Yeah, another chappie! (Oh what the heck, you guys are always saying "chappie", so I figured that I might as well give in and say it. There, I finally said it. So there!)
I never expected there to be so much romance in this story. I'm not the type of person who can actually deliberatly write romance into a story. It has to write itself into the story, or it won't come out right. (I'm not a very romantic person, in case you were wondering.) What I'd like to know is why is so much romance writing itself into this story? Go figure. I have no clue, but enjoy it while it lasts. Heh.
Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. I own a new digital voice recorder though, as some of you already know. It's letting me get my chapters written up faster! Yeah!
Winry wrapped her arms tightly around Edward's waist, and leaned her head against his chest.
"Edward," she said, "You used to sing to me when we were little. I've missed your voice. Could you sing something to me now?"
Edward smiled. "What would you like me to sing?" he said as he stroked her hair.
"I don't really care," said Winry. "Are you still able to make things up on the spot?"
"Sure," he said, "I can still make things up on the spot."
"Then why don't you do that?" said Winry, pressing her face even deeper into Ed's chest. He stroked her hair even more as he began his song.
There is something about the way that you smile.
It's been there on your face for quite awhile.
It makes you look so pure, in you there is no guile.
There's just something about the way that you smile.
There is something about the way that you sigh.
It makes you look so sad, like you're trying to say goodbye.
When our ways both part, I know that you will cry,
Because there's something about the way that you cry.
What is this feeling? Is this what they call love?
Yet how is that possible, when you're from here, I'm from above?
You could never look more beautiful
To me than you now are.
When you wished for my love now,
You wished upon a star.
There is something about the look in your eyes.
If I look deep enough, I could see the moon rise.
And those orbs are the reflection of the starry skies.
Yes, there is something about the look in your eyes.
What is this feeling? Is this what they call love?
Yet how is that possible, when you're from here, I'm from above?
You could never look more beautiful
To me than you now are.
When you wished for my love now,
You wished upon a star.
After Edward had finished his song, he continued to stroke Winry's hair. Winry was crying silent tears into his chest. "That was beautiful, Edward, thank you," she said.
"I'm glad you liked it," said Edward.
"I'm going to miss you when you're gone," said Winry.
"I'm going to miss you too."
Just then, Sagittarius stepped out, and saw the two with their arms around each other. "I'm sorry to interrupt such a personal moment," said Sagittarius, "But there is someone that I think you'd like to meet in the house."
"Who is it?" said Edward. Ed and Winry both looked up at Sagittarius.
"He says his name is Colonel Roy Mustang."
"WHAT?" said Edward, "What is he doing here?"
"I didn't bother to ask," said Sagittarius, "But I thought you'd want to know about it."
Edward looked apologetically at Winry. She smiled understandingly. "I'll go with you," said Winry. Both of them turned and went back into the house.
When they got into the house, Edward saw Colonel Mustang standing and talking to Pinako.
"Colonel! What are you doing here?" asked Edward.
"Fullmetal! Thank goodness, you're alright!"
"Well, why wouldn't I be?"
"Envy tricked you into going on this mission, Fullmetal," said Roy, "So I was concerned that you would kill yourself. The Zodiac People are not our enemies."
"Yeah, I'm aware of that, Colonel," said Edward, "I figured that out myself."
"Did you also figure out that you were one of them?" asked Colonel Roy Mustang.
Edward jumped back. "You mean you knew all along and you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't tell you, FullMetal, because I thought that your father would have told you something that important, but apparently I was wrong."
"But how did you know when we didn't even know?" asked Edward.
"I knew your father. Because of my association with him, I learned how to recognize certain traits, which I saw in you and your brother."
"So our father IS the parent that is the member of the zodiac!" said Edward. "Man, I hate him. Why didn't he ever tell us? Did you ever find out which sign he was?"
"Um, I can't really remember," said Roy Mustang, "Do you happen to know when his birthday is?"
Edward thought for a moment. "His birthday is…May 15th." He smacked his forehead. "That's Taurus!"
Pisces looked up from her sitting position in a chair nearby. "Taurus? Taurus is your father?"
Ed looked over at her. "Yeah, why? What about him?"
"Well, it just happens to be that Taurus is one of the few who oppose Aries."
Ed sighed and rubbed his head. "Like we really need him as an ally."
"Well, maybe he could be some assistance to us. He's an earth sign, after all."
"If you want his help, fine. You talk to him yourself. I'm not going anywhere near him," said Edward.
"Help?" said Colonel Mustang, "What do you need help with?"
"We have to defeat Aries," said Edward. "She's mad with power and she wants to take over the land, but she can only do that if she gets all twelve signs to unite. Of course, I have no plans of allowing that to happen. It'll take all three of us water signs in order to defeat her."
"So that means that you're going to the circle then…right?" asked Colonel Mustang.
"Yeah…right," said Edward.
"I'm coming with you," said Mustang.
"WHAT? Why would you want to come with us? You're just going to slow us down!"
"Don't talk to your superior that way!"
Edward sighed. "I'm sorry, sir, but this has nothing to do with you."
"This has everything to do with me, Fullmetal. I'm responsible for your safety."
"But you can't help me in this battle. This is a battle between the signs. I can't let a human get involved," said Edward
"I'm still coming with you," said Mustang. "I may be human, but I am also an alchemist and your superior officer. I could possibly be of some assistance."
