There was one last rainfall before Bunny left the hospital that night. It lifted a heavy fog that blanketed over most of London's streets. It was one of those fogs that made you realize anyone could get away with anything. A murder, a kidnapping, theft, drug dealing... It was one of those nights that reminded you of the fallacies you once had as a child, those nights you were supposed to be asleep, but instead you'd creep to where your parents were watching a late night film noir. They had warned you it wasn't suitable for you, that you were too young, but of course you didn't listen. You wanted to be a grown up, and you were a grown up. The fact that you spent the night in your parents' bed trembling in fear just simply didn't count, it wasn't important. But that was all at the back of Bunny's mind, guarded by her heavier thoughts which seemed to be circulating around the blonde girl she had bid farewell a mere hour before. It had taken a lot out of her. Even after she'd left, Edward still insisted on discovering who the culprit was who caused everyone to go through so much trouble. It had taken a lot of convincing, as it always had with that boy, to get him to go home to his younger brother. It seemed like Edward was slowly beginning to forget he even had one, and it frustrated Bunny to high extents. There was a time in his life all he'd focused on was his brother, and it had lead to this fiasco. Now, he'd flipped to the other side of the coin. He was a selfish, headstrong, arrogant fool, that boy. And yet, Bunny was thinking all this, as if she'd known him all her life. But somewhere deep inside of her, she couldn't help but want to believe that somewhere, some day, in Edward and Winry's world, she had been a trusted friend of theirs.
"Here's your stop, madam. 20 pounds will be fine."
Bunny paid the taxicab driver with a thank you, stepping out into the fog just steps away from her front door. Although the bleak white clouds frightened her, the doctor stood still on the sidewalk, even seconds after she could no longer hear the screeching tires of the cab. Her eyes trailed upwards to her front door that looked the exact same as it had the day before. Just a few moments of silence was all she needed. It felt so peaceful. A sanctuary in the midst of insanity.
Stepping inside, she saw the same flower vase sitting somberly on the same birch table, with the same torn envelopes scattered across it. Some showed the same bills as she'd seen a month before, and others showed advertisements to some upcoming festival she was less than interested to attend. Her feet thumped softly against the same Parisian rug her fiancée had gotten from France about a year before on his way back from Germany. She had remembered how much she'd missed him. The bastard didn't write to her even once. But now, with Winry gone for good, everything really was going back to normal. The fantasy life she'd always wanted. The hero she'd always aspired to be. In a few years, her patients probably won't even remember her name. She'll just be 'my doctor during the worst years of my life'. Then, they'd forget all about such a dark time in their lives, and scurry on living, while she continued to lack impact on anyone. It was almost unfair, but just almost. It had been her own fault. She was the one who wanted to be the hero. She was the one who refused to grow up. To ever believe she could be anything but normal. It was ridiculous.
"Harriet?" A husky voice called from the living room, interrupting her tasteless thoughts. Bunny turned to find the source of the voice, sitting in an armchair, just across from the fireplace. He held a hot mug in one hand, and a newspaper in the other. He was reading over the headlines about the famous Jewish cinematographer and film director Fritz Lang. The man didn't even bother turning his head to greet his fiancée. What a romantic gesture there, 'darling'. Yeesh...
"Hey, Emil." She yawned, dragging her feet across the ground, and falling flat on top of the sofa. She heard his paper shuffle, and that was enough for her to know he was staring at her as if she were an odd alien species. He was just always so uptight and serious.
"Tired, I take it?"
"Exhausted." She huffed. She rose from her position to face the dark haired man. The pause between them was almost awkward. "...I, um... discharged one of my patients today. Great, huh?"
She felt him suddenly tense in surprise without peeling his eyes away from his paper. "Oh, yeah? That's great, not to mention rare. Good to know yet another person has regained sanity under watch of my girl." He replied with a slight tug of his lips.
Bunny smirked, feeling a knot of pride tie itself deep in her core. "Yeah, I s'pose so. I mean, wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
Emil nodded silently. "Which patient was it? Was it that young boy who attempted suicide and tried cutting himself with the Styrofoam plate you used to serve him dinner?"
Bunny narrowed her eyes at him. "No, that wasn't a boy! That was little Margo Hawking, the little girl who tried cutting herself with Styrofoam! She was released last year, Emil... And the boy who attempted suicide is still under watch, he's getting a lot better. I'm not his main doctor anymore, though. I only visit him once every two weeks. His doctor is this guy with the most amazing aquamarine eyes-"
Emil narrowed his eyes at her.
"Er, anyways, it wasn't him either. It was Mute Blondie. Remember me telling you about her?"
"Yes, I remember her. Where did she go, though?"
Bunny blinked. "Why does it matter?"
"You said she was an amnesiac who was mute." He replied bluntly. "Where could she have possibly gone? Did someone adopt her? Didn't you say she was in her twenties? Do people even adopt twenty year olds...?"
