Chapter Four
"I can't believe this snow," Ed grumbled, going back into the Dew Drop Inn. Snowflakes, even fatter and wetter than the night before fell so hard and fast it was nearly impossible to tell sky from ground.
"It's impressive," Winry agreed, somewhere between sarcasm and actually being impressed with the frosty output.
"My legs are tired from trudging through snow that deep," Ed groaned, rubbing his thigh. "The automail feels like it weighs as much as a tank. And it's so cold my ba...um, never mind." He blushed furiously. He was so used to being around men, or just Al, he had almost blurted out where the cold radiating up his metal leg had made his balls retreat to. Could he be more stupid?
"I believe you. Everything below the waist is burning like I'm on fire," Winry moaned, sinking into a chair at one of the few empty tables.
"At least they found the skiers," Al said.
"Poor Halia. She'll be working through the night. She'll be lucky to not have to do amputations for frost bite," Winry said, blowing on her hands which were red in spite of the gloves she had just peeled off them.
"Would you make automail toes?" Ed wondered, waving for the waitress.
Winry shook her head, dislodging ice balls from the long blonde tendrils of hair, splattering Ed, Al and a few other patrons. She flushed. "Oops, sorry. And no, usually not. I make toes if we're doing a whole leg, like the cute little ones I made you."
"Cute?" Ed's face squinched up. Al snickered. "Shut up, Al."
"Cute toes." Al giggled some more.
"They are cute. It's the little details that count," Winry pouted.
"Will you stop saying little," Ed implored as a Sabrin came over to the table.
"You look cold...and feel it." Her eyes cut over to Al, radiating cold enough to make other patrons scoot away as much as they could. "I'll send over some soup. We have a nice caramelized onion and wine soup tonight."
"Um, sounds good," Winry purred.
"And do you have any of the meat pies?" Ed asked, a greedy glint in his eyes. "You're pretty busy in here. I hope you're not sold out."
"We've got a few." Sabrin smiled.
Winry's eyes lit up. "I'll have one, too."
"Three meat pies and three soups?" Sabrin glanced over at Al who nodded. He didn't want to draw even more attention to himself by not eating. He knew Ed would gobble up his share.
"Great. And I know the weather is frightful but I do hope you can stay awhile and hear the storyteller," Sabrin said with an expansive wave to the little stage area.
"We'll try," Winry replied with an enthusiastic nod of her head.
"Good." Sabrin bustled off.
Winry saw Ed's look. "What? We might want to take a few minutes to blend in a little and look like tourists."
"She has a point, Brother," Al said, seeing Ed wasn't mollified.
"I know. We'll stay for a while but if that snow gets any deeper..."
Ed sighed. "Al will have to carry you on his shoulders." Winry smiled.
Ed leapt up. "Who are you calling so puny he could be buried by a simple snowflake?"
"You!" Winry grabbed his braid and yanked him back down. "Seriously, Ed, being seen in public with you is so embarrassing sometimes. I don't know how Al puts up with it."
"You get used to it," Al replied, with a clanging roll of his shoulders.
Ed glared at them both, pulling free of Winry and losing a few strands of hair in the process. "You know I don't like short jokes."
"You imagine short jokes even where they don't exist," Winry said sharply.
"Yeah, well, I didn't imagine this one." Ed released his braid and rubbed his scalp to warm up.
"Okay, sorry. Guess it gives us something to talk about other than what we want to and really shouldn't," Winry said, with a little grimace.
Ed's shoulders jerked. "Not like we have anything to say about that. We never even got close, not with all the search parties surrounding us."
"There's tomorrow, Brother." Al spread his hands wide.
"Something wrong?" Sabrin asked, bringing over the onion soup bowls. She gave them a concerned look.
"Oh, no. Al and I just wanted a little solitude away from our cousin the Mouth." Ed stabbed a finger at Winry. "But, of course, we were all out helping with the search party."
"Mouth!" Winry kicked Ed's ankle hard and he yelped.
"Not the way to speak to a lady, even if she is your cousin," Sabrin said, setting down the soup bowls.
"Guess not." Ed rubbed his battered ankle woefully.
"We're just glad the missing people were found," Al put in.
"It can be treacherous out there. You boys keep that in mind," Sabrin warned with a wag of her finger then headed back to the bar.
"Mouth?" Winry hissed again.
"What did you want me to do? I didn't want her wondering why we were so hot to get back out there. Getting away from a mouthy cousin was the first thing that came to mind," Ed said in his defense. "Do you need to be so violent?"
"You deserve it." Winry glared, whacking him with her spoon.
"I should have you sit between us, Al." Ed pouted, sampling the soup.
"I'm not a shield, Brother." Al sounded very put out.
