Yes, here I am, once again, continuing what was once a one-shot. I'm a sucker for good reviews (so don't forget to give me one if you like my stories! That's what gets me writing!) and I couldn't ignore the fact that something was missing from the first two -hint, hint- so I racked my brain until I found something. This chapter was more forced then the last two so I can't promise the same beginner's luck, but I'm still proud of it. :3 So, enjoy! -grins brightly-
Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or any of it's characters/ideas/etc. (drats...)
His heart was more alive then he ever remembered as he woke up that morning, the sunrise casting a warm veil of satisfaction over his body. For a time he laid there motionlessly, soaking up everything that had occurred the day and night before. But no matter how many times he rewound and replayed the scenes in his mind he couldn't quite get over it. Mixed feelings of relief and confusion churned in his being, offering him moments of unsettlement and then periods of content awe.
As Ed finally brought himself to sit up, the dawn colors having just dissipated from the sky, he was surprised to find Winry next to him. Sure, he'd had his eyes closed while he was lying there, so it wasn't obvious at first, but how could he have missed her unmistakable presence? Well, he'd thought for sure that she's gone back to the house last night…Suppressing a yawn, he scooted over to the side a bit, trying his best not to disturb her sleeping form.
After another quick glance at her, he stood up, stretching his back roughly, not at all surprised to hear it crack in a few places. You'd think after all those years of campouts and such he'd get used to sleeping on the ground, but, go figure. With a small grunt he sat back down, eyes scanning the morning scene critically. It was sunny now but there were dark clouds heading toward them only a little ways out. "Horrible weather to travel in." He mused with a sly smirk. No doubt they were rain clouds, and at the rate they were advancing he'd say they'd be over them within the hour.
Frowning slightly at the clouds, he turned back to Winry, his face softening. "Winry..." He said gently, nudging her arm a bit. Might as well get her up now; if she kept sleeping like this she'd probably stay out of it until the rain hit them. After another slightly rougher nudge, she stirred, blinking the sleep from her eyes. For a moment she looked out into the sky with a blank expression on her face but when she caught sight of Ed she sat up quickly, blushing lightly.
"Morning…" She mumbled sleepily, running her hand through her hair in an attempt to calm it from its mild bed head state. Somehow there was just something so modest about it that it made Ed smile. "What?" She asked blankly, suspiciously aware of Ed's smirk.
"Nothing." Ed replied with a small shake of his head as he stood up, offering her a hand as well.
/Brother's going to get mad at me for this.../ Al thought to himself glumly as he got off the train, a mild rain shower clinking against his armor. He knew better then to bother Ed when he wanted to be alone, and he knew Ed was okay; he was with Aunt Pinako and Winry, but Al wasn't sure he could take much more back at Central without his elder brother.
It had just been one thing after the next for poor Alphonse with Edward gone. Mustang had made it appoint to give Al plenty things to do in the mean time 'out of the kindness of his heart so Al wouldn't be bored' and didn't seem in too much of a hurry to get his pint-sized underdog back under his thumb. But that was just it; Al knew Ed wasn't fond of always being under Mustang's orders but he never thought the man could be so cold. Not that he was mean to Al, he just took it upon himself to ignore any possible complaints, which had left Al doing many of the Flame Alchemist's chores.
"I'll never look at laundry the same way again..." Al pouted dejectedly as he walked down the road, quite glad to be out of the Train Station; people had been eyeing him nervously as usual. It's not his fault he was stuck in a tin can! With a small sigh, Al stopped and looked up into the sky, suddenly saddened by the rain that continued to grow steadily harder and faster. "Oh rain...if only I could feel you..." Al said pathetically, holding out a hand only to receive an empty sensation as the rain splashed against it.
"I can't believe we're stuck out here..." Winry pouted angrily, glaring down at Ed from her perch in the lowest branch of the tree, hugging her legs against her stomach.
"Damn it, it's not my fault the house is locked!" Ed growled back from his position at the base of the tree, stubbornly avoiding Winry's eyes. Rain was pouring steadily down from the sky, some drops leaking through the tree every now and then onto one of them, each looking supremely sour at their predicament.
"Well why don't you use your alchemy to open it!"
"Well why don't you use your auto-mail specialties to pick the lock!"
They both went silent, each refusing to look at the other as they stared out into the rainy abyss that had once been a nice day. Ed frowned even more as his mind went to work again; this time on different ways that Winry could accidentally fall from the tree. Of course she never got hurt in his scenarios but they were sufficient enough to break her pride, letting her admit that Ed had always been right and he was indeed very tall. As if.
Aunt Pinako had said yesterday that she would be leaving early today to run some errands but Ed hadn't expected her to lock the door. Had she really not noticed that he and Winry were missing all night?
After a great deal of internal struggle, Ed brought himself to look up at Winry (luckily she'd turned away by now), and found she was soaked and looking exceptionally miserable. He turned away again, visions from the first night he'd come to the Rockbell house flashing through his mind; particularly the reflection Winry and her silent pain.
"I don't know what it is about you..." Ed muttered to her as he stood and turned to face the tree. Winry gave him a swift glare, ready to protest what he'd said as soon as she discovered it's meaning, but was cut short by Ed's silencing hand. After clapping his hands together once, he placed his hands on the tree trunk which glowed with the energy of a transmutation.
