Father closed his eyes, welcoming the breif darkness. Ever since he had time travelled, life had become a massive headache.

They'd had to fill in all his other children on the future, and needless to say, it wasn't being received well.

"So how did I die?" Envy asked impatiently. "I get that Lust was killed by the Flame guy, and that Pride was-"

"None of us know, Envy." Pride interrupted coldly. "You disappeared after you attempted to recapture Marcoh."

Envy snorted. "That's a load of crap. Is this exactly how you 'don't know' how Gluttony died?"

"Gluttony wasn't really dead, anyway. And no, I'm sure I don't know how you died." Pride snapped.

Father groaned. "Cease your childish bickering." He ordered. He had dragged Pride with him. He hadn't meant to do that. Who else had he brought back?

And if he had brought anyone else back, what had they done? Had they changed anything? He didn't have enough information. How had his escape brought this about? Now he had so much planning to do, because if they already knew his plans, and he already knew their plans...

It was a whole new playing field, and he didn't have centuries of work to lean on anymore, if they knew. This could ruin everything.

"Listen. I need one of you to make a little visit to Reesembool..."

Trisha smiled down at the two sleeping boys, both with tear tracks marring their cheeks. Everyone had cried once the future had been revealed. There was so much pain, so much suffering.

She could hardly believe that it happened. It sounded so... so horrible. And to think that it happened to her two little boys.

Her two precious little boys. She'd love them, even if they were half metal, full metal, innocent or guilty.

#

Winry has seen right away that Al knew. She had seen the way Ed walked- like some weight had been lifted off those hunched shoulders, and Alphonse looked nervous, of all things. Like he wasn't quite sure if everything would be the same.

Years of watching the Elric brothers, wishing and wishing for a way to relieve their pain had made her realise that while they were good actors (or would grow to be good actors) there were flaws in their armour. Sometines Al would be a little too cheerful, or Ed's hands would shake, and his eyes woulnd't quite light up like his smile.

They were small things, but they made all the difference, at least to her. They helped her understand, help her wait. But no matter what, she never seemed to be able to help them heal, and that was what she really wanted. She wanted to cry for them and for her tears to make a difference.

And now, she could tell, thanks to all the little signs that made a difference to her at least, and she knew.

And she stumbled forwards, vision blurring with tears, to where the two boys were waiting nervously, and pulled them both into a hug, finally managing the words she had been waiting to say for so many long, long years.

"Welcome home."

"Hey Winry?" Ed asked cautiously, watching the girl as carefully sketched out a circle.

"Yes?" She said without looking up. With a small smile, Ed thought of how she had been hunched over her automail before. Ed had made a copy of Kabuto's notes, and was surprised at how easy it was once he had the basics down.

Kabuto's style of alchemy was a blend of Amestrian alchemy and Alkahestry, and as Ed was already proficient in alchemy, he was catching on quickly, although it was easier for Al and Winry to learn, as they hadn't quite reached the point where they would need to seriously alter anything.

"What are you doing?" He asked, staring at her circle, faintly tracing over some of the runes. "This is..."

Winry managed a short, muffled laugh. "Well, I figured that it would be stupid to let all that training and knowledge to go to waste."

Ed could only stare. "You really are amazing." He breathed. The circle wasn't too detailed- Winry didn't have the experience required for much detail yet, especially in Kabuto's style, but she had clearly made the most of what she had learnt.

And it showed, the circle was simply brilliant. Much like the gleaming metal limbs she had poured her heart and soul into. And he wondered how much it must have hurt her, to give even a little piece of that up, her passion, her talent. But she'd reinvented it, and kept moving forwards. Just like she'd made his leg to let him keep moving forwards.

Winry blushed at the unexpected praise. "Thanks." She smiled, and Ed said down next to her, staring over the circle again, and her smile grew just that little bit brighter.

For a moment, both of them stared at her work, then Ed spoke, with a teasing tone that made him sound his age.

"So, can I actually call you a gearhead now?"

She huffed. "Whatever, alchemy-freak."

"Aren't you an alchemy-freak too?" Ed asked innocently, and Winry snorted.

"We can be alchemy freaks together then." She said softly, and Ed beamed.

"You're only starting, remember." He warned teasingly. "It gets worse."

Winry only smirked. "Good."

Then Ed helped her up, and they walked back towards the Elric's residence to fetch Al so they could annoy Izumi into teaching them some more.

They walked together. No more leaving anyone behind, no more waiting. Because the past was so far away, but it still hurt. Because neither of them could stand the thought of leaving the other behind, alone and waiting.

Because they both had a future ahead of them, and they were determined to make it shine.

"Winry, are you okay?" Winry's head jerked up at the seemingly random question, and she stared at her parent's worried faces.

They had gone to Ishval, despite Hohenheim's warnings and Winry's desperate pleas, and that had been the worst month of her new... younger life.

She was terrified, as she watched their backs grow smaller and smaller. Ed had been standing beside her then, offering silent sympathy. She had leaned on his shoulder then, and cried and cried and cried.

Al had been there too, and Izumi, and Hohenheim, and Trisha. Her world seemed slightly less lonely, although the gap where her parents had been still ached, and the thought of another telegram with their deaths on it made her sick.

But then, after only a month, the Rockbells came home. The war hadn't been as bad as Winry remembered, there were less casualties, less injuries, and less of a reason for them to be there.

Maybe it was Hohenheim, who had always seemed so wise and distant, holed up in his study, with his warnings that made them come home when they were ordered to stop. Maybe it was that for the Ishvalans, at least in comparison, things weren't quite so bad.

Or maybe it was the haunting memory of their daughter's sobs as they left that made them come home quicker.

Either way, not only had less Ishvalans died in the war, but one little girl suddenly didn't seem to be about to lose her parents again, and true to a promise made forever ago, she cried tears of joy when she saw them coming home.