The Edward Elric Guide to Getting Caught in the Rain

"What do you mean, you don't have the key!" Ed yelled as Winry frantically searched her pockets.

"I mean, I don't have the key, Ed! Don't ask stupid questions!" Winry shot back.

Ed sighed and leaned against the wall next to the door to the Rockbell home. "Can't you pick the lock with your tools or something? If Al's blood seal gets wet-"

"I know, Ed!" Winry cried. "I don't want to mess up Granny's lock, though. She'd kill me if a burglar got in! Automail costs money, you know!"

At the thought of the bill possibly being credited to him if he decided to break down the door, Ed blanched. He already paid enough for his automail as it was. Having to pay for the automail of twenty other people… he was getting dizzy.

"Um, I'll just go around to the shed- it's not a problem, really," Al offered, taking off without an answer.

"You'd better go, too, Ed- it could be a while," Winry sighed.

"Whatever." Ed prepared to run. "I'll check back in five minutes." He took off.

IN THE SHED

"Brother, what are you doing here?" Al demanded.

Ed removed his wet jacket and hung it on the door knob. "Winry told me that it could be a while. She can handle it, Al. She's worked with tools long enough-" a flash of lightning and the loud crack of thunder that followed interrupted them. The storm was now on top of them.

"Shit," Ed cursed. "If that hits the roof and Winry's working on the knob…"

They waited for a few minutes in silence, hoping that Winry would come to the shed and wait out the storm. Even if the shed was wood, it was shorter than the house, and less likely to be hit because of it. Both boys grew more and more anxious as the time passed.

"Al, you wanna go check on her?" Ed asked. "It's been five minutes, and I said I'd check back, but the lightning…"

Al would have glared at his older brother if he could have. "Brother, what can I do? If I have to carry her back or something and I get hit… even if she's just walking beside me, Winry could be seriously hurt! Anyway, you stand less of a chance of getting hit because you're so short!"

Ed shot his brother a warning glare, but he knew Al was right in terms of probability. He had always been the one to follow science, even if it stuck him with a metal arm and leg and a lack of height. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and exited the shed, making a mad dash for the porch.

SCENE CHANGE

Winry was cold, wet, and losing hope. The tools kept slipping from her hands, and they were steadily going numb, anyway. She did not even know if she would make it to the shed.

Suddenly, she felt something warm around her shoulders. Looking up, she found that Ed had placed his black jacket around her, leaving him with only his tank top to cover his torso. "Ed…"

"C'mon. We'll wait out the storm in the shed," he mumbled.

He helped her to her feet, looping an arm around his shoulder. "We should be quick about this. I know the probability isn't very high, but if lightning strikes…" Ed did not bother to complete the sentence.

Winry did not need him to. She nodded and began walking as fast as her legs could carry her.

A FEW HOURS LATER

"A...choo!" Winry's sneeze echoed through the mostly empty shed.

Ed groaned. "I hope this storm lets up soon."

There was silence for another few minutes. Lightening flashed yet again, but the thunder took longer than it ever had to reach their ears.

Now Winry yawned. Ed checked his watch. It was only eight, but he was sure that Winry had pulled some crazy sleep schedule last night working on his arm, which he had managed to wreck yet again. He had really outdone himself this time. The coverings were completely missing, and most of the wires were corroded. He still would not say how it happened, but he considered himself lucky that it was his automail arm and not his real one.

Another yawn.

Ed sighed. The only things in the shed were metal parts for automail. He patted the ground next to him. "Scoot over. You fall asleep like that and you won't be able to bend your neck for a week. How's my automail gonna get done like that?"

Winry reluctantly took the offer, knowing that Ed really was not in a good mood, and he had already lent her his jacket, which she still had wrapped around her. She carefully placed her head on the offered shoulder and, immediately feeling like a little kid, muttered, "Thanks, Ed."

"Welcome," was the response.

A few minutes later, Winry was out, and every few seconds, Ed's glance shifted to the corner of his eye out of which he could see Winry.

Al made a sound that would have been clearing his throat that was just loud enough for Ed to hear.

Ed looked up. "What, Al?"

"You never said anything, did you?" the suit of armor asked.

"Of course I did! She thanked me, so I told her she was welcome!" Ed was annoyed.

Apparently, he was not the only one. "I don't mean then, Brother, I heard that. I mean last time, when I told you to." Al waited. "You didn't, did you?"

"Al, how many times do I have to tell you before you believe-"

Al cut him off matter-of-factly. "None, because it's useless. You know as well as I do that it's not true. You can't see the expression on your face when you look at her, but I can. It's not like one you give anybody else. You can't wait forever, Ed. Do you want her to wind up like Mom?"

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Say that again, Al? Are you comparing me to Dad?"

"So what if I am? You can't hurt me, and you wouldn't rub my seal off, would you?" Al had won, and he knew it. It was by no means the nicest way to get the results he wanted, but hopefully Ed would see the point.

"Dammit, Al, that's playing dirty!" Ed's volume had risen enough to make Winry stir.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, not opening her eyes.

Ed sighed. "Nothing. Al and I are just playing a mind game, you know. A guessing one. You can go back to sleep."

As soon as Ed was sure that Winry was asleep, Ed hissed, "Fine, I'll tell her."

"Ed…"

Ed moved his right shoulder to hold up his arm before he realized that it was not connected. "Alphonse Elric, if I'm lying, you reserve every right to call me a coward and I'll gladly own up to it. I swear on mom's grave that I'll tell her. Happy?"

Al sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now let me get some sleep." Ed leaned back against the wall. Finding it too hard, he let his head loll to the left, where it came to rest on top of Winry's.

Looking at the perfect scene before him, Al almost wished that Lt. Colonel Hughes was there to snap a shot or five. Brother, if you're lying, I'll tell her flat out. Maybe that'll knock some sense into you.

A/N: Oh… Kinda semi-angsty, only not. I hope the ending was a bit lighter, even with all the heavy stuff before it. We all know how Ed hates to be compared to Hohenheim, so I thought Al might motivate him a little (okay, a LOT) by comparing him to Ed, if subtly. Ed knows when he's being called names, and hitting his pride works pretty well.

Oh, and Ed doesn't likely use his pocket watch to check the time. (I don't think he does in either the manga or the anime.) That was probably a one-time only thing, anyway.