Edit: Sorry! Formatting! Gahhh! It got better!
CHAPTER ONE: HOMECOMING
Winry Rockbell blinked sleepily as the sun shone through her bedroom window and hit her eyelids, waking her immediately. She rolled over and buried her head in her pillow; some days she just didn't want to get out of bed. She'd had a late night last night, and was still tired. As she was lying there, however, something occurred to her. The house felt different. She sat up, and sniffed the air a bit.
It smells like . . . boys. She thought sleepily. This thought floated around inside her head for a moment before it clicked, and her eyes widened in realization. Ed and Al! She was surprised that she still knew what they smelled like - it had, after all, been around two years since she'd seen them last.
Without bothering to get dressed, or comb her hair, or anything, Winry jumped out of bed and flung herself out of her bedroom door. She ran down the hallway, and into the first guest room – or she tried to run into the first guest room, but instead of running into the room as she had intended, she ran into someone who was leaving the room, and fell backwards.
"Oof!" She found herself sitting on the ground, staring up at a very bemused Edward Elric. "Ed!" She cried happily, getting to her feet, "It's so good to see you!" She started to give him a hug, but then, thinking of something, she suddenly pulled away and surveyed him warily.
"You're not here because something happened to your automail again, are you?" She asked, remembering in regret that her wrench was still in her room. She would have to go get it to hit him with. He smiled broadly - the first genuine smile she had seen on his face in a long time. He held out his arm.
"See for yourself!" He said brightly. Winry wasted no time in pulling his glove off and found that there would be no need to repair his automail today, or, in fact, ever again.
He no longer had any.
In its place was a real human arm; a mirror image of his left one. For a long moment, all Winry could do was stare from his arm, to his face, which was now glowing with happiness, and back again, as tears of joy clouded her vision.
They wanted this more than anything, she thought, and now they finally have it. They can finally stop searching. And a tiny, selfish part of her added, they don't have to go away anymore. They can stay here with me and Auntie. This thought alone caused her tears to flow freely, and she promptly seized the collar of Ed's coat and sobbed into his shirt. The emotions that she was feeling at the moment were just too much for her right then. Ed patted her on the back awkwardly, but didn't move away, as she had half-expected him to. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this close to Ed – or rather, the last time he had let her get this close. And as she stood there, crying into the front of his shirt, she had to admit to herself that she felt . . . safe. It was as if, while she was thee, nothing could hurt her, and it was ok to cry. She also realized that she was able to stand upright and cry directly into his chest. He had had a growth spurt while he was gone.
"Winry, what's wrong?" He asked, "I thought you'd be happy for me and Al." Winry moved away and wiped her eyes. And grinned at him through the last remaining tears.
"I am happy! I'm so happy for you and - Al! Is he-?" Ed nodded, the broad grin back in place.
"Yeah; first thing I did when we found it." Winry seized his hand (the right one) and pulled him along with her as she ran into the next room; the only other guest room in the house.
When they walked in, Winry could see right away that Al was human. And asleep. He was buried under a large pile of blankets on the bed, obviously still tired from whatever he had gone through to get his original body back. Winry considered just leaving and letting him sleep, but quickly dismissed the thought; he could take a nap later – she wanted to see him now.
"Al! Al wake up!" She called, letting go of Ed's hand and pulling back the covers of the bed. She gasped in surprise when she saw him - she still had the mental image of him as a chubby little boy in her mind whenever she thought of him as a human. This Al was rather skinny - of course, since he probably hadn't had a decent meal in around seven years - and quite a bit bigger than he had been back then. He stirred slightly, before sitting up and looking at her.
"Winry?" He said, and blinked. Winry smiled and sat down on the bed next to him, and promptly hugged him tightly. He paused a moment, and then hugged her back.
"Umm, Winry?" he said after several minutes, "Are you gonna let me go anytime soon? I'd like to get dressed." Reluctantly, she let him go. She hadn't given him a hug for seven years - she wanted to make up for lost time. Granted, she hadn't hugged Ed in the same amount of time - maybe longer, as he had never been a particularly physical person - but it wasn't the same. Al gathered his clothes, and grinned wickedly at Ed before entering the bathroom to change.
"If you want, you can cuddle brother while I'm gone." He suggested innocently, "Like a sort of stand in. One Elric's good as the other, right?" With these as parting words, he disappeared through the doors. Once he left, Winry looked down at herself, and realized that she was still clad in her pajamas - a large t-shirt that reached to the middle of her thighs. Thinking that she might as well change too, she got up, and was surprised when Ed stepped back, a blush staining his cheeks.
