I couldn't wait for you Chap.14
Entering Noah's apartment Edward walked over and kissed her cheek and leaning back "Noah I have something I have to talk to you and Winry about."
Noah smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck "Sure" then he noticed Edala "Noah why is Edala here?" Fear gripped his gut a little "Where's Winry?"
Noah looked down the hall to her bedroom "She's lying down." Edward's eyebrow's raised "Why? Is something wrong? Is she okay?" Noah reassured him Winry just wasn't feeling very well so she had offered to watch Edala while she got some rest.
"Why don't you go in and see her?" Noah pushed him somewhat down the hall "Oh and Edward we ironed out our agreement so she's almost your other partner. All we need is a ceremony so just act natural." 'Act natural, wow how the hell am I going to handle two women?' shrugging his shoulders 'I guess I'll figure it out as I go.'
As he walked into the bedroom he saw Winry lying on her side with her back to him. Walking over he sat on the edge of the bed and placed his left hand over her on her stomach. He could feel the baby bump that was starting to form and he rubbed it. She slowly opened her eyes and rolled her head back to look at him "Edward" He smiled at her "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." She smiled back at him as she placed her hand over his on her stomach "It's okay I can't really get comfortable right now anyway."
She looked up at him and knowing him the way she did she knew that look in his eyes "You're leaving aren't you Edward?" She knew he had went to the General's office and she always knew when he was about to leave.
He turned his head slightly to the side "How the hell do you do that?" then looking back at her "Yes for a couple of weeks." 'What? Wait you promised you'd be here' Panic gripped her thoughts "WHAT! EDWARD YOU PROMISED!" Noah heard her yelling and ran in "Is everything okay Edward?" Edward turned to her "It's fine Noah." Winry looked at Noah "Did you know he was leaving?"
Noah nodded her head "Yes he said something about being gone for a couple of weeks."
Winry scoffed "A couple of weeks?" Remembering the months and years that went by on their missions before, "We'll be lucky if he's back before this baby is five." She looked at him and by this point she was getting pissed "Right Edward? TELL HER!"
Edward sighed then he looked at Noah as he tried to calm Winry down "Look Noah sit down" Sitting then both down in front of him he looked at Winry "I know on other missions when I was in the military you didn't see me for months maybe years." Noah's head shot up "Month's or years?" Putting his hands up in front of him and waving them "But that's not going to be this time." He stared at both of them "I promise just a few weeks and if we can't get it done I'll quit and tell the General it's his problem." He took Winry's hand "Look Winry I know your used to the old Ed but I'm not him anymore" he looked to Noah for help "Family comes first now, I promise I'm not going to be gone that long."
Noah took her other hand "It's true Winry Edward has changed. Give him a chance to prove it to you." Winry looked at both of them and bit her lower lip as she turned to Edward "Alright Edward I'll let go of the past. But please come home soon I'm really scared for you guys to be out there doing all this again."
He smiled at her and leaned over and kissed her cheek "That's my girl." Then he turned to Noah who smiled softly at him and kissed her cheek "And you're my other girl." 'Wow this is weird and it's going to take some getting used too. They're both so different it's like night and day. I'm going to go crazy in less than a month.' He told her to get some rest as he and Noah left the room he stopped Noah in the hallway and lowered his head "She has a lot of baggage she's holding onto. Back then my pride, ego and selfish ways put her through hell and now I understand why she's upset." He looked in Noah's eyes and she saw a pleading yet deep hurt in his "Please try to help her break through that Noah and when I come back in a few weeks I'll have to work on the past with her for her to let it go." He lifted his head and with a confident look "I will be back in a few weeks with or without Nina." Looking over at his brothers scarfing down sandwichs "We all will."
Noah put her arms around his neck "Do not worry my love she's just upset and she's scared you won't come back again." And as she kissed him gently on the lips then leaned back, "I will help her and keep her company while you're gone so she's not alone Edward."
He looked in her eyes "Thank you Noah" Then his gaze dropped again "When I met you, you didn't know about any of this. Winry though she lived through it most of my childhood so yes I do feel somewhat responsible."
"Do not worry Edward she will come around and become the girl you fell in love with once more." She then got this strange look on her face as he looked at her "What is it Noah?"
