Chapter 10

Home

The theatre was packed, but the three of them managed to find their seats. Ed had made sure to buy good tickets – he couldn't afford the front row ones, but he'd made sure they were at least able to see the stage without squinting.

They settled in their seats, and watched the opening scene. To his surprise, Ed found himself enjoying the play, until it neared the end of the second scene. He happened to glance at one of chorus girls...

And nearly had a heart attack.

The woman was Winry right down to the ground. Same hair, same eyes, same...everything. He choked on air and saliva, staring at her. This must be Winry's alternate.

Ed had always dreaded meeting this world's version of Winry. Dreaded meeting someone so like the woman he loved, and at the same time, so different. Dreaded being forced to see her live her life the same way Winry was probably doing...without him.

Next to him, Al tugged frantically on his sleeve. "Brother...Winry..."

"I see her too, Al," he whispered. "I see her too."

Far more than merely seeing, he was unable to rip his eyes away.

The play progressed, and Ed deduced that this alternate Winry was actually playing the lead. The character called Carlotta – who reminded him irresistibly of Paninya – refused to sing and walked off, so Christine – the one alter-Winry was playing – stepped up instead.

"Think of me

Think of me fondly

When we've said

Goodbye."

Ed stiffened as the song washed over the audience. If he had believed in God, he would have been inclined to think he was unbearably cruel.

"Remember me

Once in a while

Please promise me

You'll try."

A woman who looked exactly like Winry was up on the stage singing of lost love.

"When you find

That once again you long

To take your heart back

And be free

If you even find a moment

Spare a thought

For me."

She was entreating the man she loved not to forget her.

"We never said

Our love was evergreen

Or as unchanging as the sea

But if you can still remember

Stop and think of me."

It was so perfectly suited to his situation he thought he might scream.

"Think of all the things

We've shared and seen

Don't think about the things

Which might have been..."

That, or run out of the theatre.

"Think of me

Think of me waking

Silent and resigned."

He wanted to yell at her to stop.

"Imagine me

Trying too hard

To put you from my mind."

Stop, stop! He got it, he got it!

"Recall those days

Look back on all those times

Think of the things we'll never do..."

That was it. He couldn't take it anymore. Ed bolted from his seat, dashing towards the doors as though the hounds of hell were on his heels, the last few lines drifting to his ears before he made it out.

There will never a day

When I won't think

Of you."

oooooooo

Outside, he leaned against the wall to get his breath back. He shook his head, as though he could shake some sense into himself.

'Get a freaking grip!' he coached himself.

Still...he wasn't about to go back inside. Not yet.

He heard the door open, and Al came out. "Brother?"

"I'm fine, Al," Ed said dully. "Go back inside – enjoy the play."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Ed muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face wearily.

Al went back inside, and Ed spent several moments trying to collect himself. He thought about going back inside, but quickly discarded the idea. There was no way he could face that again without throwing a screaming fit. Or breaking into tears...and that would be really embarrassing in a theatre full of people.

He wandered around the building, circling it over and over, barely aware of the hours that were passing steadily. In fact, he only became aware the play was over when he heard the front doors open and the crowd beginning to file out. He started to retrace his steps, but suddenly became aware of a commotion around the back. Raised voices drifted to his ears, one female, one male.

He risked a peek around the corner...and spotted the Winry look-alike arguing with a man that looked very much like Frank Archer.

oooooooo

Winry was beyond pissed.

"Listen, Leeson!" she bellowed, jabbing him in the chest with her extended finger, "I do not answer to you anymore-"

"But your friends do," he countered.

"Check your paperwork, jerk! Roy and Liza took new jobs yesterday!"

"Now," Winry continued, trying to dial the volume down. "We will be mature adults about this. You will leave now, and if I ever see you anywhere near me again, I will wrench you so hard your grandchildren will be born with flat noses and dented heads! If you ever have any, that is," she added contemptuously.

