Phew! Finally got this written up! It took me long enough, heh. Hope that you all like it, since it took awhile. I could definitely use some suggestions if you all have them too, since I'm trying to break my habit of rushing through stories too quickly.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Well, I do own somethings, just not what I'm saying I don't own.
Winry paced around the house nervously, walking back and forth, hands clasped behind her back. She'd been doing this for several hours, and she could almost swear that she could see a path starting to form on the floor in the place she'd been walking. Darn that Al, up and leaving her like that. Now she'd have two boys to worry about, and not just one. He should've let her at least come with him, if he thought he had to leave. Then she'd be able to keep an eye on him and make sure he stayed safe. But no, he'd insisted that she had to stay home and help Pinako tend the shop. Darn that Al. How dare he be right when she wanted to worry? It wasn't fair; she was the one that was always right, not him. But then, maybe he wouldn't be right after all…no, she wouldn't think like that. He'd better be right, because if anything happened to him, she was going to kill him for sure.
She was about to make her rounds for the hundredth time, when a familiar footstep made her snap her head up to identify the intruder. The sight of a dark blue uniform made her turn away again and hang her head. Darn, it would have to be Colonel Mustang, wouldn't it? Why did HE have to show up right NOW? He was probably going to ask her a bunch of questions that she really wasn't in the mood to answer, and if she hesitated, he'd probably find a way to get the answers out of her anyway. Darn it, and darn it again. Life just wasn't fair. It wasn't that she didn't trust Colonel Mustang, since he was probably the most trustworthy person in the entire military, besides Ed, of course, but she didn't trust the military in general. There was always the possibility that he'd just give in and do whatever the higher-ups commanded him to do, even if it wasn't in their best interest. She couldn't blame him for that, since he WAS in the military after all…but that's what she didn't like about the military. They generally didn't care about people.
"Miss Rockbell?" He took a couple steps into the room, hoping to obtain her attention, but failed. Winry's back remained facing in his direction, and she continued tracing the floor with her eyes. Colonel Mustang sighed and stopped walking. This was awkward for the both of them. "Winry?" he tried. At this, Winry slowly looked up at the man. She couldn't recall having ever been addressed by her first name by this man before. Those that did call her by her first name were generally family and close friends. The only person in the military besides Ed to have ever called her 'Winry' that she could remember was Hughes. Colonel Mustang had always been too formal. So why was he calling her by her first name now? What did he want?
Colonel Mustang's shoulders sagged and his face drew out into an elongated expression, obviously disturbed by the situation himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you that without your permission." He closed his eyes and silently breathed for several moments. It was obvious that there was a lot more than he wanted to say, but he wasn't saying it. Maybe he wasn't trying to extract information from her…maybe he was trying to tell it!
Winry finally looked up and turned to fully face the Colonel. "Oh…it's okay if you want to call me Winry…I don't mind." She choked. What had happened in the past between them still hurt, but she couldn't dwell on it forever. He had just been following orders, after all. He wasn't a bad man. She knew that. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Roy reached up and scratched the back of his head. He was nervous and unsure of himself. Surely that's what that meant. Okay, she would just have to wait for him to get around to talking. "Um…well…I'm not exactly sure what it is." He paused for a moment to gauge her reaction, and then took a deep breath, and continued on. "We've been questioning all the eyewitnesses of Edward's behavior in the last few days that he was here. A lot of the things they've been saying don't seem to add up logically. That doctor especially was able to provide us with the most information, though it was also the most confusing. Something about his symptoms just doesn't make sense."
Winry looked up at the man with a worried expression on her face and clasped her hands in front of her chest. What was he getting at? The black-haired man smirked slightly and then bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to worry you. I was just wondering if you happened to have something of his around here with a DNA sample on it. I have something that I need to investigate."
Winry's eyes went wide. A DNA sample? Why in the world would he need that? What did he think was wrong with Edward? Why wouldn't he tell her? She couldn't seem to get the logical and emotional sides of her brain to calm down and stop being at odds with each other, so she just continued standing in the same place, completely dumbfounded. Colonel Mustang looked at her with a nod of understanding. "I don't really know what I'm looking for…I guess that I'm just trying to reconcile the seeming contradictions from the witnesses. Don't worry, I won't allow the research to get into the hands of anyone but a few trusted subordinates. To tell the truth," he leaned forward so that he wouldn't have to talk very loud, and whispered into her ear, "I'm trying to protect him from the higher-ups." He quickly stood back up. "But remember, you didn't hear that from me."
Winry coughed. Colonel Mustang was telling her a lot lately that could get himself in trouble. Why was he putting himself on the line for her sake? Something about this just didn't click. Should she trust him and provide him what he asked for, or should she try to deny his request? She once again looked up into his eyes, catching the pleading look emanating from them. That wasn't just any look. He was serious, and very, very concerned for them. She could sense that. It may go against her logical side, but she figured that she'd probably better at least give him the benefit of the doubt.
