Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's components. I was too lazy and stumped to think of a song fitting for this chapter. :P
Chapter 4
Winry leaned her head against the seat as Ed parked the car in front of his house. They had just finished lunch at the diner. Quintus had joined them for a while to socialize until more customers had come in for a late lunch. As she'd left to attend to them, she'd made a quiet comment about the meal being "on the house." Winry had smiled then. She had seen the connection between the woman and Edward; how could she have possibly missed it? It was almost tangible. There had just been a way their words to each other formed, and just the way they seemed to understand wanted to say before they had finished a sentence. The way Ed had looked at Quintus had spoken of the strange affection they shared. He didn't seem like the type of guy who liked others to know what he was feeling. If he ever did show his feelings to anyone willingly, Winry figured whoever was on the receiving end of the words would have to sift through them to find what he truly meant.
When she heard him take the keys out of the ignition, Winry turned her gaze to Edward. He was giving her a stern look. "Stay," he told her firmly. Then he climbed out of the car into the cool air. She watched him shiver as he rounded the hood and approached her door. She sighed when he opened it and she slid out.
"You know, I'm fully capable of opening my own door?" she asked, adjusting her sweater on her shoulders. It had stopped raining, but the scent of it was still in the air.
Ed looked at her. "I know. But I can open it, too," he replied, voice almost nonchalant. "This is my house, nothing extravagant. Two men live here, so it isn't going to be the cleanest place ever." His voice carried what could have been embarrassment, but Winry wasn't sure. Before she could analyze it further, he turned and started toward the house. As she began to follow, she heard a second car park and assumed – hoped, actually – that it was his brother.
"Did Ed warn you about the house?" she heard Al ask from behind her. She jumped slightly, the sudden sound of his voice startling her. He sounded faintly amused, yet a little nervous at the same time.
Winry turned around so she was walking backwards. "Yeah, he did. He also told me earlier that we were only here to pick up a few things, and that I had to stay in the living room," she answered, grinning a little.
She saw Al roll his eyes. "Yeah, well…he's probably right. The house is a mess, even though I tried cleaning it today. I was up at about six in the morning with nothing better to do after eating breakfast and checking my work downstairs."
"Oh yeah, you work with armor, right?" Winry asked, smiling at him.
As they reached the front stoop, Alphonse gave her a surprised yet pleased look. "Yeah. It's fun, but there isn't much to do right now. There aren't any faires I have to make armor for, or repair, so business is slow."
Winry looked around the living room when they entered the house. She heard Al shut the door behind them, but she was too busy taking in her surroundings to acknowledge anything further. The house may have been messy, yes, but it didn't take away from the place. The living room looked very homey, with bookshelves lining the wall to the immediate left. And sure enough, those bookshelves were put to good use as there were books taking up every bit of space, and then some on the available surfaces in the room. There was a spot near the center of the wall left open for the TV to sit against.
To her right was a bare white wall. A couch and recliner were a few feet away from the wall, but not far enough to be in the middle of the room. Across the room there were countertops from the kitchen. There was a space for a walkway before a banister separated the kitchen completely from the living room. Cabinets hung from the ceiling above the counters. The same set up was all around the kitchen. In the far corner of the room was a door, which Winry assumed led to a laundry room of some sort.
From what she could see, Edward's claim of "nothing extravagant" was a very modest statement. If she could have chosen a small house to live in, a place like Edward's would be her first choice.
She saw Edward walk out of the door in the far corner, a scowl she found was his usual expression resting on his face. When he looked at her, she offered him a smile. Just because he was a grumpy person didn't mean she had to be one, too.
"Don't touch anything," he told her sternly. Then he seemed to soften a little, visibly, as he gestured to the couch. "Have a seat, watch TV." Then he ensconced himself in grabbing whatever he needed.
Winry smiled to herself when she took his offer to sit. He was perhaps the most impossible person she had come across, but he had a nice house. She had to credit him with that.
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Over the next couple days, Edward and Alphonse had been accustoming themselves to living in a house with a female. They were also working on moving in the few belongings they had brought along. Alphonse, since he claimed he wouldn't be around much in the mornings, had brought a couple books to read. He was a very easy person to please. Edward had packed any case files he'd had lying around his home and very few other miscellaneous items that would keep him occupied when he wasn't researching. He had found on the second day in the house that Winry had an enormous library and he was more than happy to hide himself there. Other than the fact that they were now living with a woman, things were great.
Winry kept her house slightly cool for the winter time, so Edward had no problem keeping his prosthetics hidden beneath socks and his custom made glove. It was the color of his skin and had the appearance of skin, but was made of waterproof suede. If anyone ever asked, he would tell them it was a glove to help rebuild strength in his hand because of a previous accident. It wasn't exactly true, but it worked. He'd never argued with it. Ed typically wore it when he was at work or running errands, simply because he didn't like to answer the questions it brought. At home, the glove may as well have been nonexistent.
Edward was hidden away in the library, studying some case file that Mustang had yet to even crack open. It made Edward laugh inwardly. That man was the worst when it came to paperwork; it was almost once in a blue moon when he actually sat down to do it. Sadly, most case files fell under "paperwork" to the man, especially cases he didn't want to do. They were usually dropped on subordinates' desks.
