A.N: TRIGGER WARNING: A very brief and short mention of sexual abuse in this chapter.
Noah ate her dinner in silence, the faint buzz of Kain and Winry's conversation being heard in the background of her thoughts. She tapped nervously at the side of her plate with the metal spoon in her hand, her eyes glazing over to Winry occasionally. She'd come home at the same time she normally did. She'd greeted her the same way, had changed, washed up, and helped her prepare the remnants of dinner, just as she had done before. Kain had arrived not soon after, and their overall days seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. As of now, Winry was telling them of the story her co-worker had told her about that lady friend of his. It had been a slight shock to the both of them at first, considering their knowledge of doppelgangers, but that story soon settled in and the couple had accepted the tale as another conversational topic Winry had chosen. She spoke with sympathy in her voice, and Noah began wondering if her mind was beginning to get the best of her. That vision she'd had earlier that day, it was no hoax. Something wasn't right. And yet, everything was. Noah's eyes averted back to Winry, whom was in deep conversation with Kain. No, she thought to herself quietly. She's quite alright. For now anyway. I had best keep an eye on her.
"Thank you for the meal," Winry said, turning her head to Noah with a smile. "I'll help clear the table."
Noah nodded, pushing her chair back, gathering the plates and heading to the kitchen. She turned the faucet on, letting the cold water shower over the dirty dishes and cutlery. Winry and Kain followed close behind her with the water jug and leftovers.
"Pack some for my lunch tomorrow, please, dear." Kain yawned. "It was delicious."
"Yes, of course." Noah replied. She held his gaze for a moment longer. Kain raised his eyebrow and nodded, understanding. He retired to the living room, newspaper in hand.
"Winry, could you hand me the dish soap, please?"
Winry nodded, handing over the bright blue bottle. She fetched the dry dish cloth from the hanger, and patiently awaited the start of her chore. She stole quick and awkward glances at the Roma, seemingly trying to think of something to say.
"So, Noah... What do you do at home every day?" The blonde asked quickly. Noah raised an eyebrow at her, and Winry nearly slapped a hand to her own face.
"Err, I mean... You can't leave the house, correct? How do you keep yourself busy? I mean, it, um... It must get boring, and well-"
"I read a lot." She replied softly, breaking Winry from her tangent. "I often sew. I bake, I pray, but one thing I never do is feel sorry for myself." She smiled at the blonde, who was gazing at her with interest. "So I suppose there's no reason for you to feel sorry for me either."
Winry stared at her for several seconds before nodding quietly, taking a wet dish from the Roma's hand and wiping it dry with a dish cloth. "I just can't help but believe you deserve more, you know?" she said, surprising Noah. "You're brave, living in a country that is so prejudice."
"The struggle is what makes me stronger." The Roma replied chastely.
"But not many people are brave enough to endure the struggle." Winry said. "Human beings... we're a terrifying species, aren't we, Noah? We're thieves. We take things that aren't rightfully ours, even with sober minds let alone wasted ones. Today I learned that a wasted human mind can even steal lives. That isn't right."
"No. It isn't." Noah replied, her hands performing circular motions on the foamy dishes. "But, you know, Winry... Beauty is created through contrast."
Winry raised an eyebrow at the Roma. "Contrast?"
"Contrast." Noah repeated. "Night and day. Light and dark. Black and white. Or in this case, bad and good. The is negativity in the world in order for us to recognize the positivity. There is winter for us to appreciate summer. There is night in order for us live during the day. And once we learn to appreciate the beauty in life, we gradually come to accept the ugliness of the world as well. Not appreciate, but accept. After that, the world isn't just black and white anymore. We learn to cope with the grays as well."
Winry nodded, her eyes glued to the now-damp dish cloth. "Contrast..." She whispered to herself.
Noah smiled. "And you know, I have hope in the world, Winry. I don't believe things will stay this way forever. The world will change one day. Kain wasn't always as open minded as he is now, you know."
Winry's head briskly turned to the Roma, her eyes wide with surprise. "Huh?! Mister- uh, I mean, Kain?!"
