Well, it started as a one-shot but I wanted some way to thank all my reviewers for their support, you guys are the best! -tackle-hugs reviewers- It made me so happy to sign on and find all those positive comments, I really didn't think my story would get much of a response! So, this little extra story that takes place the day after chapter one is for all of you guys! Kudos to you! x3
Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or any any of its characters/ideas/etc. (If I did...wow O-o I think I'd marry myself...I'd be so cool! xD)
What a dream…
Ed yawned loudly as he sat up from his sprawled-out position on the couch, his back cracking in a few places as he stretched. Rubbing the sleep from an eye that refused to un-blur, he sat up on the couch the 'right' way and stared out the window, slowly taking in the day's welcoming serenity. From what he could see there wasn't a cloud in the sky, only a small breeze every now and then. Birds chirped merrily in the thick green trees, and he could hear the chatter of the neighbors catching up on the news of the day.
"Ah, you're finally up." Ed turned around quickly, startled out of his daze by Aunt Pinako's voice.
"Geeze, don't pop out of no where like that, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Ed scowled back at the old woman who simply smirked.
"You should know better then to sit there staring out the window like an idiot anyway." Aunt Pinako said idly, puffing some smoke from her pipe out of her mouth.
"A little early for that, don't you think?" Ed said tiredly, referring to the pipe.
"Not at all. Or did you not realize you'd slept in 'till two in the after noon?"
"What?" Ed blinked in surprise, standing up quickly and looking up at the nearest clock. What sucked was that she was right. But was it really that important? As Ed's thoughts took over again and his eyes scanned the room for an explanation of why he over-slept (though he knew it was his own fault) his eyes came to rest on the mirror...the mirror from last night that he decided had caused him to oversleep. For a moment he felt spiteful toward it but then remembered his moments with…wait…"Hey Aunt Pinako, where's Winry?" Ed asked as Pinako settled down in a chair next to the couch.
"Winry? Oh, she left to get some new auto-mail parts this morning. I was going to get you to do it when I realized you were home but Winry insisted I didn't wake you up." She replied with a shrug, sucking on her pipe with an almost suspicious look at Ed. She must have found them together last night.
Home… What Aunt Pinako had said suddenly punched him in the gut. Yes…last night…he'd finally admitted to himself that this was home…Somehow the thought put him back at ease.
"Will you stop mezzing out into the distance, kid?" Pinako snapped, whacking Ed on the head with the thick book she had just picked up to read. "Go outside and make yourself useful. There's some fire-wood that need chopping."
"But it's in the middle of the summer! What do you need fire-wood for?" Ed growled back, covering the tender part of his head where Aunt Pinako had hit him.
"Don't question your elders." She said simply and, without anything else to say, Ed got up and trudged outside, mumbling something about slave labor.
Winry walked with a bit of a skip in her step as she made her way back home, humming a little to herself and looking abnormally happy. Every now and then she'd spin around just to release some of the excess joy, her bag of auto-mail parts clanging as she stopped short and soaked in the sun's rays, grinning up at the sky. Today's weather matched her mood perfectly.
After taking a deep breath to suppress another wave of excitement, Winry headed down the road once more, all but bursting with enthusiasm. Ed was back home! As the image of her friend popped into her mind she flushed in spite of it all. It was one thing falling asleep when she hadn't meant to but waking up on his lap like that…she felt herself flush tomato red – she'd be surprised if it was any lighter then that.
"Oh Ed…" She mumbled, her voice catching in her throat as the excitement threatened to take over again, her eyes gazing dreamily into the cloudless sky. She couldn't quite understand why she was so happy. After all, there had been other times when Ed was close to her…but this time just seemed…different…it seemed….special. "Special…" Winry repeated the word with gentle approval, grinning and swinging the bag back and forth, possibly blushing even harder then before.
As she turned off the road to the path leading up to her house she stopped short, swearing her heart skipped a beat as she laid eyes on him. She hesitated to keep going, oddly aware of how masculine Ed looked…cutting wood…now why in the world was he doing that? Puzzled, Winry took a step forward and opened her mouth to say hi but her voice caught in her throat, only allowing a small squeak to make up her greetings, completely inaudible to Edward who remained unaware of her presence.
Was he ignoring her? Surely he would have seen her by now. Or at least he should have. What kind of a State Alchemist was he if he didn't know what was going on around him? Her worry quickly morphed into anger then to confusion, a jumble of thoughts and feelings forming butterflies in her stomach. What if he was mad at her for some reason? Maybe she did something wrong…Was she just incompetent? No…it wasn't that…she was just making up excuses.
For some reason…some bizarre and awkward reason…she just couldn't face him. Not yet. She took a breath before tip-toeing up to the house, trying her best to stay out of his line of vision…But she failed miserably. When she looked back over at him she squeaked and dropped her bag, her eyes caught with Ed's beautiful golden orbs. She tried to say hi, anything to break the silence. Ed seemed to be suffering from the same dilemma, his mouth gaping like a fish out of water and his face blushing slightly.