With a sigh, Ed lifted his hand to run through his hair – this case file was very frustrating – then caught himself. He wasn't wearing his glove, and way too often he'd snagged his hair in the metal joints. He'd decided to shed his glove earlier, despite how bad of an idea it was. Also, he'd taken off his socks since the fireplace made the library quite warm. It wasn't something he usually did, sit without his glove and socks, but he had quick enough reflexes to hide his food should the need arise.
Suddenly the door opened, startling Ed. Immediately, he pulled his foot up under his right thigh and then gazed back down at his papers importantly. He peeked out of the corner of his eye and saw it was only Al to enter the room. With a bit of a frustrated look at his brother, Edward lowered his foot again.
"Brother, you know that's risky," Al pointed out. "Winry could have been right behind me."
Ed looked out the door behind Al. "Is she?" Al shook his head. "Then we're okay. I was feeling a little…." He trailed off with a shrug, unable to find a decent word to explain how he was feeling.
"Contained? Trapped?" Al supplied.
"Hidden. So I had to escape. Plus, I like the sound my foot makes when I walk." To prove his point, Ed tapped his foot on the ground, grinning.
Before Al had a chance to respond, the phone rang. Ed reached to the handset and waited until it stopped ringing. When he was sure someone had answered, he turned the phone on and listened. He had been monitoring all phone calls, in and out. The phone had a nifty little device that let him know if someone was on the phone if he hadn't been paying attention. And until he could get a crew out to tap the lines, he was stuck listening to them and recording them all on his own until then.
The phone conversation Edward began recording was a slightly strange one.
"I told you not to call here unless it was an emergency." It was Primus talking.
"I know, but I have news for you that couldn't wait." Was that…? No, couldn't be her…
Primus sighed very audibly. "What is it? I have work I need to be doing," he said in an aggravated manner.
"Wow, that's a first. Are you aware who your employer's bodyguard is?" the female voice asked. Edward didn't miss the inflection on the word "employer".
"Of course I am. Edward Elric. He works for Central Police in the Criminal Intelligence Division. His younger brother lives with him because their mother died when they were young. They're alchemists. I've done my homework too, you know." Primus sounded more frustrated when there was a noise in the background that sounded like a pan falling to the ground. "Is there anything really important that can't wait, because I'm supposed to be cooking dinner," he said. It really didn't sound how Primus would talk, so Ed thought something was up.
"Well you know he's the one," the other voice whispered a few moments later, "that I was with four months ago. Be careful with him. If he smells a rat, he'll find it."
There was silence. "Is that all?"
"Yes. I thought it would help you, but I guess not. Now I have work to do," the woman said importantly and hung up.
Edward waited a moment until he heard Primus hang up, too, before he pushed the off button on the handset. He shook his head in disbelief.
"Who was that?" Al asked, pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards.
Still shaking his head, Ed looked up at his brother. "Primus, and it sounded like he was talking to—"
"Edward! Alphonse!" Winry shouted, very probably at the top of her opera singer lungs. Accompanying her voice were footsteps.
Ed and Al looked at each other, panicked, but Ed recovered quickly enough to reach over and pull his sock on. Just as the door opened and Winry burst in, Ed had pulled his sock on all the way and dropped his hand beside him. She looked at him and how he was sitting a little curiously, but dismissed it. "Who was on the phone?" she asked.
The older man looked at Al hesitantly. "Someone for Primus," he answered, wondering if he'd just been the one to take the first scoop out of his grave.
"Primus?" Winry looked slightly puzzled.
Ed nodded, to her and to himself. Yes, he had most definitely just started his own grave. And he couldn't help but deepen it. "Maybe his sister or something," he said. Carefully, he began to pull his glove on, trying to appear natural, like he wasn't doing anything at all.
"But I didn't think he had a sister, or any living family for that matter, poor man," she said, more to herself at the end.
Officially nervous now, Ed stammered for words. "I don't know," he finally managed. "I need to get back to work." As if it were pertinent to life, he gestured to the table. Then his sleeve dared to creep up his wrist, over his glove. He pulled his arm back in and tugged his sleeve down in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner.
Winry looked at him, slightly suspicious, but shook her head. "Dinner is almost ready," she said before walking out.
Ed let out a breath slowly. Al looked at him pointedly. "You know, if you just tell her that you have prosthetics, you can stop worrying about hiding them from her," he said easily.
"No." Edward shook his head. "If I tell her, then she'll ask questions. And she doesn't need any answers. Neither do you." He stood up quickly, dismissing the matter.
"Brother, where are you going?" Al asked, sounding a little frustrated.
Ed didn't stop to answer. "The bathroom," he threw over his shoulder as he left the library.
In the hall, he heard Al come after him. The older Elric turned to look at his brother. Al stopped in front of him and dropped a pair of slippers on the floor. "You forgot these," he said, a frustrated look on his face, and tromped down the stairs.
Ed sighed and slid his feet into the manly-looking slippers. Then he proceeded to the bathroom, wordlessly.
Just because he was Winry Rockbell's bodyguard didn't mean they had to know everything about each other. He just had to know everything about her. That was that.
