Understatement of the Century
II.
All Ed could think about was how the last time he saw Winry, he didn't recall seeing her with a baby. Of course, he was gone a lot longer than the age of the baby, but he couldn't seem to add two and two together. Wouldn't he have heard if Winry was pregnant?
There was a baby carriage beside the door, very pink and frilly. Though the excitement was very apparent in Winry's eyes, she took great care to gently lower the baby into the basket before running toward the Elric brother's quickly.
Her arms were wide open, her laugh following all the way. Ed hardly had time to act before Winry reached him, her slender arms encircling around his neck. Taking a step back to avoid falling, his hand instinctively touched her hip to make sure she stopped.
"Ed, is it really you?" she practically screamed in his ear, making him wince, "Oh my god, it's been so long! It is you!"
Her exuberant laughter caused her to jump up and down while still holding onto him. His body moved awkwardly against hers in the process. In the time she was taking up, he used this as an opportunity to compare their heights. It was just as he suspected. She was exactly the same height as him. He sighed inwardly. Oh well, at least she wasn't taller than…
Ed paused on that thought and looked down over her shoulder. She was bare foot. He was still wearing his boots.
His eyes dulled quickly in anger.
"Ed, you didn't change one bit!"
Her comment angered him more. He pushed her away from him and stomped his feet, "Who are you calling an ant that everyone can just step on!"
Alphonse covered his face embarrassingly with his hand, "Brother…"
"And what the hell is that!" Edward exclaimed as he chose to ignore Al and change the subject. He stretched his arm out, his finger shaking with annoyance. Winry gave him a strange look before turning around to see what he was pointing out. It was directed toward the carriage.
"The carriage?" she asked.
"No! The thing that's inside it!"
Rolling her eyes, Winry put her hands on her hips, "It's called a baby, Ed."
"Don't you think I know that!" He yelled, still quite upset from the harmless statement earlier.
For a long moment, Al, Ed, and Winry did nothing but stare at each other. Winry blew air upward, her hair flying up and out of her face, "Some greeting. I guess I was more right than I thought when I said you didn't change."
"Eh!" Ed froze, his face turning red then blue.
She smirked, knowing that Ed knew what she was about to say. She slowly opened her mouth to begin speaking.
"Eh!" he screamed loudly, trying to stop her.
"Including…"
"Eh!"
"Your…"
"EH!"
"Height."
Groaning with disappointment, Ed fell to the ground face first.
Holding back a giggle, Winry finally turned to Al, a sparkle flashing in her eyes when she got a good look at him. Smiling gently for him, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection so press her cheek to his chest, "Al, it's so good to see you again. The real you."
Al chuckled shyly and hugged her back. He couldn't believe how great it felt. Besides his brother, Winry was the only other one he was able to embrace since getting his body back. With her short tank top on, his hands felt plenty of her skin. Closing his eyes, he savored the moment as he wished for the day to come where he would be able to hold someone anytime he wanted. He knew how Ed felt about Winry, but he didn't know how Ed felt about actually settling down. But for Alphonse, though he was only twenty, he felt as though he had been waiting for someone for a long time.
"Wow, it looks like you actually would be able to fit nicely in that suit of armor," Winry remarked without any bad intentions, "You really grew."
Ed quickly lifted himself from the ground. Standing behind Winry with his fists clenched, he yelled once again, "Would you stop talking about how he's as tall as a tree and I'm as small as a mouse!"
Letting go of Al, Winry turned around and shook her head, "Edo, you really gotta stop hearing things that aren't said."
At the house, the baby Winry rested into the carriage wailed for attention. Without any hesitation, Winry walked past Ed toward the baby, "Now you woke her up with all your screaming."
"Her…?" Ed asked, calming down almost immediately. Al came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Edward's eyes saddened when he witnessed Winry picking up the baby and cradling her against her chest, bouncing ever so slightly. "What do you think about this, Al?"
"I'm not sure, Brother. But…don't assume anything just yet, okay?" Al advised wisely.
"Yeah…sure," Ed responded dryly before picking up his bag and walking toward the house.
Al followed, hoping Ed wouldn't do something stupid. They both stopped a few feet back, getting a good look at how Winry cooed over the child. Al decided to begin asking questions without actually asking something Winry might not want to answer. "What's her name?" He decided to start off safe.
Winry smiled and turned the kid toward Ed and Al. Her face was streaked with tears, her face puffy with anger. Her lips were in a pout, the bottom one still trembling. She had a small patch of black hair on her head, which Winry smoothed down when she saw it was sticking up.
"This is little Xendra," Winry introduced, grabbing her little hand and making her wave, "Say hello to Al and little Ed."
Ed's eyes dulled once again as he tried to keep his anger hidden until a later time when a child wasn't present. He didn't want to traumatize her after all.
"What a nice name," Al critiqued, stepping closer to Winry and Xendra. Al leaned over so he could get a closer look, smiling widely when his eyes caught hers. "You're a little cutie," he reached out and ran his index finger gently over the baby's cheek, amazed at how soft it was. Xendra didn't flinch, but instead became amazed. Abruptly, she giggled and reached out for him to take her.
"She wants you to hold her," Winry explained, propping her up higher so Al could handle her.
"No, no, that's okay," Al said quickly, holding up his hands so Winry wouldn't shove the baby into his arms, "I think I'll wait until I'm sitting down before I hold her."
Cocking her head to the side, Winry smiled, "But you've held a baby before." When she saw that Al wasn't about to do it so soon, she looked around him toward Ed, "Would you like to hold her, Ed?"