Without saying a word, Winry went and began rummaging around through dressers and cabinets and closets trying to find something. At last, when she was going through Edward's suitcase, she breathed a sigh of relief when she finally pulled out Edward's hairbrush. There were still a few strands of hair left on it. She handed the brush to Colonel Mustang. "Will this work?"
Roy took the brush from Winry's outstretched hand and smiled. "Thank you, Winry…I'm sure that this'll give us some clues as to what was going on with FullMetal in the last few days he was here. There may still be a few living cells in the roots of the hair, after all…at least…that's what we're hoping. Even so, I'm sure that this will be invaluable to us. Thank you for trusting us." With that, he bowed, and then left the room, leaving Winry to stare on in amazement. She had never seen this side of Colonel Mustang before. He had always acted like a jerk according to Ed, or at least would act high and mighty or perverted in some way. She had never known him to suddenly become so concerned for Ed's welfare…almost like a fatherly figure. There must've been a side to him that one rarely ever got to see, because he kept it tightly hidden, that really cared deeply for the boy. He apparently cared so much that he was willing to risk telling her information that he shouldn't just to try and help him. That in and of itself was pretty amazing.
Al walked up to the lady at the ticket booth. He squirmed a bit under his clothes, not fully sure what he should say…but then, he wasn't that social as it was. He would just have to get this done and over with. He looked up at the woman, his gray eyes connecting with her blue ones, and said, "Um, hi…I need a ticket that will take me as far west as the line will go." He squirmed again. That had sounded a bit awkward. That lady must've thought he was an idiot.
In response, the lady raised an eye brow and looked down at the boy before her. "The end of the line? Why, are you going to Creata?" The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. At that point in time, travel between Amestris and Creata wasn't much heard of, since the relations between the two countries left a little to be desired. Oh, he wouldn't get in trouble for trying to cross the border if he had all his proper paperwork with him, it just wasn't exactly what the average person dreamed of doing at this point in time.
"Heh," Al stifled a laugh as he hung his head. "I don't really know if I'm going that far or not…I'm trying to catch up with someone, and I don't know how far they're going." There, he'd said it. Had he said too much? This was just a lady at a ticket booth though…what could the harm be in telling her that much? He hadn't said who he was chasing, after all. He looked back up to see if she was still looking at him with that puzzled expression of hers, only to find her actually going through the process of getting him what he'd asked for. Okay, maybe she DID understand…even though it was a slightly unusual request. Before long, she'd handed him the ticket and taken his money, and Al took his suitcase and boarded the train. Now if only this train could go faster than the one his brother was on, he would have it made.
Ed lazily leaned on Sylvia's shoulder, completely unaware that he was doing so, and was periodically letting out mild snoring sounds. As awkward as Sylvia felt from this gesture, there was nothing that she could do to get herself out of it. She felt the need to sleep too, but she couldn't bring herself to sleep right next to Edward like this, though she knew she wouldn't be able to cheat sleep for long. How he was able to give in to his desire for sleep so easily was beyond her. Apparently he could sleep anywhere; that or he was used to sleeping on trains. Maybe it was both, for all she knew.
She leaned back into her seat and sighed, knowing that she couldn't stay awake for much longer, as she was periodically slipping in and out of consciousness. Just then, she heard Ed moan, so she turned her attention towards him. Apparently, he had gotten so relaxed, that he was even beginning to drool. That did it. That was the last straw. She was NOT going to allow some guy to drool on her shoulder! She grabbed Ed's braid and gave it a sharp yank while shouting, "Ed, wake up, you lazy thing!"
Ed jumped up and looked around nervously, wondering what had just happened. It didn't take too long for his thoughts to grow coherent, however, and he turned and glared at Sylvia for having disturbed such a peaceful sleep as he had been having. Sylvia just returned the stare and shrugged. "Next time, don't drool on me, and maybe I'll let you sleep longer."
Ed turned away and crossed his arms. "I was not drooling."
"Sure you weren't," said Sylvia, rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh of disgust. She then tugged at her now soggy sleeve to make it visible to the boy. "Then what is this?" Ed looked at the soggy spot on the extended sleeve without response for a moment, and then gave a mild shrug, mumbling something about her sweating pretty hard. Sylvia once again rolled her eyes. This boy just wouldn't own up to anything he did that was less than manly, would he?
The two stared into space in silence for several minutes, one being too tired to speak, the other feeling too awkward to, especially since he'd just been accused of drooling on a girl's shoulder. All at once, their thoughts were interrupted when they suddenly noticed that the train began slowing down as they were passing through a town that was not supposed to be one of the stops along the way. "What's going on here?" said Ed, to no one in particular.
Sylvia shrugged. "I don't know, you're the train veteran." Ed turned and gave her a split second glare, and then turned to stand up. He had the tendency to think aloud at times, and he was a bit unaccustomed to people actually commenting on the things he said when he did so. At least Al knew when to speak and when to keep his mouth shut. Heck, even Winry understood the concept somewhat. Apparently, that was one major difference between the two girls: One had tact, and the other didn't.