"He didn't really mean it, you know." He said hastily, and Winry laughed.
"Relax. Ed. I'm just going to go get dressed." She said as she walked towards the door. Just to upset him, she gave him a quick hug before leaving, giggling to herself when he emitted a sort of surprised squawk. "I'm really, really glad you guys got your bodies back." She said, before letting him go and leaving the room. Ed sighed, rolled his eyes, and sat down to wait for Al.
"You two picked the perfect time to show up," Winry said as they walked through town later that day, "You're just in time for our annual spring carnival." Ed gave her a puzzled look.
"I don't remember any spring carnival." He told her.
"You wouldn't. It's only been held for the past five years or so. It's a lot of fun - I'm glad you guys will get to go this year." She laughed, and pinched Al's cheek, "Though I probably won't get to see you too much - all of the girls will want to dance with you." Al turned bright red.
"Naah," he said, "I'm not nearly as handsome as big brother is!" Winry hid a smile; no matter how old they got, is never ceased to amuse her how much Al worshipped his big brother. She wondered if Ed noticed it as well. She glanced over at Ed, who was looking into a shop window, serious as always. Winry's brow furrowed a bit in confusion as she surveyed him; she genuinely thought of Al as handsome, probably because he was suddenly all grown up. But Ed had grown up too, and somehow, whether because he was just Ed, or because she had always been too busy focusing on his automail, she had missed it. In place of the small boy she had known and loved was a much bigger boy. A very good-looking one.
She felt her face grow hot when she realized that she was actually thinking of Ed as handsome. Before she could stop it, an even more embarrassing thought popped into her head - I wonder if he thinks I'm pretty? She pushed the thought from her head and turned back to Al.
"You're every bit as handsome as Ed." She assured him, "And girls will be climbing all over the both of you." Al grinned - several years as a suit of armor had caused a decline in his self-esteem, and so Winry felt that it was her duty to give it a boost whenever possible.
"Don't worry, Winry; I'll save you a dance, and so will nii-san, right big brother?" Ed turned towards him, and it was evident that he hadn't been listening to their conversation
"What was that, Al?"
"I told Winry that we'd both dance with her at the carnival," Al informed him, and again there was a mischievous gleam in his eye that suggested that Al was not so innocent as he pretended to be. Winry had missed it before, but she caught it this time and resolved to talk to Al about it as soon as possible. She didn't want him harboring the notion that anything would ever happen between her and Ed, after all. Ed glared at one of the fliers that was tacked to a light post.
"I'm not going." He said, "Dancing is stupid and girls are annoying. All they ever do is giggle." Winry glared, and he at least had the grace to look ashamed, adding, "Well, not you, I guess. You're more like a guy, really."
"Ugh!" Winry exclaimed in disgust. She turned on her heel and began walking down the street, leaving a confused Ed and a snickering Al in her wake.
"What did I do?" Ed asked his brother. "That was a compliment!" All rolled his eyes.
"Not to her, it wasn't. Girls like to be told they're pretty, not that they're like guys. You should go find her and tell her how pretty you think she is, and then maybe she'll forgive you." Al suggested. Ed would trust Al with his life, but there was something in his little brother's eyes just then that made him a bit wary.
"But I don't -"
"Liar! How could you not think Winry's pretty?" Al accused, "Everyone else does. I saw at least half a dozen boys staring at her just on the walk over here." He said. Ed's face reddened. Did he think Winry was pretty? He supposed she looked good enough, as far as girls went. Well, no; she was actually better looking than most girls in Risembool. She had very soft -looking hair -- he'd never actually touched it, but he'd wanted to -- and her eyes were a very beautiful shade of blue. And he certainly had no objections to the short skirts she often wore...
"If I told her that, she might get the wrong idea." Ed said. Al shook his head vehemently.
"No she won't. She just told me that she thought we were both handsome, and I didn't take it the wrong way." Ed chose not to comment on this.
"Yeah, all right." He said finally, "But I'll write her a note. An apologetic one."
"Good idea. I'll help you with it." The gleam in his eyes was back again, and Ed wondered exactly what Al would want him to write in the note. "Come on; let's go back. Maybe you can slip it in her room before she ever gets home."