"Listen, girly-"

"My name is not girly!" Winry shrieked, feeling as though she was inches away from committing gleeful homicide. "It's Winry Rockbell! Winry Rockbell! It's not hard to say!"

With a snarl, she whirled on her heel, but Leeson grabbed her arm.

It would be the last time he made that mistake. True to her word, Winry whipped out her wrench and dealt him the most savage blow she could ever remember inflicting.

Leeson dropped like a stone.

But Winry's temper hadn't burned out quite yet. She hurled her wrench at the wall, spun in a circle and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Stupid idiot! Stupid idiot men of this stupid idiotic world! Stupid freaking alchemists who open that goddamned Gate and get me sucked into this goddamned world which has never heard of equal-freaking-rights!"

Winry huffed a sigh and kicked the ground petulantly. Still, her childish outburst had improved her mood. Deliberately stepping on Leeson's prone form, she went to grab her wrench from the ground...

And crashed into the person standing just around the corner.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised, before raising her eyes to the person's face.

"Ed?"

oooooooo

Ed realised he was still staring. But he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. "Winry?"

With a choked sob, she hurled herself at him, hugging him tightly. His back hit the wall, but other than that, he didn't move.

He still couldn't believe it. Winry. Here. He wondered dimly if he was dreaming. Or hallucinating.

Slowly, like the shifting of continental plates, he wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking slightly. Her body moulded into his – warm, heavy and real.

With a choked cry of his own, he crushed her to him, so savagely he feared he might break her ribs. But she clutched back just as fiercely, and as she hid her face in his neck he buried his in her hair, inhaling deeply. She no longer carried the scent of metal, sweat and shampoo – now she smelled of cosmetics, varnish and rainwater. But beneath those superficial odours, was her, that unique, Winry-scent that could never be duplicated.

"Ed...you're crying," Winry whispered.

"I am?" Ed murmured dully, then raised his hand to his cheeks, surprised by the dampness there. "I guess I am."

"You are," Winry sniffled. "So don't you dare say a word about me being all weepy here."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ed said, still in a state of shock.

This was Winry. He was hugging Winry, talking with Winry, just like old times. This was Winry. His Winry.

He didn't want examine how possessive that thought sounded.

He was startled from his reverie by a voice nearby. "Brother?"

Both Ed and Winry froze. Ed looked up as Winry slowly rotated in his arms. Al and Noah were standing behind them, with identical looks of shock plastered on their faces.

"Al?" Winry choked out.

"Winry?" Al gasped, his eyes round as a pair of coins.

Al lunged for Winry, and she squealed as he caught her in an exuberant hug. "Winry!"

"Al...need...to...breathe," Winry hissed out, but didn't stop holding him.

"Oh, right..." Al's grip loosened, but not by much.

Noah looked at the brother's obvious glee at finding the woman in front of them, looked at Ed's face..and finally admitted defeat. For years, she'd harboured feelings for him, and more than once dared to hope that those feelings might be returned. He was kind to her, and she assumed that she would simply grow on him with time. But now it was clear why he had never encouraged her advances. The look in his eyes as he watched the pretty blonde couldn't be described in words.

He was in love with her.

Al was the first to realise that Noah was standing off to one side, looking slightly lost.

"Oh, Winry," he said, pulling her forward. "This is our friend, Noah. Noah, this is Winry."

Noah couldn't help but feel a little bitter towards Winry, yet the smile she gave was honest. There was just something about this girl...as though she had an aura that made it impossible to dislike her.

"Pleased to meet you," she said, hoping her accent wasn't too thick.

Winry cocked her head. "You're German," she stated.

Then, to the surprise of all three, Winry launched into fluent German, "Pleased to meet you too."

"You speak German?" Noah gaped, astonished.

Winry nodded, looking slightly smug at their shocked expressions.

"How do you know German?" Ed asked, slipping into the language to include Noah in the conversation.

Winry grinned. "I was dedicated to my job."

"What?"

"Never mind about that, come into my dressing room and we'll talk."

oooooooo

Ed still wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't some sort of dream. It certainly seemed like something from one of his fantasies. Winry was here. Here. With them.

