Author Note: Thank you, to everyone who reviewed. Each review had me smiling like a dofus, at least until my sister thought it necessary to slap and snap me out of it. I am rather proud of myself for having minimal tears when getting the reviews, cause I usually get so happy I cry… Isn't that insane? Anyways, after I post the last chapter tomorrow, I hope to get back to my usual Royai stories, though I haven't written much of them.

Disclaimer: I have to wonder if this is necessary… After all why would I own it? I am an idiot!!

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Sometimes, Winry suspected, Alphonse forgot even a year later. He'd get up every morning and search silently through all the rooms of the Rockbell home. He never said anything about it, but both her and grandmother knew. Afterwards, he'd lock himself in his room for a long spell.

What was worse, though, were the times Alphonse didn't figure it out. He'd leave Risembool in a haze, and didn't come back for a week or two. Winry and Pinako received letters from those they knew in other cities, all of them asking if something was wrong with Al. They mention that he seemed to be looking for something, for someone. For Ed.

And when Al finally came home, his haze broken, both she and Grandma would take him in their arms and they'd stay like that for a long moment, wordlessly comforting each other. Afterwards, Grandma would try to get Alphonse to eat something, which he politely refused. Despite finally getting his body back and finally being able to eat again, he ate barely enough to sustain himself. He was as thin as when he'd come back. The only thing that the two women could get him into clearing the plate of were Winry's apple pies. Winry found herself making them on a daily basis and a master pie baker.

The milkman now never bothered to stop by anymore, because Alphonse couldn't stand the sight of milk now, haunted at the memories. But that didn't matter as much, because the same memories haunted Winry and Pinako.

Risembool got a lot more attention now, though most of it was from people who'd known Ed well. General Mustang, along with Lieutenant General Hawkeye, visited as their schedule allowed. They both looked tired and haggard nowadays; ever since Mustang hadn't been able to snatch the title of Führer, life had gotten harder for them, especially for Mustang. Seemed the new Führer didn't care much for him.

Jean Havoc hadn't visited until just recently. And, although he still couldn't walk on his own two feet yet, he'd been able to stand from his chair, albeit shakily, when he visited Ed's grave. He'd said he was going to be able to rejoin and work under Mustang again, someday soon. Havoc had smiled and said he'd probably have an even better ranking now. It appeared the new Führer liked him at least.

Countless others visited too. They all seemed to be getting over his death, even the young women who'd previously mooned over the shrimp. Winry didn't know whether to feel smug or irritated over how easily the girls forgot him.

The Führer also made time for a visit, despite a busy schedule and a country in chaos since Bradley's betrayal. The Führer had only lingered for a minute or two, then left, but not before spitting on Ed's grave and muttering something about an idiot and a red cloaked shrimp. Then she turned away, General Buccaneer and Miles following close behind. Führer Armstrong didn't visit again, for which Winry was glad of.

Hohenheim had mysteriously disappeared, not that anyone really cared. Winry had spent too much time hating him because Edward had hated him.

And she herself visited Ed's grave on a daily basis. She mostly just sat and watched for a silent hour, unsure of what to do and say to a giant rock with the name of the guy she loved carved into it. Alphonse never visited, so it was up to her to keep it in top condition.

She was secretly infuriated that Al never visited. She could sympathize with him, of course. After all not only was the end of their journey laid to rest in the cemetery, but so was the beginning. Side by side, mother and son were now buried together, both dead before their time. The beginning and the end to their path to destruction, ending with only Ed's death. Yes, she could sympathize, but she didn't want to. She hated him.

While many were learning to forget him, only she and Al clung absolutely to his memory. Alphonse was no help to her though, and he was wasting away thinking he was the only one to suffer in Ed's absence. The selfish bastard.

Grandma Pinako was starting to wither away too, her old age finally hitting her. Ed's death had hit her as hard as her own son's, Yuri, had and now Al's distress over it was eating away at her health. All because of stupid, selfish Alphonse, she was losing everything that she loved.

There was no denying the fact she had once loved Al. He'd been like an adorable little brother to her in the past. But how easily those gentle, loving feelings were forgotten and replaced with a dark, devouring hatred.

After Ed's death, she had wished she'd learned alchemy. So then she could try, at least try, to bring him back to life. But she hadn't bothered with alchemy, leaving that particular science up to Ed and Al. Winry didn't have the courage to try and suggest it to Al. He might be a weak, withering idiot at the moment, but he'd be angry all the same. She could hear him now, his hollow voice angrily asking her if she had learned anything about what happened to him and Ed.

In her long hours of wallowing in Edwards's death, she thought about the failed human transmutation, about what might have gone wrong. And she had expertly deduced the answer and was convinced of it: Al had screwed up the transmutation. Without him, Ed would have succeeded. Stupid, weak Alphonse with inept alchemy had caused it to fail. Ed was too much of an alchemy genius to have failed otherwise.

Edward, the alchemy mastermind, alone wouldn't have failed; she'd persuaded herself to think that. She'd never told him how talented she thought of him in alchemy for he'd have gotten such a big head it would have given the bean sprout the illusion of growing. Winry wished she had, perhaps he might have figured it out himself. He might not have loved Al as much. Or maybe he never would have attempted the whole human transmutation thing. Everything would have been so different, so much happier without Alphonse.

Without Al, there would never have been a human transmutation to screw up for him, and the whole stupid journey for the Philosopher's Stone to get back his body wouldn't have been necessary. And thus, they wouldn't have been tangled up in the Homunculus business, and furthermore Ed wouldn't have had to die heroically saving his pitiful brother and the rest of the country.

So, as it all came back down to, it was all Al's fault.

The failed transmutation.

Ed's death.

For being loved by Ed the most.

And -- But no. She turned her head, bitterly. No matter what, she was the one who loved Ed the most. No matter what. He was hers to love and hers alone. And she wouldn't share him with anyone, most especially the disgusting Alphonse.

Winry jerked the apple pie she was making into the oven and glared at it. God damn him.

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Author Note: So Winry is starting to sound a little crazy, isn't she? Sorry about that. She isn't. I might not love Winry as much as Hawkeye, but I do love her too. Anyways, I was a little surprised Olivier was made Führer. I know, I know. I wrote it. But still. I hope this chapter wasn't too bad -- I tried to add a bit more humor, so I hope it wasn't lost on the darker feel to this chapter. And I hope the humor from last chapter wasn't badly used, either. Thank you for reading this far into my story. I hope you'll stick around, at least until tomorrow to read the final chapter. If you can, please review. Even a simple, 'Good' will put me on Cloud Nine.