Five Regrets Winry Has While Marrying Ed
S J Smith
Rating: Anyone can read
Disclaimer: Hiromu Arakawa owns it all. Drat it.
A.N.: Manga-verse. No spoilers that I know of if you're current up to chapter 54.
She doesn't really mind that her Dad isn't here to walk her down the aisle. Not that she wouldn't have liked that; what girl doesn't want her Daddy to walk her down the aisle? But Winry had known that wasn't going to happen; it had never even really been something she let herself dream about. But when Gracia was helping her choose the flowers for her bouquet, Winry whispered, "You're sort of like a mother to me, Gracia." Looking at the woman through a kaleidoscope of tears, she said, "I wish Mr. Hughes could've been here to give me away."
In the end, Pinako is the one who walks Winry to meet Edward. Mr. Garfiel and Mr. Dominic might've vied for that honor, had the final war against the homunculi not cut them, along with over half the population of Rush Valley, down. Winry tries not to feel guilty that she escaped that death by being in Central at the time, working on Ed's automail. Still, she can't help but remember her mentors' faces, every time she picks up a tool.
There are other faces missing from the wedding. Winry tries not to search too hard, knowing that Ling and Ran Fan had to return to their own country to make sure that Ling took the throne. She just didn't like to think about what that entailed for the young man, now forever, permanently, stuck at the age of fifteen and in continuous war with the creature that gave him such a curse. Nor did she want to think about what might happen to Ran Fan, who's loyalty and love shone through like a beacon, knowing that that boy she loved would forever be beyond her, not only because of rank but because of what he'd become.
One of the faces she misses the most is her dog, Den. The old girl finally slipped away in her sleep three months ago. When Ed proposed, he'd jokingly said something about Den and Elicia wrestling for the right to be Winry's flower girl and while Elicia looks adorable in her dress, her fluffy hair barely contained by a flower wreath, Winry can't help but imagine a black and white dog walking alongside her, carrying a basket of petals.
Because Ed is now a hero of Amestris, his wedding is something of a celebration and a military to do. Winry understands this, understands that the people need this, but wishes that their wedding could've been something smaller, more intimate – their close friends, a hillside, and the sun shining down rather than inside of the building that once housed the one of the most fearsome creatures known to the land. Winry doesn't like to think that this is not a place where a wedding should be held.
Her friends surprise her the day before the wedding, the women descending on her, telling her they were having a little party and all but drag her out of the hotel and to the nearest park. Carrying picnic hampers, they stroll through the grounds, Elicia skipping ahead and giggling, her eyes full of secrets. When they crest a little hill, Winry understands that Ed hadn't liked the idea of their wedding being so public, either. It was the ceremony she almost wanted; with Gracia, Riza, Pinako and Paninya standing attendance with Al and Elicia, Major Armstrong and Second Lieutenants Brosche and Ross. Ed and Al's teacher, Izumi, and her husband, Sig, made up the rest of the party. Fuhrer Roy Mustang presided over the ceremony. "That second wedding," Ed had whispered in her ear, "that's for everyone else. This one is for us," before kissing her to seal their vows.