Title: The Scent of Home
Written by: Somnion
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist. It is the property of Hiromu Arakawa
The Scent of Home
He gazed up at the stars, his back pressed against the old oak tree. The stars always looked the best here in Rosembool; there were no lights and tall buildings to cloud his view, just the beautiful night sky shining down on him with all its splendour. However, it wasn't the night sky he missed most about Resembool. As a soft summer breeze blew past, he breathed in deep, taking in its smell. This is what he truly missed, the simple scent of Resembool, the scent of home. No matter where he went to on his travels, he never found a single country or place whose smell made him feel so at peace.
He and Al had returned for repairs; that was the only reason they would return to Resembool these days. It wasn't that Ed hated his hometown but right now he was determined to regain both his limbs and his younger brother's original body. He was close, he knew it and the drive within him to end this waking nightmare that he had foolishly thrown Al and himself into was the cause for his seldom visits.
Her stirring broke him away from his thoughts, her head weighing down on his shoulder. She had thrown a fit this morning when she saw the state his automail arm was in, she always did. She began work on it immediately though, right after giving Ed a large helping of verbal torture. She'd been working on the arm all day and she hadn't got around to attaching it back yet. She'd come out to call in the elder Elric brother so she could reattach the arm but when she saw that both he and his younger sibling were stargazing, she decided she'd join them.
A frown of annoyance drew on his lips, her head sure was heavy. It was amazing, really, that even in her sleep she could still find ways to annoy him. Her hair spilled over his shoulder, tickling his skin and causing him to become more uncomfortable. The thought of nudging her head off his shoulder had crossed his mind but Edward knew better. He'd just be asking for a wrench to the head and the last thing he needed was a concussion.
Al had gotten tired of stargazing and had left the pair so he could play with Den. Alphonse had always been very fond of Den and loved playing with her when he was younger. Back when we were whole, Edward thought to himself. Things were different then; everything was so much simpler, more carefree. When the things that mattered were just about who was the fastest runner and looking forward to Mom's cooking...
Ed shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. This was not the time to reminisce about the past. He still had a promise to keep; he had to get Al's body back. He breathed in deep, trying to collect his thoughts when suddenly he caught a wisp of a fragrance that returned his mind back to its previous state.
Her hair...her scent....
There was something special about the way her hair smelled. There was a certain nostalgia in its scent, mixed with a little homeliness and comfort. It was so much like the smell of Resembool and it affected him in almost the same way as the nostalgic smell of his hometown's countryside did. He adored the sweet perfume of her hair though his pride would never allow him to admit it. Yet, he would still find it difficult at times to suppress the urge to lean over and breathe in her scent. She had never objected to it when she was a little girl but things were different now. They were older, more matured and things were not as innocent as they had been four years ago.
There was a time, long ago, when he and Al would argue over who would get to marry her when they grew up but that was, as he reminded himself yet again, a long time ago. He wouldn't deny that he did harbour some sort of attachment towards her, an attachment that obviously surpassed that of a normal friendship. However, Ed was a logical person by nature and he knew now would be the worst time to bring up something like that. He was still on a mission and if he brought it up, he'd only complicate matters and that was the last thing he needed to do. Matters were already extremely complicated as they were now. Still, there were times that he wished he could just turn back the clock and relive those days of old.
Great, he thought to himself. Here he was trying to climb himself out of a pool of nostalgia only to end up jumping back in. Still, her hair smelled wonderful and although his logical mind reasoned against it, he couldn't help but lean in closer and breathe in her memorable aroma.
Of course, the subtle sensation of someone breathing onto her hair did not escape Winry and she awoke with a fright, her head snapping backwards and knocking Edward square on the face with the back of her skull.
"What are you doing, you pervert?" she screamed as she prepared to launch a flurry of blows in the direction of the young State Alchemist. Ed, however, was too preoccupied with the blow he just received; causing him to become unaware of neither Winry's question nor her anger.
"Ed, are you alright?" he heard her ask. Her anger had given way to concern when she noticed that he had taken a pretty hard blow to the face.
"Oh, man," he said with a grunt, "I think you broke it. What's your head made of anyway? Rocks?"
A sharp jab to the ribs with her elbow was the reply he received from the now irritated automail mechanic, his face grimacing at the pain.
"You're lucky I forgot my wrench," she said as her brows knitted together, a frown forming on her lips. However, seeing him struggling with the hit she had given him to the nose, as well as the recent one, she did feel rather sorry for him, if not a little guilty as well.
"Here, let me take a look," she said as she moved his hands away from his nose though her voice still seemed to hold some annoyance due to Ed's last insult. He was reluctant at first but as her fingers traced over his face to look for any sign of hurt, Ed couldn't help but realize how soft her fingers felt.
"Honestly, just what did you think you were doing? Sniffing my hair like that?" she asked.
"Not like I could help it," he answered, impatience present in his voice. "Your head was resting on my shoulder."
"A likely story," she replied with disbelief and a pout. What a lousy excuse, she thought to herself. Stupid Ed, why can't you just grow a backbone and admit what you did? I wouldn't have gotten so angry if you did...
She looked over him again, checking his nose for any injury and when she found none, she removed her hands from his face. "You're fine," she said. "I don't think it's anything major."
A pout was still present on her lips and her brows were still knitted as she turned away from Edward. He could be such a pain at times, she thought to herself. However, she knew that despite his standoffish exterior and slightly rude demeanour, Edward was a nice guy at heart. Still, it wouldn't hurt if he could be a little nice to her once in a while.