He kept getting the urge to pinch himself, but always squashed it. If this really was a dream, he didn't want to wake up for a while yet.

Winry was at the wash basin, scrubbing away the make-up on her face. Ed was shocked when the cosmetics peeled away to reveal a deep scar along her cheekbone. Winry noticed his gaze and shrugged.

"Bullet," she explained succintly.

"What?" Ed yelped, echoed by Al and Noah.

But Winry was now scrubbing at her chest, and another layer of make-up ran away, giving them a clear view of another scar. This one was shaped like a 'V', and situated on the curve of her breast.

Again, she anticipated their queries. "Knife."

"Knife?" Ed gaped.

"Is there an echo in here?" Winry teased. It surprised her how quickly they had gotten back 'in-tune' with each other.

But Ed's eyes were serious when he looked at her once more. "You've got a story to tell."

"And I expect you guys do too," she rejoined.

"Winry...how long have you been here?" Al ventured.

"Is that 'here' as in 'here in the theatre', or as in 'here in this world'?"

"In this world."

"Well..." Winry began, doing some quick mental addition. "Nearly two years, give or take."

"Two years?" Ed yelled.

Winry rolled her eyes, "Yes, Ed, two years. And what was I saying about that echo?"

But Ed wasn't really paying attention. Winry had been in this world for two years. And she hadn't had the luxury of a friendly face waiting for her, as he and Al had. No, she'd been dumped into this world alone...and she'd obviously been forced to struggle through it alone. And those scars told him just how desperate her struggle had been.

"Just what happened to you, Winry?" Ed asked quietly.

"It's a long story."

Ed shrugged. "We're not going anywhere."

"Then kick back boys and girls," Winry said in her best narrator voice. "And let me tell you a tale from long ago..."

Everyone chortled, and Winry began her story. She edited it severely, though, leaving out the bedtime stories she told to Eddie, taking care not to mention her stage name, those kinds of details. Anything that would even hint to Ed of her feelings for him.

After all, he'd never made any overtures to her, and she had no reason to assume he ever would.

oooooooo

At the end of her story, there was several seconds of stunned silence.

"That jerk!" Ed suddenly exploded.

"Who?" Winry asked, completely baffled.

"Him! Leeson, or something like that...trying to get you to sleep with him just to keep a roof over that kid's head!"

Winry was rather surprised to realise that Ed was seething. Utterly boiling with rage.

"Hey, take it easy, Ed. It wasn't exactly one of my shining moments, either." She looked at the floor. "After all, I did intend to sleep with him. It's...not something I'm proud of..."

Ed was utterly floored. She seemed ashamed of what she'd nearly done, but to him, it only emphasised the kind of person Winry was. She had been willing to have sex with a man she despised, just to preserve the future of a child that wasn't hers.

He had met a lot of people in his travels, but he was certain that no one, no one, had a heart as big or as pure as Winry's.

"Winry?"

Winry jumped as Mary stuck her head in the door, looking around for an instant before her eyes settled on Winry.

"So sorry, dear," she smiled, "But Andre's turned up at the last minute – can I beg off our dinner outing?"

"Sure," Winry grinned, and before she could even think to introduce Mary to the others, the older woman had slipped out.

But not before calling out, as per usual, "Get another stage name, won't you, dear? Wendy Elric is just so mundane..."

Winry was left staring at the closed door, utterly mortified.

"She really does speak German all the time, doesn't she?" Al observed.

"Wendy Elric?" Ed asked, feeling pleased for some reason he couldn't identify.

"Shut up," she growled. "It was all that came to mind at the time."

"Well," Noah started, having been almost completely silent for the entire conversation, "Since your dinner plans seem to be spoiled, why don't you eat with us?"

She gave Winry a determined smile, resolved on making overtures of friendship towards her.

"Really?" Winry looked at Ed and Al, "You guys won't mind?"

Mind? He hadn't seen her for three years! "Trust me, Winry, you'll be welcome," Ed smiled.

