Balloon
Finally reaching the peak of what seems to her like a mountain, she stops, more out of breath than she would like to admit, and turns around. He is struggling painfully after her, step by step up the slope of the hill, clutching determinedly onto a ratty piece of string attached to an already slightly deflated balloon. In his other hand he carries a large cloth bag, which he is dragging along the ground behind him. He is red-faced and wheezing ever so slightly, but doesn't look up, keeping his gaze fixed on the grass as he drags himself the last few metres towards her.
She waits until he is standing, panting for breath and looking intensely grateful that the hill has finally ended, beside her. Then she puts her hands on her hips and huffs. "Hurry up!" she announces. "We've only got ten minutes to get home, you know. Auntie Trisha said."
He gazes pleadingly up at her.
She scoffs pitilessly and advances to take the bag from his hand. The unexpected weight of it catches her off guard, however, and she overbalances. Her foot skids in the grass, her ankle wrenches sideways and her knees twist, leaving her planted, startled, on her behind.
"Winry!" He scrabbles anxiously forwards and lands on his knees beside her.
She blinks. "That's heavy," she says in slow surprise, looking at the bag where it fell haphazardly to the ground, spilling the many multicoloured toys and sweets, the trophies from their afternoon at the fair, into the grass.
He leans worriedly towards her. "Are you alright?"
Her brows draw together and she frowns in suspicious confusion. "What's in there?" She flings herself forwards onto her hands and knees and rummages through the bag, apparently having completely forgotten her twisted ankle and bruised pride.
He shuffles awkwardly around to join her. "Um, I think I know-"
She withdraws a very large, very heavy leather-bound book, and then she knows too.
She glares at him in exasperation. "No wonder you're being so slow! Where did you get this?"
He shrugs bashfully. "There was a second-hand book stall. They had all sorts of things. It's the history of Western alchemy, Winry, look, it's got everything from the Philosopher of the West right through to the modern day. Brother will be jealous he couldn't come and get one too!"
Winry can't imagine why.
"It's even got some theories about transmuting without a circle! I mean, those are only rumours really, some people don't think it can be done, but it's amazing, isn't it?"
It is easiest for her to just nod.
He smiles excitedly as he turns pages, his eyes scanning the text and strange diagrams intently, and appears entirely too settled for her liking.
Immediately, she leaps to her feet and seizes the balloon from his slackening grip. "Come on, Al! You can read it later!"
He looks broken-heartedly up at her, and for a second she feels like the cruellest person in the world—but she steels her resolve. She'll be damned if she'll let his huge liquid eyes make her late home. "Come on!" she says again.
Mournfully, he begins to pick up their scattered prizes, stowing them away in the bag while she stands dominatingly over him and taps her foot. Finally, he picks up the enormous book, but before he can do any more she has snatched it out of his hands.
She tucks it firmly under her arm. "I'll carry it."
He starts, taken aback. "Why? I mean, you don't have to-"
"I want to," she says shortly.
And that is the end of that. Without saying another word, she turns on her heel and proceeds down the hill in an upright, almost stately manner that is ruined by the large, cheerfully red balloon bobbing in the breeze above her head.
Author's notes: Happy birthday to me! 8D
This was written for my good friend Hannah (thetinylittlepixie on deviantART- go and see her gorgeous AlWin pictures and then try and tell me she isn't awesome), who requested child!AlWin involving red balloons. This one's for you. :D