Chapter Nineteen: The White Stone
I sat on the couch quietly just basking in the presence of Winry, while waiting patiently for the rain to subside. The sound of her wrench coming into contact with the auto-mail was very familiar and it reminded me of some kind of home as I listened to it, savouring it.
"Hey Winry… isn't that an auto mail leg?" I asked as I raised myself to put my pants back on. It was around lunch time and I had been lazing around all day just reading some left over books on human anatomy that Winry's parents had owned. But the rain seemed to be lightening now, I would have to leave. My clothes were dry a long time ago and I pulled my pants up over my legs waiting for her to reply.
"Yes…" She said through gritted teeth obviously trying to figure some tricky part out.
"Who's…?" I asked curious as to what client she was currently working on.
"That guy… romance… Mr. Kanou… I told you that already! He needs an arm also, oh look here he comes now." Winry said lifting her head. "Hey, just like you said Ed showed up." She told the man with a grin on her face.
I instantly blushed and threw my shirt over my head just in case he got the wrong idea about Winry and I… but wait a sec this time his 'Wrong idea' would actually be right. I slapped my face inwardly at the strangeness of it all and finally recognized his name. "Mr. Kanou…" My eyes widened and I glared at him suddenly, my eyes wondering down to the spare part Winry had leant him. "You!" I pointed at him and squinted my eyes. "We need to talk."
"We'll take a walk down to the bank isn't that where you are going?" He asked with a slight smirk. I grunted and turned to Winry. She glanced at me with anger so I placed my hands together and put a stupid sort of look on my face.
"Winry… Ma'am, I am going out and its sort of cold I was wondering if I could please wear my coat…" I referred to the one hanging over her chair she was currently working on and pointed to it with a sheepish smile.
She sighed. "I suppose I can let you borrow it this once!" She exhaled with a warning tone in her voice. She chucked it to me and I caught it in my hands with anger.
"Oiii" I muttered to myself with a worn out expression. "Let me borrow… it?" I questioned with exhaustion. "Thanks for your kindness Winry." I said sarcastically.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO MOCK ME?" She screamed sending her wrench flying though the air which I luckily ducked. Does she have to throw that around?
"YOURE THE ONE THAT STOLE MY FREAKING COAT!" I yelled back. "Stop throwing that thing around!" I turned to the man, gritting my teeth. "She makes me so angry!" I said to him as we walked out the door.
"I HEARD THAT EDWARD YOU'LL PAY!"
I twitched as she screamed from the house, feeling the ground shake beneath my feet. "I practically just committed my suicide." I groaned trudging along the path.
"I know what you want to talk to me about." He told me. I lifted my mind from Winry and my punishment when I returned home and glanced at him blankly for a second. "If you want to know about the philosiphers stone I can tell you, you have passed my test."
I raised my eyebrow. "What test?" I asked suspiciously. He was testing me?
"You have learnt the true meaning of love." He said with a smile. What is this some love story?
"HEY this isn't all about romance here, maybe you should just butt out! There are more important things!" I shook angrily and stopped walking for a few moments.
"Oh but there isn't, love is truly the thing that keeps you pressing on. You loved your brother so much it kept you going, it was your reason for living. But I wanted to make sure you also had love without your brother, otherwise you wouldn't be able to succeed in your task at all, and it would be pointless to give you the stone." He led me through the bank door since I was too shocked to walk through it myself and waited patiently.
"Ahh I have come to collect my taxes." I said nervously glancing at the man over my shoulder.
"Oh Mr. Elric…" She said searching through the files. "I'll just be a minute."
"What do you mean give it to me?" I whispered to him while she disappeared off into the other room. He merely grinned at me and I realised the lady was standing there with her hand out waiting to give me the money. "Thankyou." I bowed apologizing for my rudeness.
"A long time ago… I gathered poor helpless people from the wars… I gathered people who wanted to die, wounded people who were going to die… so many of them it filled up so many rooms…" He bowed his head as we walked along, I was listening to him carefully.
"I wanted to live forever… I wanted to… and I used their lives."
I looked away from him finding it hard to scold him, yet hard to let him go either. Since I understood the feelings of someone who wanted it. "And what war was this? How did you get away with it?" I asked after a long moments of silence.
"Ishbar of course. It was easy Edward, all I had to do was help out people who were dying and give them true salvation, death…"
I flinched at his comment and my body suddenly became heavy as I took steps back towards the house. "How come you're aging yet? Your soul should still be able to switch bodies." I said flatly. I didn't want to give the impression I was rooting for him.