Ed grinned triumphantly at Winry's surprised face as the tree took on the shape of a giant umbrella, sheltering the duo from the steady rainfall. But his expression was immediately replaced with fear as Winry lost her balance in the newly transmuted tree, falling forward from the branch.
/Damn it/ It all happened so quickly it took him by surprise; Winry was falling; he reached out for her; she collided into him, pushing him back a few steps, but he'd caught her in a hug-like catch none-the-less; her lips brushed against his in the impact, her eyes just as wide as his own; he stumbled back a few more steps, falling onto his bottom outside of the umbrella-tree's protection, Winry clasped protectively in his arms throughout the entire incident and for a recovering moment afterwards.
/Almost there./ Al thought with forced encouragement, fearing that he might rust if he stayed out much longer. He'd have to ask Ed too tend to that later if that was the case...He might have walked on silently if he had been able to, but his armor clanked with each step, breaking the otherwise silent walk.
It was kind of depressing when he thought about it. Had he been 'human' this rain might have been enjoyable, but here he was worrying about rusting...Al sighed heavily before looking up, and, had he been able to, he would have smiled at what he saw.
"There it is!" Al cried out in joy as he finally caught sight of the Rockbell house. He brought his walk up to a jog, relieved that he'd found it. After all that – he suppressed a shudder and a wave of fear - he'd actually forgotten where the old house was...visions from his experience at Lab 5 flashed through his mind, slowing him down to a sluggish walk once more.
This wasn't fair...he and Ed couldn't take anymore breaks like this...it was a selfish thought, he knew quite well it was, but it was the only thing he wanted in this world, in his pathetic existence, he just wanted himself and his brother to be 'human' again, to make this feeling-less sensation leave, to let him touch and feel again...but that was the exact thing that he could never have in this world...
Finally Al made it to the steps, surprised to find a lack of light within its confines. Surely they weren't asleep already? He rapped on the door with his fist, perhaps a little harder then he'd intentioned, but nothing happened. He knocked again; still no one came, not even a stirring within the house. Were they ignoring him? Al let a small whimper escape him when he tried to open the door only to find it locked. The rain continued to splatter down onto him, the rejection continued to consume him. This just wasn't his day...
Ed's heart sped up at a fantastic rate for the third time since he came to the Rockbell house, his eyes wide as saucers as he scanned Winry for any signs of injury. He tried to speak but he couldn't find his voice; it was lost with his ability to move.
Winry was sitting there in his lap, blushing deeply and apparently suffering from the same symptoms. Her bright azure eyes were locked on his, scared, relieved, and confused all at once. For a flashing moment Ed re-felt the point of their fall when her lips had brushed his. He knew it was a mistake but...if it was...
His thoughts were drowned out by the rain, soaking them all over again, blanketing them in its gentle caress, its consuming sound drowning out all other noises but his heart as it pulsed harshly in his chest. Slowly, almost unconsciously, driven forward by the silent urges of the rain's comfort, Ed leaned his head forward. Slowly, nearly in unison, urged on by the same force, Winry leaned up to him, stopping only for a moment to rest her forehead on his. Then she looked back up, her face now lacking every emotion but one.
Gently, soft as a dream, her lips were on his, he responding to her advance with reserved eagerness. It was short but seemed to last an eternity, a lifetime of blissful emotion gracing them as they finally held each other...in their first kiss.
Without a word Winry gently pulled away and rested her head on his chest, Ed's eyes staring off where her face once was, silent shock masking his visage. And then, after a moment of silent reflection..."I love you, Ed..." Winry whispered, barely louder then Ed's confession on the first night. "Always you...only you..."
His heart must have jumped out of his throat at these words; he could hardly contain the bubble of excitement swelling up in his chest. "Forever more..." Ed said softly, hugging Winry tighter and closer then he ever had before, lost in a flood of emotion. He would have stayed that way forever, hell, at that point he believed he could have if he tried, but that was when he looked up and saw Al sitting in the distance on the doorstep of the Rockbell house, rain pouring down on his metallic form.
"And you'll come home soon? Promise?" Winry asked excitedly as Ed stood with one foot in the door to the train, Al already inside.
"Of course! I've already managed to come once a month for the past two, what makes you think I'll stop that now?" Ed replied with a bright smile, something he hadn't had on his face before reporting back to Central in his entire life.
"I'd say your life-threatening missions would." Winry scolded, her hands on her hips.
"Then I'll be sure to break my arm again, just for you." Ed replied with a mock soothing voice.
"Ed-" But she was cut short as Ed dropped his bag and silenced her with a hug and a small kiss on her forehead.
"I'll always come home for you."
Before she could recover from the moment, Ed was on the train, just in time before it left the station. She couldn't help but shake her head at him as she waved good-bye, not only glad to see him truly happy for the first time in a while, but glad to discover that, despite his usual lies to protect her, there was genuine truth and love in that final statement.
The End
Yes, it's the end, no more, fin, whatever you want to call it, of 'My will to live' (not literally of course, I mean the title of the story...er...yeah -blinks-). I had fun writing this fanfic so I hope you enjoyed it just as much if not more then I did! Review and let me know what you think! I love reviews and reviewers get me writing. So my formula is reviews equalupdates. Yay :3 -throws confetti- The more reviews the sooner I'll start another fanfic, so if you like what you saw, do review for me :)
