Lumina- Thank you reviewers. Your reviews are much appreciated!

Disclaimer- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, randomness would be abundant.

Chapter 2- Remembrances

"Winry? Winry, wake up!"

She awoke to a sharp pain jabbing at her side, sweat dripping from off of her forehead again. She'd had that dream again, that one that always reminded her of the past, and what horrors awaited her when she woke up as well... "Are you alright?" Winry nodded to the blond who was now sitting up next to her. Had she woken him up as well? Either way, it didn't really matter. Ed never slept for very long as it was.

"You had that dream again, huh?" Another nod of confirmation as Winry sat herself up. She felt like now would be a good time to get some water, seeing as everyone was probably up from her screams again. "Where are you going?"

"Just to get some water..." Winry made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she quickly found a glass from within one of the cupboards. She lowered it under the faucet. Great, another bad dream was upon her, the same one as always. No matter how many times she tried to explain to Ed what was the matter, he always acted like everything was fine; Like he could cope with it.

She never brought up the fact that the dream was about the time he'd raped her, stolen her innocence and most of her self respect, left her there to rot, and acted like nothing had happened. Also, she was a bit frightened. Ed had told her if she ever did mention what had happened in that alleyway, he'd kill her, and with the way Ed's temper sometimes got out of hand, she wouldn't doubt it.

And what was she supposed to say when he asked her out on a date? Was she supposed to refuse and end up getting her skull bashed in? Going out with someone she was frightened of was definately better than getting killed by someone she was frightened of, but how could she possibly handle all of the guilt and stress that piled up day after day?

Sighing in defeat, she got up the courage to dump out the remaining water in the glass and walk back upstairs. It was two in the morning, and storming outside, so she figured Al would probably be awake, reading up on some alchemy books. Those brothers were exactly alike, and you could see more and more of Ed developing in Al each passing day. Edward was so proud of his younger brother. Winry could see it in his eyes.

Honestly, she'd tried to tell Al what had happened. Really, seriously tried as hard as she could, but to know avail. Nothing worked for her. The second she felt she'd gotten up the courage to finally admit what had happened, she felt like she was getting a dizzy spell, and almost fainted. Of course, Ed was always there at her side, reassuring her that he loved her and was sure it would pass over. After a while, Al began to believe she had a disease somewhat like the one their mother had.

Winry, being the adamant blond she is, shrugged it off, and continued about her business, accepting a hug from Ed and feeling the guilt rush to all of her senses at an almost terrifying speed. She was living with this though, and there was nothing she could do.

Once reaching the upstairs and entering into the room she shared with the Fullmetal Alchemist once more, Winry collapsed on the bed, causing Ed to roll over and take a good look at her. He was worried, and she could tell. It was time to come up with a good excuse or she'd have to listen to his long list of frets over the past week. "You okay?" She cringed at the sound of his voice.

"I'm fine." She saw the understanding in his eyes as he looked her up and down. "Really, Edward..." She wanted to hug him, but didn't. Never once had Winry attempted to advance on Ed. She figured he'd do it himself, seeing as how she knew he was perfectly capable of it.

"Well, alright," Ed said, not bothering to give it another thought. Instead, he placed a kiss on the young blond's forehead, rolled over to blow the candle he'd just lit out, and faced the other way, wrapping his arms around Winry. She gave a deep sigh and let herself be taken over by another semi decent sleep. But before that could happen...

A knock on the door. Ed moved his arms back and sat up as Al walked into the room, looking at his brother with a look of deep concern. "What is it this time?"

"The basement is flooding." Was the storm really that bad, Winry wondered. Edward stood up, stretching and simply throwing his trench on over his boxers and shirt. He had to go inspect the basement. As he left the room, Winry cuddled up into the blankets, throwing the comforter over herself, and snuggled into the pillow. Things just seemed so much calmer now that Ed had left.

-----

It was a bit later on in the morning before the next time Winry was woken up, this time by pokes and prods from the younger Elric brother looming over her, impatiently waiting. That was a bit odd, since Al had always been the one to explain to everyone else how patience was an important virtue.

Winry shifted awake, opened her eyes slowly to take in the light that filled the previously darkened room. "W-What?" She practically stammered. If one thing was for certain, it was that Winry was not a morning person.

"Sorry to bother you, Winry, but the basement is completely filled with water." She blinked. It didn't have much of an impact on her.

"Why are you telling me? Why not granny..." She rolled over, completely unsuspecting of what she'd just said.

"Uh Winry, Pinako died three months ago, remember?" Certainly, she did, but being half asleep, she wasn't ready to realize this yet. She wanted to burry her face in the pillow and slowly drift back into a peaceful slumber. It can't have been that late already, could it? Either way, it was apparent Al wasn't going to let her sleep any longer, so she pushed the covers off, and slowly rose up, stretching as she did so. "Sorry to have woken you up so early."

"That's fine, Al," Winry replied, turning to make the bed as she did so.