"Your hands are...very soft," he said all of sudden.
"Wha...What brought that up?" Winry asked, a little flustered due to the sudden compliment.
"Well, you were running your fingers over my face just now and...well, I just sort of noticed..."
"Uhhh...heh," she giggled nervously. "Thanks, I guess..."
She wasn't hitting him and she didn't seem to be upset so Edward summarized that he was probably doing something right. Still, he was cautious. If his experiences had taught him anything it was that in pivotal moments it always pays to be cautious. He watched her carefully through peripheral; she seemed a little flustered and indeed she was. It was one thing for her to want Ed to be a little more courteous to her, Winry thought to herself, but for him to actually do so was something else. It was flattering, yes, but awkward at the same time. In her nervousness, she started to fidget with her hair, pushing back stray strands over her ear; an action which reminded Edward of the sweet, nostalgic perfume of her hair.
"It's nice," he said.
"What is?" Winry asked in reply.
"The...the smell of your hair," he answered as a dash of red tinted his cheeks.
She blushed at the compliment while biting down softly on her lower lip. She was used to getting compliments about her hair but a compliment like that from Ed was a rare thing.
"So you were sniffing?"
"Uhh...yeah...about that," he answered with an awkward laugh, a laugh which even he knew exposed his nervousness, "It's well...you were lying on my shoulder and...so...I couldn't help but notice and..."
Winry watched him as he tried his best to come up with a reason for the act she had caught him for. An amused smile spread across her face as she watched him; he was so socially inept at things like this. Ed was the kind of guy who could look danger in the face and still keep a level head but here he was tripping over his own words because of her. It was extremely flattering in a strange way, it was so un-Ed, and yet she couldn't help but think that he looked almost...cute this way.
"It's just that your hair...your scent," he continued, "it...it reminds me of Resembool. It's like whenever I smell it...I feel like I'm home...you know? It's like...well...you are home."
She blinked a few times at him, trying to allow this new information to sink in. She smelt like home? She was home? That was without a doubt the most touching and most amazing thing anyone had ever said about her hair and hearing if from Ed only made the compliment feel even more precious. Gosh, does my hair really smell like that? she thought to herself, blushing at the thought.
He had stopped talking for a while, he must have thought that he wasn't making much sense. Looking back at what he had just said, he couldn't believe that he had let out so much embarrassing confessions in such a short period of time. He figured that by avoiding such conversations he could avoid complicating things but now he'd probably shot that idea straight to hell. Then, all of a sudden, he felt her move, sidling closer and surprising him with her closeness.
"Go ahead," she said, her voice coming as a whisper.
"Wai...wait a minute, Winry...are you sure..."
"You'll be gone for some time, so..."
As she looked at him, Edward noticed a look of determination shining in her blue eyes. He knew that look and that meant there was no way he was going to talk his way out of it. Not that he was upset about it, it had been so long since he last smelt her hair like this. He turned to face her, inching closer to her and Winry noticed that he seemed less composed and a little less confident than he always was. Closing her eyes, she waited for the contact, and the sensation of him taking in the smell of her hair. His lone hand reached closer to her face, heading towards the silvery blond strands near her ear. He could feel slight tremors running through his hand but he now knew that this is what Winry wanted and what he wanted as well. Just as his hand touched the soft golden strands of her fine long hair, Edward heard a sound, or sounds for that matter, that caused his hand to drop, Winry's hair falling from his grasp back to their place. The unmistakeable clang of metal footsteps could be heard hurrying towards them.
"Brother, Help!" came Al's voice. "Den grabbed my head and she won't give it back!"
Ed and Winry looked in slightly amused shock as they saw Den walk past them carrying poor Alphonse's helmet head with her, his metallic body following soon after.
"Way to ruin the mood, Al," he murmured to himself, a hint of annoyance within his voice. Al sure picked the perfect time to lose his head. He was so preoccupied over his misfortune; he didn't notice Winry's movement behind him.
"Here," he heard her say as she handed him something in her hand; a lock of her blond hair which she had just cut.
"Wha...what's this for?" he asked as he looked at the hair curiously.
"Well, you're gonna need something to remind you of home, right? This should last you until your next visit," she answered with a cheeky grin.
As he reached over to accept her gift, she held back for a minute. Startled, Ed looked up to see what was the problem for the sudden change of mind but found that instead of the cheeky grin she had earlier, it was now replaced by a much smaller one, shy and hopeful.
"You will be back, right Ed?" she asked.
Taking the lock of hair from her hand, he gave her a smile. "You can count on it."
Satisfied with his answer, Winry got up, informing him she was going to help Al get his head back from her mischievous dog. As Winry ran off after Den and Al, the breeze blew against Edward, causing his thoughts to return to the gift Winry had just given him. As he brought the lock of hair up to his nose, the sweet scent of Winry's hair mixing harmoniously with the nostalgic aroma of Resembool's countryside, he drifted away to thoughts of fonder memories. This is what her scent meant to him, it was the scent of nostalgia, the scent of homeliness and comfort, but most of all, her scent was the scent...
... of home.
The End
There you have it, my first attempt at an EdxWinry pairing. I hope I didn't throw these two out of character, it has been a while since I last watched the show or read the manga. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading. Also, I'd like to know what you thought of this story, whether it was corny or if it stunk or if it brought a smile to your face, so please leave me a few words and I'd be much obliged. Thanks again.