Edward sighed and shook his head. "Do what you want, but I'm not responsible for what happens to you."
"In that case, I'm coming too."
Edward spun around. "Winry, you can't come!"
"Why not?" said Winry, "He's going!"
"But he's a member of the military, and an alchemist! You would be completely defenseless!"
With that, Edward started coughing and sputtering. "Brother!" cried Al, rushing over to try and see what was wrong.
"I'm fine, Al, don't worry about me."
Pisces stood up and walked over to him. Upon examining him, she said, "There's nothing wrong with him. He's just suffering the effects of the Scorpio month."
"You mean he's getting weaker?" said Winry. Pisces nodded. "That settles it! I'm coming with you!"
"Don't come with me!" said Edward. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"And I don't want anything to happen to YOU," said Winry. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."
Ed wanted to protest, but since he was coughing and sputtering so much, he couldn't get a word out. It looked like he lost the argument.
Soon, everyone started getting ready to bed down for the night. Al and Ed told Orion and Roy that they could have their room. When asked why, they just shook their heads and said, "Just because." Roy wanted to question further, but the boys just walked off without saying a word. So, he shrugged his shoulders and made his way into the boys' bedroom.
Soon afterward, everyone was asleep, except for Winry, who was worrying way too much to get to sleep. So, she decided to get up and go and splash some cold water on her face, or something, to try and get herself to stop worrying. She made her way to the bathroom, and found Al, sleeping, leaning against the closed bathroom door.
She shook him awake. "Al, what are you doing here?"
He woke up, startled. "Oh, Winry!" He caught her questioning glance, and then sighed, and answered, "Brother is too weak to sleep in his human form anymore, so he ran himself some bath water and is sleeping in the bathtub in his elemental form. I'm just stationed outside to make sure that no one accidentally walks in on him, since that could be kind of embarrassing."
"Poor Ed," said Winry, "Why doesn't he let on that he's getting so weak to the rest of us?"
"It embarrasses him. He feels ashamed of it," said Al. "He doesn't like the idea of being weak."
"Well, I understand that," said Winry, "But he shouldn't worry about US. He doesn't have to hide from US."
"We're talking about Scorpio here," said Al. "He's a water sign. All water signs are vulnerable like that."
"Are you that vulnerable?" asked Winry.
Al nodded. "Yeah, I'm just as vulnerable as he is. It's just that it's not my month, so I'm not in a weak state like he is right now."
Winry sat down next to him. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," said Al, "It's just our nature. There's nothing shameful about it. It's just part of who we are."
Winry smiled a weak little smile, and tried to relax in her sitting position. "Is it okay if I sit here and guard him with you?" said Winry. "I can't sleep anyway."
Al chuckled. "Sure, that's okay. I don't think Brother will mind any."
Winry chuckled too. "No, I don't think he'll mind any." She wondered what Al would say if he knew about everything going on between her and Ed. The two of them continued to talk back and forth until they both finally managed to fall asleep.
When morning came, Edward was the first one to wake up. He opened the bathroom door and was surprised to find not just Al, but Winry sleeping there as well. What the heck was she doing here?
Ed gently shook her awake. "Winry, what are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you, Ed," she said as she sleepily rubbed her eyes.
"You needn't have been," he said, "I was only sleeping."
"In your elemental form, yes," said Winry.
"And what's so wrong with that?" asked Ed.
"It's simply the fact that you can't sleep in your human form if you want to. The effects of the Scorpio month are making you weaker, Ed, whether you want to admit it or not. How can I help but worry about you?"
Edward sighed and grasped Winry's hand. "I appreciate your concern for me, I really do, but I'm fine. I just don't want to have to be worrying about you all the time. That's why I don't want you to come."
"But if I don't come, I'LL be the one worrying all the time."
"You don't need to worry so much about me," said Ed, "The signs of the zodiac aren't that easy to kill."
"But they can be killed, still!" said Winry.
"So can human beings, and even more easily," said Ed. "That's why I don't want you to come."
Winry started to cry as she threw her arms around Ed and sobbed. "Oh, Ed, don't ask me to leave you, please! I can't stand the thought of being separated from you!"
Ed was a bit taken aback. He didn't know what to say. He knew one thing for sure though: He had been beaten. He was not going to be able to win against her will. He sighed. "Fine, if it means so much to you, you can come along, but PLEASE be careful."
She cried a happy cry and pulled her arms even tighter around Ed. "Thank you, Ed, thank you!"
Edward sighed. What had he just done? Was it wise to allow Winry to come along with him? Had he just signed her death sentence? He didn't know what the future held, but he knew one thing for sure: He was not going to let anything happen to Winry.
Heh, yeah, I have the tendency to always make Ed sing in my fics. I just love doing that, and I have no idea why. I hope that some of you like it too. Most people don't comment on that, but oh well, I keep doing it anyway, hehe. It gives me a good excuse to use my songs. Otherwise, I just look like a crazy, freaky, fangirl, writing songs for FullMetal Alchemist. Hehehehe...This is actually the first song I've written specifically for, and based on, one of my stories. I tend to like to make Ed play the guitar a lot too. Why, I don't know. I just do. Hehe
Anyway, hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please review, and I'll update sooner!