A bad Omen
Winry Rockbell was hanging up the washing. Such a menial task, but Winry took pride in her work, and the dedication she had to putting up the pieces of fabric was still an art, similarly to her outstanding ability in twisting nuts and joining screws to sockets.
From inside, she heard the phone ring, and called, "Granny! The phone's going!"
"Then get it, you lazy gel!" called her withered grandmother Pinako.
"I'm hanging up the washing!"
"Tcheh."
A few moments of silence. Then her grandmother's voice called, in a state of such tremendous panic, "Winry!" that she was so immediately fearful she dropped the blanket and ran in.
"What, what?" she said, breathless.
Pinako was stood, holding the phone, an enormous grin across her wrinkled face.
"Its… Edwaaaaaard." She moaned, holding the phone away from Winry, who turned scarlet and snatched for it. Damn, she thought. She's been like this ever since she found that damned letter!
Yanking the phone from her giggling grandmother's grasp, she turned her back and held the phone to her ear.
"Edward?" she asked, adopting a reproachful tone.
"Hey, Winry. It's me. Me and Al are gonna be calling in, in two days' time -"
However, before he could get another word out, Winry screamed down the line. "You broke it again, didn't you?" She heard Pinako chuckling behind her.
"Agh! Winry, don't do that! You have no idea how much it hurts my ears! And just for that, I'm not telling. See you soon." The dull tone cut off Winry's shout of anger before she could say it.
She hung up again, and sat down, forcing herself to remain calm.
"He has no idea how annoying…" She began.
"Oh, you don't mean that." Pinako said, smiling. "After all, it's just his way. What did he have to say for himself?"
"Hmm? Oh, just that they'll be here in two days time." She sat, thoughtful. "They never ring. I wonder what he's done now…"
Pinako shrugged. "I think I should prepare some new arms, the chances of him coming back unscathed are… limited." She finished, chuckling.
Winry laughed, and stood up, stretching. "I'll finish the washing, then I'm gonna check on Mister Winston. He's been in home rehabilitation for a good six months now, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, the old coot finally decided on automail."
"Good," Winry sighed, "thank god for the advancements we made… Rehab can take just a year now, as opposed to the six years it was."
Pinako nodded. "By the way, Winry," she added, as her granddaughter was leaving the room, "I'm going on holiday for a few weeks – I was meant to go tomorrow, but now the boys are coming, I'll put it off until afterwards. I'm off to the south, Dublith, to visit Izumi." She said in response to Winry's questioning look.
"Okay." Winry smiled.
"I expect you to hold the fort while I'm gone, young woman!" called Pinako's voice.
After she had finished the washing, Winry went back inside and pulled on an old jacket. She stepped into the cool afternoon air, and set off, walking to the Winston house. It was about a mile away, but Winry had time to spare. Pinako was getting older, and couldn't move around as well as she used to. Den, who was following Winry, was too. He was past his prime but still yipped happily at the birds flying low over the fields, on either side of the country lane.
While she walked and watched Den dart back and forth, she began to wonder where Ed and Al actually were. Smiling, she reflected that she still wished they would talk to her about where they would keep on disappearing to.
Then she stopped, a sudden thought occurring to her. It had been four months since they had last visited… and a month after they had left Winry had received a call from Central, who were asking where the Elric brothers were. Lieutenant Hawkeye was the person they had spoken to, but she had no idea where they were herself.
Then, barely two weeks after that, the military had visited in person – some Private Kain Huey, a dark haired young man who seemed completely out of place next to his companion, who was some stiff corporal. He'd said he'd been passing, but had been asked by the then Colonel Mustang to see if the Rockbells had any idea where the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were.
Of course, Winry and Pinako had had no idea, but assumed that, as the contact with them stopped from the military, they had been found. That might have been why Ed wasn't immediately coming, perhaps he needed to talk to the army about why he had been missing.
A thought flitted through her mind, small green and spiky. It spoke with a harsh, cold voice.
'What if he just got tired of seeing you? There're other, more highly skilled Automail mechanics out there. Besides,' it continued when Winry, now trudging along as her heart sank, 'just because you like him doesn't mean he likes you. He probably wants someone better, like Rose. Remember? Dark hair, dark skin… every man's dream girl. Not to mention she wasn't constantly belittling him. All you do for Ed is insult and abuse him. Why should he love you? Do you really think he'd hold your hand?' The voice was like a series of knives, each one diving deeper into her heart.
