Brief Commentary:
Yay! Thanks to terrible, nasty weather, school is off for today, then it's the weekend! Maybe fairies really do exist...-shifty eyes- But anyway, I decided I would take this opportunity to write the next chapter (as well as edit a few past ones that may need it). I'm a little nervous - how the hell do you make Paninya sad? It just doesn't work. I guess I'll just have to grit my teeth and get to it then.

Side Note: Huzzah! We're on Chapter Ten - already?!

Reasons Not For Your Ears
Chapter Ten

After they had retrieved Winry's bicycle, the car had arrived, pulling up almost as soon as she had unchained it.With a small grunt, she removed it from the bike rack and, along with the assistance from the driver, put it carefully into the trunk. The man closed the trunk door in a surprisingly quiet manner, then gestured for her to climb into the vehicle. Obediently, she did, and slid into the back passenger's seat next to Alphonse. When the car was started and drove away from the school, it was in utter silence.

It remained that way for the entire trip to Paninya's house. Winry couldn't help but worry - how would her friend be holding up? She didn't think she had ever seen Paninya upset...ever. Angry, certainly, but never in anything that might lead to tears. Chewing her lip, Winry nearly jumped as she felt a light touch on her shoulder. Turning her head, her eyes met Alphonse's; she found that his were full of equal concern. She felt a little weight leave her shoulders. At least he had (for now) left thoughts of his brother behind and begun to feel anxious for Paninya. Hugging herself, Winry gave him a weak smile in return.

The very aura surrounding Paninya's house was grim as the two stepped out of the car. Alphonse had turned to ask the driver to pick them up in an hour or so before the vehicle drove off, leaving them behind to stare helplessly at one another. After a few moments, they began to slowly walk forward, a depressing sensation beginning to invade their insides. Eventually they reached the door, Winry carefully knocking, then ringing the doorbell when there was not a response. A minute or so passed, before the door opened, and a dark-skinned, well-dressed woman, who was a bit more feminine shaped than Paninya, stood in front of them. Her eyes were dull, and her black hair was falling ungracefully from its careful bun as she seemed to slump against the door frame.
"May I help you?" she said quietly.
"We're friends of Paninya's...we came to visit her," Alphonse responded in an equally solemn manner, extending his hand to shake. The woman hesitantly reached out her own hand to shake his, and a tiny, sad smile rose to her lips.
"I'm glad her friends are concerned for her - maybe you can cheer her up...a little. Her father really was the world to her...I'm her mother. Please come...in."
The woman began to cry again, tears flowing down her face as her legs gave under her. Winry rushed forward to catch her under her arms, and allowed Paninya's mother to lean on her as she wept. With a quick, pained look for Alphonse to go ahead upstairs and find Paninya, she awkwardly began to pat her head, and blushed as she muttered,
"It'll be okay, Oba-san, it'll be okay. You can cry all you want, Oba-san."

Long after Alphonse had gone upstairs, Paninya's mother eventually began to stifle her crying and angrily wiped away her tears, shame-faced.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, "for crying on you like that when I don't even know your name..."
"Rockbell, Winry," Winry offered. "I'm sorry for calling you...Oba-san so quickly."
"No, that's fine," she smiled weakly. "I'm Aetern, Mary."
"Mary-san..."
"Please, you can still call me Oba-san," Mary chuckled quietly, obviously biting back another sob as she stood up. "I'll just go lie down on the couch."'
Winry said nothing as the woman left her in the door way, where the cold air was still rushing into the house with every gust of wind. Closing it, she quietly climbed up the staircase, ignoring the creaks it made as she did, and found herself in a narrow, carpeted hallway with various doors lining the sides of the walls. At the end of the hall way, Alphonse sat near the last door, his head perched on his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs as he leaned against it.
"Al?" she asked cautiously. Looking up, a small frown lingered on his lips as he said,
"I was asked not to come in."
"Oh..."
"Winry, please, try."
"...okay."
Hesitantly she knocked on the door, and ignoring the "Go the hell away, mom," she twisted the knob open and stepped inside.

