Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Full Metal Alchemist. Though I do wish I owned Edward
A/N: Thanks so much to all of those who reviewed. I'm truly glad that you guys like my story so far and I will try my best to keep up to your standards.
Another note, truly sorry for not updating as soon as possible. I have been busy with school, writing a research paper and the like. School can be a drag sometimes! . Anyway, hope you enjoy this addition to my story.
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Last time in Edward's Nightmare:
Winry was stunned.
She grabbed a hold of Ed's left arm. She shook him slightly, trying to wake him from his nightmare. He continued to thrash about in his sleep. He cried out again.
"Al! Al…I'm sorry…"
She shook him harder, trying desperately to wake him.
"Ed! Ed, wake up! Please, wake up!" She started to cry.
Ed suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He stared out in front of him, panting hard.
"Ed…Ed, are you alright?" Winry asked with concern. He turned to face Winry, staring at her as if he didn't recognize her. His eyes were wide open. She stared back at him, her eyes filled with tears, waiting for him to respond.
"Ed? Ed, are you alright?" She repeated.
"Winry…Al! Al is gone! It's all my fault." Winry stared at him. For a second she caught a glimpse of the young Ed she had known years ago. The young Ed that Al had brought in, bleeding and wounded.
"It's all my fault…All my fault…." He whispered, lowering his eyes.
The tears that Winry held back suddenly slid down her cheeks. She moved herself closer to Ed, wrapping her arms around him. She held him tightly, crying freely now. He laid his head on her shoulder and cried.
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Chapter 3: Edward's Silence
Light filtered through the window, casting itself onto Winry and Ed's face. Small dust particles could be seen through the light beams of sunlight. Winry felt the warmth of the sun on her face, as well as the warmth of Ed's body next to hers. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting her sight to the morning's brightness.
She stayed still for moment, enjoying the feeling of Ed's chest rising and falling of his soft breathing. She blushed as she realized her hand was on his chest, her head nestled on his left shoulder, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Her lips curved into a sad smile as she recalled the earlier events.
Winry had always know that she was the only one Ed can show his weak side to, but to cry like he did last night was unbearable. It hurt her to see him in that state; in a state she didn't know how to help. She felt helpless since she didn't know how Ed got to her in such a horrible mess, and without Al.
When she heard him screaming out in his sleep, she could almost feel his pain.
Almost.
She couldn't think of a time when she felt such pain as he did, except for perhaps when she lost her parents to the State Alchemists during the Ishbal War. But when her parents died, she had not seen them get killed, not like Ed had seen Al disappear through The Gate, not like Ed had felt when he lost his right arm and left leg.
No. She couldn't compare the feeling.
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A few minutes after Winry had awakened, Ed began to stir. The soft beams of light had also waken him.
He slowly began to get up, making Winry sit up along with him.
"Ow…. What a headache…" Ed sighed, lifting his left arm to rub his temple. Winry sat up straight, stretching her arms out and yawning.
"Ah, Winry, you know yawning…is…contagious…" Ed said with a yawn. Winry smiled.
"Get up sleepy-head! I need to get to your right arm as soon as possible. I can't let you move around with an immobile auto-mail."
Ed stiffened.
He had just realized where he was and the events of hours earlier. He lowered his eyes, slowly turning to look at his right arm. Winry noticed how he had suddenly withdrawn into a stony silence.
Winry looked away, getting off of the bed slowly. She walked to the door, looking over her shoulder to watch Ed. He sat there, quietly, not moving from his sitting position.
She quietly stepped out the door, heading to the nearest bathroom. She looked at her hair; a disheveled mess of hair sticking out at odd places, some of it clinging to her cheeks where the tears had slid that night.
She let out a sigh.
"It's going to be a long day…"
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Granny Pinako stood in the kitchen, taking out the ingredients she would be using for the morning's meal. She slowly began to prepare the food for Winry and herself. She didn't hear Winry come down the steps.
"You're going to need more food than that," She said in a somewhat defeated tone.
"And why is that, my dear?" She responded. Winry sat down at the kitchen table; her chin propped on her right hand.
"That's why." She said to Granny Pinako, her index finger pointing towards the stairs, her eyes not turning to look.
Ed had come down the stairs with a look of sleep still etched in his face. His eyes half-closed in a tired fashion, with his bangs sticking up and some strands loose from his braid.
"Ah…" Granny Pinako said with realization.
"When did he get here?" She asked Winry, watching Ed walk to the table, silently pulling out a chair opposite Winry.
"Shortly after you went to bed. It was well past midnight when I heard him knock on the door…" Winry's attention drifted off towards Ed, who sat there with the same sleepy look.
"Hmm…looks like we need to work on some auto-mail after breakfast."
"Mmm" Winry said in reply, not really paying attention. She was intently gazing at Ed.
Granny Pinako made three plates of scrambled eggs, steamed rice, buttered toast, and some sausage. She put Ed's plate down in front of him, then Winry's, and then her own. Ed's eyes widened and his senses began to function again. His mouthed watered and the sleepiness that was etched into his face only seconds before disappeared as the scent wafted into his nose.
"Ah! Food! So…hungry!" Ed said while reaching with his left arm to grab the fork that was placed beside his plate, his right arm dangling uselessly beside him. He hungrily stuffed his face with the delicious food Granny Pinako had made. Winry caught a glimpse of the younger, carefree Ed. She smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Granny Pinako ate in silence, shifting her gaze intently from Winry to Ed. Surly something happened last night that she wasn't aware of?
