Edward Elric opened the door slowly, trying to be perfectly
silent.
"Good to see the damage is fixable," Pinako said from
behind the open door.
Ed jumped from the unwarranted response before calming
down again, only glad that he did not meet Winry first. He
put the unattached half of his arm down on the small table
next to the door.
"Things got a little involved," he said with his left hand
behind his head. "It really wasn't my fault."
"It never is Ed. I'll get my tools. I'm sure your leg needs
adjusting too."
"Hey, Granny, i-is Winry around?"
"You broke it."
Ed almost leapt out of his skin upon hearing this quiet
sentence.
Winry was standing right behind him, her bangs hiding her
eyes. She had picked up the other half of the arm and was
holding it in both hands, examining the damage.
"Technically the guy with the machete broke it," he said,
trying to make the situation a little more humourous.
Winry flipped it over in her hands, studying the perfectly
clean cut in the arm without saying a word.
"I-I even brought it here for you. I know you probably want
to know how he did it," he said with a hint of nervous
laughter.
He held out the oversized knife, hoping this small offering
would appease her and get him out of a potential
thrashing, but suddenly thought better of handing her a
sharp object and put his arm down.
Winry still said nothing.
Ed did not like this. When she yelled and threw things, he
at least knew that her mind was solely occupied with those
tasks. Now she was quiet and he had no idea what she
could be thinking.
"Move, Edward."
The uneasy smile disappeared from his face and he walked
as quickly as he could to the nearest chair.
Winry followed, a little slower.
Ed still could not see her eyes.
What was she feeling?
Was she angry with him?
Did she understand?
Was a greater storm just beyond the horizon?
Whatever it was, Ed did not like it.
He stretched his left arm out so she could measure from
the center of his back to his fingertips.
After taking careful measure, Winry spoke.
"I see you haven't grown."
Ed did not reply in the usual way. He somehow knew her
words were meant as a jab.
"Sit."
He dropped to the chair and braced himself as Winry
loosened the bolts that held what was left of the arm in
place. Pain moved up and down his side as it came off.
Winry picked up the two pieces of the former arm.
"Wait here," she commanded. Her voice was still at a
frighteningly quiet range.
She walked with very deliberate steps to her room and
disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, Winry
was holding a brand new arm.
"I guess you knew I might need another one soon," Ed
started, trying to coax more then a few syllables out of the
blonde.
Nothing.
Winry went straight to work placing the arm in the socket
and making the necessary adjustments. She had a
screwdriver in her mouth and was using her wrench to
tighten one of the main bolts.
"Hold this," she mumbled, and forced the wrench sideways
into Ed's mouth. While she reached for the screwdriver, Ed
went to take the wrench with his hand. Instead, Winry
plucked it from his grasp and set it back in his mouth.
This time, he chose not to fight it.
Winry just needed to finish a few more minor touches,
double checking to make sure every screw was in place,
and then retrieved her wrench.
With a little more force then necessary, the mechanic
tightened the final bolt, unconcerned by Ed's slight gasp in
pain.
