It had been four days since Edward had arrived in Kent. He had planned to only stay for two days, but those two days soon stretched to three, and they'd then become four and five. He was enjoying himself, being away from the depressing work environment, the motor mouth Bunny, the bipolar Alphonse and the stressing pressure his life had placed upon him. His mind was occupied at Noah's residences. He'd either be talking to Kain, helping Noah out around the house, or taking walks with Winry. He especially enjoyed the latter. She'd began asking him about their past, which on the most part was harmless. Little things about their childhood, their family home, and where exactly they had lived. Edward figured there was no harm in stretching the truth a little. He explained to her that they had lived in a small town on the country sides of Germany, a little bit ways east of the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district. A rural town, which was very quiet and peaceful. She seemed to approve of the fact. It wasn't as if he was completely lying; Germany was the equivalent of Amestris in this world. He couldn't have very well told her that they were from an alternative dimension; that'd just sound ridiculous. Regardless of that fact that he'd have to eventually tell her of this, Edward decided to hold that small chore off until afterwards. Along with many other things.
"What about your brother, Edward?" Winry had asked one warm spring day. It was nearing the middle of June at this point in time, so it wasn't necessarily summer quite yet. The sun had kissed several freckles onto the blonde's shoulders and neck, but on a long shot, she was still flawless in Edward's eyes.
"Hm? What about him?"
"You said you had a brother. Him and I were close as well, yes?"
Edward thought for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, of course. The three of us were inseparable."
"Why is it that I haven't met him yet?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. Edward scratched the back of his neck nervously. It seemed like everyone was pestering him about that.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, Winry. Your... err, disappearance was a little shocking to us all. Me finding you was a complete coincidence and miracle. I don't know if Alphonse would be ready to be put through all that, especially not right now. He has a lot on his mind."
Winry suddenly looked distressed. Edward felt his heart seize in panic for an instant.
"Shocking to you all? Who else was there? How about my parents? Are they worried?"
Edward's lips parted several times in an attempt to muster up a reply. Eventually, he exhaled, turning his head away.
"Both our parents were... taken away from us during the, uh, war." He lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie, he thought. "So, don't worry about that."He saw Winry's shoulders drop in the corners of his eyes.
"Oh." was all she said. What else could she say? She was disappointed at the fact that she'd never know who her parents were, but her past was beyond her at this point, and Winry deemed it as useless to want to remember every detail. Still, she'd have liked to learn more about her family. She'd have to ask Edward about that some other time.
Edward plunked himself down on a nearby bench that was painted with the bleak shadow of the tree overhead. The wood was slightly cool to the touch from being shaded for so long. Edward released a long groan, which was given a quick giggle in return from Winry. She sat next to him, patting down her navy blue knee-length summer dress.
"Are you tired already?" She asked, adjusting her sun hat. "We've barely been walking for an hour!"
"You woke me up early on a Saturday." He grumbled back. Winry cocked her head to the side with a disapproving look on her face.
"10 a.m is barely early, Edward."
Edward grunted in response. At least she hadn't lost her pestering.
Winry sighed when he didn't respond, leaning back into the bench. This was nice, she thought. They sat before a large fountain with a white stone pathway, and pools of grass forming into a wide field up ahead. The pence in the fountain shone with brilliance under the radiant sun. Winry watched as several families walked through the park, hand in hand. A little girl, roughly around 3 years of age, waddled her way over to the fountain, rising up on her tiny tiptoes and peered into the clear, glistening water. Her mother jogged over, slipping two hands under the little girl's arms and lifting her up onto the fountain ledge. Her father joined them soon after, placing one hand on the little girl's head and another on his wife's shoulder. The girl giggled, slapping the water surface several times with her small hands. The mother sighed, leaning against her husband as he pecked her on the forehead. And as quickly as they had come, they were gone.
Edward observed Winry quietly as she watched this scene. There was longing in her eyes, something that made her want what she had just seen.
"Al and I used to walk around on our tiptoes all the time when we were little you know." He suddenly said. Winry glanced back at him in wonder. Edward was slightly surprised by his impulsive words.
"As kids, him and I used to fight over who would get to marry you in the future." He said with a smirk. Winry's lips twitched upwards in amusement. "At one point, when we were 5, I got fed up and yelled at you to marry me." He chuckled. Winry's eyes widened as she returned the laugh.
"Did you? What did I say?"
"You pouted and said I was too short." He shrugged. Winry threw her head back and laughed, the contagion affecting Edward as well.
After a while, Winry wiped away the tears of giddy that had gathered at the corners of her eyes. "I want kids one day." She said. Edward glanced at her.
"Two kids. A boy and a girl." She continued.
"Why would you want kids?" Edward asked. "They're a lot to handle."
"So I'd have something to live for." She replied quietly, her eyes glued to the fountain. Edward glared at her.
"Win, you have tons to live for." He whispered. Winry looked shocked for an instant.
"Oh, no, no, I didn't mean it like that!" She cried. "It's just... Life is hard right now, isn't it? I'm living without really knowing anything. It just seems like people who have children have so much figured out. They're so sure about so many things. And that's why..." She took a deep breath. "That's why I want children, Edward. I want to be sure about many things."