"That's right when it came time to change my body… I couldn't do it. I didn't want their lives to be wasted on me, a man who merely fishes, and I have saved it all this time. But it was the most effective stone ever made; because everyone gave their life willingly to the cause… it gave the stone tremendous power." He sighed.
There was another long pause. "How do you know this?" I asked him as we reached Winry's house.
"The colour."
My eyes widened and he opened the door for me. That was when I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Where is it?" I yelled after him, causing Winry to turn.
"Why it's right here… on your lover's finger." He replied pointing to Winry, who was holding up her wrench causing the diamond ring on her finger to shine in my eyes. No way… no way!
I ran up to Winry shaking her hand furiously. "WINRY HAS ANYTHING WEIRD HAPPENED WITH THIS?" I yelled holding her hand softly after I realised how rough I was being with her.
"What do you mean…?" She asked looking up at me with confusion. I decided against snatching it off her finger and turned to the man.
"It's impossible, the stone is the colour of red! In sacrifice and blood, it would never be something as pure as white!" I said with refusal, sticking my head up in the air.
"Even if all the participants didn't look upon it as death? Even if they thought it was a chance to give their lives for equivalent trade." He said. He brainwashed them…
"There has never been one white stone!" I replied crossing my arms over my chest. Winry was not looking between the both of us with confusion; however she was looking down at the ring on her finger.
"Have you read closely enough Edward Elric?"
I pondered his question for a while. Winry sitting there as equally perplexed as I was. "Damn you! Sorry about disturbing you Winry!" I then pushed the man into a room and shut the door behind me.
"I don't want her hearing what I am about to say." I told him. "Tell me what I am to do… to receive my brother?"
"It is quite simple, a strong will." He told me. I tensed my face and fists bashing it down on the nearby table.
"Don't fuck around with me, there is equivalent trade involved." I said with furious eyes.
"Yes there is, but there are also many willing lives in that stone willing to give up their life to return your brother."
"Human transmutation is impossible!" I said with anger. "I will disappear from Winry… I can't leave her like that!"
"Who said it was human transmutation?" I looked at him with bafflement and watched as he sighed. "You received that letter from your brother right? Well when he brought you back he vanished… but he didn't die he was sent to the other side of the gate wasn't he? All you have to do is bring him back, now that you realise your love for Winry, not only to you have determination to get your brother, you also have determination in returning." I glanced up at him as he gave his speech unable to do anything but gasp. My brother wasn't dead, I had to accept this. But I wasn't one who believed in false hope… how can I believe anything this moron says? Is it the only choice I have? Finally he smiled and turned.
"If you would excuse me." I stepped out of the room and sat at the table opposite where Winry was working. There I saw it.
I sat there for quite some time pondering the thought, when my eyes travelled to the book next to me. The Philosophers stone. This was my chance to read the fine print. How man times had I read that book? Had I missed something? I guess this is the last time I will ever read the book again.
"Take the money for your time, but I have no need for auto-mail anymore."
"But Mr. It's almost finished!" Winry said with desperation. I peeked my head out the door to see him shove a large amount of money into Winry's hands. "Please let me finish it." She said with desperation.
"Look after Edward tonight." He smiled and then turned to leave.
I sat down with the book in my hands and opened the first page to read.
"EDWARD!" She yelled snatching the book from my hand.
"What the hell do you want Winry?" I asked with annoyance.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM?" She fumed bashing me over the head with my own book. I sat there confused for a while until the pain in my head slightly subsided.
"Nothing… really Winry it was nothing don't hit me again." I said grabbing the book from the table and shielding my head from her wrench.
"Now you have to tell me why you were such a jerk to me!" Winry stated walking over to the couch.
"Winry I really need to read this is important." I said with a sigh.
"Edward don't try my patience." She said with warning.
"Because I didn't want to hurt you." I told her suddenly, if we keep fighting like this I'll end up dead. "But in the end I realised we ended up hurting more being apart." I lifted my head from the book to smile at her. She fell silent at this and for a long time I had peace to read as she sat on the couch in her own dreamland. The real philosopher's stone, if made correctly should be…
"Hey Edward…" I raised my eyebrows and lowered the book slightly, I needed to read the last part of that print. I gave a slight noise letting her know to continue. "What's up with the stone…?"
"I'm reading now to find out; you don't need to worry about it." The real philosopher's stone...
Before I could finish the fine print on the bottom of the page I felt heaviness on my lap and peeked over the top of the book with a curious expression, to see Winry sitting there with seriousness on her face. She took the book out of my hands and shuffled closer to me gazing at me passionately. "Winry… I have to just finish that sentence…" I told her afraid to ruin her obviously happy mood.
