5 Second Countdown
by. Poisoned Scarlet

07: News

02 weeks, 02 days, 05 hours, 02 seconds later

He was avoiding her because of what she did, that was all she could chalk it up to.

Every time he came, he left just as quickly.

He never looked her directly in the eye and he was mostly impatient, his foot tapping on the ground and his eyes straying to the clock every few minutes.

It wasn't like before, when she felt the warm feeling of companionship with him.

Now it was more strained: she could feel the tension crackle between them like the alchemy he once preformed.

He was just waiting to leave; he wasn't reluctant anymore.

This was more of an obligation to him now and she hated it.

"I'll be right back, I have to go to the restroom," Ed said, breaking the silence. Winry didn't look up, she just stared glossily at the sheets, her hands fisting the material. She knew this alienation was all her fault. "I'll ask the nurse when you're due for release, she said she'd have the date by today so—"

Her hand struck out, grabbing his own when he stood. Ed stared at the hand then slowly looked up at her, at the straight corn-blond hair that obstructed his view of her. She pulled him down with a surprising amount of strength, forcing him to sit.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

His eyes widened. "Huh? What are you sorry for?"

"It's my fault, right?" she bit her bottom lip, mouth curling in a self-deprecating grimace. "Why it's...like this now."

Edward's face softened. The tension was honestly tangible; he wasn't surprised she had noticed it. It was terrible and he knew exactly why this tension had arose: he was resolute on preventing further pain on her part by avoiding eye contact or any type of contact, actually.

When she had jumped back with that frightened glisten in her eye it made him realize just how fragile she had become; just how easily she could scare and how simple it was to shatter her.

The last thing she needed was his temper to hurt her...

"No, it's not your fault," Ed corrected, his hand limp in her own. "It was mine. I let my temper get the best of me and...I'm sorry. You didn't have to see that..." He bowed her head, swallowing down the lump of shame.

"You're really dumb," Winry chuckled, causing Ed to look up quickly. He frowned at her chuckles and was about to say something about jerk mechanics when she added: "I know exactly what you're doing and I'll tell you now it's hurting me more than it's protecting me," her voice cracked toward the end.

He froze.

"I hate it," she laughed, bitterly. Her eyes narrowed, sparkling too brightly in the light from the evening sun. "I hate it when you do this...so, please stop because..."

They didn't say anything for a moment. He slowly took his hand from hers and she felt his other hand rest on her head. It was still for another moment before she dared to look up. He wasn't looking at her but at the land across from him; outside, where she longed to be but couldn't because of her injuries.

When he did look at her, her heart skipped a beat.

There was a rare type of softness in his eyes – a warmth that consumed her in its velvet and tickling flames...she felt her cheeks heat up against her will.

"Hey, do you still like vanilla?"

"M-mmhmm." She didn't trust herself with speaking yet; not when he was looking at her so adoringly.

"I saw an ice-cream stand outside, you want some?" Ed asked.

She hesitantly nodded.

"I'll be right back then," he ruffled her hair a little. She tried to push it away to no avail. It was bad enough she always had bed hair – he didn't need to make it worse! "Try not to miss me too much," he added teasingly, looking a little happier than he did a few minutes ago.

"I-I thought you hated ice-cream!" she blurted, right before he stepped out. "It's made out of milk..."

Ed smirked. "I do, but I remember you saying that you really liked vanilla."

She nodded, dumbly.

"That's why I'm getting ice-cream, duh."

"Y..you're not getting any?" She was just so full of obvious question, wasn't she? Winry tried to regain her lost IQ points.

Why did he have to look at her like that? Maybe if he stopped looking at her with those buttery soft eyes, then maybe she would be able to think straight.

"Let's clear everything up right now: ice-cream is just a derivative of milk in a more appealing form," Ed stated blandly. "I'd rather eat nails for breakfast than drink that abhorrent—cow secretion!"

Winry laughed. "You really have to get over this! It's getting ridiculous! It's just milk and its good for you," she added firmly.

Ed scoffed, sticking his nose in the air. "Look, do you want any or not?"

She smiled warmly, causing Ed's face to heat. "Sure."

When Ed closed the door, he leaned against it for a moment. His heart was beating very fast in his chest. It had come to a start to him that his avoidance strategy backfired but now that he really thought about it, he always did this. The result was nearly always the same, too, what would change this time around?

Then he remembered how gentle her eyes had gotten when he offered her that damn ice-cream cone...

Snap out of it, he barked at himself. Hurry up before she gets impatient and nags you! He stalked to the ice-cream stand while firmly repeating in his head: the only reason her eyes had gotten so soft was because she was just a very emotional person; of course she'd express something like that! She was similar to Al in that aspect...so expressive, passionate, chipper...

