This chapter is a birthday present to myself, I suppose! I know it's shorter than my previous chapters, but that's because I've split it into two parts. The second part will be uploaded either later tonight or tomorrow.

Special thanks to Legendarily Quiet, Alheli (yay for Al appreciation!), KittenAnneAngel, TheMistOfThePast (here's another dose of Winry!), Fire From Above, and LadyAureliana!

Enjoy!

"Paninya!"

The dark-haired girl looked up from her spot on Winry's bed in question, curious about her friend's obvious level of excitement. "Did Scot get here yet?"

"No, no," Winry waved the question away impatiently as she came in through the door. "He's running late I guess, but this is more important!" She held out her phone to her friend, bouncing on her toes.

Paninya took it, intrigued. Winry came up behind her and pointed at a message on the screen. "Start right there."

Paninya read through the messages, her eyes widening. "Is this for real?"

"I think so! I mean, I guess it's possible that he faked the whole thing, but that would be really lame. I'm not sure if there'd be any way I could find out for sure, but I think they're telling the truth."

Paninya just kept staring at the phone. "This is crazy."

"I know!"

"Can I text him?"

Winry frowned and sat next to her friend on the bed. "I guess, but probably not right now. He seemed a bit upset. I guess he didn't want me to know he was a state alchemist."

"He really joined up when he was twelve?" Paninya shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't even know that was allowed. Some kind of messed up system this country has…"

"I always kind of assumed the Fullmetal Alchemist was in his thirties or something." The blonde rested her chin on her fist.

"I wonder if there's any way we can see if he's just messing with us or not…"

"I don't think so. I mean, he wouldn't have said he was giggling if it was him the whole time, right?"

"Unless he just said that to throw us off." Paninya sat up straighter. "Is there something we could ask him that only a state alchemist would know?"

"Oh yeah," Winry rolled her eyes. "Can you tell us some government secrets, just so we know you really are who you say you are?"

Paninya slumped. "Good point."

There was a knock on the front door downstairs. Winry was expecting a customer for overhaul, someone both she and Paninya had come to think of as a friend. She jumped up from the bed. "That must be Scot."

The sheets on Ed's bed seemed scratchier than usual, but they were effective in allowing warmth to seep back into his body, which he was grateful for. Al had thanked the somewhat traumatized girl who had called him and gone with them to their apartment to make sure that Ed was okay, and was now walking her back to her own home, so Ed was alone in the room. He wasn't sure if it was the strange scratchiness of the sheets, but his skin was just itching to get out of there.

"How're you doing?" Ed startled a bit and turned to see Al hanging up his key on their key hook.

Ed swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Good. I'm great. And also, I think I'll be leaving now."

Al held up his hands. "Woah there. To go where, precisely?"

Ed looked down at his crumpled sheets. It was pretty late, now that Al mentioned it. "I hadn't thought of that. But I feel like I need to keep moving, you know? I didn't get anything new out of the books at this library."

Al took a seat on the edge of his own bed. "I know what you mean," he said, looking at his folded hands. "Especially with your condition not getting any better…Actually, I'm leaving too."

Ed looked up quickly, getting the sense that they both understood they were talking about more than just leaving the apartment at the moment. "What about your class?"

His younger brother fixed him with a determined look, and Ed got the feeling that he was about to find out what had been on his mind the past couple days.

"I'm dropping it, Brother. I'm not getting any more out of it than you are with the old books at the library. I'm dropping it–" He took a deep breath before plunging onward. "And I'm going to Dublith."

Whatever Ed had expected his brother to tell him, it had certainly had not been that. He willed himself not to panic and schooled his expression into something he hoped discouraged argument. "No, you're not," he said blandly.

Al had obviously anticipated this reaction. "We don't have the war to worry about at the moment, so we should try and make some actual progress–"

"You don't understand."

"No, I know why you don't want me to go," Al barrelled on. "Because you're not the only one who lost something to the Gate. And Sensei would be able to tell. I get it, you don't want her to know what we did. But if there is any chance that she would be able to help us, don't you think it would be worth it?"

"No, I don't."

Al was getting visibly exasperated. Ed couldn't really blame him, if he had been in his brother's position, his stubbornness would have been aggravating to him as well. He sighed. "Is there anything I could say that would make you change your mind?" Ed asked, knowing that there was indeed something, but he really wanted to avoid going down that road.

