Chapter 1: A Warming Welcome
"Edward!" The voice of a young girl echoed furiously from the far end of the Rockbell home.
"I guess Winry saw Ed's arm." Alphonse replied to the frantic arguing that quickly followed the brother's entrance. "I don't know why Brother insisted he would be able to hide if from her."
"It's not my fault. If you're gonna blame someone, why don't you blame Mustang!"
"Why would I, he wasn't the one wearing the automail I slaved over!" Winry pointed out shaking a large wrench in the adolescent's face.
"Yeah, but he's the one who set my arm on fire with his goddamn Flame Alchemy!"
They both grew quiet as Winry threw a look of bitter anger in his direction. Ignoring her stares, Edward crossed his arms and took a seat on the sofa behind him, leaving Winry in the middle of the room; the wrench now clutched even more tightly in her hand.
Edward could see the animosity that flowed through her face as she walked towards him. He quickly jumped over the back end of the couch when she began to slowly raise the hand the wrench was gripped in. He readied himself with his left arm ready to fight back while his right automailed arm laid daggling, lifeless and charred, at his side.
Winry continued to draw nearer until she had backed him into a corner. The fear on Edward's face was subtle, then more pronounced when he realized he had no where to go. She reached out, causing Ed's body to twitch as she grabbed his limp arm and began to unloosen the bolts that attached his it to his shoulder. He gave a sigh of relief as she escorted him back on the couch to trifle with his arm a bit easier.
"Brother, are you alright?" Alphonse bursted in unexpectedly, "it was so quiet, I thought maybe… oh… never mind." He tried to push aside his accusation when he noticed all was calm, for now.
"Thought what, Al?" Winry asked, not taking her eyes off her work. Her voice seemed to be back to the kind and angelic tone it normally carried.
"Uh…"
"He thought maybe you might've killed the boy and we didn't want to have to go hunting for the body so we thought we'd come and see what was going on." The voice of an elder woman smirked as she pushed her way through Alphonse and into the room.
Despite her age, Pinako was a very lively woman. Her silver hair was always pulled back in a tight ponytail and she wore small, round, eyeglasses on the brim of her nose. Pinako was the only family young Winry had left so she was strict when she had to be and light-hearted when the time was right.
"Hey, don't go giving her any ideas, Pinako." Ed gave an uneasy smile at the woman's playful remark.
"No, no! I wasn't thinking that at all Ed!" Alphose responded, defensively.
Some time had passed before Winry had finally gotten Edward's arm out of its socket. She laid it down on the nearby work table and began to rummage through a few boxes of spare parts for the assembly of a new metal limb.
"So tell me, Ed… what did you do to get Colonel Mustang so angry?" Winry stopped for a moment and turned to Edward, who was trying to avoid looking her in the eye.
"Uh, nothing in particular, we just got into a tiny little argument and he exploded on me… literally."
"Oh, come on Ed that's not the whole story." Alphonse shook his head in dispute. "I was there."
Edward began to wave his arm and shake his head at his younger brother anxiously, but it seemed as though Alphonse hadn't noticed.
"It was just after he told you that your recklessness in using your alchemy was what brought down nearly the whole south wing of Central Command's library, when you pursued another alchemist in a green over overcoat. Then," Alphonse continued, "didn't you tell him that his alchemy was lame and it didn't belong in the military." Alphonse innocently reminded him.
"Okay… Al, we don't need a play-by-play, thanks!"
"Geez, Ed," Winry gave a disappointed sigh, "you're eight-teen years old and you're still as irresponsible as ever."
Edward gave faint smile as she brought over a measuring tape and began to size up and compare his fleshly arm to his former mechanical arm. Ed noticed something wet drop onto the surface of his left arm; tears were coming from the youthful, blue-eyed girl.
"Winry!"
"Each time you leave you only return to get a tune up or repairs." Winry's voice was but a solemn whisper now, "And I worry about you, Ed; about both of you. You don't even have the decency to tell me anything, don't you trust me?" Her tone became an urgent plea, "it's not fair to grandma and me."
"She's right, Edward. You boys leave without so much as a goodbye, only to come back beaten and bruised. Makes me wonder if you made the right choice; in becoming a State Alchemist, that is."
"Brother, would it be alright if we just stay for a few days?" Alphonse asked his brother hopefully, as though a child would ask his mother for something.
Edward paused for a moment and gazed around the room at the people he had known throughout his life, the people whom he had grown up with and the blonde-haired girl who stare at him with glossy eyes.
"Alright, but we can only stay for a little while."
"You'll have to, anyway," Pinako smiled taking the pipe from her lips and placing it in the pocket of her apron. "We have to build you a brand new arm."
"I'll go get started on your arm, Ed." Winry responded wearily as she brought herself to her feet and made her way to the work desk.
She felt something gently grip her wrist, when she turned she saw the smiling face of Edward Elric. His hand was soft and warm and as he held her wrist a feeling of peace overcame her and she felt more relieved then she had in the long days and nights she worried about him.
"Naw, that can wait for now."
She returned his smile as he released her wrist.
"Hey, Pinako, d'ya think you could fix us up something good for dinner. I haven't had real food in a while!" Ed grinned stroking his growling stomach.
"Alright, but will you three mind picking up a few things, for me while you're out." She began to rummage through every pocket on her apron until she came up with a small list of handwritten items.
"No problem, Aunt Pinako." Alphonse answered, nodding and taking the list from her.