He bought the ice-cream with no trouble at all, walking back up the familiar halls of the hospital with the cone in his hand. He ignored the curious stares of the nurses and doctors that paced through the hospital and shot a dirty look at a nurse who frowned at the treat in his hand.

He took a quick detour and went to the restroom for one reason only: he hated the fact that when he looked in the mirror, his cheeks still hadn't cooled off in the slightest.

He blamed it on the walk.

02 weeks, 05 days, 09 hours, 03 seconds later

Winry snapped her head to the door when she heard footsteps come from outside, eager to tell Edward that he was wrong and that she could leave a week early when Alphonse stepped through.

She didn't want to admit it but she felt more disappointed than she should be.

"Al? What are you doing here? Where's Ed?"

Alphonse smiled knowingly. "Good morning, Winry. Did you sleep well?"

Winry pinked. Right. Formalities. "Good morning to you, too, Al..."

"Brother can't be here today so he asked me to keep you company for the time being," he informed cheerfully, a newspaper tucked under his arm. "He has some business to take care of with the Brigadier General. He'll probably be back later if he has time."

"I see..." Winry fumbled with the sheets for a moment. "Wait, General?"

Al cocked his head. "Yeah, Colonel Mustang got promoted to Brigadier General a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh," Winry was a little surprised; she thought he still held the rank of Colonel. Roy Mustang was still so young, too... "Well, I have some good news." She might as well tell Al. Who else did she have to tell? "I can get out next week! The nurse says that I've been recuperating quickly so I can go home Friday! Sunday at the latest!" She touched her bandaged right hand, which still had frostbite damage but had been recovering nicely. Her left did not hurt as much as before, meaning she had more movement in it as well.

Those were the primary problems keeping her from freedom and now the nurse had finally given her the OK. She couldn't be more excited.

But if Ed were here... her mind added traitorously, causing her heart to pick up a little at the thought of him.

Al's eyes widened. "That's great, Winry! I can't wait to tell brother!" he laughed, happily. "He'll be so thrilled when he finds out!"

Winry beamed. "Mm-hmm!"

Time spent with Alphonse wasn't as bad as time spent with Edward, with a varying degree of differences. One of them being that she and Al often fell into lapses of silence or she wouldn't feel that edge of thrill she got whenever she and Ed were in the same room.

There was always that sweet tension with Edward that wound her up in excitement as well as nervousness. The accidental touches, accidental word-slips, and lingering eyes were always something she cherished.

It was a relief to feel something different after spending all those days cowering in fear.

But with Al there wasn't any of that edge: there was more of a tranquil, soothing, vibe that made her sleepy and content.

She supposed she could live with a day of tranquility.

"Neh, brother sure has changed," Al spoke up, looking up from the newspaper for a moment.

"What are you talking about, Al?"

Al only smiled. "He looks happier. He's also been handing in his reports on time, too, which is great for him since Brigadier General Mustang was starting to get really annoyed with the late reports..."

"Reports?" Winry queried. Edward hadn't told her anything about reports... in fact, now that she thought about it, he never really told he what he did on his free time. He mostly spent it here so she had assumed that he didn't really have anything to do at home...

But that's a stupid thought, she inwardly told herself. This is Ed, for crying out loud! He always has something to do...

"Yep. Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you he got promoted one rank along with the General," Al explained. "He's a Lieutenant Colonel now. So Brigadier General Mustang often has him turning in reports of the latest State Alchemist certifications or other type of usual paperwork."

"Wait...you mean, he has work everyday?" she asked, with trepidation.

"Well, I wouldn't say everyday," Al chuckled. "Every other day or so. It all depends. Sometimes he has a lot during the week and sometimes he goes days without a single sheet. Right now, he's in over his head with paperwork! Doesn't that remind you of when the Brigadier General was a Colonel?" Al sighed, getting lost in a few memories, while Winry forced a laugh out and tried to keep her irritation in check.

"Oh, so he's been...busy all of these days, hasn't he?"

"Yup!" Al chirped. "He told me you helped him out with the paperwork when he comes to visit you."

Winry felt a flare of annoyance. So she helped him out, huh? "Yeah...that's right, I help him with the stacks of work every time he brings them over." Winry tried hard to ignore her rising ire. "I mostly do all of it, of course."

"You do?" Al blinked, frowning. "He never told me that..."

"Of course he wouldn't," she growled through clenched teeth. "Because he's a lying jerk, that's why!"

Al's brows pinched in suspicion. "Winry, is there something you aren't telling me?"

