You know, I wasn't planning on writing a second chapter. But inspiration strikes when writers get feedback! So as a thank you to everyone who faved/followed/reviewed/read, have a bonus chapter!

Improvements to the Xing-Amestris rail line were still in progress, so it took Al nearly three weeks to get to Rush Valley. Ed had called him once he and Winry had gotten everything set up for the surgery, and while Al knew it was impossible for him to get there in time, he still felt the guilt chewing at him. He'd sat out Ed's first surgery (both because of possible contamination and frankly his ten year old self had been too terrified to watch his older brother have metal drilled into him) and now he was going to miss it again.

Ed, of course, blew it off and told him not to worry about it because he'd done it before. And besides, Ed said, he only had one limb getting worked on this time. Nothing to worry about. That didn't stop the nagging fear that something could go wrong in the surgery. Automail operations were delicate, and even one accident could end badly.

So Al scrambled to get on the first train he could. And it wasn't until he stumbled off the train in Rush Valley at five in the morning that he realized he had no idea where Ed and Winry were actually living now.

Well. That was a problem.

His first thought was to stop at Garfiel's, but the sun hadn't even come up yet. Al didn't want to bother the man, so that left asking for directions.

Despite the hour, some of the shops were already opening for the day. Al suspected that avoiding the mid-day heat out in the Valley had something to do with it and he ducked under the awning of the first open store he saw.

As it turned out, everyone knew all about Winry Rockbell. Al would have been in and out in five minutes with directions, if not for the fact that the mechanic he'd questioned insisted on taking a look at his automail. Al's denials that he didn't have any fell on deaf ears and it wasn't until he pulled up his sleeves and pant legs to prove that yes, he had everything in place, that the mechanic finally relented.

Al had always assumed Ed had been exaggerating about how pushy the mechanics were, but he only made it maybe half a block before he was approached again. And then again. After the fourth time, Al took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and decided to just not make eye contact with anyone.

Winry's shop was off the main street, wedged in a row of three-story houses. The entire first floor was dedicated to the workshop, as was the trend in Rush Valley. The double sliding doors to the shop were already open and Al could see someone moving around in the windows. He stepped past the wooden Rockbell Automail sign and slipped through the doorway.

There was one lamp on in the back and there was a strong smell of tar in the air. One of the tables was littered with tools and scrap metal. "Hello?" he called, wondering if Winry had picked up an apprentice yet or hired an extra helper.

"Appointments don't start till seven!" The voice came from the back room and Al's eyebrows rose. That was Ed. Al couldn't imagine why his brother was down in Winry's automail shop at the crack of dawn. "If you need to schedule," Ed continued, "then just gimme a minute to-"

Ed had stepped back into the main room and froze. Al's jaw dropped and his suitcase slipped out of his hand.

"AL! WHAT ARE YOU-?"

"What are you wearing?"

The look on Ed's face morphed from surprise to pure horror and he immediately began to shuffle back into the room he'd just left. He was still limping, Al noticed, as he tailed his brother and thwarted Edward's attempt to lock himself in the closet. It was a storage room and Al shouldered his way in, nearly running his brother down in the process. Part of him felt bad, since Ed was still clearly unsteady on his feet, but this was just too good to pass up.

"Al, please, this isn't what it looks like!"

"I can't believe this."

"I can explain- just listen!"

"Is that Winry's?"

"No!"

"Don't lie to me!"

Ed let out a shriek and lunged for his brother. It wasn't much of a fight, given the close quarters, Ed's bad leg, and the fact that Al was still the better fighter of the two of them. In the end, Al pinned his brother by sitting on him, and that was that. He leaned over to look Ed in the eye.

"That's one of Winry's worksuits, isn't it?"

Ed's blush was all the answer he needed and Al broke out in laughter. It had been obvious, really- the cuffs were too tight and rode up his arms and legs and Ed's shoulders were broad enough that he could only zip it closed halfway up his chest. He looked ridiculous.

Beneath him, Ed began to shove at his brother, all the while shouting about how "it's not funny, there wasn't time to go get one in the right size, she needed a hand around the shop, shut up Al!"

Al snorted and wiped at his face. He shifted off his brother, letting Ed scramble back to his feet. "All the grief you gave Winry about automail before and now you're helping her in her shop." He had to pause to laugh again.

Ed slouched out the door back into the main room and Al followed, trying to calm himself down. This was just too much. If only he'd bought a camera- he imagined Granny would have framed it and hung it up for all to see.

"You're her assistant."

"Shut up."

Al eyed his brother's limp and decided to lay off- for now at least. The last thing he needed was for Ed to pull his stitches and start bleeding. Then he'd have Winry after him and he wanted to return to Xing in one piece. "How'd this even start?" he asked, gesturing at Ed as his brother began to dig through one of the dozen toolboxes scattered around. "I can't imagine you volunteered."

Ed gave him a look as he pulled out a screwdriver out of his pocket. "I didn't want to stay in the hospital for therapy, so," he shrugged, "I started helping down here. Moving boxes. Sweeping. Winry said it was easier for her to keep an eye on me." Ed huffed, undoubtedly offended even by thought that he needed to have someone watch him. "And it just sort of grew from there. We even started working on this new metal alloy for nerve connections. Figured if we upped the gold ratio, we could improve the signal response times. Problem is keeping it from getting too hot and melting- What?"

Al could feel the grin on his face. "You like it, don't you? Working with Winry?"

The blush returned, but Ed didn't deny it. Al supposed it made sense. Even with his alchemy gone, Ed still knew metals. And while he didn't know anywhere near as much as Winry did about automail, he definitely knew how it felt. Winry probably bounced ideas and designs off him all the time.

Ed dropped the screwdriver into the toolbox and made a vague gesture at the ceiling. "Winry's probably up. We can have breakfast. We got…eggs." Ed sounded very uncertain about this. Given that both and he and Winry had a tendency to pull allnighters and skip meals, it was very likely they regularly forgot to actually buy food.

Al had to wonder if he should have bought something from the train station before coming.

He grabbed his suitcase before following after Ed, who had made his way to the staircase in the back corner of the shop. Al's worries about his brother's health were, for the moment anyway, relieved. Ed was moving well, even with the limp, and didn't seem to be in too much pain. At the very least, he was much better this time than his first surgery.

At the top of the stairs, Ed practically barreled through the door to their apartment. "Winry!" he called and Al rolled his eyes. If she hadn't been awake before, she definitely was now. "Where are you? Al's here!" There was an answering shout from one of the rooms and Al helped himself to the sofa crammed into the tiny living room. He didn't know why he'd been so worried- Ed was in good hands the whole time.

I wasn't sure where to go with this but then I got the image of Ed in one of Winry's jumpsuits and it wouldn't let go.