There were many interpretations of the truth.
This was something he first became aware of as a young child on a lonely island fighting for survival with one brother, one grief, and one tiny little ant. What is the meaning behind alchemy he wondered then? What is One and what is All and how is it connected? How can a human life return to the world of the living once disease has snuffed it out? Did he find it there on the island? Did he find it in the heart of central under the arrogant gaze of the homunculus called Father? Did he understand it any more clearly now after defeating the pale and faceless Truth and returning his beloved brother to flesh, blood, and bright gold eyes?
Even now he was still searching for the meaning of Alchemy, but he had come to understand that Truth is all in the perception.
He was no longer capable of manipulating the energy behind the tectonic plates of the world, but did that make him any less of an alchemist? Perhaps he had conquered the Truth and severed a connection from arrogance, from peril and violence. He was powerless to transmute - separated from a great ability...
Or, he was free of it. That was one very palpable interpretation.
On the roof of the Rockbell home, Edward gazed longingly and steadily over a dense green country with a silver curtain of blue grey horizon. It was beautiful. But Truth was complex. Alchemic progression was over, but there were many ways to find Truth and purpose. He felt a stirring in his blood to move and see a new perception of the world and the possibilities of science.
He felt hungry for knowledge.
Edward was looking for reversal. As he drank in the quietness of domestic life he knew that it was not all over. Reversal of his brother's sacrifice was not the only mission he was meant for. There were so many wrongs he could right, and the hurts of alchemy he now longed to mend in Amestris. What knowledge lay hidden and untouched in foreign lands that he could use to help soothe those wounds of the past? Nina. He couldn't get Nina out of his head and he knew Alphonse was thinking the very exact same thing.
He knew one day he would be back here for good, but it was not quite yet. One day, he would plant his feet in Amestris and grow the family he knew he wanted. He was closer than ever to making that family but not yet ready completely for such a quiet life. When the time came, perhaps then he would spread what he had learned and reteach alchemic principals to an arrogant and militaristic nation. In his daydreams, Edward imagined a school – an academy of alchemy and its peaceful civic uses. He imagined himself teaching, sparring, and guiding young Alchemist – perhaps orphans or children who had lost a parent like himself. He imagined he could stop so many from making the same mistakes out of grief by correctly using the principals of alchemy and teaching new interpretations that he had come to learn himself throughout the years. So many Ninas he could prevent from being made…There were many paths available to him now. He could do this, even without transmutation. He could do this with knowledge and experience alone.
In the distance he heard clutter and clinking of soft white hands working on hard metal...or perhaps dish wear now that he really listened...Winry must be cooking, he mused.
Winry. Then there was Winry. 2 precious years under the same roof with his Winry.
Yes, it was worth it in the end. He would go.
And then he would come back and start their life.
/
In the two years of quiet retirement, Alphonse gained strength. During the first months of their reunion, Winry alternated her weeks between Rizembool and Rush Valley. She still desired to perfect her engineering abilities but also did not want to be separated from the brothers for long now that they were finally returned to her whole and out of danger. After 8 months of constant commuting, Garfiel had let Winry take a year long hiatus from her training, allowing her to spend all her time with Ed and Al as well as craft a brand new leg for a taller and ever sprouting upward Ed. She maintained the high chrome balance she had learned in the North to ensure low stress on his limbs. She could not believe what a man, Edward had suddenly become. He was calmer, leaner, longer, and more gracious than she ever quite remembered him. She liked it.
"I'm making up for lost time..." he would say with expressly exuberant pride and happiness. He grinned so wide his cheeks would pop out and flush with rosy gladness. It made her insides dance.
That wasn't to say there still weren't battles of wits and wills and angry tirades and eyes rolling over and over like waves. However, these still managed to turn Winry's gut over in her belly just as much as his new found sweetness. She found that her days were spent in constant anxiety of what kind of encounter she would have that day with Edward…and how close they would become to finally exposing their true feelings.
They were constantly growing closer all three of them. Life in its sudden quietness was awkward at first. Time healed that unreal feeling of rest quickly and the brothers found new purpose in rebuilding their lives as they should have been. Alphonse had physical therapy nearly every day and relearned his old habits and abilities with comfort and care.
Once he was strong enough, mornings became sparring practice. Edward challenged his brother and helped reteach strength, quickness, and agility while also training up a right arm that was frail and weak from time beyond the gate. Martial Arts, sword work (blunt blades made by Al with scrap metal), any skill they had picked up on the journey they continued to train as if they had a purpose beyond mere muscle training. Winry knew that there must be a goal not yet attained that they would eventually set out for. It made her sad to know their respite would end, but was excited and curious to discover what their next journey was. She knew that for both of them, it was vital to keep moving forward; to always be learning.
Winry loved to watch the practice duals between them. Out of courtesy, Alphone usually did not use Alchemy except if Edward expressly told him to. Edward was still strong, and a talented fighter. Winry could respect and appreciate his wit and sharp thinking as Alphonse regularly challenged him in mock battle. Many times though, Alphonse was more composed, patient, and calculating and gained the upper hand, leveling his older Brother to the ground with a smile. She couldn't help herself and always chuckled as she watched them shake hands and make their way back up to the house...Edward rubbing gingerly on some small injury, his face flush and bright with the exercise. It made her insides twist. She suddenly took note at the sharp lines of his shoulders, his chest, and his unbelievably firm abdominals.
