Just the continuation of the fun!
Chapter 8 - Apple pie
"I spy with my little eye…something long and unending."
"This drive?" The driver guessed as he steered slowly to the right.
"You're pretty good at this." The other player praised. "Your turn."
"I spy with my tired, exceptional, and bionic fucking-"
"Oh for Christ's sake, just play the game."
"I am playing the game on my own pace, sassy pants." Edward spat back and took a deep breath as he shifted his eyes around to find his object for the hundredth time.
"I spy with my crazy eye something…" They've been playing this for two hours straight and it was already getting irritating in his opinion. It was a time-passer for the first few minutes but aimlessly searching for a random object for more than an hour was not the best experience for Ed.
"Green." That was his best, it really was. What was the point of playing this game if all you could see were grass fields and the sun above the horizon?
"Trees. No wait, that's probably your mind." Winry answered as lively as a rock could be.
"Haha, very funny." The sixteen-year-old Elric replied in an acrid tone.
Winry ignored him and tiredly shifted in her seat. "I spy with my great eye- Oh fuck this, I'm bored as shit."
"Oh so you can just quit whenever you want to and I can't?" Her travel buddy exclaimed with disbelief.
o-o-o-o-o
Thirty minutes later
o-o-o-o-o
"Yoghurt." Winry said as she held the wheel as steadily as she could. Her eyes started to droop when Ed's "Zombie." startled her from getting even a wink.
"Atrocious."
"Bed."
"Clean sheets."
"Deprivation."
"Energy drink."
"Feather pillows."
"Goodnight's sleep."
"We're making this worse." Winry moaned.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Thirty more minutes later
o-o-o-o-o-o
Since they were both dipping in and out of sleep, the two sixteen-year-olds decided to take turns every thirty minutes instead of every three hours to keep their blood flowing and senses awake.
And accompanied with some classic Billy Jean playing on the background, of course. Edward couldn't remember if it was Winry who dared to turn the player on or was it himself? His brain just didn't remember why the fuck was he banning her from doing so in the first place.
"Billy Jean's not my lover!" Winry continued with a dance of her shoulders, her face accompanied with Edward's large shades projecting exaggeratedly from the other side of the windshield. Any car that would pass by them would be able to see some live performance for free.
"She's just a girl who claims that-" Edward sang with her with such conviction while tapping the steering wheel that Winry should notice how he had shown a rather different and quirky side despite his usual boring and snarky one, but she just didn't have enough sleep to care about that right now.
They need MJ to keep them freaking awake!
"I AM THE ONE!" They yelled the lyrics together and danced like lunatics.
"But the kid is not my son!"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
And thirty more minutes later
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Why are we driving again?" Winry asked as she robotically turned the wheel slightly to the left with the curve of the long road.
"To find a fluffy bed to sleep on, dummy." Her half-awake companion reminded her.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
And yeah…another switch after thirty minutes
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Awfully thick silence stayed for the last thirty minutes as Edward battled between closing his eyes and keeping them on the road. He was doing more of the first part that the nose of the car almost went head to head with an innocent lamb crossing the freeway if he didn't skid to the left.
Winry jolted fully awake from her almost slumber at the sudden stop.
The car was now parked awkwardly at the side of the road, the driver not taking any move to step on the gas again.
"You know what? Forget this." He announced and slammed his hands on the honk in resignation.
"I'm taking my fucking nap." With that case closed, he pulled the seat lever on his right and pushed the backrest all the way down.
"Nap nap, fucking nap." His traveling partner agreed incoherently and followed suit.
o-o-o-o-o-o
About four hours later
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Alright! I'm pumped!" A well-slept Edward Elric declared with adrenaline-driven shoulder rotations with matching neck cracking.
"Are you pumped?" He asked his mechanic-slash-car buddy who had the same crumpled up blond hair and was bouncing up and down her seat like a three-year-old on sugar.
"Yeah! LET'S DO THIS!" An equally energetic Winry yelled from the passenger's seat with two fist pumps as Edward removed the car from its break then drove it back to the path.
"Let's drive the shit out of this road!" He shouted like a high kid on drugs that would make one think that too much sleep may be bad for the mind too.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Snatching another glance at his driver, Edward saw her blue eyes twinkling with excitement once again. It was quite obvious that she was suppressing a wide smile as the sides of her mouth kept twitching.