"Oh, by the way, this is yours." As Winry handed Ed his journal, a few stray photos of her, Eddie, and Wendy slipped out. Everyone dropped to help her pick them up.

"I suppose this is Wendy?" Al asked, flicking through the pictures. "And...Eddie, wasn't it?"

Ed was too busy with the pictures to see Winry's nod. He stared at the one in his hand, of all three smiling at the camera. He concentrated on the faces of Wendy and Eddie, feeling vaguely guilty. After all, this world's Edward had only died because he'd been thrown into his body. If it wasn't for him, Wendy would still have a husband, and Eddie would still have a father...

He shook his head vigorously, trying to dislodge those thoughts. But he still found it vaguely disturbing to be gazing upon the face of a child that was the product of the marriage of his alter to Winry's alter. Would his and Winry's children look like that?

Another shake of the head. 'Don't go there.'

Noah seemed utterly intrigued by the photo she'd picked up. "Wow...she really does look exactly like you..."

Winry giggled as the dark woman showed her the 'identical twins' picture. "We got that taken just for fun. No one could ever tell us apart," she added as she passed the photo to Ed.

Ed stared at it for several seconds, his brow furrowed. Then he passed it back.

"Creepy huh?" Winry said, showing it to Al, who nodded.

Ed shrugged. "Not really – you're the one on the left."

Every occupant in the room gaped at him.

"Well, am I right?"

"Yes," Winry blurted, "You're right, but...but how did you know?"

Ed smirked and refused to say.

oooooooo

Dinner was a comfortable affair, and afterward Ed insisted that she at least spend the night with them. While Winry found the suggestion out of character, she wasn't about to argue. Noah went to bed early, but Winry and the Elric brothers stayed up late into the night, talking in soft, hushed tones.

Ed waited for Al to get tired and go to bed. He remembered how, when first dropped into this world, he'd made himself a vow that he would tell Winry he loved her if he ever saw her again. Well, he'd broken that promise, and Ed wasn't about to let this chance pass him by.

After all, who knew if he'd ever get another one?

So, he planned to stay up late talking with her and Al, then Al would get tired, leaving them both alone, and then he could...and then he could try to summon up the courage to tell her.

"Look at this, Winry," Al yawned, unfurling the plans for their rocket with more than a hint of pride.

Winry glanced at it, then said gently, "I don't know how to break it to you, Al...but that'll never get off the ground."

"We know it won't, that's why we're looking for a rocket expert-Wait a minute!" Al cut himself off. "How did you know it wouldn't fly?"

Winry rolled her eyes, "Look, the rocket is too top-heavy for the fuel. You have enough, but it needs to travel too far – it loses crucial energy. But, if you re-route the fuel supply, it can connect with the generator here-" Winry pointed to the parts in question, "-and then you'd need to do a quick re-wiring to reconnect the thrusters to the main generator, as this auxiliary fan won't give you nearly enough power-"

"Stop right there!" Ed held up his hand in protest. "How do you know this stuff?"

"I studied automail."

"Yeah, but that was mechanical limbs, not rockets."

"You need to know the same things," Winry shrugged. "Making automail is essentially rocket science, in that you have to understand balances of wiring with weight, strength with leverage, those kind of things. You need extensive knowledge of physics, and this is essentially the same principal."

Both Elric brothers were looking at her with new respect on their faces.

"Hey, Winry," Ed began, "You wouldn't be looking for a job, would you?"

He hadn't really expected an answer, and was astonished when Winry grinned. "Where do I sign up?"

"But...what about your acting?"

Winry snorted. "That just pays the bills – it's not my passion. I tried so hard to get a job as a mechanic, but this world has a funny attitude towards women."

Ed nodded, his eyes sympathetic. Al looked between the two of them, sensing a certain tension in the air.

"You know," he began, trying to sound sleepy. "I'm really tired, so I'll go to bed now – goodnight!"

He dashed off to his room before anyone could call his bluff.