Having finally gotten addressed, Ed stepped forward and pushed his way inside the house without giving Al or Winry a second glance.
Winry watched him go before turning back to Al, "Umm…?"
Al sighed at his brother's stubborn ways and figured he would be the one to ask Winry all the questions, "So who's child is she?" Blunt, yes, but he chose to simply get it over with.
"Oh, she's—," Winry paused before she went on. Giving Al a weird look before turning to look in the house, she focused on Al again, giving the expression that said "okay, what the heck's going on?" It didn't take her long to figure out from the look on Al's face. Just as abruptly as Xendra giggled, Winry's laugh burst through her lips before she could stop it. Tears came to her eyes due to the obvious humorous moment.
"What's so funny?" Al asked with a smile, though he had an idea what she was going to say.
Quieting her laughter, she stepped closer to Al and lowered her voice, "Does Ed think Xendra's mine?"
"Well, I kind of thought so at first, too," Al admitted, not afraid to show that he was just as guilty as Ed was.
Winry feigned surprise, "Me? Now come on, Al, do I look like I just had a baby?" she asked, rising her free arm in the air to highlight her thin body better.
Al shrugged, "Some girls don't lose their figure."
"True…" Winry agreed, going silent for a moment as she stared at Al.
He took it as a sign to say something else, "But, uh—it's a relief to know you're not a mother yet. Ed's gonna be happy about that."
Before Al even had the chance to ask Winry who Xendra belonged to, he paused when he caught sight of the look in her eyes. It was mischievous. Right away, he knew what she was thinking. She didn't even have to say it. Knowing his brother's temper, however, he began shaking his head, "Winry, I don't think—."
"Oh, Edo!" Winry yelled, walking into the house, "I think it's quite rude of you to not at least say hello to my daughter!"
Al sighed before he mumbled to himself, "Why do those two like upsetting each other so much?"
"Leave me alone, I'm tired," Ed screamed back. He was lying on his back on the sofa, his human arm hiding his eyes.
Winry stopped at the foot of the couch by his feet. Putting Xendra more comfortably on her hip, she smacked his boot with her other hand, "Ed, you sounded so excited when I first heard you outside screaming my name saying that you were home."
"Where, oh where, did my energy go?" he inquired sarcastically. He slid his arm slightly up to be able to look down at Winry and, upon seeing the great agitation in her eyes, crossed his legs so he couldn't see her.
"What's your problem?" she asked. Even though she was letting on that Xendra was her daughter, she didn't think it upset him that much. Why did it matter so much to him?
When he didn't answer, she sighed and set Xendra down on the floor, allowing her to crawl around. Winry moved around the couch and got to her knees in front of Ed. He still didn't uncover his eyes, though she knew he felt her there.
She couldn't help but smile at this. 'He's as stubborn as always, too.' Although they were arguing already after having not seen each other in six years, she really did miss him. And even when she continuously says how much he hasn't changed, she means it as a compliment. Despite their harsh attitudes toward each other, she liked him just the way he was.
With this in mind, she lowered her head to his chest and closed her eyes. Her left hand found his metal hand that was hanging over the edge, wrapping her small hand around the index and middle fingers.
They were both silent for a little over two minutes before Ed just had to ask, "What are you doing?"
"Enjoying your company," she responded simply.
"Why don't you go enjoy Al's company?"
"What's the difference?"
"Exactly."
Winry sighed and lifted her head up to look at his arm covering his eyes again, "Aren't you even going to ask what happened to Grandma Pinako?"
Ed finally lifted his arm a little again to look at the blonde, "She's not out shopping or something?"
Her eyes shook sadly before she looked down, "I wish that were the case. No, she passed away a little over three years ago."
"Oh," he said, surprised by the depressing news. He sat up quickly, feeling bad. He couldn't say he felt bad about bringing it up, for she's the one that did it. Ed knew, however, that she wanted to get the news off her chest instead of waiting on tiptoes for him or Al to ask about her.
"You were alone for a long time then?" Ed asked, lowering his voice to speak softly to her. He could see that she wasn't about to cry, but still felt the need to be gentle with the conversation, if for his sake only. After all, Pinako felt like part of his family just as much as Winry's.
He felt himself wishing he could have been there for Winry when the event occurred. He was never that great at consoling Winry when she cried, but thought that maybe it would have been easier for her if someone she knew was there.
Winry only nodded at the question. The moment was broken when they heard Al laughing. Looking around the couch, they saw that he was making a teddy bear dance back and forth for Xendra, the little girl clapping with delight. Both Winry and Ed smiled at Al's gentleness, wondering where he found all his patience.
"I was alone for a long time, yes," Winry finally answered while still watching Al, "But up until recently I wasn't," she laughed and turned her eyes back to Ed, "Where do you think little Xendra came from?"
As soon as she said it, she wanted to take it back. She didn't mean for it to sound like it did. For a moment, she forgot Ed still thought that Xendra was hers and saw the aggravation enter his golden orbs again.
"Ed, I didn't mean it like that. I was only kidding before," she tried to explain, only to see that Ed shut down his listening abilities once again. She sighed heavily. She hated when he did that.
The door opened and closed loudly when another person entered the house.
Ed's eyes averted back to Winry, accusation written on his face.
Who, oh who, did Winry get involved with?
Thank you for all your reviews! I was so surprised when I got that many. Pleasantly surprised. I decided to write the next chapter soon than expected. But while I'm sitting here writing this, I don't know when this will be posted. My phone is acting up and since my Internet is connected to the phone, it's hard to get online. But I will make sure to have a new chapter ready for each time I do get online. Just for all of you!
Thanks once again!