Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my problem, that's what I always say.

A series of drabbles, enjoy!

And a huge Thank You to my Beta The Pandemonium-Chaos Disorder!

Chapter Ten: Nerves

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There were very few moments in Winry Rockbell's life that she could say she were ever this gut wrenchingly nervous.

The first would be the day after Den had been given the automail leg. She was still but a mere child barely even seeing the peak of teenage years, but she would never forget how nervous she was as her grandmother walked out of the room, her apron splotched with blood and a grim look on her face. Den was still barely a puppy herself and it was the first forty eight hours of nail biting anxiety to see if the pup would make it through the surgery.

The second incident would be directly related to the same mechanics, so to speak. She remembered once having the same anxious nervousness as she waited for Edward to come around and out of his surgery. Sure, it was a little more intense then when Den was going through the process, but it was still the general feeling that came along with the wait.

Edward apparently made it through his ordeal, which landed her in the situation that she was in now; waiting on a train station platform for him, the unfamiliar nervous bubble in her stomach threatening her morning meal.

She did not like how he was doing these things to her. It wasn't that she wasn't ready to see him or anything.

No, it more so had to do with the unsure setting she suddenly found herself in. It was a story always told and embellished in magical smelling rose bushes of wonder...but it never told the after story of blissful-faceless-conversations leading up to the inevitable physical meeting after the awkward three months of separation.

Winry paused before biting her lip hard. I mean really, this was seriously bothering her, and on a multitude of levels. How was someone supposed to interpret this?

An unexpected proposal of the joining of two individual lives into one with a departure added five minutes later lasting over the time span of three months. Three months that consisted of more phone calls, mails, and telegrams than she ever received from him in one adventure, but none the less still three months of avoiding the elephant screaming in the room.

And now she was seeing him face to face again.

The same face she dreamed about on a daily basis. The same face connected to a body she helped build.

The same body she had also been dreaming about almost daily-though the intensity always was a wide variety of inexplicable colors.

The same body she imagined was next to her, soothing her, loving her, was finally going to physically be there. No more curling around her pillow in a desperate attempt to just feel like he was closer, like the elephant they never talked about was still an elephant, one she didn't dream up, and one that would one day be tagged.

Flesh, bone, blood, and a little metal, would finally be with her again.

Winry felt her chest tighten. The anxiety was crushing her.

What if after all his time away from her Edward had decided they were better off as just being friends? How would she be able to handle that?

She didn't really think she could.

So many day dreams of their future together had filtered through her mind at break neck speeds. After all that she didn't think it was plausible at this point to go back to how things once were. Her Pandora's Box had been opened and she'd be damned if she closed it any time soon.

A distant whistle brought her attention back.

Winry gulped, frowning to herself as she tried to remember when it was she ate this rock in her throat. Her eyes shifted robotically to the fellow patrons beginning to stand from their benches and make their way towards the platform. They were all smiles and bubbly excitement and she could only wonder what type of image she conjured up to them.

Winry's brow furrowed as she tried to take a step forward. Odd, her feet seemed to be stuck to the floor. They must have just been resealing the floors and she accidentally stepped on the one piece of wood they also accidentally left upside down.

Well, that was a first.

As the train approached she felt as if she was at a major mile stone in her life.

They say that there's a fork in the road, and this was her fork.

She felt like she could at this very moment just close her eyes and see the two different possibilities her life could be going.

A small sheen of sweat beaded on her brow.

This was the moment in her life that would influence the rest of her days. Right here could be the straw on the camel's back, or the elephants inevitable tagging.

The wheels screamed in their halting, the metal and metal mix ringing loudly in her ears. People smiled, their fans waving sporadically in an attempt to busy their hands, their excitement causing them to bounce on their toes.

Winry stood motionless, watching from a vantage point in the back that she had never been in. She was normally one of those people. She was normally waiting with eager expectation for Edward to step off that train and surprise her with what was going on in his life.

But this was not normal, and she already knew what was going on his life.

She knew that he was going to be stepping off that train with all his limbs attached. She knew that he was healthy. She knew that he had not been pierced, poked, or prodded by any sharp object, and yet it was different.

When she should have once been this nervous to see him she never was.

And now when she knew everything she suddenly was.

The train finally halted, and people gathered even closer, their skirts fluttering and hearts racing. Though she didn't wear a skirt her heart was certainly racing, and not to outdo anyone, but she was sure it was going a hell of a lot faster than anyone else's too.

Painstakingly slow, people finally began to debark the train, their eyes wide and happy to be reunited with the ones they loved. Happy cries were spouted, wives kissing their husbands, children hugging their grandparents. The reunion was joyful.

And all Winry could feel was a sick pit of dread.

It was now that she realized why.

Before they had grow up everything had been like this. They had always known where they were going, what they were aiming for. Edward and Alphonse had always had a plan, and even though sometimes they didn't know how to get there they always had an end.

But not now.

Now it was a mystery. Now she was no longer the naive little girl she had once been, and Edward was no longer the troubled little boy he had once been. He was a man, she was woman, and they were both growing up.

But there was no end, no goal to fight towards, and no adventure to go on.

It would just be the two of them.

Heat sparked on Winry's face as the crowd slowly parted, the families and friends leaving with their catch.

And then it happened.

He stepped off the train, his head bowed and his bag clutched lightly in his hand.

And everything stopped.

He looked up and met her eyes, his shining and a smile tucked happily on his mouth. She watched in a trance like state as his lips caressed her name, and though she was too far away to hear it she knew it was hers.

And slowly a smile broke onto her face.

She was wrong. She was so wrong. This wasn't their end. This was their beginning. There were new adventures for them to go on, and new things for them to discover.

And sure, she might not know what was supposed to happen now, or where their life would take them, but right now, looking up into his eyes, and seeing his face she realized, everything would be okay.

They would figure it out together.

Her feet were magically unglued from the floor and Winry took off. She thought she said his name, but if she were looking back on it from days, months, or years to come, she would say it was his warmth she remembered the most.

His arms opened and he took her with him, engulfing her smaller-finally-frame into his and suddenly everything was okay.

It would be okay to be nervous and unsure, and it would be okay to not agree with everything, and maybe to ignore that elephant who was weeping happily in the corner, but it would still be okay. As long as there was a Winry and Edward then she would make it okay.

His arms tightened.

"I missed you."

She smiled around her tears-it must have been raining on her eyes, she didn't remember crying.

"Welcome home."

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A.N. So I know that I was going to be posting more than 4000+ chapters and all, and I still am! I wrote this on my old computer and it crashed and after much begging, pleading, and crying my friend successfully restored all my old documents from that computer and this bad boy was on it! SO! My next chapter is already 3/4 done, and will be out soon. I hope yall enjoy this chapter while you wait for my next!

Mucho love!