"This soup is very good," Ed said, hoping to change the subject.
Winry gave him another pointed look but tried the soup. It passed muster with her as well. She and Ed ended up squabbling over their splits of Al's soup and his meat pie. They had settled down with a second pot of tea and were ready to hear the storyteller when all the lights went out abruptly. Shouts from the patrons sounded at the sudden darkness and Ed could see Sabrin, in a beam of moonlight from the window, trying the lights in vain.
"Well, looks like the weather's getting the best of the electricity," Sabrin said, over the din of the pub. "I'll break out some candles."
Ed tapped Winry's hand. "If it's getting that bad, maybe we should go. Now we're going to have to find our way in a snow squall in the dark."
Winry nodded. "So much for looking like tourists."
"Some of the others are going, too," Al said, pointing to the door.
Winry got up. "So I see."
They headed out into the deep snow. Ed and Winry were frozen through by the time they reached home. Al's metal body dropped the temperature of the dismal little place as soon as he stepped in.
"Ugh, guess I won't be bathing long tonight either," Winry said, shivering.
"You'll be lucky you don't have to chip ice off just to use the toilet," Ed replied, heading for the fireplace. He sat down on the hearth stone and cleaned out the ash from the night before.
"There's a pleasant thought. Hope there're no down drafts. We need that fireplace. Steam heat's all well and good but useless without electricity to power the heater," Winry groaned, collapsing on the old couch.
"I'll go upstairs until the fire catches," Al said softly, his helmet canting down. "You don't need me radiating cold."
"You don't have to, Al," Ed said, shoving kindling into his temple of wood.
"It's okay, Brother." Al dragged himself up the stairs, moving slow in the dark.
"Poor Al," Winry whispered, looking at Ed's face in the gloom as he tried to make the fire catch. She got up, lit a few candles that were on the mantle then went back to the couch.
"This is why we..." Ed swallowed hard. "I know you get mad that we don't write or visit, Winry. This is why. My brother's trapped. At least I'm still mostly human. I mean, as much as I hate the automail, lots of people have accidents and need it. I know that. But Al...I have to fix this." The usually subtle creak of his automail sounded loud in the quiet room as he clenched his fist.
"You will." Winry shook her head. He couldn't quite meet her eyes, staring into the fire. "I mean that. I know that you will do anything you can no matter what. I have faith in you, Edward."
He smiled faintly. "Thanks, Winry. Sometimes I need to hear it's not hopeless. Days like today...it's so hard to be so close to finding something, chasing down a lead and getting sidetracked." Ed sat back, happy with how the fire was catching. "Not that I wouldn't have gone to help those lost people."
"You're a good person, Ed, short tempered and impatient but good." She laughed softly.
"There's that word again," he rumbled, putting one last big log on the fire.
"Would you prefer hot headed?" Winry smirked.
Ed snorted. "Yes!"
"Brother! Winry! We have a problem," Al called from upstairs.
Ed leapt to his feet and charged up the steps. "What's happening?"
"The roof's leaking," Al said. "In both rooms."
"Oh damn, are you serious?" Ed moaned. "Remind me to talk to Halia about putting us in such a crappy house."
"There's nothing to do for it now. Show us the leaks, Al," Winry said.
"Brother's bed is soaking but I think mine's okay...I guess we'll have to trade. The wet won't bother me," Al said, leading the way.
"I'll go check my room." Winry headed across the hall with her candle.
"While she does that..." Ed climbed up on the dresser, clapped his hands and placed them on the ceiling. "This will at least fix the roof."
"Damn." Winry swore from the next room.
"Soaked, too?" Ed guessed, jumping down from the dresser.
She came back. "Yes, and with the damp just coming through the roof, it's going to be miserable up here. We should take the one dry mattress downstairs in front of the fire. It would be more comfortable."
"For you. Where am I expected to sleep?" Ed crossed his arms.
Winry rolled her eyes. "With me on the bed, Ed."
"With you?" Ed's voice cracked and Al glanced over at Ed managing to convey a 'what's wrong with that?' expression.
"Yes. Oh, grow up," she said, seeing the look on Ed's face. "We've done this before."
"When we were eight!" Ed blushed deeply enough to be seen even by the candlelight. "Things have changed."
"I should hope." Exasperation leaked into her voice.
"It does make sense, Brother. It's that or sleep on the floor. You can't sleep up here on a wet bed."
"You and I can transmute the water, Al. With the carbon in the bedding, it can become alcohol and that will evaporate fast," Ed said, moving to touch palms.
Al stopped him. "Ed, open fireplaces."