The long silence stretched by until the sixteen-year-old Elric decided to clear his throat.
Winry finally let out a snicker. "Wow, this is not awkward enough for you?" She snided playfully.
"You can squeal in excitement in front of me, you know. It's not like I'll judge you or anything." Edward threw back in an equally playful way as he adjusted from his hour-long position.
Winry let out a snort then shook her head. "Good ol' country girl hasn't been away from home for this long so yeah, I'm a little excited." She admitted with a small smile. She was glad that Edward turned the wheel over to her when she announced that they were about fifteen minutes from reaching destination and that she knew the roads better, especially with the bumps getting less friendlier every mile.
Putting his shades over his golden eyes, he leaned comfortably on the cushion of his seat and sighed. "Long ride."
"Long ride, indeed." Winry agreed with a huge smile. They weren't exactly friends after being together in this totally random trip they were thrown in. But she could safely say that they at least don't hate each other anymore.
He still gets on her nerves, though. That'll never go away.
"I'll never do this with you again." Edward supplied mildly while stretching his arms in front of him.
"Definitely. You're the worst travel buddy anyone could ever end up with." Winry replied back with a smirk thrown at his way.
"At least we agree at something now." He looked over the long stretch of road ahead and the small roofs poking out of the grassy fields.
"Say, where do we park?" He asked as he observed the hills and the freeway road signs disappearing one by one. Winry took a left turn that ended the bumpy main road to finally enter a curb shadowed by trees.
"Anywhere. There are no parking tickets here, city boy."
O-o-o-o
He gaped and gaped and gaped at his red sedan, carelessly parked by the side of the dirt road like an opened treasure chest for anyone to hijack.
It was another minute before he let out some words of retort to his travel buddy who was already carrying her bags and making her way up the hill.
"We're just going to leave it here?"
Winry halted from her steps and turned around to face a bewildered Edward Elric with his hand outstretched to his car like it's an abused child.
"Nothing's going to happen to your car." She sighed tiredly.
"How would you know that?" He pointed out stubbornly while crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Seriously.
"There are probably about five people, including myself, that can actually hotwire your precious car. And I know them to be people who wouldn't even steal an apple from the wet market. This is the countryside so chill out. Our house's not very far away from here anyway." Re-adjusting the strap of duffel bag on her sore shoulder, Winry turned her back to him and continued to climb the steep hillside.
"Hurry up! Den's waiting for me." Edward's ears perked up at the name, suddenly curiosity made him forget worrying about his car.
"Den, huh." He whispered to himself as he followed Winry up the hill.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"DEN!" Winry hollered as they approached an isolated yellow house at the top of the hill with a bright colored sign that says 'ROCKBELL AUTOMAIL'.
Not a moment longer, barking emerged from the house and a black and white dog came running towards them. The said blonde owner dropped her toolbox on the ground to catch the large dog who just pounced her down to the ground.
"Oh God! I missed you too!" Winry laughed as the dog smothered her face with licks. Den barked in agreement before continuing to lick her cheek.
"So, this is Den." Edward stated from the back and couldn't help but notice the left automail leg.
"Yes. The handsomest boy in town." Winry cooed as she scratched the back of his ears. Den whimpered in delight. His eyes then perked up and finally acknowledged the new guy watching him and his owner. He woofed at Edward then trotted to him.
The teenager kept his lips tight, fighting the urge to back away. With all his experience with dogs, well just Nina's dog, they all found fun on stomping him down to the ground until he tapped out defeat.
"Hey, Den." He greeted with a sheepish grin.
"Woof!" The dark-haired animal answered back then sniffed his left leg. A smile formed in his lips.
"We both got fucked at the same place, huh, buddy?" Edward said down at Den then patted his head. The dog closed his eyes, sniffing Ed's hand as it combed the white hair on his head.
"Oh, he likes you." Winry observed with a confused knot on her forehead. Odd, Den never liked anyone new.
She glanced at Edward who was enjoying the company of one of her family members, even having one knee on the ground just so he could reach the dog's neck and rub it for its pleasure. She almost laughed out loud when he squalled with disgust when Den's tongue touched his cheek.