Winry – calm down.
For Edward, sometimes hearing the clap of his brothers hands echoing through the countryside like rain or watching the sparks from transmutation light up the air with energy, induced small twinges of sadness or nostalgia, but never jealousy or regret. He was impressed daily with his brother's growing ability and study of alkahestry; it made him a more compelling artist and foe.
However, before long, Edward felt himself flatline in his own quest for strength. The stirring to travel grew strong in him. Feeling it in Alphonse also, Edward knew he must somehow look for a new way to practice science for the people of Amestris and undo the government's wrongs against so many. Therefore, when his brother asked him the question that day on the roof, Edward was far from surprised. It was time to finally move forward after two long years of retirement.
But. There was still the matter of Winry.
/
Two years of torture. How could he have known that returning home would be the undoing of the suave, debonair, unconcerned, single and free Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist. Could he have predicted the changes she underwent in his eyes? Could he have hypothesized on the effects she would suddenly have on every ounce of his skin, heart, and mind?
He had grown into the habit of watching every move she made. He began to notice small things that he had religiously ignored in order to stay focused when his life was perilous and unpredictable. He began to study the way her hair curled up at the ends and the crease in her forehead when she became irritated at her grandmother.
But there were new things he noticed too...
The swell of her curves under her clothing was becoming a growing obsession with Edward. It would mortify him to no end to admit it, but he began day and night dreaming about what it would be like to peel off the covers of her clothing and see the cause behind the effect of her shape. When she stood too close he would find his hands acting out of sync wit his intentions. He truly was at a loss as to why such closeness would result in sudden impulsive physical response. By the time Edward had embarked on his journey to Creta and the great University of Alchemy in the capital city of Zolexandria, he had unintentially touched Winry 37 times. He kept a count in his head...
Edward's Inexplicable List of Winry Contact Moments...
1. Washing dishes, fingers grabbed her hand and stroked it...blew it off as mistaking it for gravy boat.
2. Helping her hang a framed photograph of the newly restored Alphonse and family, arm brushed the small of her back and lingered on the curve of her waist while nailing in the frame...avoided eye contact remainder of day.
3. While eating a sundae, hand reached out and whipped a stray drop of strawberry syrup from her chin and collar bone. Somehow managed to tuck her hair behind her ear while in the area. Blank stare. She leaned in...smelt too good. Walked away suddenly and wrench ensued.
...
9. While she slept one Saturday morning, suddenly, foolishly began pulling down the blanket slightly to see chest rise and fall. Saw an unfamiliar but incredibly sexy peak of a nipple under her night shirt. Brushed it with my finger. She stirred and sighed my name in her sleep. After dying inside, vacated with haste.
12. Woke up after falling asleep on the sofa. Noticed her tucked into my arms asleep as well. Didnt move until morning. Held on tight and pretended to sleep when she finally got up herself.
18. Grabbed her ass while climbing the stairs. Claimed there was a giant spider. I know she knows that I was lying.
25. Put my nose to her neck when she was standing awfully close. Took a deep breath and shivered. Just managed to resist kissing her. Was being watched. Knew Al was watching. Told her her new shampoo smelt like mom's...the only excuse I could think of. Lame and creepy.
33. Kissed her and held her close the night I told the family I had been accepted to study Cretian Alchemy for a 9 month program in Zolexandria. She had begun to cry. I couldn't resist. Her eyes were the size of saucers, but her lips melted like water. She tasted like cream and honey. My whole body shook in anger when I forced myself to pull back. Walked away with a promise that I would come back within the year, so not to worry so much.
36. As she adjusted my automail for a final tune up before the trip, my fingers inexplicable pulled her up by her shoulders into my lap for another long, quiet kiss. Was lucky that Granny had a phone call in the kitchen. She held a wrench in one hand and a strand of my hair in another. When she tugged innocently at me, I couldn't resist biting at her lip and crossing my arms over her back. Suddenly, there was her tongue locked with mine. My stomach was in tangles. Heard Granny's footsteps in the hall and put an unhappy end to it. Who knows what I would have done if it had continued. I was shaky the rest of the night with wanting her.
37. Proposing at the train station. I had imagined I would wait and do it when I came home. Embarrassed and brimming with energy it just spilled out of me before I could bring myself to step on the train. Hearing her accept it...I yanked her into a long embrace. She smelt like cherries and motor oil...my two favorite scents. Somehow, knowing that the next time I returned home I would be at liberty to touch her any way I wanted, made the trip a more exciting prospect for me.
/
Winry watched the train disappear behind the curve of the Rizembool cliffs. Relief flooded her and excitement pressed into her rib cage. Finally, after months of strange behavior, confusing and Elric-centric cryptic messages, he had come out with it.
He had obviously been struggling to tell her his feelings for a long time. Winry was no fool and knew it better not to force it out of him. The touches, brushes and long stares kept her awake at night with a strange anticipation...now, it was out in the open. He loved her. She loved him.
She practically ran home grinning.
She had to call Garfiel immediately and tell him the good news...he had been right all along.
What would happen, she wondered thoughtfully, the next time they saw each other? Would she be able to resist the urge to attack him with her whole body and soul?