Winry blinked. "That was rather...abrupt."

"Yeah," Ed muttered, his mind elsewhere. 'Okay, this is it, you can do this...you can do this...'

"Winry...?"

"Yeah?"

Ed took a deep breath, trying to stop his palms sweating. 'Come on...'

"When I first came here, I...uh, I made myself a promise that I...that I'd..." his gaze remained fixed on the floor while he stammered, feeling a blush rising in his face. 'Goddamn it, I'm twenty years old! Why am I suddenly acting like an embarrassed pre-teen?'

Winry didn't say a word, telling herself that whatever Ed wanted to say, it was obviously difficult enough without her cajoling him.

"Anyway, I...I'd promised myself that the next time I saw you...when I saw you, I'd...I'd..." his voice had been getting progressively softer and softer, until he finished in a whisper, "I'd tell you I loved you."

For a moment, Winry wondered if she was hallucinating. Her mouth opened to return the sentiment, but no words came out.

Ed sneaked a look at her out of the corner of his eye. She was looking utterly shocked, and he wasn't sure if this was a good sign or a bad one. Out of sheer desperation, he stepped forward and hugged her, even as he kept talking.

"And I know I blew that promise when I came back and then left again, but I didn't intend to, I swear, and now that you're here, I just thought...just thought you ought to know," he finished lamely.

He felt the shift in Winry's stance as she prepared to speak. Terrified that she was going to reject him, Ed cut her off. "Don't talk, not yet. I promise you can hit me all you want later, just don't talk yet."

A pause. "What if it's to say 'I love you too'?"

Ed blinked, resisting the urge to clean out his ears. He'd heard that right, hadn't he? "Well..I guess that could work," he said, half-stunned.

He looked as shocked as she felt, and Winry couldn't hold back a grin. "I love you too, Ed."

"Oh...good," Ed said, still dazed.

"Very good," Winry agreed, snuggling into him.

Silence. Then Winry asked, "So..what happens now?"

Ed pondered for a few seconds. "Not too sure. I think we...date...or something..."

He sounded so unsure Winry couldn't resist teasing him a little, "Actually, I think in this world, we get married."

She'd meant it as a joke, but Ed seemed to contemplate the idea seriously for several moments. "I guess that works too," he nodded.

Winry gaped. "You're serious?"

"Yeah...weren't you?"

"I...I..."

"Never mind," Ed said airily. "We'll figure it out later."

He was starting to grin broadly. Winry recognised that grin – it was the same one Roy had been sporting at his wedding to Liza.

"Hold up a second, Ed, I don't think you want to marry me."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm hunting for a job that lets me stay in one place – and if your offer still stands, I'll gladly take it – but that's mainly so I can take care of Eddie-"

"So?"

Winry thought her eyes would pop out any second. "Ed..." she said weakly, "You've never even met him. And raising a kid isn't exactly a walk in the park..."

"A burden shared is a burden halved," he said philosophically. "Though we shouldn't really call the kid a burden – that leads to emotional trauma, or so I'm told."

"Are you saying that you're...you're willing...to adopt Eddie with me?" Winry was almost certain now that she'd taken a blow to the head and this was some sort of hallucination.

"Why not? I love you, you know."

"That's it! Who are you and what have you done with Edward Elric?"

"Very funny, Winry," he huffed. "You're not the only one who's done some growing up."

Winry shook her head. "Forget it – let's talk about it later."

"Good idea," Ed smiled.

While Winry was still worrying about how all this was going to work out, she decided to put it behind her for now. After all, she loved Ed, and he loved her...they could work it all out from there.

"By the way Ed, I read your journal," Winry admitted, feeling a need to lighten the mood.

"Really? Learn anything interesting?"

"No," she whined. "It was written in code! All I managed to figure out was that my name meant something to do with automail-"

"Actually, you'd be wrong there," Ed corrected, a faint blush tinging his cheeks.

"Huh?" Winry's curiosity was piqued. "So...what was it? What did my name mean?"

Ed smiled softly. "Home."