Edward nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "You'll be a great mother someday, Win."
Winry grinned brightly at him. "And I also want to marry someone who loves me."
"You may be asking for too much." He joked. Winry slapped his arm.
"Don't tease me! I've been reading a lot of books down at Pinako's. We don't get many customers early in the week. The romance novels they have are just marvelous!"
"I think the Shakespeare might be getting to your head." Edward smirked.
"Nonsense. Shakespeare's love stories were all absolute tragedies." She pointed out. "I wouldn't want a romance like that."
"Then what kind of romance would you want?"
Winry tapped her chin several times. "I want him to care for me. I want him to be smart and handsome, but especially smart." She began.
"Well, regardless, just don't forget about us when your Prince Charming comes around." Edward teased.
"I could never!" Winry responded and, instinctively, leaned her head on Edward's shoulder. She felt his cheek press against her head and his arm slump around her shoulder in a lazy embrace. They stayed that way for a while, earning endearing looks from passers. A group of little girls sighed at them, and an old couple mumbled something to each other with grins on their faces. Edward felt a nerve pulse in his forehead. What the hell were they looking at? Winry giggled next to him.
"Hey, Edward. Maybe we should get married." She whispered. Edward couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, or the chuckle that escaped his lips.
"Heh, yeah. Maybe."
It had been only recently that Bunny had begun taking weekends off. Her workload had diminished as the year came to a close, and she'd successfully released a total of 5 patients that year, including young Winry. Bunny admit that she hadn't been thinking about her as much as she should have, but she wasn't concerned anymore. Edward had gone to visit her this week, and had promised to send her Bunny's greetings. Edward had grown increasingly attached to the blonde beauty. Or re-attached, should she say. Bunny began pondering about whether or not Edward planned to ever tell her about who she really was. Even if he did, would she believe him? And what about Alphonse? She'd have to visit him later, the poor boy.
"Next. Over here, ma'am."
Bunny set down her groceries before the cashier, and the middle aged woman quickly bagged her goods and rounded up the final price. Bunny waited patiently, fiddling with her wallet in the process. She quickly handed the cashier the money, gathered up the bags and headed out the door, beginning the long trek back to her house. The main streets were relatively crowded for the Saturday afternoon. The sun prickled at Bunny's olive skin, and she began reminiscing about her father. He'd often poke fun at her during the summertime, joking that she'd suffocate in the 'bunny fur' that was really her naturally darker skin. Bunny then remembered how often she'd get made fun of in school. The paler skinned children and their parents would often whisper behind her back, claiming her family was of the Roma descent (but of course, they wouldn't say it that politely). She remembered at one point, when she was in sixth grade, a group of Caucasian girls had cornered her at the back of the school yard, throwing mud at her and calling her 'Mother Earth feces'. She'd gone home that day to a howling father and a disdained mother. Now, many years later, it disgusted Bunny how horrible children could be. It was the main reason why she hadn't had one herself. Although, she was unsure of whether it was the fact that she disliked children in general, or the fact that she didn't want to be held responsible for bearing a child in such a cruel world.
Bunny finally reached the steps of her home. Sighing, she dropped the plastic bags at the door, fishing into her purse for the house keys. Something caught the corner of her eye for a moment. Glancing down, a pile of newspapers from the past two weeks had been scattered across the front porch. Bunny furrowed her brows and sighed. Emil, would it have killed you to clean these up?
Bending down, the doctor began to quickly gather the pile of papers together. Bunny gasped suddenly and stopped. One of the headlines read Fritz Lang Questioned by German-English Man Assumed to be Representative from Disbanded Thule Society. Bunny raised an eyebrow, folding the paper and tucking it into the rest of the pile.
"That's odd..." She thought aloud, dumping the papers into the recycling bin. She hadn't heard the name 'Fritz Lang' for a while now. Why had he made such a trivial matter public?
Bunny shook the thought aside, stepping into the house and dropping her keys into the small basket on the counter top.
"Emil, I'm home." She called. There was no answer.
"Emil?" She called again. She was greeted with silence once again. Bunny raised an eyebrow. That's strange... she thought. He should be home by now...
The doctor grunted, and began stacking the fruits and vegetables into the refrigerator. Perhaps later on, she could drop by and visit Alphonse. She wondered about how he was doing. It still irked her that such a talented and bright boy would waste his hours away working at a bar. Not that he was in any sort of danger. Alphonse, in a general sense, had a rather impressive build to him. Plus, that boss of his could knock out a grown man with just a single glance. Yes, Bunny thought. He'd be fine.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to ignore him. She'd visit him later. She owed him an apology as well, anyway.
A.N: Hey, guys! Sorry I couldn't update last week! I have no idea how I managed to update THIS week... but I did it. Things are getting hectic now ): This story is coming to a close, so stay tuned! Also, sorry if you were offended by the name Bunny was called as a child. I was just trying to keep things realistic. As a girl who was born into an immigrant family, I've been called some pretty nasty things before. Being realistic, in a western, white-dominated society, I'd have a right to believe Bunny was teased for her ethnicity in some way or another. She is, after all Paninya's parallel.