"Look, I know you respect her, probably more than anyone we know, and that you really don't want to let her down. So, just say that you won't forgive me if I go, and I won't."

"Don't be ridiculous, Al." Ed answered immediately. "That's not even what this is about."

"It's not?" Al seemed genuinely confused. "If it's not about letting her down, then what?"

"Look, can we talk about this later?"

Al looked conflicted, and for a second Ed thought he was going to concede, but then his expression took on an air of resolve that had Ed's heart sinking again. "No," the younger boy said firmly. "No, because if you don't give me a convincing reason to stay tonight, then I'm taking the first train tom–"

"She's dead, okay?"

Ed tried to calm his pounding heart as he examined his brother's face. Al looked like he'd just been doused with a particularly chilly bucket of water, mouth still gaping open like a fish. The older boy looked away.

"Since when?" came his brother's quiet question after several moments of silence.

"A little over a year ago," Ed answered roughly, messing with a small hole he'd just discovered in his sheet.

He could feel Al's eyes on him, could feel the concern radiating from the younger boy. Well, Ed wasn't about to start crying on him, if that's what he was worried about. He'd already gotten past the stage where he'd struggle to keep from breaking down in front of his little brother, back when he'd first found out about Sensei's death. That wasn't a problem anymore.

Now the sheet had a slightly bigger hole.

"How did she die?" Al's voice was still small and timid. Ed didn't answer, figuring his silence was answer enough. She'd died for the same reason that Al had wanted to visit her in the first place; she had internal damage similar to Ed's, for the same reason, and it eventually had taken her life.

Ed finally chanced a glance at his brother, and from his horrified expression he guessed that Al had understood what his older brother wasn't saying.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ed shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't wanna worry you."

"You're dying." It was more breath than sentence, but Ed still heard it. Al covered his mouth immediately, as if he hadn't meant to let that escape the confines of his mind and enter the air between them.

Ed had to restrain himself from snorting bitterly at the irony. Dying. This was the price indeed for wanting to be as powerful as the amazing Izumi Curtis.

But looking at his little brother, Ed was reminded of the deeper reason he hadn't wanted to tell Al about their Sensei's death. The younger boy's face showed horror, and concern, but all of that emotion was for Ed's own sake. There was no real grief there for the woman who had died, and that hurt Ed more than any fretting Al might do on his behalf.

He shook his head, giving his brother a stern look. "No, I'm not. You're gonna fix it, remember?"

Al nodded emphatically, some fire returning to his eyes. "I am."

And Ed could feel the steely determination reflecting in his own eyes. He had his own job to do, too, for the sake of the brother who was willing to do so much for him.

Winry focused the lens on her worker's goggles, to better see the tiny details of each finger of the automail sitting on the workbench in front of her. Paninya was kicking a soccer ball against the far wall, with Scot occasionally intercepting. They had managed to give her about four minutes of peace and quiet so far, a record for the two of them.

"Anything interesting happen lately?"

Ah, well. It was nice while it lasted.

"Winry just found out that this guy she's been texting who misdialed her a while ago is actually the Fullmetal Alchemist."

The mechanic twisted around to glare at Paninya. That wasn't exactly the topic of conversation she would have chosen. Paninya just shrugged innocently as Scot raised a thick eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

Winry resigned herself to the questioning and turned back to her work. "Yeah. Crazy, huh?"

"That's… sort of… sketchy, isn't it? I mean, some grown man preying on a young girl?"

"He's seventeen," Winry answered. "That's younger than you, Scot."

"Really?" Scot ran through his dark hair with one hand, the other one currently being on Winry's worktable. He'd lost his left arm from the elbow down in an unfortunate fishing accident. Funny how all Winry's friends seemed to be amputees. Guess it came with the job. "Still," he continued, "seems a little dangerous to get involved with a person like that."

Winry made an annoyed face at the automail. "Like what?"

"State alchemists. Military officers in general. They're all dogs, they can't be trusted. What does this guy want from you, anyway?"

"I don't know, nothing?" Winry answered sourly. She wasn't sure why she was getting so defensive about this, except that it wasn't really any of his business. "We just started texting by accident."

