Ed was resting on the couch when the door to Winry's
workroom slammed open.
He jumped at the sight of her in the doorway. She was
holding two pieces of thin metal in her right hand. Very
slowly, she walked to Ed and, grabbing him by the shirt,
pulled him up to look at the pieces.
"Do you know what this is, Edward?"
"I-I don't know, Winry. You know I'm not good with this
stuff."
"This is a bar used to temporarily strengthen automail,"
she explained without his asking.
"So you put one of those in my old arm and forgot to take
it out?" he tried to reason with a nervous laugh.
"I would never make a half-assed repair with one of these,
Edward, and, even if I did, I would never use one marked
'Property of the State Military.'"
'Oh shit.'
"Were they a good mechanic? They must have been if you
chose them over me."
"W-W-Winry…" Ed tried to defend.
"Apparently I haven't been doing a good enough job for
you," she began, her quiet voice growing sharp and cold.
"Hold still, Edward."
Without warning, Winry forced Ed to the floor and pinned
him down so that his arm was pointing up.
"Wait! Winry!"
The girl would have none of it.
Winry brandished her wrench and, starting with his fingers,
proceeded to dismantle his arm piece by miniscule piece.
Nuts and bolts fell and hit him in the head as she worked.
Now and then, a drop of water would accompany the
pieces that rained down on his face.
Winry kept going until Ed was left in a wasteland of nuts,
screws, and metalwork.
'How did she manage to do that with just a wrench?'
Winry stood up over him. She hid her eyes by looking away.
"You're such a jerk," she whispered before turning to run
back to the open door. "You better have that all put back
together by the time I come out," she said coldly over her
shoulder before slamming the door closed.
