Edward was lying down on his bunk with a difficult facial expression. He was in his dorm that he shared with Alphonse, but since Al went shopping, he was all alone in the room. On a table beside his bunk was an opened envelope. Yes, what else could it be but a letter from Winry? He glanced at the letter for a split second, and then looked back to the roof.

He received the letter more than a month ago, so he should have replied to it a long time before. It was just that… he really couldn't think of how to start the letter. There was just so much things he went through, and so much things he still had to go through, and he didn't think he could write a letter without sounding like a total loser.

"Damn it."
There was so much thing he wanted to tell her, but not everything was good news. No, more like everything was sad. What Tucker said to him, what happened to Nina, that big blot of blood on the wall…But he didn't want to show her his weak side, and all the information, from his point of view, was a little gruesome. Not something you say to a girl. Also, since he was the one who, in a sense, ran away from his "home", he didn't want to tell her that he actually missed Resembool.

He glanced at the letter again. He really did not know what to do. Sure, what he wanted was to write back, but he had no idea how. That was when a knock came from the door, and a suit of armor came in the room.
"You're back."
"Yes, niisan."
Alphonse answered half-heartedly. He was still upset of all that happened, and he did not try to hide it. He didn't really talk about it, but you could tell from the tone of his voice and the way he acted. Ed, on the other hand, was still upset. Even more upset than Al was. But he tried so hard to hide. He didn't talk about it, he just pretended nothing happened. He always had his cheeky smile, and was always making smart-alecky comments. Because that was the way he was supposed to be. Ed wasn't sure, though, if Al knew that he was just acting or not. He never was sure about anything when it came to Al.

"I bought some food, and some books…"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

Ed quickly changed his expression into a bored one, and turned to Al. He could not show his weak side in front of Al either, since Al was already sad. He had to be strong.
"There's nothing to do these days."
"But there is a lot to reflect on."
Al's line was followed by silence. Ed just looked away. Reflecting. Exactly what he was trying to do for these past few days without any success.

"Winry wrote me a letter."
Al was the one who broke the silence.
"…Really?"
Ed answered, trying his best to sound uninterested. In his heart, he was actually feeling uneasy because of the sudden unexpected topic. Winry…letter.
"You haven't replied to her last letter, have you?"
"……No."
"She was wondering if you were hurt or anything."
Al said quietly, and left the room.

When Ed was sure that Al left the room, he stood up and buried his face in his hands. He felt like crying, but he couldn't. So, this was how pathetic he was, now? He couldn't even get by without making his childhood friend…who meant more than just that…worried.

Ed got a clean sheet of paper, and faced it resolutely. If he said the exact opposite of how he felt towards everything, it was going to sound right. Or, he could just put nothing about how he felt.

xoxox

Dear Winry,

I know I haven't replied to your letter in a long time, but there was so much that was going on…So. I'm actually writing from the military dorm. You know what that means? I passed! I suppose you'll be really surprised when you read this, since I didn't actually expect to pass either. Well, that just shows that I'm a good alchemist…just joking. But it means that I am one step closer to my purpose.

We've seen so much new things, and there are still a lot that we need to get used to. Especially to people calling me the military's dog. Anyway…

Hope you're doing fine.

Edward

P.S. Thanks for the encouragement you gave me through your last letter…helped me a lot.