I know, I know, I know your name, your name is Bob...Oh wait, sorry, I guess that I've got that song stuck in my head. (It's a song called "I Know Your Name" by Neil Cicierega. Funny song.) Anyway, I FINALLY updated this story! Heh...sorry I took so long. I try never to drop the stories I start, though they might take awhile, heh. Heck, I'm even still trying to figure out "Me, Myself, and I". I haven't even dropped THAT! I just don't like to give up on stories. That's mean to the readers, in my opinion. Anyway...
Hope that you like this chapter. Feel free to offer suggestions, as I really don't know where this story's going. This is mainly a fanservice type of story anyway, so you crazy fangirls (and boys, of course, hehe) MUST have SOME ideas of what to have happen here!
Oh, and please don't kill Winry, okay? I tried to make her more in character, since I've gotten a bit more in touch with the character than I used to be. Just so you know, she's not flirting with Ed or anything, Al's just heckling Ed and making it seem that way, hehe. Winry's not a flirt, and Al's just a tease. That's the way it's always been, right?
Disclaimer: The following parties would like to disclaim any implied ownership of the aforementioned...oh geez, now I'm sounding like a TOS or something! For goodness' sake! Isn't the statement, "I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist" good enough? Geez!
The next morning, Al came walking down the stairs, yawning and stretching his arms. "Well, good morning, sleepyhead," said Pinako, "How was your sleep?"
"It was fine, thanks," said Al as he began rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "I always sleep better here, what with it being so quiet and peaceful."
Winry smiled at that, and then asked, "So, how's Ed doing?"
Before Al could answer, Ed walked into the room and said, "Ed's up." Al turned his face away from Ed and snickered a bit at the fact that his brother had addressed himself in the third person, since normal people didn't do that...but then again...neither of them were normal. Edward noticed Al's reaction and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Al waved his hand in response. "Nothing, nothing..." and then laughed a bit more as he walked into the kitchen. Edward shrugged and then started to follow Al, only to feel something pull him back. He turned his head as a look of slight annoyance came over him when he saw Winry tugging at his wings.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Winry giggled. "Sorry...it's just that...your wings are so cool...and you're also so fun to tease." Ed rolled his eyes and continued to walk into the kitchen. What did he ever do to deserve all his friends and family constantly trying to tease him?
Upon arriving in the kitchen, he saw Al watching him, a big grin plastered on his face. Ed was about to ask him what that grin meant, when Al answered for him, since the two seemed to be able to practically read each other's thoughts at times without having to attempt communication. "Brother...can't you see it?"
"See what?"
Al giggled. "She likes you...a lot!"
Ed blushed and turned away from Al to open the refrigerator. "Shut up."
"Don't you tell me to shut up!"
Ed turned back to face Al, and said, "Fine, is it alright if I tell you to shup?"
"Shup?"
"Yeah, that's what you say if you are too lazy to say shut up."
"...You just made that up, didn't you?"
"What if I did?"
At this, Al laughed and said, "Shup, Brother, just shup."
"Don't you tell me to shup!"
"Oh, would you prefer me to tell you to shut up?"
"No, I'd prefer shup."
"Fine, then shup."
"...I thought I said..."
"No, just shup."
"..." Ed sighed. Even in their stupid little arguments, Ed could never beat Al. Why was that anyway? Was it some sort of curse that had been placed on the eldest Elric at birth, stating that he could never win to his little brother? Yeah, that must be it. He was just cursed.
Finally, the two found something to eat for breakfast and sat down at the table to eat, where Winry was already sitting, eating her breakfast. "So guys," she said, "Here's the plan. Al, we have a lot of errands that need to be run. If you could do some of those things for us, we'd be most grateful."
"Sure, that would be no problem," said Al.
"What about me?" asked Ed.
"You'll help us around the house."
"...But I don't LIKE just sitting around!" Ed protested.
"I know," said Winry, "But do you really want to take the risk of getting exposed? If you stay around the house, no one will see your wings, and you'll be safe."
"But..."
Winry slammed her empty bowl on the table, making the spoon clink inside it. "No buts! You came to us for help, and we're giving it to you. The least you could do let us do so."
Edward nodded. Yes, he understood her point, clearly. He didn't particularly like the idea of just waiting around doing nothing...but yes, it was safer to do so. "Fine," he said, "I'll help out around the house. I just hope that they catch the guy that did this to me soon so that I don't have to be confined to one location for too long."
Winry put her spoon in her mouth to lick off the last bit of milk on it, and then put it back into her bowl. "You should really chill out a bit, Ed...settle down or something." She smiled, and then picked up her bowl and headed back into the kitchen. Al reached over and elbowed his brother, only to receive a glare back from Ed. Apparently, the idea of "settling down" with a girl was a little too much for Ed to think about right now, and Al's constant teasing really didn't help much.