She reached the downstairs, hoping to avoid a certain other blond who could be lurking around any corner, but didn't have much luck with this. "Morning, Winry," He said, strolling over to her and once again wrapping his arms around her. He leaned in for a kiss, which she gave, out of fear he'd do something rash if she didn't give in easily. "You slept better last night?"

Sure, despite the dreams, despite the fact he knew she'd woken up in the middle of the night, Winry had slept fine. Just marvelous. She nodded at him, hoping he'd just go away already. That was too much to hope for. "You aren't talking much this morning." She took this as a threat, one hidden within the words Ed had just said to her, and began to talk about pointless objects.

"What about the basement?" Ed shrugged and momentarily scratched his head.

"Well, we don't know what we're going to do with it yet, but we've certainly got to do something." Ed looked over at the kitchen with a glint in his eye, and Winry seemed to know just exactly what he was getting at. "Were you going to, uhm..." His stomach growled as though right on cue.

"Sure," Winry replied, giving him a fake smile and walking over to the cupboards to pull out the nessecary equipment for creating breakfast. Ed ate a lot, so she always ended up cooking a lot. Not that it bothered her. "You want rice with that, correct?" Ed's ears imediately perked up, upon hearing the word rice. He nodded his head so hard Winry thought it might snap off. She laughed to herself, unable to contain the giggle fit.

"Call me when it's finished. I gotta go talk to Al about the uh... Basement?" Winry, now in a good mood, waved him off as he stepped out the front door. Her mixed feelings were capable of confusing anyone on somedays. Today was one of those days.

---

The dirt had turned to mud as Ed sloshed through it, planning to take a trip over to the hill he and Al always sat at when they were in deep thought. His younger brother was already there waiting for him. They'd planned to meet here after Ed convinced Winry to cook them something to eat, and they weren't here to talk about the basement, either. Ed had more important matters he needed to discuss with Al.

"You're having girl problems again, huh?" Al asked as his brother plopped down next to him.

"Yeah. I just figured you could help me, because, you know... You're..." Al smiled, waiting for the few words that could mean so much to him, his personality, and his ego. "The sensitive one that girls go to..." Ed gave him an odd look.

"I can't see what you're talking about, brother!" Al said innocently. Ed smirked. "So what's the issue?"

"Winry doesn't talk much anymore. It's always the same old shit these days. She does exactly what I tell her, never takes compliments the wrong way, doesn't try to fight with me... I miss the wrench, quite honestly I do." Al began to laugh. "What! I just miss the old Winry is all!"

"I understand, brother. Maybe just take her somewhere nice. Go to Central. Make her feel appreciated? Maybe she's depressed having to do all of the work after auntie passed away..." It was funny just how much sense Al's words made, Ed thought to himself as he played out the sequence in his mind. Perhaps he would take her to Central, and they could have dinner together. Al could stay in Resembool and tend to the house.

"Thanks Al. You're the best." Edward gave his little brother a quick hug and stood up, hearing Winry calling his name. "We'd better go. Breakfast is ready."

---

Sitting at the table, rushedly shoving pancakes into his mouth was the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric. Winry sat across from him, not eating, but admiring Ed as he ate. For someone she feared so much, she sure did envy him...

"Aren't you going to eat?"

The voice cut into her like a sharp knife through butter, and she almost flinched. "No," She replied sharply, trying to make it clear that she didn't want to touch the food in front of her. She wouldn't even be able to eat a piece of toast. You could say that after the rape incident, Winry had gone a little anorexic. Edward gave her a stern look, and, grabbing a plate from next to him, put a few pancakes on it, shoving it in front of her. "Please eat, Winry. I'm worried about you."

What a good actor he was. He'd terrorized her about two years ago, and now he was acting as though he truely cared. Maybe he had changed, since he didn't try to overtake her anymore, but Winry could still worry, couldn't she?

Taking a fork and reaching it towards her plate, Winry picked up one of the pancakes and cringed as she set it into her mouth. Mostly she stuck to water and apples these days. Pancake was a real change for her. "So, Winry..."

"Hmm?" Was all she could manage through a mouthful.

"I was thinking... Maybe we could go to Central in a few days and have dinner there? My treat," Ed said, giving her a huge smile. What a suprise it was for her, as she quickly swallowed, setting her fork down aside her plate on the table. She nodded, giving her best impression of happiness. "Great!" Ed certainly looked a great deal happier as he gulped down the remaining two pancakes on his plate and went to set the dishes in the sink.

Rising to put her own plate on top of Ed's, Winry made her way across the kitchen and began to run some water out of the sink, only to be stopped by a hand reaching for the faucet. "That's okay Winry, I can do the dishes." Al always made himself so presentable, so friendly.

"Thanks Al," Winry replied, turning only to find herself in Ed's arms once again. "Come on Ed, you never can let go of me," Winry smiled, actually feeling happiness this time. Ed smiled back at her, and didn't let go of her.

"That's because you're my angel."

Lumina- I hope you're all happy with chapter 2. Chapter 3 should hopefully be up soon. Please review!