Putting her finger to her lips she gave him a curious stare and smiled "Edward I would like to try out of control and animalistic sometime during sex." He gave her a surprised look "Uh….okay….yeah" he said a little shocked she said that but he just shrugged his shoulders.
She let him go and walked over to make him a sandwich and when she was done she handed it to him as he sat down next to his brothers to eat. She also made one for Winry and took it to her. As he sat there eating his sandwich he thought 'What the hell was that about?'
She took the sandwich into the room where Winry was laying and she noticed she was slightly crying "Winry what is it? Are you still upset with Edward?" Noah didn't understand all the worry that Winry had about them going on this mission. So Winry turned around and sat up on the bed and began to explain to Noah all the dangers of them going out on this mission and how it would be hard to just sit around and worry wondering if they were going to come back unscathed. "I thought my days of worrying about them were over but now I find myself right back in the same situation and I don't know how to handle it."
Noah looked towards the door then back to Winry "You should tell him what's bothering you he's really worried about you."
Winry looked up at Noah "Would you mind walking me back to my apartment Noah." Noah looked back at where Edward and his brothers were eating "Would you like me to get Edward."
Winry's head snapped up "No! That's okay I just want to go lay down with them here it's gotten too noisy."
"Alright then" Noah got up and helped Winry down the other hall to the door and they got to her apartment and Noah walked in and as she looked around she saw all the pictures of Winry and two boys that resembled Edward and Al. Winry walked into the kitchen and yelled back out "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME TEA NOAH?"
Noah walked over and picked up one of the pictures "Uh…..No thank you Winry." She said staring at it and saw how they looked as children. Then Winry came out of the kitchen and saw her looking at the picture "That picture was taken on my fourth birthday as you can tell Edward wasn't so photogenic back then." She walked over and sat her cup of tea down then walked up by Noah and pointed to the picture "You see the piece of cake in Edward's other hand? Well after the picture he tried to squash it on my head but he got Al instead." She began to laugh "Al got so mad." Then her face straightened up and she got a far off look "But five minutes later he forgave Ed."
"Wow you've known them that long?" Noah said putting the picture back down as they both sat on Winry's couch. "For as long as I can remember they've been in my life." She smiled at Noah "It was like having two brothers that constantly got on your nerves." She looked down to the floor "Then the day Ed got his certification it all changed. They were gone never even writing or anything. Ed was so focused on getting Al's body back that he just forgot everything else."
Noah could tell she was hurting through all that and she didn't know how to help her "I'm sorry Winry I knew you guys were close."
Winry smiled and began to explain to Noah "You know when I was younger I used to fantasize that when Edward finished what he was doing he'd come back and figure out he loved me and we'd get married." She looked the other way and lifted her hand and wiped the tear from her eye "But that was all it was it was a girl's childish wishful thinking. He found you and married you and had two beautiful children with you."
Noah's head lowered "Yeah but that was only after he found out he lost you." Being a gypsy made her strong and she could tell the bond Winry and Edward had was strong too and at that moment in time she figured out what Edward and Winry were and panic gripped her. Because she figured if he would have never came back through the gateway that day he would have been here with Winry. Even though now she was here with him she really didn't feel like she was his and he had suffered enough and she wanted him to be happy. When he brought her and their children here that made her happy and that's all she ever wanted was a place to belong and live her life where people didn't judge you for who or what she was.
So she finally made up her mind that she had had eight years with him and now he had brought her to a place she could live out the rest of her life in peace. She had a job and she could support herself and besides Winry needed him more right now and she couldn't see destroying something that was meant to be because of someone's final decision. It was time, time for her to let him go, time for him to be happy and still love his children but be with the person he was meant to be with, the person destiny had picked for him but also the person he chose to leave behind to save everyone else.
Winry noticed the look on Noah's face "Noah is something wrong?" Noah's head shot up "Yes! Everything, everything is all wrong." Feeling the despair and agony both Winry and Edward must have went through she got up and ran out the door leaving Winry calling after her but she didn't stop till she ran through her front door "EDWARD!" he heard her and came running "Noah what is it? What's the matter?" she looked into those amber glowing pools she'd looked into so many times "We have to talk and we have to talk now."
He was frightened by the way she was acting and he didn't know why she was so upset "Alright" he walked her down the hall to the bedroom and sat her on the bed then he got up and closed the door "Now do you mind telling me why you're so upset?" he asked walking over and sitting beside her.