"You know that answer before… was a very good answer." She smiled digging her head into my neck "About not wanting to hurt me…" I felt her soft kisses warm the whole of my body and tried to reach for the book over the table while desperately attempting to keep my gasping under control.
"Winry… it's hard to study when you're doing that…" I said my hands becoming limp when she took my lips, instantly shutting me up. I battled her silently, noises of detest escaping my throat. But it didn't make a difference.
"Okay Edward you can study me." She said lifting herself from my lips. I blushed and placed my hands behind me. Not knowing if touching her was a clean minded thing to do after what she had just said. She then rested on my shoulder causing me to look down at her and admire how cute she could be. "Take me to bed." She whispered.
I tensed and searched around with my hands for any logical reason to not do that. I have to read the book that's why but Winry wont let me! She wrapped her arms around my neck after guiding my hands to her waist. I then wrapped my arms around her in defeat and stood up. I shifted her position slightly and held her in my arms, one hand under her neck and one under the bend in her legs. She turned into me slightly sighing. "Now Edward, I can't wait!" She moaned. I flinched again.
"Hey Winry I don't think we should…" She raised her hands to my lips, stopping me from saying anymore and demanded I went around the house turning all the lights off. "What the hell am I your slave?" I muttered. "You can't even walk to the bedroom yourself." I said with disbelief. She giggled once I kicked open her door and laid her down gently on the bed. She let go of me her arms delicately falling to her sides. I observed her beauty for a few seconds and snapped out of my dream realising I had work to return to.
"Well, night." I said turning the knob as I was about to shut her door.
"EDWAAAAARD!" She yelled. I threw my head back into the room and watched as she sat up with a hurt look on her face. "I still have to punish you remember." She said with an angry look on her face. "I was going to look over it but after that insult I don't think I will." She crossed her arms over her work tube top and huffed.
"What did I do?" I asked with fear.
"Shut the door Edward, forget about your study tonight… jeez." She mumbled to herself. "When I said take me to bed I meant take me to bed!" This time she blushed before I had the chance to and I looked down at her curiously. "Look at you making me say such things… just come here." She threw her legs over the side of the bed and clutched to it as I lowered my self, resting on my knees in front of her. She instantly sighed and placed her hands on my face running her fingers through my bangs.
"Winry…" She reached for the bedside lamp after I said her name and the room was instantly flooded by the moonlight.
"Winry we are still sleeping in separate rooms… aren't we? I mean Sensei would kill me if she found out I was sleeping with you before I married you. No everyone would kill me." I added, but she simply smiled ignoring my comments while she slipped off the red coat and let it fall to the ground. "Hey Winry are you listening to me?" I asked watching her as she then removed the black coat underneath and chucked it aside. "You want me to die?" I asked her with wide eyes, someone help me, I am not match for her.
"Just sleep with me tonight please?" Winry begged ceasing her action for a moment. "I promise I will behave." She giggled.
I slapped my forehead and glanced at her in shock. "You say that but it doesn't happen like that! Before you know it you'll be touching me and kissing me, and then before I know it you'll con me into sleeping with you every night..." She giggled again and pressed her lips to mine.
I grabbed onto her shoulders and stood up slowly holding onto her tightly as I returned her tender kiss. I removed my boots quickly, Winry rising slightly to keep contact with my lips. I then crawled onto the bed slowly, lying her down. I removed the bandana from her hair as I kissed her slowly unable to possibly pull away.
But luckily for me she did, and within seconds she was on top of me, undressing me slowly. "Winry I thought you were going to behave." I said suspiciously as she reached my pants, caressing the sensitive area more than needed before unzipping them and pulling them down off me. The contact left me kind of dazed and every single time her body rubbed against me I twitched slightly.
"I am… Edward." She whispered heading to remove my boxers.
As the night progressed we both ended up completely naked under the sheets. Just caressing each other tenderly. She had crawled on top of me and collapsed in my embrace after a tiring night of touching. Unlike I thought, she did behave, and did nothing more than touch me, and kiss me. Oh she touched, places I preferred she wouldn't, but couldn't stop her from touching. She had looked after me completely with her hands and I had closed my eyes while she fondled by body.
I on the other hand, found the self control to keep my hands to myself… well mostly. I had found the desire to read the book slowly fade away, although I knew it would return with morning, as with all the other problems that weighed me down. But for tonight I had forgotten, Winry had managed to wipe my mind clean and give me peace of mind for a short time. That's why I held her tightly close to my body, just listening to her breathe.
Saturn Stars