle start. Shooting a smile at the pair of eyes I saw in the side mirror, I waved them off to show that there was no need for worry. Once I was back, I should probably stop by the workroom to let them know that I was alright; it was the polite thing to do.
I turned my head to the sound of a bell ringing above the entrance and saw the older gentleman walking out of the store with a few supplies in his hands. At least the man inside knew what parts he would need...
"Um, excuse me, sir!" I said, waving him over in my direction. "I couldn't help but overheard your conversation, and I'd love to fix your automail for you if that's okay. The problem isn't actually a large one and I could have it easily done in a few minutes if you're willing to wait."
"Oh! Well..I'm afraid I don't have very much money...but I can give you what I have!" He said, a twinkle in his eye as he shoved his free arm into his pocket and fished around for his payment. Quickly shaking my head I patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't worry about paying me. I'm happy to help."
I felt my heart beat at the sight of the older man's eyes brimming with tears as he thanked me over and over. Sometimes I forgot how much automail could cost; it never really occurred to me since Edward was paid well through the military and being a state alchemist really helped out financially.
Pulling out the few tools I had on me from my pockets, I led him to the bench in front of the store so I could begin working on his hand.
"Now let's get you fixed up and on your way home!"
Edward's POV
"Do you have to play with the damn window?" I growled, watching Roma press the button up and down.
"What else do you propose I do while we are stuck in traffic?"
"Sit there...quietly?"
From the side mirror I could see him smirking at me. It bothered him that I didn't hold the same fear of him the way everyone else did, probably the reason they paired me up with him so many times...despite our difference in our work. I noticed his gaze drift towards the sound of a female voice - something that wasn't unusual for his character. But it was the way his eyes grew wide and the smile that bared his teeth that caught me off guard.
"Driver, let us out right here."
"Roma?" Christian questioned, but was met with no response as the car pulled away from the traffic and to the side. I couldn't help but find my curiosity grow, normally Roma was never THAT taken by a female, at least not from what I had seen. The man enjoyed two things - killing people slowly and prostitutes. His relationships were never friendly or that of a love affair, so it was odd to see him so entranced by something...or someone.
I quickly opened the car door and ran up to him, accidentally bumping into an older man while doing so.
"I'm sorry" I apologized quickly, my eyes flashing down to his automail hand.
"No worries son! I'm having a good day, take care!" He replied happily as he walked away. I raised my eyebrows again at the sound of the same female voice we heard earlier and turned towards the direction of it. It sounded...strangely familiar...I felt myself grow uneasy, but quickly reassured myself. There was no way it was Winry - she was safely within the protected grounds of the military base. There was no way Alphonse would ever let her slip out anyways! But it was the sound of Roma's voice that made my feet move faster.
"Could you take a look at my friend's leg? We've been needing a mechanic that is qualified. We will pay you handsomely for your time."
My heart beat loudly in my ears as I rounded the side of the building where I found Roma, looking down at someone sitting at a wooden bench.
"Roma! What the hell do you think you're doing runni-"
And that's the moment, I knew my heart had stopped beating for those few fleeting moments as my eyes met with two very familiar blue ones.
FIRST OFF! this is quite terrible of me, but I feel so bad for leaving you guys hanging! I decided to publish this chapter tonight and proofread it in the morning. I tried to scan over it quickly for errors. So I do apologize for that! I just didn't want to make you wait any longer. :)
How much do you hate me for that cliffhanger? ;D I know this chapter was a little shorter than my others but it felt like a good place to stop. I know a few places may seem rushed but I promise you this story will NOT be rushed. I just felt that I didn't need to long chapters of their time apart, plus there will be flashbacks of what Edward has been doing all this time at the estate so don't think I'm just leaving details out! Give it time, you will see! :) Thank you for reading my story and if you review, please do so Kindly! :D