Ed had made his way over to the door of the car and had placed his hand on it. He'd find someone to ask about why the train was slowing down and appearing to stop here. Heck, maybe it really wasn't that big of a deal…but if he knew trains, and he was sure that he did after all the experience he'd had with them in the past, there was mostly likely something up. Before he even got the chance to open the door, however, the door opened itself, and in stepped the conductor. The man gave Ed a puzzled glance for having been standing so close to the door, and then he brushed right by as if Ed hadn't been standing there at all.
The conductor made his way to the center of the car, planted himself in a good position, and then raised his hands to his mouth to make his voice carry farther. Everyone turned to look at him, wondering if he'd have an answer to the unspoken question they were all asking. "Attention, everyone," he said, "As you may have already noticed, we are slowing down the train at an unexpected stop. There is no cause for panic. We are experiencing some technical difficulties, so we will have to delay our departure a few days longer than anticipated. Upon stopping, you will be provided room and board for the time you are delayed here as well as return tickets to get back on the train as soon as we are ready to depart again. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience." Without saying another word, the conductor turned and left through the other door of the car, probably to give the same message to the next car.
Ed sighed and relaxed his shoulders almost into a slumping-over position, and then went and plopped back down in the seat beside Sylvia, crossing his arms as he did so. Sylvia turned to him, and even though she figured that she probably knew the answer, she asked him what was wrong. Ed sighed again and glanced around the car a moment before answering. "I probably shouldn't say here." He glanced around for another minute, and then finally turned to face Sylvia, lowering his voice to keep the other passengers from hearing him. "The only reason they would stop the train and delay it for a few days is because the situation got so dangerous it was life threatening." He paused another moment, then gulped, and said, "That, or they were ordered to by someone, for some reason."
Sylvia stared at the boy for a long time, not quite sure what to say. He apparently really was a train veteran, just like she had originally thought. How could he have figured that all out otherwise? She tore her eyes away from him and looked out the window at the ever-slowing landscape rushing past. Either way, both of those options didn't sound pleasant. Which one was it, anyway? Edward had seemed quite troubled by the whole ordeal…maybe there was more to this situation than he was telling her, but he was trying to avoid getting her mixed up in too big of an affair. That seemed like the kind of thing he would do.
Finally, the train stopped. Edward and Sylvia grabbed their baggage and their return tickets, and made their way to the hotel that was being provided for those unfortunate enough to have been aboard this particular train. As they were walking, Sylvia noticed that Edward seemed distant, as if his mind was a million miles from where he was. She took a step towards him and casually bumped his shoulder, hoping that this gesture would get him to speak up, rather than hold it all inside. Edward looked up into Sylvia's face, and apparently caught the concerned look she was giving, because he responded with a nervous chuckle and then turned to look at the ground again. It appeared that he wasn't going to be able to hide his feelings from her.
"There were an awful lot of people on that train to fit into one little hotel," he said. Sylvia nodded, and prodded him to keep talking. She couldn't figure out what he was getting at, but she wanted to hear it all the same. "What if they make single people…like us…share a room with someone else?" On an impulse, both of them stopped walking, though they weren't exactly sure why. Sylvia turned to once again look into Edward's face, but his face was still facing down towards the ground. "What if…What if we're kept here so long…that I transform again?"
Suddenly, Sylvia understood. She couldn't blame him for worrying about that, since not everyone would be as receptive to him as she had been. If anyone else caught him, he might end up in a lab or something. Without any sort of warning, she ran up to the boy and threw her arms around him. She hadn't bothered to obtain permission to do this, but she had somehow suspected that he just needed the encouragement all the same, whether he tried to object or not. "Don't worry, Edward," she said, "I'm sure that everything will work out somehow. We'll find a way…so don't worry, alright?" Edward nodded silently, though it was still quite obvious that he was concerned.
Finally, the two arrived at the hotel, and were given the keys to their rooms. Fortunately, they were only a few doors apart, so they'd still be able to keep a fairly good eye on each other, and make sure that they both stayed safe. They made their way up to the third floor, and looked around. Hmmm…390, and the numbers were going down. That meant that they would find Edward's room first. They walked a few yards, and were soon standing in front of room 387. Sylvia's room, 382, would only be a few doors away from here.
Edward put his key into the doorknob, and turned it. He took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door, hoping that there wouldn't already be someone else in here. The man at the front desk hadn't said anything about roommates…but still, you never knew. He placed the key back into his pocket, and he and Sylvia cautiously stepped into the room and looked around. There were no signs of anyone else having occupied this room recently, but still, he gulped. There were two beds.
Thanks for reading. I would appreciate any kind of feedback, especially if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for what you would like to see. Anything would be most helpful. Thank you, and hope to see you around again soon!