Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist.
Waiting For You: Epilogue
Time passed. Ed did not return that day nor the next, that year nor the year to come. Ten, twenty, thirty years went by and Winry went on waiting for his return. Her once lovely blond locks turned grey, her once firm and smooth skin became wrinkled… until finally she was no longer the pretty, vigorous teenage girl she once was.
He told her not to wait but she remained. Many more told her to give up, to forget and to move on. She listened, said nothing, did not argue but did not budge either. In the end, all they could do was just let her be. Including the many young eligible men who had fallen for her over the years.
She lived alone now since Granny Pinako and old, faithful Den had passed away. She spent her days doing what she did best – continue her automail business in Resembool. Her skills had earned her the reputation as the best automail mechanic in Amestris over the years.
Her automail business kept her busy most of the time but when she was alone in the house, she would often spend her time gazing forlornly at the photos she had pinned on the bulletin board. The photos were of the Elrics brothers, their childhood photos, and her photos with others during her travel. Those were the golden years and good old memories. But as the years passed by, the photos no longer brought tears in her eyes but instead put a smile on her face as she recalled the memories they had shared.
One day, when she was busy repairing an automail limb, she heard a knock on her door. The spanner in her fist dropped to the floor when she opened the door and found an all too familiar silhouette standing on her doorway. She recognized him at once.
"Ed!" she gasped, choking back her sobs.
"I- I'm home," he murmured. Winry clasped her hands on her mouth to contain her shock and disbelief. It couldn't be real, could it?
But here he stood, right in front of her, looking wearier than she had ever remembered. He had endured so much hardship and pain. After spending all these years running from home, from her and everyone, he finally had returned to her.
"Welcome home."
It had been too long.
A/N: Actually this fic was meant to be one-shot but I couldn't resist the urge to write this epilogue as a more satisfying closure to this. Hope you'll enjoy reading.
Many thanks to my beta-reader, Isee. She had done a great job.