Noah nodded with a chuckle. "Yes, Kain. The first time we met, it was through Edward and Al- uh, another friend of ours." She began. "He gave me a once-over look and scoffed! 'The nerve,' I thought! Soon after the death of our friend, he agreed to accompany Edward, Alphonse and I to England. It was then that we really had a chance to speak."
"How did it happen?" Winry asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. Noah felt her cheeks flush slightly.
"It... happened very slowly." She explained. "It was the day after our friend's funeral. We were on the road towards France, because we were going to take a boat from there to England. We had tons of time on our hands, so I decided to try and strike up conversation while Ed and Al conversed with themselves. Kain was still a little wary from the fiasco that had happened in Germany, our previous home. I think he found me quite annoying at first, always taking any chance to strike up conversations with him. But once I had broken through that tough exterior, I found that he was quite interesting.
At one point, while we were hitching a ride to the city, we were stopped by a group of highwaymen. It was terrifying for me, because I had seen what they would do to people from a very young age. We tried getting away but they were far too quick. They killed our driver... And they tried to take me. They were shouting all these profanities at me, such horrible, horrible things they would say... And that's when Kain stepped in.
He'd smacked one of the bastards – excuse my language – upside the head with a stick of wood he'd found in the carriage. The man swore like a sailor, he did. Ed and Al soon joined in with him, and they managed to warn them off. I was shaking and crying... I could barely hear anything. I'd once witnessed a companion of mine being... taken advantage of, when I was very young. It was horrifying. I had believed that the same would happen to me. And so, there I was on the ground, shaking and crying, before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to find Kain looking down at me. His face was bruised and bloody, but there was such a sheer sense of softness and comfort in his eyes, I almost embraced him with all my strength. He asked me if I was alright, and confirmed it was all over. We buried the driver and continued on our way on foot. The horses had stampeded away when the group had attacked.
None of us really said much afterwards. Once we'd gotten to the city, we tried getting into a hospital. But once they saw me, they refused to help either of us. I felt horrible, Winry. Here my friends were, beaten and battered and unable to get help because of me. We spent the night resting in a back alleyway. We tended to each other's wounds as much as we could. I wiped off the blood from Kain's face using a ripped rag from my own dress and water from a puddle nearby. I hadn't realized I was crying again until Kain wiped a stray tear from my cheek. He told me it was alright, and we hadn't given up yet. And, well, I suppose that is when I realized I had fallen for him."
"Wow, Noah. I never realized how many hardships all of you have gone through. Especially you. Life must have been very difficult up to now." Winry whispered. "You're such an inspiration, Noah."
Noah stared at the blonde. "I'm nothing special, Winry." She began, plunging her hands back into the soapy water and unplugging the drain. "You're the real mystery..."
"Pardon? I didn't catch that."
"Oh. It's nothing."
"Well, alright." The blonde placed a hand over her mouth, catching the yawn that escaped her lips. "I'm going to bed early tonight, if that's okay."
"Of course." Noah nodded.
"Thanks for sharing your story, Noah." The blonde smiled, hanging the damp dish cloth on the hanger next to the cupboards to dry. "Goodnight."
Noah watched the blonde disappear into her bedroom. Her eyes turned and locked onto Kain's. He sighed and placed down the newspaper on the coffee table, shaking his head softly.
"When is Edward planning on telling her anything?" Kain asked a hint of annoyance in his voice. "It's been almost a month. This is starting to get personal, Noah. Soon enough, I'm going to have to take charge. I refuse to keep her in the dark, she doesn't deserve this."
"I understand your frustration, Kainan." Noah replied, rubbing his back softly. "Just a little while longer, please. If Edward doesn't act by then, well... I won't hold you back."
"That guy needs a reality check." Kain scoffed. "Winry seems so bored all the time. She hasn't asked about Edward once in her entire stay."
"She doesn't want to be a bother, Kain." Noah explained softly.
"Here, get me the phone book." Kain said, standing up and making his way over to the telephone. "I'll call him myself."