Bunny snorted. "Nah, funny story about that, actually. Edward knew her from before, they were... uh, long lost friends or something." Bunny paused to release a long yawn. "He got a nice young couple from Kent to take her in until he could gather enough money to support the two of them plus his brother. Friends of his, they are."
Emil cleared his throat and nodded, wrapping up the newspaper and putting it away. "Good, good. Now come. You must be exhausted."
"Am I ever." Bunny moaned.
Winry had tried her best not to feel awkward, but resistance seemed to be futile. Kain had spent the entire car ride trying to convince her that "their home was her home". But of course, she knew that wasn't true. Just by first glance, she could tell this couple was struggling. The woman, with skin as bronze as a rusted penny, and the man, the purple bags under his eyes sentinel among his porcelain, stubby face looked as poor as they'd come. They were kind people, though. She could tell.
But sometimes, the kindest people were the most pitiful. And the saddest part was that Winry knew that her sympathy couldn't do anything for them. She'd have to try and make it up to the couple as much as she possibly could. Perhaps taking on a job, or running errands. She was tired on being locked up indoors. She wanted to get her hands dirty. With what in particular, she was unsure of.
Soon enough they'd pulled into the driveway. Winry let out a loose yawn of relief, practically feeling the bags under her eyes forming. Her eyelids felt like two anvils, tugging in the direction of one another. Kain gently began shaking Noah awake, who had fell asleep about a half hour before, claiming she had a bad headache. The bronze skinned woman let out a few moans of what seemed to be pain, creating a pang of worry in Winry's chest. Kain had apparently noticed her tense, and gave her a sheepish glance before dipping his hands into the pocket of his trench coat.
"Er... Here, love," he said, handing her a gold key. "Why don't you go inside with your luggage and make yourself comfortable. I'll help Noah inside, yes? I'll show you to your new room in a moment."
Winry complied, pulling her moderately sized suitcase indoors. The house was small, but cozy from the inside. There were no stairs in sight; it was a simple one floor quarter. The living room was just steps away from the entrance, and the kitchen blatantly right next to it. There were three other doors, two right across the living room from the entrance, and one to the side. There were about a half dozen boxes stacked at the corner of the living room, each labelled differently. The bedroom door to the side of the house was open, revealing a single bed, a curtained window, a dresser and a small circular bedside table with a vase of fake purple and yellow flowers plucked inside. They appeared to be real, unlike the ones they kept in her room back at the institute. The other two doors were closed. She figured they were the master bedroom and the bathroom. A peachy place... Winry thought. She'd enjoy getting used to living here. It was far better than the hospital, which was for sure. Besides, she'd only have to stay here for a short while. Edward would soon be coming for her, and she would soon figure out who she was and how she'd gotten where she is now. Winry sighed, slipping off the brown woolly boots Doctor Harriet had gotten her, and sinking slowly onto the bouncy couch in the living room. Within mere seconds, Kain bustled in with an unconscious Noah in his arms. Winry sprang up in surprise.
"I-Is she alright?!" she cried.
Kain nodded in embarrassment. "Yes, she's fine, no need to worry! This happens often. She has really bad migraines sometimes, and... well..."
Winry felt her heart sink. What had she gotten herself, and these poor people into? It seemed like they needed more help than she did.
"Sorry about this... Er, can you get that door opened for me, please?"
Winry ran to one of the two doors on the front wall of the house, turning and pushing open the one Kain had motioned to. The man silently thanked her with a nod.
Such a kind man. Winry thought to herself. She made her way back to her couch, while silent rustling noises could faintly be heard from the master bedroom. She could barely heard Kain's soft voice whispering to the Roma, before a tender smooch was heard as he left the room, a smile just barely tugging his lips with a warm blush on his cheeks.
"Here, Winry, you can hang your coat up here." He said, placing his own on an impressive looking coat rack. "Made it myself, I did." He chuckled. Winry smiled, slipping her trench coat off, yet another article of clothing obtained from Doctor Harriet.
"Thank you, Mr. Foster," Winry began. "I really appreciate everything you're all doing for me... I'm, uh, not sure what I've done exactly to deserve all this, but, well... Thank you."
Kain smiled, motioning for her to take a seat. "It isn't what you've done for us really... It's more of a chain reaction." He chuckled. "The Elrics owe you, we owe the Elrics."
"They owe me?" Winry asked. Kain nodded with a smile, making his way to the kitchen. Winry figured he wasn't planning on telling her why exactly they owed her.
"Fancy some tea before bed?"
"Ah... Um, hot water and lemon would do fine, thank you." She responded.
"I hope you don't feel awkward or embarrassed at all, Winry." Kain said, placing the kettle on the stove and exiting the kitchen. "We really are happy to have you. I just hope you don't get bored during your stay here..." Kain scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He pulled a chair out from under the dinner table, placing it across from Winry and taking a seat.
"Oh! Not at all, Mr. Foster! I'm just glad to have somewhere else to stay other than that hospital!" Winry exclaimed. "I would really like to earn my place here, though... I could go out and get a job, even. Anything to earn me some money, or keep me occupied... I should be fine from there!"