Al finally finished his meal, so he said goodbye to everyone and then ran off to run some errands around town for the Rockbells. Ed just sighed and placed his head on the table, feeling very hopeless. Winry came back into the room, seeing him like that, and began to rub the back of his head. "Edward, I'm sorry...I wish there was more that I could do for you...I wish I could make you feel better somehow."
Ed gave her a weak smile. "It's okay...don't worry about it."
"I'll worry about you as long as I'm alive," said Winry, "You guys are the only siblings I have." Ed smiled. So SHE only thought of them as siblings. Good. Oh, that Al...he was sure going to get it later. Winry continued to rub Ed's hair for a moment before she spoke again. "Edward...since you're still healing from the transmutation and all...it's okay if you don't want to work around the house for awhile, you can rest. Granny won't mind."
"I can't do that to you guys, I'm fine. I'm not in any pain or anything."
Winry knelt down on the floor so that she could get a better look at Edward's face. "Okay, so you're not suffering any physical pain...but what about mental pain?" Edward closed his eyes, not wanting to respond to that comment, but Winry caught the silent message all the same. "Look, why don't you go and find some quiet place where you can sit and think? I think it would do you some good."
Ed only grunted in response, so Winry grabbed his arm and picked him up from the table, since he didn't seem to have much desire to quit using it for a replacement bed, and she led him up to his bedroom, as that was the best place she could think of to send him for the time being. He could go wherever he felt like later...but since he wasn't making up his own mind right then, this was the best place for him.
Winry carefully set Ed down on the bed without him uttering a complaint, and then started to walk out of the room when Ed suddenly spoke up and called her back. A bit startled, Winry turned around and came back into the room and sat on Al's bed so that she could get a good look at Ed while he spoke to her.
"Winry..." Ed began, but his voice trailed off. He crossed his arms and shivered for a brief moment, so Winry got up and shut the window, thinking that maybe Ed was cold, though he didn't exactly look it. She sat back down on the bed and asked him to continue. "I...I don't know if I can take it...I'm not strong enough."
"Not strong enough for what?" asked Winry.
Ed clamped his eyes shut tight, as if trying to hold back tears, though one still slipped through. Ed quickly wiped it away with his auto-mail arm, hoping that Winry hadn't seen him temporarily show his weak side. "I...I'm not strong enough...I have to take care of Al...but I can't with this body...since I'm being pursued. I'm not even sure I can take care of the other being inside me, and he's depending on me...but...but I can't seem to get a grip on having to share a body with someone else!"
At this, Ed began to shake. Winry took it as a sign that he was highly embarrassed for showing that much of his weak side to anyone. Winry got up off of Al's bed and went and wrapped Ed in a tight embrace. "You are strong, Ed. I don't know anyone else who could put up with what you've gone through. You just have to believe in yourself. I'm sure you'll pull through." She paused for a moment, and then asked, "Now what was this about sharing your body?"
Ed let out a sigh and proceeded to explain the whole thing to her about the blending of his soul and the dove's into a single body, and how they were both trying to cope with the whole affair. Winry hugged Ed even tighter. "Edward...and your friend inside of you...I know that you'll both get through this...you just need to believe in yourselves. Al, Granny, and myself are here also, and we'll do everything in our power to lighten this burden for you, okay?" Ed nodded his response, so Winry smiled and continued hugging him until he started nodding off.
Carefully, Winry put Ed down in his bed so that he wasn't lying on his wings, pulled the blanket over him, and then quietly crept out of the room.
As she came down the stairs, she was met by her grandmother, who asked, "So how is he doing?"
"He's in a lot of mental pain, and is carrying such a huge burden." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't help but worry for him...but I know that he'll make it through this. He's strong, he always has been."
Pinako allowed herself to grin slightly as she reminisced about the time they had equipped Ed with auto-mail and he hadn't screamed. "Yes," she agreed, "That boy is strong, very strong indeed."
Winry walked over to a nearby window and leaned on the ledge to look out of it. He may be strong, she thought, but I'm not sure I am. A tear slipped down her cheek. She always did this. Whenever something would happen to one of the boys that they refused to allow themselves to grieve over, she would grieve for them. She wasn't sure if it was a weakness or a strength on her part, but she knew that it meant that her connection to them was strong.
"Ed," she whispered to herself, "Just hang tight. Everything will work out sooner or later. You'll see. Things will work out."
I hope that you liked that. Leave me some reviews, and hopefully some suggestions and/or questions if you want me to update soon. Those suggestions and questions help a whole lot, believe me. Anyway, hope to see you soon! Thanks for reading!
