Chapter Twenty Five: Emotions

The quiet through out the Hughes' residence was shattered by a single question.

"Wait, you did what!" Ed's shrill tone carried all the way to the kitchen and Winry flinched when she heard him. There was no denying what had caused such a reaction. Conceding that there was no point avoiding the situation, she got up and headed towards the guest room. Hughes and Mustang watched curiously as she walked by.

"Everything okay," Maes inquired.

"I'm sure it is. Don't worry." Without another word, she went down the hallway and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," she heard Al answer and she entered. For the first time since she knew him, Winry couldn't read Edward's expression. He was leaning forward on his arm for support and looking away from both Al and her.

"Are you guys alright?" Alphonse still seemed a little apprehensive to answer as he sheepishly glanced back at Edward.

"Yeah, I think so." They received a faint nod from Ed but he still seemed like he didn't want to have this conversation. "Right, Brother?" Ed sighed heavily and shrugged as though he still wasn't sure how he felt about all this.

"If you have some time now Winry, can you look at my leg?" It was clear he decided to just avoid the conversation all together.

"Sure, if you want. I've been working on a replacement arm too." Even though he'd changed the subject, she still felt that foreboding ache in her chest, knowing he wasn't okay with what had happened. "I'll go get my tools."

...

As Winry left the room, Alphonse was quick to follow her. He couldn't tell if Ed was just in shock or really upset. He certainly didn't want to make him mad especially after everything the two of them had endured these past several weeks.

"I didn't mean to upset him, I promise," he explained to Winry. "I'm just not good at keeping secrets."

"I know, Al. Don't worry about it." He nodded back but she knew he would worry no matter what she said. As they made their way to the kitchen, Al paused as he noticed Roy getting his jacket on.

"Where are you going?"

"My staff is coming back today from the North and I have another meeting with the council."

"Does it have to do with my brother?"

"No, probably not. They're just dealing with me now." His tone revealed he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Oh okay." Al seemed a little anxious for him.

"You don't have to worry, Al. I'll be back tonight." With nothing else to say, he headed out the front door. Hughes stood from the couch, stretching his arms over head.

"Well guess you're stuck hanging out with me now, huh Al? Yah hungry?" Alphonse only had to think about it for a second before nodding. He knew Ed just needed some time. It wasn't like Winry and him were together or anything otherwise it never would have happened. He found himself nodding in agreement to whatever Hughes was saying to him. Probably bragging about Gracia's cooking.

...

Being around Winry had never felt weird. Whenever she needed to do maintenance on Ed's automail, it wasn't a big deal. She had always been one of the few women he actually let this close to him. But this time was different. He couldn't tell if his view of her had changed or what. Maybe it was because of what Al told him earlier or even what happened with Dante. Either way, he felt extremely under dressed and awkward now. He couldn't think of anything to talk about so he said nothing, leaving the silence between them thick. Quietly he watched as she kept fooling around with his ankle, trying to focus more on the task instead of the close proximity she was to him.

"You really did a number on it this time, didn't you?" As much as he normally would defend himself, he just wasn't up to talking about it.

"I fell on the train back to Central. I think that's when it got messed up." She pulled at his leg some, noticing that he kept inching away. Her hand moved up to his knee and she bent his leg back and forward, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. Each time she straightened it out, there was a grinding sound and the joint wouldn't lock right.

"Mmm, I think the sockets' bent." She removed the plating that covered and got a better look at the inner workings. "And the halt cable is frayed really bad." Edward was certain all this 'Gear head' talk was all very interesting but he was only interested in one thing.

"Can you fix it?"

"Of course I can, who do you think I am," her response was typical but he had to catch himself before he said something stupid.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She caught the hesitation in his voice but didn't comment. She got some parts from her case and after another fifteen minutes or so, she was finished. Ed sat there rotating his ankle over and over again, relieved it felt normal again. She put the plating back on as well, glad that it was an easy fix.

"Can you turn on your side so I can see the damage to your port?" Normally she didn't ask him to turn on his side but he shifted down on the bed and brought his left arm up to rest his head against. She leaned over him checking wires and removing broken casing. Realizing she was even closer now, he tried to think about something else. Maybe all of this was just because he hadn't been around her in a long time. That had to be it. When was the last time he saw her anyway? For some reason he didn't think it was in Resembol, but that was where Al and he left her, right?