Must be the automail.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Edward sprinted behind a running Winry, the heavy duffel bag and toolbox on her hands seemed weightless with all the excitement she's carrying. The small porch was slowly coming to their view, the wooden entrance door open widely for anyone to come.
Countryside houses. He thought to himself, the list of city and countryside differences already piling on his head.
"GRANNY!" Winry shouted when she reached the opened door. He saw her pile up her bags on one side before dashing inside. When he finally reached the door, he saw a three-foot ancient woman being hugged tightly by a kneeling Winry.
It was a new sight to see.
"Oh granny, I missed you so much!" She squealed in delight, burying her face amongst the white strands of her grandmother's hair.
"Well, that's not the last thing I heard from you." The old woman said as she patted Winry's blond head.
As if remembering something, Winry pulled away from the embrace and glared down at her. "I'm still mad at you. But I miss you more than anything." With that, she hugged the little old woman again.
Not wanting to ruin any moment, Edward quietly strutted towards the nearest sofa chair to place his own duffel bag there.
"And who might this be that you brought along without any calls?" The old lady turned from her granddaughter's embrace to regard the Edward.
"Oh right!" Winry stood up from the ground and went between Edward and her granny.
"Edward, this is Grandma Pinako. Granny-"
"Oh my." Pinako stared at Edward with surprised eyes bulging out of her thick glasses. Golden eyes and long blond hair. Though this one had his braided…
"It's a pleasure to meet you, um, Ms. Pinako." He greeted with an awkward smile. He really didn't know how to answer her sudden reaction. She might be angry that he suddenly barged in?
Pinako laughed heartily at his greeting. "Just Auntie, Edward. I was doubtful at first, with my impaled sight and all, but you really do take over your father." The young Elric scrunched his nose at the mention of his father and chose to be silent, turning his gaze elsewhere.
"Oh, of course you know him. He's your secret Light Model client after all." Winry supplied sulkily.
"You should know him too, Winry. You two played together as children." She said with a bright smile towards the bewildered teenagers.
"Playmates?" Edward questioned with a disgusted look on his face.
"No way." Winry cringed at the thought. But when she thought about it, he did become a client for some time, when they were still very little. He still wasn't evil and obnoxious back then.
"You're wearing the wooden replacement then?" Pinako asked Edward. He nodded down at her then pulled the pant on his left leg to show her.
Pinako hmmed in thought and gave Edward an once-over. "You've grown tall, too. Surprisingly." She commented after a quick observation.
A vein popped on Edward's forehead and he suddenly felt fire coming out of his nose just upon hearing that key word that only suggest one thing. "ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT? YOU MINISCULE OLD HAG?!" He bellowed down at her with such ferocity that could have scared anyone.
But apparently not anyone from the Rockbell line as Pinako only laughed heartily at him. "I see that your temper's still a pipsqueak."
"STOP CALLING ME SHORT, DAMMIT!" Winry couldn't help but burst out laughing with her grandmother.
Plopping himself on one of the cushions, Edward gave up the argument and glared at the two women. "Seriously. With all the things that could run in your family."
Winry sat down a space away from him and stretched her sore arms over her head. "We had a long ride. Two days without any good sleep plus sitting in dirty seat covers with this jerk. Very close to hell, I must say."
"Oh shut the fuck up." Edward retorted back at her with a yawn. Winry followed suit with her own big one.
Pinako walked over to the kitchen and peeked inside the oven. "The apple pie's ready." She announced to the living room, with no answer. She quirked an eyebrow, since she expected for them to remember her specialty despite their lack of memories of each other.
She went back to the living with the pie on her hands, and was slightly taken aback with the sight of the two children sleeping peacefully on the sofa. Edward has his head hanging back, he would surely complain about stiff neck when he wakes up, and Winry's head cushioned just perfectly on the sofa's backrest.
So, Edward's so tall now that his head's too far up from the backrest of their old peach sofa, huh?
Pinako let out a small smile and placed the apple pie on the dining table.
"They grow up so fast nowadays. Too fast, sometimes."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Oh, fuck me." Edward moaned and he rotated his neck as much as he could with all its sore stiffness. He reached a hand on the back of his neck and massaged it in hopes to soften up the muscle.
