A/N: I have a slight dilemma. I wasn't planning on skipping 29 (it's actually one of my favorites, actually), but I think it might be pushing the 'T' rating a little further than some would like. I think a few other future drabbles may also fall into that category. Considering that the majority of the chapters are pretty benign in that sense, I'd rather not bump up the rating, so I'll post them in a separate, appropriately rated story. Don't worry, if I post one of the M chapters, I'll also post the next K-T chapter here, as well.
That said, this chapter is 1st anime.
30. Horizon
"Al, come on, we've gotta be up early tomorrow," said Winry. The sandy-haired boy- about four years too old for his body- sat outside on the porch, watching the empty horizon.
"Winry, will we be back here tomorrow night?" he asked without turning around.
She knew exactly where this conversation was going. Again. "Probably not. I don't know how long it will take to find all the supplies we need," Winry replied. "Rush Valley's a big place."
"But what if he comes back and we're not here?"
Winry couldn't meet Al's eyes.
"What if he thinks something happened to us, or that we gave up?"
Winry shook her head. "Don't talk like that, Al," she said firmly. "I've been playing this waiting game far longer than you, so trust me. You can't live your life waiting for the answer, watching for it to come waltzing over the horizon to make everything all right again. We have to move o-"
"No," said Al, his head now drooping as well as he clutched the railing. "He's my brother, I know he'll come."
Winry shook her head, completely at a loss. "Al, don't waste your life w-"
"It's not a waste," he said very softly. "It's not a waste, and you should be waiting for him, too, Winry. He l-"
Al would never see the wrench coming, but Winry saw the opportunity pass. The wrench was really Ed's thing, anyway, so instead she snapped the dish towel in her hands across his shoulders. He "eeped" and finally whipped his head around to face her. "Alphonse, don't you dare tell me to wait anymore. I've been waiting for four years and you see where it's gotten me- still in Risembool, and still without the full prize at the end. I'm telling you not to wait so you don't repeat my mistakes." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing her death grip on the wrench in her pocket.
Al merely glared. "Would you still say that if you knew he loves you?" he asked.
The tears in her eyes burned and threatened to fall, but she knew she had to stay strong if she had a ghost of a chance at proving her point. "Doesn't change a thing," she choked out, and she stopped back inside, trying her hardest to believe her own lie.