Theme 35 - Ordinary
It had been a long time since Nelly from down the valley had visited, and when she came trotting up the road with a basketful of fresh eggs and the news from the local farms, Winry invited her eagerly in for a glass of iced tea and gossip. The usual cheerful teasing and greetings commenced quickly as they sat down in the kitchen.
"You look great, Winnie," Nelly bubbled, leaning her elbows on the table. "All that working over hot engines must be great for the complexion, huh? Your skin's like Xingese porcelain, I'm dead with jealousy."
"Come on, it's not that great," Winry laughed, flicking a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. "Besides, Granny makes me wash with lye soap. That's enough to kill off any skin problem."
"I think it would kill off most of my skin," Nelly laughed. "Honestly, mine's paper-thin, it would dry up like—oh, my god, who is that?"
Puzzled, Winry followed her wide-eyed gaze into the living room. It took her a minute to realize that her friend was staring at Edward, who had wandered in to fetch a book, shirtless as usual.
"Oh, that's just Ed," she laughed. "He's here for automail repairs."
Nelly goggled. "Ed? You mean, Edward Elric? That skinny kid who used to live next door to you? That's him?!"
Winry shrugged, still puzzled. "Yeah…why?"
"Why?" Nelly echoed, looking at her in disbelief. "Winnie, look at him!"
Winry looked. She saw Ed, glaring up at the book he wanted, which had inconveniently located itself on the top shelf.
"He's…Ed," she said. "So? He's nothing special."
"Nothing special?" Nelly cried in a shrill whisper. "You're telling me you've got a gorgeous blonde in leather pants wandering around your house and you think it's nothing special? If that's normal here, I'm visiting you more often!"
Winry blinked. A gorgeous what? Twisting around in her chair for a better angle, she squinted at Ed as he stretched for the book. What was so special about—
It hit her suddenly. For just a split second, something detached in her vision, and she saw—not grumpy careless Ed, but an extremely good-looking fourteen-year-old, with striking golden eyes and tousled blond hair, tanned and well-muscled and practically sewn into a pair of mouthwatering black leather pants—
And then she blinked, and he was Ed again, cursing as the heavy book nearly fell on his head. But…somehow, now, a hint of the boy Nelly saw in him lingered. Winry frowned, and poured another glass of iced tea.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she grumbled. "He's just Ed."
And if she said it firmly enough, she could almost believe it again.