The smell of apple pie was suddenly under his nose and there he saw a plate with a beautiful slice of it. He didn't really eat that much apple pie before, but this one's just got that smell that makes him want to smother it with his mouth.
"Granny made it for us. Eat up." Winry said from his side and he regarded her with a nod without turning his head.
He took the plate in his hand, all the while still maintaining the current position of his neck. "Thanks." He said in a hoarse voice and noticed the orange sky and the shadows of the trees slowly disappearing from his seat on the porch steps.
"We've slept the whole day." He mentioned at the sight and at his growling stomach. They hadn't consumed anything but chips and soda the entire trip so the sight of a fresh apple pie made me want to drool.
"Yeah, bad thing you murdered your neck muscles while doing so." Winry jibed, clearly enjoying his pain. He growled at her, and it only made him look even more pathetic. She couldn't help but bully him. She leaned on the railings and glanced down at his form, all stiff and sore and curbed.
"That's nice. Your annoying voice sounds a little far away if you talk like that." She added with delight while eating a piece of her pie.
Grunting once more, he turned his whole upper body and glared his golden eyes up at her. "When I get out of this curse, I swear you'll pay." He promised then took a huge bite of his apple pie before returning to his old position facing the outside world.
"Granny and I might finish your new automail first before that happens it seems." Winry pointed out triumphantly and Edward begrudged the possible scenario.
"Anyway, Granny already took your measurements."
"Really? When?"
"When you were sleeping. We were practically dead." She supplied with a snicker. God, with all the all-nighters she had been through, she had never been this tired. Sitting with nothing to do but stir the wheel for hours on end was definitely not a joke of a task.
"Oh, that's good." Edward agreed and finished the last bite of his pie. Damn, that was good.
Winry turned from her leaning position and watched the sunset turning the whole sky a darker orange, shouts of little children's goodbye's to their playmates echoing across the hills.
"She wouldn't even let me help yet. Stubborn Granny."
"You need rest, that's-" He started to tell her while subconsciously turning his head, his stiff neck screaming pain. Edward hissed and slowly turned his head back.
Shaking her head, she went around and took a seat behind him. "Hold still."
"What are you doing- AH!" Edward screamed in surprise when he felt her hands suddenly touching his sore neck.
"Relax. I'll massage it out. I have magical hands." She assured him as her thumbs kneaded the muscles near his spine, slowly climbing up his neck then stopping just below his ears, repeating the process and just like that, his stubborn muscles began to give in. He slowly relaxed as he said, feeling the muscles loosing up and the pain fading away.
He couldn't help but let out a small moan.
Winry giggled. "Told you. Good?"
"I'll treat you ice cream after this." He promised with his eyes closed, feeling groggy again.
"How about just playing Coldplay on that beast of a car you have?" She suggested with a grin.
"I would go ahead and say fuck you for going through someone else's private property AND insulting it for that matter if you weren't pretty good at this." Edward said with a sigh of pleasure, his head bobbing to the side. He opened his eyes a little and looked over the green fields, eyes hazed upon remembering something.
"Coldplay and ice cream, then?"
"How about Magic?" Nina suggested, her long brunette braided pigtails bounced on her shoulders when she twirled around to face him.
"Pushing it, eh, princess?" Edward blurted out of the blue, taking Winry aback a little. She looked at his back suddenly noticing how broad it is especially with her hands over it as she gather her thoughts.
"Well, I think that would be the last thing you would compare me to." She told him lightly and all of a sudden, he threw his head back, his golden eyes staring at hers. She didn't even notice that he had already bent down to his elbows for her to properly massage him.
He watched her blond bangs pushed away from her face by a gust of the wind, making her blue eyes seem bigger. Brighter.
Edward quickly pulled away, putting a good distance between them as he stood on the grass outside. His massager watched his back with questioning eyes.
What is this? She's different, goddammit.
"Thanks for the massage. I'm going for a walk." He announced without turning to her then walked towards the open dirt road, towards the darkening sky.
Does he still have a stiff neck? Winry wondered for a bit as she continued to look over his shrinking figure walking away.
Or just a stiff wall?
She thought if a day would come where she would want to loosen that as well.