Ed, however, was the first to recover despite the strange look he had on his face a moment ago. "Morning, Winry." He said with a grin, wiping some sweat off his forehead.
Somehow this little gesture renewed her vigor and she picked her bag back up then headed over to him, grinning profusely despite her attempt to put on a regular face. "It's already way past morning, you dope."
"Ah, well, if you looked at it from my point of view…" Ed said with a more awkward grin which Winry just laughed outright at. He must have only woken up within the past few hours. She'd been gone longer then she thought.
"What are you cutting fire wood for?" Winry suddenly asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she stopped walking and stood in front of him, placing the heavy auto-mail parts down.
"I'd like to know that myself." Ed replied with his usual air of cockiness back. "Aunt Pinako sent me out to cut it but refused to tell me what it was for. I think she just likes to watch me squirm."
"It can't be that hard can it? Not for a big strong man like you." Winry said with a sly grin, poking fun at the oxymoron of that comment. She could see Ed twitch under that remark.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Winry said airily as she picked up her bag and turned around. "Well come on, tough guy, let's go get dinner started. If I know you you're starving." She said as she headed up to the house.
Ed frowned but followed anyway, even moving past Winry to open the door for her; complete with a mock bow and challenging grin.
Ed sighed softly as he lay on the Rockbell lawn, gazing off into the night sky, only the gibbous moon and the stars blinking far in the distance providing some kind of light. So little had happened in the past day and yet…so much had also happened at the same time. He couldn't remember the last time he and Winry had just spent the day together…catching up on old times, making each other laugh…just getting to know each other. /She's really something special…/ Ed though with a small smile which quickly turned to confused frown.
Why all the sudden? Ever since last night…he just couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't even bring himself to leave just yet. /Well…it's already too late to travel…/ he'd insisted inconspicuously. Besides, Al could take care of himself for one more day; he wasn't a baby. And it's not like there was anything worth while waiting for him back at Central; just Mustang and his jokes about Ed's height. He snorted in contempt at that thought. That thought alone could keep him here in Resembool. And then…Winry alone could as well…
"What's wrong with me…?" Ed mumbled to himself, rolling over onto his side and curling up slightly. No matter what he did she always consumed his thoughts…Her angelic blonde hair…her gorgeous azure eyes that held the world in their gaze…her smile that lit up the universe with one flash of her perfect white teeth…her lips as they turned normal words into works of art…if only he could…Ed's eyes widened in shock at what he was on the verge of thinking, his visage bright red as he sat up quickly, burying his face in his hands.
He must be sick…he must be deranged…Winry was a wonderful girl…but…but…they were just friends weren't they? He might have feelings for her but how was he to know she felt the same way…? After all, she had already been asleep when he confessed his feelings for her. Hell, maybe it was just last night's moment that had gotten the better of him after all. He hadn't seen the same emotion in her eyes…he couldn't have…
"Ed, you're hopeless." He scolded himself, running a hand through his hair with a rough sigh.
"Why's that?" her voice slipped into his thoughts the same way it had the other night, soft as a dream…and a million times more wonderful…Before Ed could properly register this, Winry was sitting on the ground next to him, taking one of his hands and placing a cookie in it. "Aunt Pinako and I made cookies while you were out." She explained when Ed gave her a quizzical look, Winry munching on a fresh backed cookie of her own.
"Oh…" Ed replied distractedly, turning his eyes away from Winry. One look at her and he was on cloud nine.
"You okay, Ed?" She asked softly, leaning forward slightly so she was nearly in his line of vision. She had that hurt look again, like he'd let her down once more.
"…I…I don't know…" Ed finally admitted after a moment of silence…his eyes locked on his feet. "…Winry I…" He started but couldn't find the right words. How could he explain what was so unexplainable?
Winry stopped eating her cookie, watching Ed with quiet concern. He could see her out of the corner of his eyes and he couldn't stand it. He had to know.
"…Winry…what…what do you think of…" He sighed heavily, running his cookie-free hand through his hair again. "What do you think of me?" He finally blurted out; the words tumbling out of his mouth so fast it took her a moment to figure out what he had been trying to say. At first he'd hoped she hadn't understood; he regretted asking the second he opened his mouth. The truth was going to hurt, he just knew it; he could see it in her eyes when she blinked in shock at him, looking down at her own shoes and going silent.
We wanted to run, get as far away as possible from what was about to come. It was going to hurt…everything did…his life was cursed and this was no exception. But before he could find the power in his legs to get up he felt Winry leaning against him. Blinking in surprise he looked over at her, her head resting on her shoulder and her arm linking into his. She wasn't looking at him but there was something so calm, so gentle about her look that it willed him to stay put nearly as much as her contact.
"You bonehead…" She mumbled, shaking her head before looking back to him, her eyes soft yet sparkling as a far-off star reflected in them. "What do you think of me?"
Ed's eyes widened a bit as she asked this, his heart speeding up at an inhuman rate. Slowly his face fell into a gentle grin and he rested his forehead on Winry's. "God Winry, don't ever ask me such a stupid question again." He mumbled, his heart swelling with happiness. "Everything." He said in an even softer voice. "You're everything to me."