Kain rubbed his chin. "A job, eh? Well, I guess that could kill time nicely... And keep you busy."
Winry smiled. "That'd be wonderful!"
"How do you like books, Winry?" Kain asked, making his way back to the kitchen upon hearing the screeching of the kettle.
"Books?"
Had she liked books? Winry could faintly remember a number of complex terms and pictures of anatomy plastered across a page from a point in her past. She also remembered light scratch dents in her fingers, caused by turning the rough pages of old texts and literary novels. Regardless, the endless pictures of anatomy and lists of terms proved she had once spent a majority of her time reading. So, I guess I do?
"Y-Yeah. I suppose I do, I think."
"Great." Kain grinned, walking back and handing her a steaming mug. "There's a bookstore just down the road that's in need of some new employees. They had a couple students working for them a few months ago, but they quit when summer ended and universities began classes again. Maybe a young face would do them justice."
"Sounds great, Mr. Foster!" Winry exclaimed, sipping her drink. "I could make do with a peaceful place to start off at, anyway... You know, considering."
Kain nodded with a smile. The pair sipped their drinks in silence for several moments, taking in the calm air of home. It was much more welcoming than the cold draft of the institute. But as calming and homely the environment was, Kain could still sense some unrest within Winry.
"You know, if the three of us are going to live together, we're going to have to trust one another." Kain said. "If there's anything bothering you, there's no shame in letting us know."
Kain had expected Winry to wince in embarrassment, and frantically deny him of her wariness, but to his surprise, she barely even twitched. She spent a short while staring into her mug before lowering it back down to her lap with a sigh.
"Mr. Foster, I... I don't want to sound like a suspicious something-or-other, but... I can't help but feel as if the whole world is keeping something from me."
It took Kain all his willpower to cover up his choke.
"I mean, I have no idea who I am, or who anyone else is... I'm just blindly trusting people. Is that the right thing to do, I wonder?" She said. "Doctor Harriet is my doctor, that's for sure. Edward is my childhood friend, and so is his brother. But what else? What else can I know about them? What were my parents' names? Are they still looking for me? Are they alive? Where did I meet Edward and his brother Alphonse? Where am I from? Where are they from? How did we get sep-"
"Alright, alright, slow down there." Kain interrupted, motioning for her to stop. "Let's take life one day at a time, shall we? I understand there are a lot of questions stirring up in your head right now, but you need to keep it together. Trust is what is saving you right now, Winry." Kain said, stirring his tea. "You have all the right to be suspicious about everything and everyone, and I really can't imagine what you're going through right now. I understand that Edward has a tendency to take matters into his own hands without considering the feeling of others, and that might be wrong. You just have to remember he wants the best for you, especially since he's lost you once already."
"Everyone keeps saying that." Winry chuckled with lack of amusement. "But I'd really like to know how exactly he lost me... But everyone keeps denying me the truth. It's frustrating."
"I wish I could tell you, I really do." Kain said sadly. "But it isn't my story to tell, Winry. Please understand that."
"I... understand." The silence hung in the air once again. "Mr. Foster, in the car, you said you're a doctor, correct?"
Kain nodded.
"Is that what you've always wanted to do?"
The young man chuckled, slapping his mouth shut almost immediately with a nervous glance at his bedroom door. "Ah, if ten years ago you told me I'd be doing this in the future, I'd tell you to go hang yourself dry. My uncle was a doctor as well... After my father died and my mother was practically living off of garbage scraps as food and drapes as our blankets, my uncle offered to take us in. Promised he'd fill in the void my father left behind. And boy, did he try. Never once thought of him as a father though. More as a... dictator."
"So, what did you do before this, then?" Winry asked, cocking her head to the side.
"I was a rocket scientist in training." He smiled. "That's actually how I met Noah, Edward and Al. I was a good friend of Edward and another young man we used to know. We all worked together..."
"Edward used to study rocket science?" Winry gasped.
"Never would've believed it, huh? Well, the two of us gave up on it after a, uh... accident with that other friend of ours. It was just never the same."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Winry said.
"As am I." Kain replied softly, clicking his teaspoon at the edge of his mug.
"So, Mr. Foster..." Winry whispered nervously. "Did you, um, know me from before?"
"I didn't, no." He answered regretfully. "But I'm sure that if I did, maybe in another life, I'd have known you as an attentive person."
Winry smiled, but Kain didn't.
A.N: Faster updates, she said. I'll totally update weekly, she said. I'M SO SORRY OTL
But, I really am trying to make the chapters longer, at least 3000 words per chapter! In this one, Winry and Kain did a little bonding! ^-^ Honestly, at first, I didn't even try to make Kain's character similar to Kain Furey in the actual FMA, he was just gonna be some random OC. But I really like his character, like a LOT. I guess he could be like an older brother figure to lil ol' Winry here (':
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