"Yes, Ed, think things through. Even if you didn't explode the fumes, we'd have to live with them. It's too cold to open a window and what happens to the bedding if you remove the carbon?" Winry's eyes narrow impatiently. "It's easier to just share the bed. Alchemy doesn't solve everything."
"There is the couch...but I guess it is cold. The bed works," Ed said, seeing the rising fury in Winry's eyes. "Come on, Al, let's get the mattress downstairs."
The brothers put the mattress in front of the fire after muscling it down stairs. Winry situated the bedding then peeled the covers back to let them warm.
"We should probably get to bed early," Ed said. "I'd like to get out there before the rest of the tourists if at all possible tomorrow." He kicked off his boots and pulled his long sleeved shirt off to expose the frigid automail. He tried to find the best position to warm himself, like a lizard on a sunning stone.
"I'll go back upstairs. It's still cold in here, isn't it?" Al's voice was laced with sadness. Winry could swear she heard tears, knowing he had to be so isolated because he couldn't so much as feel the temperature of the room.
"You don't have to go, Al," Winry said. "The fire will be plenty warm. You can stay with us."
"You're not used to hearing me rattle around." Al seemed to slouch as he headed to the staircase. "Brother is but I'll keep you up. It's not so bad. I'll take one of the books Brother and I have been meaning to read and go through it."
"You can't read..." Winry licked her lips. "I guess you can read all night. Sorry, Al, I forgot you don't sleep."
"It's okay, Winry," Al said, going up the stairs.
"It really isn't," Ed whispered once Al was out of earshot.
"I know," Winry replied, crawling into the bed. "Al must get so lonely being unable to sleep."
Ed got off the hearth stone and came to bed. "He doesn't complain. He never complains about much but I know it weighs on him."
Winry rolled over so she could face Ed. "I can't imagine. I wish we had a way of keeping him occupied at night but that would mean one of us being up all night."
"That's not a great schedule." Ed tried to get comfortable. "Sometimes he talks to the soldiers who've pulled the night shift but they're usually too busy." Ed shut his eyes. "Otherwise he just studies or lies there in the dark, thinking. I'm not help. I can sleep through anything. This is why I need to push so hard, why I take so few breaks. Al's life is-"
"A hell," Winry broke in bluntly, brushing Ed's hair back off his face. His eyes fluttered open in surprise. "I know you blame yourself."
"Why shouldn't I?" Ed's voice filled with bitterness. "I forced him into it, Winry. Al says no I didn't but I know if he was left on his own, Al wouldn't have done it."
"What might have been's don't matter, Ed. We don't get those sorts of second chances. We can't go backwards but we can take what we've learned and make better choices," Winry said practically, her hand soothing his hair back again.
"I know but...Winry, I've got to push myself. I don't say this ever...I don't know if Al realizes it and I don't want him to. I don't know how long the blood seal will last. It's already been years. If it weakens, I'll lose him and I can't..." Ed's larynx bobbed as he swallowed hard.
"Oh, Ed." Winry's throat constricted and she put her arms around Ed's shoulders. She held on tight even though he had stiffened up. Slowly he relaxed against her. Winry pressed her lips to the warm flesh of his neck, hearing the soft sound of surprise rumbling in him.
Shifting so she could kiss his lips, Winry gently nudged them open with her tongue. She prodded his tongue until it rose to tangle with hers. Ed's hand ran up and down her spine, the hot and cold of them raising gooseflesh.
He moaned lowly into her mouth as their tongues continued their explorations. Winry felt a sudden hardness pressing into her leg. She maneuvered her leg under his, the cool metal leaching through her clothing. Winry reached down to cup him wonderingly, having never touched an erection before, not even through clothing like now. Ed's hips flexed as he pistoned in and out of her hand, groaning at the friction then the soft sounds of pleasure died as Ed's eyes widened. He rolled away from Winry, nearly bailing out of the bed.
"What am I doing?" he hissed.
"Nothing I didn't want you to do," she said, looking into his flushed face.
"I can't!" His voice was a tight whisper. "This is wrong."
"Maybe it's not the best place for it." Winry's gaze flicked to the ceiling as if suddenly remembering they weren't alone in the house. "But it's not wrong."
"Yes, it is. I'll...I'll go sleep on the couch." Ed tried to swing out of bed.
Winry grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Oh no you don't. Edward, you don't get to just run away."
Edward glared at her, tearing out of her grip. "Let me go, Winry."
She got a better grip on him. "No. Edward, talk to me. You can't just do what we were doing and then run away."
"Don't you get it? I shouldn't have been doing it at all." His eyes narrowed into little slits of amber, his face hard as his automail.
"Because you think so little of me?" The words growled out of her.
Ed paled. He touched her shoulder. "No, Winry, I...I don't even know where to begin to tell you how much I care. How much I want...this." He gestured between them. "But I'm not the only one who did. Al's always liked you, too."
