Nestling
AN: I just watched episode 39 of Brotherhood, and I'm not sure why, but I think Winry could be a great motherly/sisterly influence on Mei...
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Winry Rockbell awoke to the sound of quiet sobs.
She blinked in the darkness, her senses still too hazy to locate the exact position of the sound. Sleeping underground bothered her – she'd never thought of herself as claustrophobic, but the mining tunnels were dark and cold and restrictive. She didn't like them, and she was glad that they would be leaving the tunnels soon.
They'd set up a watch, and Winry had been first on the list. She knew that Dr. Marcoh had gone after her, and then one of the chimeras – Mei was supposed to be taking the second-last watch. She'd protested at the decision, feeling that allotting such a late slot to a child was unfair, but Mei had stubbornly refused to be pampered and coddled.
Winry sat up abruptly, hearing the sobs intensify in volume. Whoever was crying had retreated some distance away from the group. She got to her feet and blinked again, making out the sprawling shape of Marcoh next to her. The crying seemed to be coming from her left, and so Winry headed in that direction, feeling concerned.
She came across a small huddled figure about seven feet away from the sleeping group. Winry knelt down and smoothed the young girl's hair, her hands instinctively moving to pull Mei close to her. The little girl continued to sob, her panda whining in distress on the ground next to her. Winry rocked her body gently, her throat feeling strangely tight.
"Ssshh," she crooned softly, rubbing circles in the girl's back. "It's okay. It's okay."
Winry hadn't liked Mei Chang at first sight, but that could have been because the girl had accused Alphonse of two-timing her with Winry. The auto-mail mechanic had been more than a little irritated at the accusation, mostly because Mei had struck her as a very flighty girl. She'd picked up on a note of panic in Alphonse's hurried apology, and she hadn't wanted her dear friend to fall for such a fickle character.
But as they'd journeyed together through the mining tunnels, Winry had discovered a different side of Mei – a girl with determination like steel and a terrible case of homesickness. When Mei had talked about how her clan was depending on her to bring back the secret to immortality, Winry had been reminded of her own customers in Rush Valley, and how she was letting them down.
While Mei was almost naively childish at times, she refused to be treated like a little girl by others. Although she obsessed over Alphonse, she also had a clear goal in mind, and she was unwilling to let her infatuation sway her(well, at least not too much...). She was trying too hard to grow up, and it made Winry want to cry, because she'd seen what growing up too quickly could do to a person.
Mei clutched the fabric of Winry's coat between her fingers, her body shivering and shuddering with her weeping. "I want to go home," she whimpered, eyes screwed shut. "I want to go home."
Tears rose unbidden to Winry's eyes, and she hugged the girl closer. "I know," she whispered, stroking her hair, "I know. Just hold on – you'll be able to go home soon."
Mei gulped loudly, but Winry's soothing gestures were obviously working. The Xingese girl quietened, her head resting in the crook of Winry's neck. The auto-mail mechanic patted Mei's back gently and continued to murmur words of assurance. Eventually, the girl fell asleep.
Winry sat in the cold tunnel and cradled the girl close to her. After a while, she, too, fell asleep – and dreamed of a little girl with golden hair and golden eyes, asleep in her lap.
AN: 616 words. Even though Mei is VERY childish – I don't deny that at all – I think she's trying to grow up. She fights by herself, she travelled across a desert to save her clan – she definitely has a premature maturity about her. And I think Winry is a very motherly sort of character. No, really. I'm sure she wouldn't beat her own children with a wrench...