She breathed in deeply, trying to barricade her emotions from spinning out of control. "No. It's nothing, Al. Don't worry about it."

He didn't look too convinced. "Are you sure? If something's bothering you, you know that you can always talk to me, right?"

Winry smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Al, but there really isn't anything wrong." Except that he's been lying to me, she thought darkly. 'I'm not busy' my ass!

"Thank you for helping him with the work, Winry," Al said sincerely, thanking her on his brothers behalf. Winry felt a little guilty for covering up for Ed now. "He was so...stressed when he found out you had been captured."

"Ed told me that you found out a day later from granny..." she said, trailing off.

Al nodded, grimly. "Yes, we didn't want to believe it at first but...then it all started to make sense."

Confusion crossed her face.

"We were busy with the State Alchemist Exams in the East that we never really had time for anything else," Al explained himself. "We did get messages of your calls...but everytime we remembered to return them, it'd be too late at night to do it."

"I-I was going to tell you that I was... leaving but.." she hesitated.

"We should have answered," Al whispered, sounding morose. "We never really gave your phone calls much thought...that's probably why brother has been spending so much time here...he wants to atone for what he did to put you in such a mess."

"He feels bad for not answering my calls?" Winry laughed lightly, shaking her head at the things the brothers did to make up for events that were simply out of their control. She didn't blame them for not answering – she had mostly called Alphonse. She had stopped calling Ed in fear of him actually picking up. "You two were busy so of course you'd forget...and I've never called you two for anything more than a simple 'hello' or to check up on Ed's automail. You probably trusted that it wasn't anything bad." Winry heaved a sigh. "If you two had answered...I don't think it'd make much of a difference," she confessed. "I would have gone anyway."

Al closed his eyes for a moment. "Ed told me about that." When he opened his eyes, compassion glowed in them. Winry always wondered how the brothers could be such polar opposites: Ed's eyes were a smoldering pit of amber's while Al's were pits of sweet honey golden. "I think your parents would have been proud, too, Win."

She managed a small smile, the thought of her parents dampening her mood. "Yeah...I hope so."

The door opened and a nurse peeked her head inside. "Alphonse Elric?"

Al stood up. "Yes, that's me. What is it?"

"You have a visitor in the waiting room," the nurse said.

"Visitor?" he blinked.

"Her name is Mei Chang? She says it is urgent."

Immediately, his face colored pink and a smile tugged his lips. Winry stifled a giggle and looked away when Al sent her a helpless look. The boy took a deep breath, unconsciously fixing his cufflinks. "Tell her I'll be with her in a second."

The nurses nodded and left the room to deliver the message.

Al snapped his head to Winry. "U-um, Winry, I sort of have to..."

"It's okay, Al," Winry smiled brightly. "Go meet up with your girlfriend."

"Sh-she's not my gi-girlfriend! Its just Mei, remember? Nothing is going on between us! Really!" Al squeaked, eyes going wide at the implications with the daunting word 'girlfriend'. His cheeks seemed to get redder the more she tried to muffle her laughter.

"It's okay, Al! I get it!" she winked conspiratorially. "Go ahead, I'll be fine here. I'm feeling a little sleepy as it is."

Al looked hesitant. "Well, if you say so...I'll be back in an hour to check up on you, okay?"

"Take your time." She shooed him out, thinking how sweet it was to see Al with a crush.

The boy just barely resisted sprinting out of the room when he got the OK from her.

Winry laid back in her bed, sinking into the sheets softened with the time she spent in them. She wasn't sleepy, far from it given the information Al had inadvertently told her, but she still felt her eyes grow heavy regardless.

Her hands reached under her pillow to finger the cold metal of the wrench she had been given by Edward. Then she touched the other one, the one her grandmother had brought along with her during her visit, before clutching her hand around both of them and closing her eyes more easily.

Her last coherent thought was to get Ed back for hiding things again as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

02 weeks, 06 days, 11 hours, 6 seconds later

"Brother! Finally, where have you been?"

"Uh, the word work ring a bell? How the hell do you think we still have food in the kitchen? That's all me you ungrateful little brat!"

"Ugh, brother, not now! Did you know that Mei is here? She came to visit me yesterday while I was with Winry!"

"What? Mei? The bean-girl is here?"

"Huh? Y-you mean you didn't know?"

"No! If I did, don't you think I would've told you?"

"Well..."

"What's with the hesitation?"

"You did say you were going to get me back for teasing you about—"

"AL! SHH!"

"She's asleep, brother, she can't hear us."

"Just shut up, Al!"