What if he really does like me, though? She thought, desperately. The voice laughed and threw up various images – of Rose, in all her beauty, wearing a pure white dress made of silk and high quality Xingese lace, of Edward, closing the doors on some small, perfect cottage, as she stood at the top of the stairs. Ed threw a laugh and casually closed the door in her face…
Winry felt herself walk into someone and stumbled, falling to the ground. "Are you okay?" she heard someone's voice say. She stood up and brushed herself off.
"Yeah," She lied to the stranger. He was in his late twenties, wearing a strange mix of a bright yellow coat and a formal suit underneath. "I'm fine." She walked on, now drowning out the green voice by throwing sticks for Den to fetch.
The journey seemed to last even longer than it normally did. By the time she reached the town where Mr. and Mrs. Winston lived, Den was almost dead on his legs, and the sun was already beginning to set. She was worried – a few weeks back, someone had gone missing, and the rumours of an attacker from Central had not missed her ears. She found the house she was looking for and knocked. Mrs. Winston opened the door and smiled warmly at Winry, before beckoning her in and insisting she have a cup of tea.
She declined, politely, and insisted she see to Mr. Winston first. Heading upstairs, she found the man lying in bed, his circular glasses resting low on his nose as he read a book. He was tall with a high, receding hairline, quite broad across the shoulders, and his dark hair was kept short. He was smoking a cigarette, but when he noticed Winry, he smiled warmly at her and put it out. "Ah, my personal torturer." He joked, removing his glasses. "You are punctual, aren't you?"
Winry didn't understand. "How do you mean?" she asked.
"Six months to the day," he grinned. "Am I ready to be released yet?"
Winry smiled and pulled up a chair. "I'm pleased to say today's the last you'll ever hear from me. You've been in rehabilitation for six months now, and as you stopped growing, you should never have to worry about needing replacements. Pinako will give you routine checks every six months for the next two years, after which they will lessen to a year each, and finally then every two years for as long as you have that leg." Her smile faded slightly. "However, like all automail limbs, you are aware that, Mr. Winston, this leg will take time to get used to?"
He waved a hand. "Of course, I know all about the recovery process. I used to be a mechanic on cars though, so tell your Grandmother I'm perfectly capable to fix it myself." He laughed. Winry smiled and said, "Really? Well, I'm sure she'd say that the technology is extremely different.'" Winry laughed again. "Okay, I must be off-" she began, but a thunderclap cut her off. She looked up to see a storm raging outside, and her face fell, as her stomach twisted.
Mr. Winston saw this and smiled. "Its fine, Winry, isn't it? Anyway, you can stay here. I'll ring Pinako to let her know you'll be back bright and early in the morning." He smiled.
Winry smiled back, but said, "What about Den?"
"Your dog?" Mr.
Winston asked, "He can sleep downstairs. Is he house trained?"
Winry nodded. "Then feel free to let him in."
"Thank you
very much, sir." Winry bowed and left, smiling as she did so. She
was wearing her normal work clothes, plus a baggy T-shirt.
That night, she was lying on the bed in the spare room, wondering what her grandmother was doing. Mr. Winston had already rung her, and said she ought to get an early night. So, she'd gone to bed at about eleven.
Sighing, she realized she wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. She turned over, facing the wall, and thought about Ed again. She wondered if he had a girlfriend, after all – he definitely was good looking. More than that, he was downright hot. Sighing, Winry reflected that although she'd been on dates with various idiots from Risembool, she'd never met anyone she could click with. A 'date' to her was just a way to spend an evening, although they rarely did anything. She'd not even kissed any of them, as she'd just made it clear soon after each time that she didn't want to go out with them. No, none of them were her type. Only one person was.
And he was arriving in two days' time… She hugged her pillow, drifting into a surreal fantasy.
"I love you," she whispered, eyes closed.
"I love you too," Ed said.
She was in Central station. A train was pulling up. Ed kissed her and then turned away, walking towards it. "No," She said, trying to move. She screamed "No!" again, as he turned briefly towards her, then boarded the carriage. The second he vanished, Winry fell to her knees and the train disappeared down the tracks.