"Okay, okay," Scot backed down. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

Winry swiveled slightly in her seat to face him. "Sorry," she offered, feeling a bit bad about jumping down the guy's throat. "It's just, I'll be fine, okay?"

"Winry can take care of herself," Paninya added. "And the guy does seem pretty harmless, from what I've read of their conversations. As long as Win doesn't give him any sensitive information, she should be fine."

"When is your train coming, Scot?" Winry asked, keen on changing the subject.

"Tomorrow night." He slid his foot out and blocked the soccer ball that Paninya had sent toward the wall.

The blonde nodded, testing the range of motion of the metal thumb. "Okay, I'll change the sheets in the guest room, Paninya's leaving tomorrow morning so she'll move in to my room for the night."

"Nice, your bed's more comfy than the guest one anyway," Paninya piped up.

"Alright," Winry declared, pushing up her goggles. "This automail is ready to go."

Several minutes and a few tears (that Scot would adamantly deny ever left his eyes) later, the dark-haired boy was flexing the fingers on his newly attached left hand. The action reminded Winry of when Ed had done the same thing after his installation surgery, although Scot's movements seemed less scientifically calculating and more like he was working the kink out of a stiff muscle.

"Thanks, Winry."

She smiled. "No problem." She handed Scot a refill on his oil, wondering if Ed was maintaining his automail properly now that she wasn't breathing down his neck.

Scot added another quick thanks as he took the oil. "Sorry I made you work kinda late, but I appreciate it."

"No problem, anything for a friend," Winry assured him as the three of them left her workshop. She went straight to the guest room to change the sheets while Paninya moved her stuff to Winry's room.

"So what now?" Al asked. "I'm assuming you're ignoring the fact that Colonel Mustang told you not to leave the city."

Ed waved his hand as if that wasn't even worth mentioning. "Of course. I tried to stay, it's not working out."

"I don't know where to go," Al deflated a bit after his initial conviction that the two of them ought to make some more progress. "Dublith was my only idea."

Ed frowned, racking his brain for any half-formed leads they might have had before the war had come along and postponed all their plans. But before he could get anywhere with that train of thought, Al made a small sound and pulled what looked like a restaurant flyer out of his back pocket.

"I almost forgot. That girl who called me left her number when I was walking her back to her home."

Ed gave his brother a mildly impressed look. "You smooth-talked her that quick?"

Al rolled his eyes. "She asked me to give it to you, actually."

At that Ed raised an eyebrow. So spitting up blood in the middle of the pavement wasn't a turn-off? "Hemoptysis fetish?"

The younger boy wrinkled his nose. "You're gross. Or, maybe she thinks you're cute despite your health problems, and not because of them."

That still didn't make much more sense to Ed. Sure, he might joke around with Al about being the more handsome one, but in all honesty he didn't see why anything in his own appearance might be attractive to someone else. That's not to say that he thought he was ugly, he just didn't really think about what he looked like all that often. As he thought it, a little voice that sounded a lot like Winry's flitted through his mind. His face is beautiful.

He gave the restaurant flyer an uncertain look, fighting the blush threatening to rise to his cheeks. "I don't want it."

Al shrugged and tossed it onto the nightstand between their two beds. "Suit yourself."

Ed yawned, stretching like a cat. The strain of the day was catching up with him again, and while it didn't seem like he'd done much that day, the automail was really taking a lot out of him. Not to mention he'd lost a considerable amount of blood. "Well, I'm beat. Let's plan in the morning, yeah?"

Al nodded his agreement. They could figure out where to go from here tomorrow, but for now they needed their rest.

9:30 AM: How is he doing? Is he maintaining his automail?

9:37 AM: He's doing fine and yes, he's taking care of his automail. You don't need to worry about him :)

9:39 AM: Oh good. Thank you, Al. I wouldn't bother you but I don't have Ed's number.. And I wouldn't really trust him to give me an honest answer anyway.

9:40 AM: It's no bother!

9:41 AM: I wanted to apologize for my brother's behavior when we were leaving anyway... When he gets uncomfortable, he usually says the opposite of what he's thinking.

9:42 AM: Really? That's… interesting. I'll file that away for future reference.

9:42 AM: But please don't feel bad, it was fine, really. I've already forgotten about it.

Look out for the second half of this chapter coming soon! It's pretty much already written. Expect some EdWin interaction ;D

Don't forget to review!