Author's Note:

Well, here's my first fanfic. It's more of a side story that could fit in somewhere in Brotherhood. Contains a little EdWin, and attempted humor. |D

*points to line above* Again, my first fanfic. I don't expect your mind to be blown from sheer awesomeness. But I did try my best to keep the characters... you know, in-character. xD

Disclaimer: I do not own Winry's wrench, Ed's pipsqueakedness, or anything else Fullmetal-related.

Ed: Hey..! Dx

"Things were so different back then..." Winry Rockbell sat with her chin resting in her palm, staring off at the bulletin board of pictures across the table. She had always managed to bind the two shorter blonde boys in a death grip before posing for each photo. She laughed quietly to herself at the thought.

Resembool was a quiet town as it was, but it seemed empty without the Elric brothers around.

"They're probably getting themselves into more trouble.." Winry thought to herself, focusing on one picture of a young Edward Elric staring down at Den, a fork hanging out of his mouth.

"They've always been independent." Pinako Rockbell stood leaning against the doorway, holding a pipe up to her mouth. "They haven't changed much at all." A puff of smoke escaped the old woman's mouth. "Especially Edward," she added, "he's hardly grown any taller." They both laughed.

Ed's antenna twitched. For what reason, he had no clue. But he did feel suddenly angered.

"Is everything okay, brother?" Al turned to his brother, giving him a questioning look.

Ed snapped back into focus. "Yeah. Sorry, Al." Ed's attention quickly switched back to the task at hand.

It had not been long since Ed and Al had (unexpectedly) met the man known to the Homunculi as Father. And more importantly, while they had been unable to use their alchemy in Father's lair, the girl May Chang had been able to use a different kind of alchemy. They needed to learn more about it.

Ed and Al continued investigating the alleyways around Central in search of the Xingese girl. Just then, Ed swiftly held out his arm, signaling Al to freeze. They stared down the long alley, listening and watching for movement.

Moments passed. "Guess it was nothi-" Ed was cut off by a large explosion. He hastily clapped his hands together and transmuted part of the ground to act as a shield from the debris.

The brothers looked out from behind the transmuted brick mass. An all too familiar figure was standing at the other end of the alley, hand at the ready.

Ed cursed under his breath. This might be harder than they had thought.

Winry knew that the boys were strong. She also knew that they needed her to stay strong, too. They needed her support, even if they would never admit it themselves. Maes had taught her that. She gazed at the old photos, deep in thought. Pinako smiled at her granddaughter from her doorway post. She walked to the front door, informing Winry that she needed some fresh air, and stepped outside, leaving Winry to her thoughts.

Winry smiled to herself. Her grandmother always knew what was on her mind. She stood and walked over to the desk, opening the middle drawer. She shuffled around a bit and recovered a small diary.

She returned to her seat and opened the diary to the last entry: the day before she had left for Central on a service call (for which she had Ed to thank), and had gone to Rush Valley- which she now considered a 'home away from home.' With all the work she had put in at Amestris's automail capital, she was glad to be visiting her hometown.

She flipped to a blank page and tapped it with her pen in thought. So much had happened; from a surprise baby delivery in Rush Valley, to the death of Maes Hughes. Winry clenched her fist at this.

There was also that incident with Scar- her parents' killer, which had almost triggered her into taking his life in one bullet shot. But Ed had been there to stop her….

Ed. He had held her hand so gently in his... once he had freed her of her grip on the gun. It was a side of him that she almost never got to see; perhaps because she hardly ever saw him at all.

Winry's heartbeat changed tempo briefly at her next memory. She realized she was falling for Ed. No… perhaps she had fallen for him a long time ago.

Winry held her breath for a moment, and began to write.

A train whistle blew in the distance. Winry set the pen down on the inked page and stretched. Den started barking outside. Naturally, she stood and headed for the door- diary in hand- to see what the commotion was about. She reached for the handle, only to have the door jump out at her. Pinako entered the house, and gestured for someone to follow. Curious, Winry stepped out to see who her grandmother had motioned to, and was greeted by none other than the long lost Elric brothers.

Winry couldn't help but to look shocked. Visits from Ed and Al were a rare occasion, and were usually for the same reason. She blinked a few times and spoke up.

"What did you do this time?" She didn't bother to hide the slightly irritated tone in her voice.

Ed nervously searched for the right words. He knew his physical health was at stake. Al could already sense the tension in the air, and he tried to come up with a small diversion. He noticed the diary in Winry's hand, and grinned to himself through his armor.

"What's that you're holding, Winry?"

Although it wasn't distinct on Al's armor face, Winry could feel his smirk digging into her.

"It's nothing," she stated quickly, and hid the diary from sight behind her back. Judging by the look Al was giving her, he wasn't buying it. A faint blush crept onto Winry's cheeks, but faded as quickly as it had appeared. Winry pinpointed her eyesight on an empty space that should be Ed's right arm.

Ed caught her stare, and immediately shrunk a few sizes. "Um..you see, Winry…we sorta ran into some trouble in Central.." Ed faked a small laugh and scratched the back of his head with his only available arm.

Winry's scowl shot daggers into the half-crippled alchemist. Al retreated backwards out of instinct. There wasn't a doubt in his mind what would come next.

"YOU RECKLESS IDIOT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MANAGED TO LOSE AN ENTIRE ARM, AGAIN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WORK I PUT INTO IT?"

Ed couldn't respond, of course, as he was preoccupied with an old enemy: Winry's wrench.

Al came to Ed's aid once Winry had left the murder scene. "It's okay, brother! I've got your soul..!" Al grabbed onto the maimed soul that was trying to escape and shoved it back into his brother's body.

"Geez…" Ed stood slowly, rubbing a large bump on his head. He looked at Winry, who was still clutching the slightly blood-stained wrench.

"...Sorry we didn't call first.."

Winry huffed, and her stance relaxed. "You dummies," she said softly, then added, "I'm glad you're back for a little while."

She really was happy to see them, and in a sense, relieved to see they were still the same reckless boys she loved.

But her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"We're not staying that long… I mean, you'll fix my arm up in a day or two, right?"

Dense as ever. Ed was answered with a glare that could kill. Winry held up her wrench, smacking it in her hand like a club to get the point across. They really didn't know when to quit, did they?

But she knew she would miss it all as soon as they were gone.

A/N Eh.. I know it's not the greatest out there, but I'd still like to know what you thought. =) *Will exchange cake for lovely reviews!*

~Rain