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"Winry, pass me that wrench." Granny Pinako said to Winry, both wearing work gloves, overalls, and bandannas over their hair. Edward lay on the operation table, waiting for them to connect his auto-mail arm to his body. He lay there with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. His face was calm, his brows furrowed as if in concentration. Winry would periodically glance over to look at him. He hadn't moved. She frowned at the sight of him. She hated seeing him so calm, thinking and staring into space. The only times he did that was when something was reeling in his mind, leaving him separated from the rest of the world.
"Finished." Pinako announced.
"Ready, Winry? Edward?" She asked them both.
They both nodded.
Winry was on the Ed's right side, carefully attaching the auto-mail arm to Ed's shoulder. Pinako was in front of Ed, putting the rest of the pieces in place.
"On the count of three, we will connect." Pinako warned Winry and Ed.
Winry and Ed nodded in unison.
"One…Two…THREE!"
Ed shut his eyes from the sudden jolt of pain he felt every time Winry and Pinako would connect his metal limbs. Like the other times, Edward didn't scream. He was a strong boy, really. Even a grown man would have screamed out in pain.
After Pinako and Winry attached Ed's arm in place, they helped him move to a nearby couch to rest on. Every time they finished, he always felt sore afterwards. He lay motionless on the couch, staring at the ceiling again. Winry was helping Pinako put away the operating tools across the room, occasionally turning to look at Ed. She was worried for him again. This time, it was because of his silence. He hadn't muttered a word since that morning, complaining about a headache he awoke with.
When Winry finished putting away the tools, she slowly made her way to Edward. He was still lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling with a far off look. She didn't want to disturb him, so she slowly and quietly made her way to his left leg. She checked it for any damages that he might have received. After a few minutes of checking, every thing seemed to be in perfect condition, meaning she wouldn't have to build another auto-mail leg for him. She glanced up to check on Edward. He still hadn't moved.
She walked up to where his head lay, kneeling down to speak to him.
"Edward? Are you all right? Do you need anything? If you do, just let me know, okay?"
He slowly turned his head to face Winry but did not respond. He stared at her for a minute before turning back to stare at the ceiling.
His silence worried her, but she didn't press on anymore. She got up from the floor and headed upstairs to the bathroom.
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Once she was in the bathroom, closing the door behind her, Winry pulled out fresh towels from the cupboard, along with her favorite soaps and shampoo. She pulled off the bandanna that held her hair back, along with the overalls and black shirt she wore every time she worked on auto-mail.
She opened the curtain and turned the faucet to the tub, letting the water run until it got warm. She pushed down the rubber stopper that prevented the water from seeping into the drain. She grabbed the small bottle of vanilla scented bath bubbles and poured some in. She turned the faucet again; making the water stop running, pulled off her undergarments and slowly stepped in her newly made bath. She sank down into the water, wetting her long blonde hair. She surfaced and let out a sigh. She rested her head back on the tub, enjoying the warmth of the water that enveloped her slender body.
While in her bath, she couldn't help but think about Edward. Something had changed within him, but she couldn't quite find out what it was. She noticed that the fire he once had had disappeared from his bright, golden eyes. He wasn't the same anymore.
While thinking of Edward, she closed her eyes, a vision of him smiling at her popped into her mind. She smiled. She noticed a warm tickle of butterflies flitter in her stomach. What was this feeling she got every time she thought of him? The warmth of the water had enveloped her in a warm, calm sensation, making her drift off, her mind still on a certain blonde-haired boy with eyes the color of the setting sun.
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Some twenty minutes later, Winry emerged from the bathroom, covered in her light pink bathrobe, feeling rejuvenated and calm. She pulled the towel from her hair to dry the wet strands a bit before grabbing a comb to de-tangle it. She stepped into her room, making her way to her closet. She reached out to grab a black miniskirt, a pink shirt, and a pink hooded sweater to match. She laid her clothes on her bed, leaving it out for her to change into. She looked at her vanity mirror, staring at her reflection with questioning sapphire eyes. She dried her hair, carefully combing it up into high ponytail, leaving some strands of golden-blonde hair loose to frame her face. She changed into her clothes and put on some black Mary Janes.
Once she finished getting dressed, she made her way downstairs. When she reached the last step, she glanced up to see Edward making his way towards her. She stopped in her tracks, holding her breath as she watched him get closer. He stopped in front of her, intently looking at her blue eyes with his warm, golden ones. Neither of them made a move. What seemed like five minutes of staring into each other's eyes, Edward lifted his right hand up to her cheek. The soft touch of the cool metal that contrasted her warmth made her gasp lightly. She closed her eyes, feeling him caress her cheek with his thumb. Just as soon as she had felt the light touch, it had gone. She opened her eyes to find him start his way up the stairs. She turned to look at his retreating back.
'Yes…' She thought, 'something has definitely changed in him…'
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A/N: Again, thank you so much to those who reviewed. It made me smile to read all of those wonderful reviews. Anyway, I finally finished my third chapter to my slowly starting out fan fiction. It has been difficult to write this chapter in the past few days due to Writer's Block. How I hate it! It frustrated me to no end. But then, an idea had suddenly popped into my mind, relieving me of the block. Hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please Review.
Another note, the next chapter will be called Edward Breaks the Silence. Hope I don't have another case of Writer's Block . That would be really horrible!
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
GFA86