She shook her head "I can't agree to this arrangement Edward." She looked into his eyes again "You know it and I know it you belong with her."
His hand went to his head as he shook his head in disbelief "Are you kidding me Noah?" she wanted him to listen and she needed him to listen as she frantically picked up a book and threw it at him getting his full attention "Have you gone crazy now too?" He asked jumping to his feet.
She started towards him and he could tell by the look in her eyes she had something on her mind "You Edward Elric must listen to me. We have had eight great wonderful years together and two beautiful children. But can you honestly tell me that if Winry wasn't dead on the other side you would have married me."
He thought for a minute and he couldn't say anything his mind went blank and as he stood there searching for an answer he thought about when he was searching for her and how desperately he wanted to find her. His eyes looked to the door because he felt cornered and he felt the truth rising in his throat. But Noah beat him to the answer "You can't answer me and that's what I was hoping for. That means Edward, you and I were just what I said, we were a fairytale. You had a destiny but you made a bad choice with a good motive at the time." He stood their stunned as she continued "If you would have never come back through the gateway that day you would have been here with her where you belong." She walked up and cupped his face "You have given me something I have always wanted love, happiness, children, and a new life here where I can be anyone I want to be. I have a job and a place to live and that's all because of you Ed. Your destiny lies with Winry it has since you were children your paths crossed for a reason Edward. You've been connected even though you were separated." She sat him down "When she was in trouble even though you were another world away you moved two worlds to get to her." She couldn't believe he wasn't getting it yet "Edward you're a smart man come on think about it."
He closed his eyes and thought about all the times when they were younger and all the stuff they had been through. He watched all of it like a mini movie in his head as he got to that day he decided to go back 'It could have went either way' he thought as his eyes slowly opened and he looked at Noah and she knew he had come to the same conclusion "We're soul mates?" he said softly and she laughed "Yes you finally got it. That's why you searched so hard for her on the other side and when she was dead a part of you died too so you just gave up."
He stood up "But what about you Noah?" he smiled at her "I loved you too."
She opened the door and lowered her eyes "Not nearly the way you love her Edward. Without her you're incomplete so I suggest you go talk to her. I want you to be with her the one you're meant to be with, the one that completes you." she walked over and started pushing him out the door "I will be just fine Edward I love my new life, Now it's time for you to start the life you should have had years ago. I love you too but love is a feeling we both have but what you have with her is true love you idiot so go and tell her what she means to you." He felt a sense of relief yet also rejection but it was a good rejection because for the first time in his adult life he felt whole and as he walked to Winry's door his heart began to beat faster and stronger.
He knocked on the door and when she answered it he just looked at her and she stared at him "Ed what is it?" He didn't say a word as he stepped forward and cupped her face and kissed her so passionately she thought her knees would buckle and as he leaned back he looked in her eyes "You are my life Winry and you always have been. I don't know who I was trying to fool with all of this but Noah has just set me straight and if you'll still have me I want to be completely yours and only yours."
She stared at him stunned and she was trying to process what he just said "But what about Noah?" He smiled and gave her a sideways glance "Noah has set me free from my commitment to her. She wants us to be together she says we missed that chance so long ago and we have another chance at it now." Winry couldn't believe Noah would just give him up that way "Why would she do that Edward?" He walked her backwards into her apartment and shut the door then he turned to her and smiled "Because Winry you can't come between soul mates and that's what we've been since we were children. I believe you were born for me and I was born for you but my stupid decision eight years ago threw us off that destiny and I'm sorry."
She closed her eyes and she remembered everything from their childhood and all the things they had been through and she realized he was right. The day he left was the day her life fell apart and was one mess after another but since he'd been back she felt whole again like she hadn't in years.
Opening her eyes she smiled at him as he walked closer to her "Welcome home Edward" she said as he leaned in "Glad to be back and I don't plan on leaving again." then he kissed her again and as they both sat there that night figuring out what had happened they realized that it was Noah that was suppose too be the one that put them back together.
That night when Noah went to sleep she had a dream that all had turned out the way it was suppose to and that she had done her part in her vision. She had been the faceless party she saw talking to both of them in her vision and that faceless party had mended their broken spirits.