Or was it in Central? At the factory where they took Sloth down. That thought caused a chill to run up his spine. There was a gentle slap to his backside. "Don't move." He sighed to himself and closed his eyes. It was at the factory but it wasn't her, it was Envy. He had said something stupid that totally blew his cover. And then he said something about loving Alphonse. He sighed at the thought too. It had bothered him then as well. It wasn't that he didn't want her with anyone else, it was just that he had grown accustomed to her being there for him. She wasn't obligated to always be there and he had no right to ask that of her. He never had to worry about it before. Maybe he was just being selfish. Things weren't as simple as they when they were kids.

"Oww!" He pulled his shoulder away from her. "That really hurt,Winry," he growled loudly.

"Sorry, I didn't think it would!" Her response had an obvious tone but he just let out a quiet groan and closed his eyes. Just as he tried to get lost in his thoughts again and figure some of this stuff out, her voice brought him back to reality again. "So what happened to your arm?"

"It broke." His short answer was suppose to end the conversation.

"I know that, smart ass, but how'd it brake?" He finally turned back.

"Why does it matter how it broke, it's broke so can you just fix it and..." He could feel his face heating up as he stared at her. She was leaning over in such a way and he suddenly realized how nice she smelled and that the annoyed look on her face was actually kind of cute. She was calling his name and he turned away from her again. "Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? That doesn't even make sense." She let out a slow breath, trying to calm down. She just wanted to hit him. Sure he had gotten some pretty shocking news today and she wanted to feel bad for him but he never initiated anything so why should anything she decided to do upset him. She wasn't a child any more. All of them had been forced to grow up pretty quickly, why was it so difficult for him to understand. She leaned down to open her case and pulled the new arm out. "Turn over." Her statement caught him off guard again.

"Huh?"

"You heard me, turn over so I can attach the new automail."

"Uh, okay." He rolled onto his back but kept looking in the opposite direction. She just shook her head and continued with her work. She brought the new arm into the port in a rushed movement. The sudden jolt caused him to glance over nervously. He knew what was coming but was trying not to think about it. Without warning, Winry torqued her wrench, connecting his nerves. Edward let out a yelp, grabbing at his metal shoulder as though he could somehow sooth the intense pain. "Why do you always gotta be so rough," he cried out, attempting to sit up and adjust as best he could. She tossed her wrench into her case.

"I don't know, why do you have to be so difficult?" If there was ever a time to yell at him it was now when his thought process was limited. "For years now I've been there for you. You and Al. I've worked soo hard to be a better mechanic just for you and it never gets acknowledged. And what was worse then that was the constant worry that one of you wouldn't come home one day. You didn't even say goodbye to me when you left." By this point she was crying and he was at a complete loss of words. "I kept waiting for you to stop carrying all your burdens like no one else was hurting." She sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her glove. Ed didn't move, remaining hunched over and still holding his sore shoulder. "You let Al say everything for you because you're just too stubborn. Even when he finally got a moment of happiness, he felt guilty cause he had this crazy notion that there was always something between us."

"Things aren't that simple," he finally stated. "They're just not. I'm sorry if you think I misled you into thinking otherwise. I've been a little preoccupied." Somewhere along the way his volume increased and he was nearly yelling at her. "And last I checked you didn't make anything that obvious either. I didn't even have the guts to come home and tell you I thought Al died. Just the thought of facing you after everything you'd done for us, I didn't have it in me to tell you I failed." The stale quiet crept back into the room. He wished he could take it all back, wished he hadn't said any of it. She just stood there, silently as though letting his words sink in more then he wanted them to. "Maybe I should just leave. Now that you both know I'm okay, maybe it would just be whats best for everyone."

"Shut up, what is wrong with you that you would even think that? We both missed you so much. I swore Al would go crazy without you." Ed should have let the silence take over this time but he had always been good at sticking his foot in his mouth.

"Really? Must not have been so bad if you had time to sleep with Al? I'm so glad my death didn't completely ruin your lives." That was all she could take. She didn't remember hitting him across the face but the red mark on his cheek said otherwise and her stinging palm would confirm it for her later. Before she could shed another tear, she turned and slammed the door behind her. He didn't move from where he sat on the bed. His entire right side ached and his throbbing cheek just added to the misery. That was not what he wanted to say. Those were not the words he wanted to tell her. There had to be something wrong with him to say all that. After sitting there for so long, he rolled over and pulled the blankets up. Grabbing the pillow, he covered his head. Maybe if he just stayed here, he wouldn't do any more damage. Hopefully.

Author's Notes- No reviews last chapter, what gives? X