So, this was kind of inspired by a part in The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, when the main character talks about how everyone has a "true love snapshot". Great read, by the way.
I freakin' love Edwin.
Edward had always been a genius; it was no question. Much of this he credited to his photographic memory, which he had only discovered as unique long after his eternal entwinement with the sciences began. As a result of his brilliant brain, Ed's entire memory was composed of millions upon millions of pictures.
There were pictures of his earliest childhood events: his mother's gentle smile by a beaming window, his father's golden hair, his brother's round little face contorting into toddling laughter, his mother hugging his father casually in the kitchen. His father's stone-cold face as he left them forever. His mother collapsed on the dining room floor.
Many of those early pictures were only conjured with great pain, as well as the dark, bloody picture of the transmutation that would change his and his brother's lives forever.
Edward could also conjure up most of the alchemic tomes he'd read, page by page. He visited these often, especially throughout his time in the military.
There were thousands of faces he'd remember. Some were so familiar that they even brought up the person's voice. Others might as well have been strangers. Some he had purposefully stored, and others had simply lodged themselves in his mental scrapbook.
A lot of times, taking a picture of a scene was automatic and even on purpose. Notes on the Philosopher's Stone, the maze of streets and alleys in Central city, even the secret compartment in Mustang's office where he stored his gloves. Purely recreational.
However, sometimes, Ed took snapshots that were totally and utterly unexpected. Pictures that only surfaced months or even years later.
His stomach was a jumble of butterflies and jellyfish as the tiny Resembool train station raced slowly and steadily into view. Though Ed had just woken up from a much needed train-nap and his back was painfully stiff, all of his senses were buzzing and alert. The train was gradually slowing, and it seemed an eternity before Ed pulled himself from staring at the growing brown blob of a station outside of his window. It was raining in a heavy yet calming manner, and the skies had been getting grayer and grayer as his train neared his home town. Water droplets of all sizes raced along his little window, distorting anything outside.
Ed noted how miserable the long walk to Winry's house was going to be when his stump gave a stiff complaint. No amount rubbing and massaging would fix the sleep-cramped aching that plagued him now. Standing was going to suck.
Walking would suck. The rain would suck.
A solid three years had passed since he saw Resembool, but regardless of how much time away he spent, Ed could always count on the place being the same. That was just how it was.
It wasn't long before the train slowed to a near stop and the station was a mere twenty meters away. Edward's heart leapt in his chest at the thought of what he had promised before he left this place last. Was it still a standing deal? Did she still want that? Did he still want that?
Ed could have clocked himself in the jaw. Of course he did.
Right?
He waited until the train came to a complete stop before rising painfully from his seat. The blond almost fell back into his seat at the soreness of his stump and the sudden weight on it, but he managed to catch himself before he completely busted his ass. This sudden movement, in contrast to those around him, drew several concerned looks his way. But Ed didn't even see them. His molten eyes were busy scanning the station's open-air seating area as he bent over to pick up his big briefcase.
Something inside of him sank when he noticed that the station was empty, save for one or two hunched figures on the benches that certainly weren't who he was looking for.
Ed didn't even know why he was disappointed. It's not like he should have expected someone to wait for him in the rain, especially with how short notice his call ahead had been. It was only a few hours ago that he was at the last stop before Resembool, popping cens into the public phone, only to be greeted by voicemail. They probably hadn't even gotten his call.
Besides, he didn't need someone to wait for him at the station, Ed thought, that was just childish.
He didn't look out any of the windows as he shuffled slowly and stiffly down the aisle towards the front of the train, a prominent limp affecting his gait. The sound of rain pitter-pattering against the train's metal roof filled the still, muted air as Ed turned the little corner to exit the car. He didn't make it all of the way down the stairs before his footsteps stopped dead in their tracks and his brilliant, genius, excited mind took a snapshot that would describe the rest of his days.
A completely soaked, muddy, grinning and panting Winry Rockbell, arms on hips and sunny hair a complete mess. She was still in her work clothes and smudges of dark grease peppered her arms and a couple of spots on her face. Her voice turned heads.
"Welcome home, alchemy freak!"
Right.