Noah nodded, disappearing in the bedroom and returning with a thick book, filled with stray papers. Kain quickly dialed in the numbers with a frown. Noah bit her lower lip, returning to the bedroom. She gazed at herself in the mirror for a while, a flood of chagrin suddenly washing over her. The Roma rubbed her hands together and shook her head.
Noah, what have you gotten yourself into?
Edward paced restlessly around the living room. This was the first night in a long time which he'd been able to arrive home decently early. He'd even called and offered Alphonse a ride home, which his brother had quietly rejected, claiming he was planning to go over to a friend's house to cram for the exam they would be having the following weeks. Not that Edward had minded much, but he'd hoped to try and overcome the odd tension that had risen between him and his brother. He was now at a loss of what to do. The news had become boring to him, he'd just had his dinner, and he was not in the right set mood for reading.
Bluntly put, Edward Elric was bored.
Thoughts of his blonde friend began to rise up in his mind. The last night he'd talked to her was several weeks ago. He'd tried calling a week ago, but Noah had said she was working at the time, at a bookstore down the road. He was surprised to hear that she was fairing so well. It hadn't been too long ago that she was bedridden and fragile. He had been worrying about her a lot. Before he had left Amestris, she had a rather built and shapely figure, her arms especially muscular from the automail engineering she'd done. When he'd found her again, she was thin as a noodle, looking as though she'd snap in half from the wind. He'd even been hesitant at first to send her off with Kain and Noah, his most trusted friends. But now, he was glad to know she was doing well with them. Edward glanced at the clock, reading 10:30 p.m. Perhaps they were still awake, he thought.
Just as he reached for the phone to dial in their number, it rang. Edward raised an eyebrow.
Who's calling at this time of night?
"Hello?"
"Edward." Kain's voice replied from the other end.
"Kain! I was literally just about to call you guys. How're you all doing? How's Winry? Is she awake?"
"You just missed her," he replied. "She went to bed not too long ago."
Edward felt his shoulders slump. "Oh."
"Speaking of... When're you exactly planning on visiting her, hm? Or telling her everything?"
Edward scratched the back of his head. "Well, I can't just suddenly spill everything out to her, can I? It'd be too much to take in. I'm trying to think of the best way to do it..."
"Fair enough." Kain replied. "Why don't you start with another visit? It's been a while. I think she misses you."
Heat rose to his cheeks. "Uh, w-what? Did she say so?"
"Obviously she didn't say so, you dope." Kain grumbled. "But, we can tell."
Edwards shoulders slumped again. "Oh."
"Well, we'd be glad to have you... Anytime soon?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Edward replied, scratching the back of his head. "I think I'll come over on Wednesday. I haven't taken any days off just yet. They should let me go for a week."
"Wednesday, then." Kain confirmed. Edward nodded.
"Uh, yeah."
"What are you going to do about Alphonse?"Kain asked quietly, almost as if fearing the boy would overhear.
"He has exams for the next few weeks... He wouldn't be able to come even if he wanted to." Edward scoffed.
"That isn't what I meant, Edward..." Kain mumbled. "I mean, when are you planning to tell him?"
Edward paused for several seconds. When was he planning on telling his brother? It had been over two months since he'd found out about Winry, and he'd still held off telling Alphonse. At that moment, it had become a matter of how he would tell him. Not just when.
"Edward?"
"Just don't worry about Al for now, Kain." Edward replied. "He'll find out soon enough."
"I sure hope so, Ed. He's your brother, and was just as much part of Winry's life as you were. Please remember that."
"Yeah..." Edward replied with a sigh. "I'll see you soon, Kain. Say hi to Noah for me."
Long after he'd hung up, Edward's mind was buzzing with different thoughts. He sighed haphazardly, leaning back against the couch. It was all too much to weigh on his mind only. He decided to ignore the nagging chores he still had to do, and focused on the fact that he'd see Winry again soon. He allowed a small smile to creep over his face. He'd see her again. And for now, that was all that mattered to him.
A.N: So sorry for the long wait ): I had a lot to do these past few weeks... I'll have to finish this story by the end of June, cause I'll be going away for the summer. So... yeah. It'll be done by the end of June :3 Review please!