Winry cracked an eye open, turning her head to the door-frame where the brothers stood, bickering. She felt a ripple of relief when she saw Edward but there was a more pressing thought at the moment: why he lied.

The irritation of being lied to came back full-force and she snapped her eyes shut when Ed took notice of the daggers she was glaring into the side of his head.

"Are you sure she's asleep?" he whispered to Alphonse, who glanced at her. She looked asleep...

"Yes, why?"

"I dunno', I got this weird vibe..." Ed shrugged it off. "Anyway, I think Mei is here as a representative for Xing. As you know, the Fuhrer has been wanting to form an alliance with Xing in order to successfully win the war waged by Drachma. Ling also mentioned something about this alliance the last time we saw him...why he sent Mei, I have no clue; I thought she was some royal princess or something."

"That's just it! Princess' don't travel across the Eastern Desert for a conference! They have envoys for that!" Al hissed.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe she wanted to come, ever thought of that?"

"B-but why?"

Ed smirked and suggestively rose his brows. "Who knows, maybe Mei wants an Amestrian suitor. She does need to get married off pretty soon, you know." He crossed his arms over his chest, innocently looking away as his brother glared scornfully at him. "You shouldn't worry about it though – weren't you going to Xing to study Alkahestry, regardless? She's skilled in that type of alchemy; take advantage of this opportunity and learn as much as you can from the brat!"

"Brother—!"

"Anyway, here."

"Huh? What's all this?"

"Automail books."

"For Winry?"

"Yeah, Sciezska caught me in the office and she told me to drop these off when I had the chance. My break is almost over so I have to go soon."

Al's brows creased with concern for his brothers health. The shadows under his eyes signified sleep deprivation and if there was one thing he knew his brother lacked in his life, it was sleep; no matter how much he loved it. "You've been busier than usual."

"Yeah, I have a shitload of paperwork to take care of with the newly drafted soldiers coming in. I had to sort out at least a whole battalion full of them for the 90-day training camp out by the East before I ship them off to the front lines. About a dozen will stay here in Central for office duty, though," Ed grumbled. "Mustang wasn't kidding about this whole Colonel thing – I spend the whole damn day sorting out reports, checking cases and investigations, keeping track of this damn war...I sort of want to quit; I'm sick of seeing a stack of papers every time I walk into the office every goddamn morning!"

Ever morning? Winry bristled. He's been juggling his paperwork and me this whole time?

She felt touched but she was too annoyed to think about anything other than how hard Edward was going to get beaten with her wrench once she got a hold of him.

Al sighed, clearly having gone over this conversation before. "Brother, you know why you can't quit."

"Tch, so Mustang played his cards right," Ed scoffed, fixing the collar of his military blue coat. "That doesn't mean he has full reign over me. If I don't feel like doing it, I won't do it...though I still think he should at least loosen up the damn dress code!" Ed pulled on his jacket, groaning in frustration. "I hate this thing! Its so stiff and hot!"

Al laughed at the frustrated expression. "Its mandatory, Ed, you have to wear it!"

Ed grumbled incoherently under his breath but Winry caught a few choice words before he spoke up again: "I have to go. My lunch break is over."

"Oh, no! Did you even eat anything?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Brother, you have to eat!"

"When I'm hungry, Al!" Ed snapped. Winry looked at Ed from under her lashes, discovering that he was, indeed, dressed in normal military protocol, which meant that he didn't plan on spending time with her as he always came in normal wear when he did. His navy blue military pants and jacket made him seem broader, taller, and the glinting badges that gave away his rank only heightened the intimidation he now carried.

She felt her cheeks warm when she thought too deeply into it.

He looked...nice...in uniform.

She closed her eyes when he looked over at her.

"See you, Alphonse. Tell Winry I'll be back later to visit her."

"Alright...I'm sending you lunch though!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Oh, and brother!"

"What?"

"Winry said she will be released next week, Friday! You'll be there for that... right?" Winry didn't like the uncertainty in Al's tone; he made it seem as if he wouldn't be able to come...

Ed's hesitation certainly didn't make the doubt in her heart any better.

"...Really? That's great," he replied, a bit absently. "Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

She didn't manage to catch the expression he made because Al was blocking her view.

All she caught was the swish of his pony tail as he walked down the hall and she couldn't help but to feel more lonely than she had felt in days.

A/N:I just love writing the scenes between the Resembool trio; I haven't written anything like this, I just realized. It usually revolves around Ed and Winry but now I included Al, which means I can check that off my list, huh? I haven't really written Winry/Al interaction...it's usually Ed/Win or Al/Mei...weird.

Thank you for your supporting reviews, as always.

Scarlett.