It was, in fact, a while before Winry got around to going back. For quite some time, she just walked around. She wasn't even really mad about what he had said – it was Ed, after all; tactless incarnate. She couldn't really explain what was bothering her. It was just… there. And she wanted it gone.
She was so caught up in her thoughts as she walked around, that she didn't notice when someone walked out of a shop at the same moment she walked past. The result was that, for the second time that day, Winry found herself sitting suddenly on the floor, looking up at a blonde young man. Unlike Ed, however, he immediately apologized profusely and offered her a hand. She accepted it, and he helped her to her feet.
"It's my fault, really," She insisted, "I wasn't watching where I was going." He shook his head.
"No, no, It's my fault; I should have seen you while I was walking out of the store. I'm terribly sorry about this. My name is George, by the way." He held out his hand, and she shook it.
"I'm Winry," She said, "Winry Rockbell." He grinned.
"The automail mechanic?" He asked, and she nodded. "That's fascinating. I've always thought that automail was art; I mean, the way it fits together! It's like magic." Winry only nodded. Who was this guy? He was handsome, nice, and interested in automail. He checked his watch, "Well, I have to be going now – but it was nice meeting you, Winry."
"Nice meeting you too," she told him with a grin "Maybe I'll see you around town." He nodded.
"Are you going to the carnival?"
"Of course."
"Well, maybe I'll see you there then. Save a dance for me!" And with an elaborate bow, he disappeared off down the street. In the back of Winry's mind, something protested, saying that there was something about this boy that it didn't like. Winry firmly ignored the voice and, checking her own watch, turned and walked back to her house.
(Michi: This is relevant, I swear!)
Winry,
I'm sorry about what I said earlier today. You're not at all like a guy (except for the being-a-mechanic thing, and the penchant for senseless violence). Anyhow, the point is that I'm sorry I ever said that. You're really very pretty, and someone would have to be blind as a bat to ever mistake you for a man.
Ed
Winry's reaction upon reading the letter was laughter. A lot of it. When she could finally stop laughing long enough to re-read it, all traces of mirth left her face instantly, and a horrible notion occurred to her. What if he's serious? The thought of this scared her a little; the note, if it was serious, sounded an awful lot like Ed might possibly have feelings for her that he really shouldn't.
In Winry's mind, there were two ways that this situation could be handled. She could wither pretend it never happened, or she could confront him about it. And Winry Rockbell had never been the sort to hide from her problems.
This was why, half an hour later, she and Ed were standing under a tree a little ways from the house. She had dragged him out here, along with the note, to talk to him about it.
"Ed," She began, "What exactly did you mean by writing this note?" She asked, waving it around in front of him.
"Hell if I know," He said, "Al told me what to write. He said I had to apologize for what I said earlier and that I should also say you were pretty." He shrugged. "I have no clue why he wanted me to write that, but he said it would make you forgive me, so it was worth a try." He grinned, "Didn't work so well, didn't it?"
"So nothing you wrote in that note was true?"
"Not a thing. Except, well, I am sorry for the comment I made."
"But you don't think I'm pretty?"
Ed just sat there for a moment, leaving Winry to feel like a complete fool. Why did she care, anyhow? This was just Ed. She cared about as much for his opinion as she did for Den's. Less, even, as Den was probably more tactful. So why on earth did she care so much?
"Uhhh…"
"EDWARD."
"Well, what do you want me to say! No matter what I tell you, you're going to hit me with that thing!" He gestured at the wrench she was holding, and she dropped it.
"See? No wrench." When he still hesitated, she threw her arms up in the air in defeat. "Why do I even care?" She asked the sky, "I don't really. Good night, Ed." And with that she turned and left.
Ed watched her go, and sank to the ground and proceeded flop backwards, so that he was lying on his back and staring up at the rapidly darkening sky. The stars were only just starting to appear, and all around him, Ed could hear the sounds of crickets beginning to chirp.
"I don't think you're pretty, Winry," He said out loud, "I think you're beautiful."
Michi: Well, that's the end of Chapter One! I'm terribly sorry for the corny line at the end.. but I just had to put it there.
Ed: I would NEVER say that. NEVER.
Michi: Well guess what? You just did. Deal.
Al: Sensei, is it really good for your sanity to be talking to fictional characters?
Michi: Probably not.
Ed: … you madwoman.
Michi: Please read the next chapter of my horridly freaked-out story!
Next Time: Some serious conversations, attempted date rape (kind of) and a major beat-down.