"I know that and it doesn't really change how I feel about you, Edward. Al's like my brother, too, but somehow between you and me, things changed," Winry said, putting her hand over his.
"And it frightens me because the temptation to give in is so strong." His gaze turned away from her towards the crackling fire.
"Why is this so horrible?" Her voice was as hot as the snapping flames.
He kept his gaze resolutely averted. "You know why. My life's not my own, Winry. I owe Al. I have to make this right. I don't have time for anything else just now. You know that. It's not fair to make you wait until I'm free. It may be too long. I may be too broken if..." Tears formed in his eyes, one or two escaping. "If it doesn't work."
Winry caught the tears on a finger. "It will work and I'm pretty sure we had this conversation before too, Edward. I'll always be the light in the upstairs window for you. I'll wait. You have no say in that. I know I could get my heart broken. I accept it. It's my choice to wait and you're not going to discourage me so easily."
Ed rubbed at his eyes, regaining control. "I wish I could."
"No, you don't, not deep down. Under all the guilt, there's a place inside you where you buried your hopes and dreams. I know I'm somewhere in that treasure chest. Come on, lay back down. I promise, I'll stay buried for now. Nothing happened tonight that we have to regret or anyone need to know." Winry pushed him down on the mattress then laid down herself.
"You don't know what you're letting yourself in for," he said, rolling onto his side, facing away from her.
"I have a fair idea. You know, Edward, I could help you more than you realize. I know you don't want me traveling with you or giving up my own career to help but if I do want to take time away to do just that, you shouldn't refuse it so much," she replied.
Ed sighed and said nothing. He was too tired to argue any more. They would get louder. Al would hear, would know what he had done and Ed couldn't bear that. Maybe once she was asleep, he'd sneak out and lay down on the couch. He felt wrong being here. He wanted to roll back over and kiss Winry more. He had loved how it felt to have her hand on his cock. No one had ever touched him like that before. The sensation had been incredible and the way it flavored his guilt unbearable.
Winry snuggled up along his back, tucking her face against his living shoulder. Her breath curled warmly along his skin. It was nearly too much for him. He had to fight to remain in control of his flesh. He felt embarrassed, imprisoned by desires he wished he didn't have and alternately wished he could indulge. In the end, he went nowhere and allowed himself to sleep in her embrace at last.
X X X
"What have you found out?" the alderman, Nicholas Clayworth, asked, swirling his beer around in his mug. He huddled across from Leatherby and Dance at their table in the Dewdrop Inn. The inn was closed finally for the night except for the last three patrons of note.
Leatherby's eyes narrowed. "That we can find records for the Rockbells in Rezembool but only for a Pinako and Winry, automailers, so that much is true. There are no cousins to be found, at least not that a quick call to the town hall can uncover. However, the clerk there wondered if I meant Edward and Alphonse Elric."
"That would make sense," Dance broke in, fingering the silver insignia on her collar. "Unless Edward is really happy and really off center, he's carrying something heavy in his front pocket. There is a state alchemist going by the name Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. That could be his pocket watch."
"A state alchemist," Nicholas bleated, his thick handlebar mustache dancing like a red silk scarf in the wind.
"This is bad," someone said from the shadows of the Dewdrop Inn. "If the little runt is a state alchemist then he's not here for the hunting."
"You think the good doctor put them on our trail," Leatherby said grimly.
"How much could she know?" Nicholas' hands shook, nearly spilling his beer.
"Obviously enough to send state alchemists after us," Dance replied, her voice sharp, her eyes filled with loathing for the weak town leader.
"They can't be allowed to know about the stone we're trying to craft," the shadowy figure said. "We should add them into the mix if they're so eager to know what we're doing."
"All of them?" Dance asked, obviously delighted at the prospect.
"All of them. The doctor will only continue to be a problem and the so-called cousins aren't like to simply stop if just one of them disappears. No, they all need to go. It can be blamed on the heavy snow fall," the shadowy figure replied. "Everyone knows the boys are always in the forest so it wouldn't come as a surprise if an accident happened."
"You and I can handle the brothers once they get out into the woods," Leatherby said to the shadows. "Dance, you handle the doctor."
Dance inclined her head to him. "Of course."
"What should I do?" Nicholas asked.
"Do what you do best. Keep reassuring the townspeople and tourists there's nothing wrong," Leatherby replied, sourly.
"It's settled then," the shadowy figure said. "We should get home and get some rest. It's going to be a harsh day tomorrow even without all we have to do." The sound of breaking glass as the fourth member of the group slammed a bottle into the bar for emphasis made them all jump. "Nothing is going to interfere with the making of this stone."