Ed was already awake, sitting at her kitchen table sipping a fresh mug of coffee when she came downstairs the next morning. He looked away when he saw her in the doorway. "I made enough coffee for you, too," he said to the wall.
She jerked the cabinet door open and grabbed the blue mug down from the shelf. Edward had already claimed the red one; the one Al always used when he was home. "I'm surprised you're still here," she said bitterly, facing the window above the sink, not looking at him. "When I woke up I thought you were gone again."
He shook his head, although he knew she wasn't watching him. "I'm sorry," he said under his breath. "We shouldn't have- I shouldn't have-"
She spun around, fixing her narrow blue eyes on him. "What do you mean you shouldn't have?" she demanded.
He dropped his forehead down on his hand. "I'm sorry, Winry," he said again, but her expression nearly stopped him from continuing. "I didn't mean to make you angry with me," he mumbled. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen."
She slammed the mug down on the counter and stormed out of the room without a reply. For a moment Ed sat in shock, but quickly stood up to follow her. "I'm sorry," he called.
She was standing in the middle of the next room and turned again to face him. "You're sorry?" she repeated. He wasn't sorry for leaving her bedroom, she realized. He was sorry for the whole thing. "Bastard," she muttered.
He spread his hands in a gesture completely unlike the explosion she was expecting. "Look," he began, "can't we-"
"Don't talk to me, you jerk," she snapped, pushing past him and giving him a shove to the middle of the chest as she flew by, knocking him off balance. "I have work to do," she said on her way out the door.
"Hey," he protested, but she had already slammed the door. Edward slumped down on the couch. He had been home for less than a day, and his homecoming was not going the way he had imagined it so many times. Looking around Winry's house, he saw a few familiar things here and there, but it wasn't the same as the Rockbell home in Rizembool. He supposed he pictured everyone he cared about gathered in one place to greet him: Auntie Pinako, Izumi-sensei, Colonel Mustang, Alphonse…
He began to straighten up in the kitchen; the last thing he needed was Winry coming out of her workshop to yell at him for leaving her place a mess. Rinsing out the coffee pot, he realized he wasn't surprised that Al was with the military now. He had guessed that if he was truly restored, he might have decided to take the State Alchemist exam again. It was perfectly normal, then, if he worked for the military, for Alphonse to be away.
Perfectly normal. There was no reason to be concerned.
Visions of the night before kept flashing behind his eyes; his body remembered the feeling of her, the smoothness of her skin, the scent of her hair, the feel of her hands traveling over him and her large, luminous blue eyes staring into his. Was it possible that Winry was angry with him because she didn't regret what they shared the way he did?
He stared out the window. He had already made a mess of things.
There was a knock at the door, and Ed waited for Winry to come out of her workroom to answer, but when she didn't he guessed she didn't hear. At the second knocking, Ed gave in and opened the door himself.
He stood facing two familiar faces in two familiar uniforms. Trying to place their names, he simply stared, while the man said, "Sorry, is Miss Rockbell at home?"
'She's working," Ed said slowly. They didn't recognize him? He sighed. That was natural, he supposed. After all, he didn't look much like his sixteen year old self anymore. Ross. Maria Ross, was the blue eyed woman's name, he recalled. The man was Denny something.
"I have an important message for her," said the woman.
"Is it about Alphonse?" he demanded abruptly, his heart suddenly pounding.
She eyed him closely. He watched her eyes widen in shock, and she whispered, "It cant be… Edward?"
He grinned at being recognized, although worry was beginning to press in on him. "Hello, ah, Miss Ross," he said, not knowing what her rank might be after so much time.
She grabbed him in a hug. "Where have you been? Everyone said you were dead!" she cried. She let him go, eyeing him once more. "You certainly grew," she added, and he frowned.
"Of course I grew," he said sharply. "No adult is less than five feet tall."
Her blue eyes danced as she exchanged glances with the man beside her. "How long have you been back?" she asked next.
"Since yesterday," he said, still leaning in the doorway. His face became serious again. "You are here about Alphonse, aren't you?"
Her expression matched his. "Edward, perhaps you should get Miss Rockbell."