Paninya lay curled into the fetal position on her bed, still in her pajamas, hands covering her face as tears leaked from her eyes. A roiling stench coming from a bowl near her bedside tipped Winry off that her friend had already thrown up several times.
"Pan, it's me," she whispered, avoiding the discarded clothes lying on the floor as she moved closer. The dark-skinned girl cracked an eye open as Winry joined her on the bed, dipping the mattress slightly with the extra weight.
"...Win?"
Furiously, Paninya wiped away the tears on her face and sat up, trying to look angry with her friend as she demanded. "Why the hell are you here?"
"I heard, Pan. And I'm so sorry." Winry attempted to give her a hug, but was disappointed as she quickly slithered out of the embrace.
"Go away!" she growled at her. "Just leave me alone - you can't possibly-"
"Know what it's like?" Now it was her turn to grow angry. "Both of my parents were murdered; did you forget? Five years ago. And the police still don't know who did it. Don't try to tell me I don't know what it feels like to lose a parent! You're being really selfish, Paninya! Just because your father died doesn't mean you have the right to say what you want, nor does it mean the world revolves around you! Dammit, Paninya-"
Before Winry could finish her raging, she was cut off when Paninya fell onto her and wrapped her arms around her waist, beginning to cry harder than she had been before as her head rested against her friend's stomach. Through the chokes and sobs, she thought she heard something like,
"Sorry, sorry, sorry...I'm sorry...really sorry...sorry!"
Her fury melted away easily, and the blonde-haired adolescent in turn wrapped her arms around Paninya's shoulders, muttering,
"Can Al come in now?"
There was a nod.
"Al," Winry said loudly.
The door opened and there he stood, concern and confusion etched into his handsome face as he took in the sight of the slightly hysterical Paninya clutching Winry to her as she cried.
"Al," she said a little more softly. "Help me out here."
Understanding what she meant, Alphonse gently pried Paninya's arms away from Winry's waist (again, her stomach twitched at the brief contact of his hands on her skin) and lifted her to lean against the head board of her bed. Knowing he had no place on top of her mattress, he instead sat on the floor. His relatively large height helped keep him in view; the bed was also not that far off of the ground.

Groping around for something to hold onto, Paninya eventually found a pillow and held it tightly to her, quietly crying into the soft cotton fabric before she looked up, red-eyed, at her friends. Clearing her throat, she began with,
"I'm sorry."
"Why?" Winry asked gently, leaning forward to remove a strand of hair from Paninya's face.
"...I'm being a bitch."
"No, I was," she quickly realized what she meant. "You're upset over your father's death, and I should've understood that better. I forgot how awful it is to lose a parent." Here she let her gaze drop to her hands, folded neatly in her lap. Alphonse allowed this dialogue to pass. As confused as he was, he knew it had been something the two girls had needed to sort out first for themselves.
"Paninya," he began, after several moments passed in silence. "I've also heard about your father. I also lost my mother several years ago, but I still feel upset whenever I think about her. She was a wonderful woman. Just as I'm sure your father was a wonderful man."
She nodded slowly.
"I...I do not believe in God," Alphonse said quietly, "so I don't think I'll say that he will be watching you from the heavens. Once a creature is dead, I'm afraid that it is dead. However, I'm certain that he loved you, his only child, very much, and that if he were still alive, he wouldn't want you to be this sad. Instead of crying for his death, try to celebrate his life, and everything he did. I'll bet that's what he would want."
Winry felt her own insides squirm in grief as she thought back on her parents, and she had to bite her lip to keep a few tears from escaping her.
"Y-yeah," she laughed awkwardly, leaning back against the mattress, "What Al said."
Paninya remained silent, before she let out a muffled,
"Thanks."
She emitted a few more shuddering sobs before she quieted down again, and, discarding the pillow, looked up at her friends again.
"Thanks," she repeated, and threw her arms around both Winry and Alphonse. "Thanks so much."
Winry found that her throat was blocked by a sob she herself wanted to let out, and was kept from saying anything. Alphonse answered for her,
"No problem, Paninya."
With a sad smile, the dark-skinned girl pulled away and slid off of the bed, crossing to the other side of the room before turning and asking,
"Have you guys eaten? I'm sure you're hungry."
The two glanced at each other and chuckled, both nodding.
"Let's eat then," Paninya offered a slightly cheerful grin before throwing open the door and leading them downstairs.
"Mom!" she called, "We're going to eat, do you want anything?"
Her expression saddened again as her mother appeared, cheeks wet with tears as she walked into the kitchen, glancing at her daughter with concern. Mary's face lightened when she saw Paninya's improved condition, and sent a quick look of thanks at Alphonse and Winry.
"Well," Mary said carefully, "I do believe we have pasta in the fridge that needs heating up."
Paninya smiled and nodded.
"'Kay, mom."

This chapter is a bit short, but I kind of ran out of things to do here. :/ -sigh- Who knows. I might add to it later. At least it didn't end all depressingly. Don't worry though, there will be plenty more things to cry over later. :) -is evil-

Oba-san: Aunt (Aunty, what ever)