Hello everyone! I know it's been a super long time since I've updated, but honestly, this has had to take the back-burner quite a few times. As much as I would like to call this one of my top priorities, it's just a fact that I have to put my school work (including ACT prep. Yay junior year!) and job before this, as well as helping out my family and organizing things for my robotics team. So if the long breaks between updates becomes a trend (more than it already has, I mean), I'm really sorry.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my chapter! The good news is that I've finally solidified an actual plot, so there should be some interesting developments in the chapter to come. Thanks for reading, and happy Thanksgiving!

~Lauren-kun

Edward stood outside the Rockbell house, hand resting on the door handle. He could hear Winry in the kitchen, humming as she fixed dinner. Talking to Al had been extremely productive, and in just three hours his little brother had helped him sort through his problems until the answers seemed relatively obvious. He had decided on his answer to Joan, but before he could confront her he had to face Winry.

Ed swallowed, staring at the handle below his fingertips. Anxiety fluttered in his stomach, making his muscles tighten with unease. How would she respond to him? Would she even hear him out? After all they went through together, Ed was still never sure what to expect when it came to the slender blond. He had seen her break down when he would have screamed, and lash out when he would have buckled. Every time he was sure she would react one way, she seemed to always do the opposite; the girl was totally confusing, a mystery he could never figure out.

Seconds ticked by, and the nervousness in Ed's stomach festered into full-blown dread. Twilight was quickly growing into night as the sun continued to set, serving as a constant reminder of the swiftly passing time.

His hand tightened on the handle, but he paused again. He could deal with screaming; he would even take a wrench to the head if that meant they were even again. The one reaction Edward really feared was crying. The thought of causing her so much pain that she was forcibly reduced to that vulnerable of a level; it physically hurt him.

Edward shook the thought away with a flick of his head. All of this worrying was pointless, just a last-ditch attempt at stalling. His automail hand closed tighter around the handle, but instead of bravely marching inside, he was jerked forward as the door was flung inward. Off balance and taken by surprise, he pitched forward, slamming into the unsuspecting girl.

Winry crashed to the ground, the large garbage back she had been carrying still clutched in her arms. Edward pin wheeled, barely stopping his momentum in time to avoid landing on top of her. Instead, he stood in the doorway, automail hand still gripping the handle.

"Winry!" he sputtered, releasing his grasp on the handle and offering his hand to the shaken girl. "I was, uh, just about to come in."

Winry clenched her jaw, anger replacing her surprise. She rose briskly, pointing ignoring Edward's outstretched hand, and heaved the bag up after her. "Go head." She said tersely, brushing past the boy.

Edward took a deep breath, fighting the urge to follow Winry's instructions and avoid the confrontation. He turned around, taking a few steps to catch up with her.

"Winry, hold on."

The girl continued briskly, making a beeline down the long driveway. Ed followed her, forced into an awkward half-jog to keep up with her long strides. "About last night," he started lamely, "I didn't mean it that way."

Suddenly, Winry stopped, whirling to face him. "Oh yeah, Edward? How else did you mean it?"

Edward could've hit himself. He let out a short breath, running a hand through his bangs. "Well, it's not that I meant it differently so much as I-"

Winry turned away, continuing down the path. "Thought so."

"Come on, Winry, I'm sorry." Ed pleaded, scrambling after her. "What I said was stupid. I was just angry, alright?"

Winry stopped again, this time because they had reached the curb. She threw the bag into the tin can, but didn't turn to face him.

"You know Ed, sometimes you can be really selfish." Her words were quiet, and Edward watched as Winry's hands clenched, her entire body trembling with emotion. "You went off and saved the world and did your part-" she whirled towards him, tears lining her eyes, her words gaining volume. Her hair flashed as she faced him, looking like it was on fire in the setting sun. "-but the minute I want to help someone, someone who's living proof of how messed up the world still is, you act as if I'm some little kid playing make-believe!"

Edward winced, nausea creeping into his gut. "Winry, I never meant it like that."

The girl wiped at her eyes, catching her tears before they had a chance to fall. "Yeah, well, that's what it seemed like." There was a horrible quiet, interrupted only by Winry's sniffling. It took a moment, but Edward waited for Winry to regain her composure and break the silence.

"I just don't get it, Ed," she began, a strange confusion in her words. "How can you turn down someone so helpless? Someone who's going through something so similar to what you survived?"

Ed licked his lips, rubbing the back of his head akwardly. "I dunno," he mumbled softly. "I guess it's just that I thought my journey was over." He kicked a pebble with his toe, watching it tumble away. "But the thought of doing all of that over again for something I severely doubt is actually possible to accomplish, it's almost too much to bare. I was so used to everything being normal again, so having this sprung up on me so suddenly -it reminds me of what it was like when I was searching for Al's body." He paused for a moment, looking up to catch her eye. "Honestly," he said flatly, "it's not something I miss."

Winry sighed tiredly, looking down at her hands. "I know what you mean. Ever since the Promised Day, things around here have been wonderfully calm, so this seems pretty bazaar to me too." Her voice hardened slightly, determination steeling her words as she met his gaze. "Listen Ed, I'm not going to force you into helping, and I won't be mad or upset if you decide turn her down." Winry's eyes were sharp, and suddenly, Edward could tell how important this conversation was to her. "But before you do, just think back to when you were in her situation." Her eyes searched his, seeking out some hint of true understanding. "That's all I want, okay?"

"Yeah," Ed replied, his voice thick. "Okay, Winry."

Winry nodded, wiping her eyes again, satisfied. "Good, you stupid alchemy freak. Now go inside; dinner's almost ready."

Dinner that night was interesting. Winry, who was surprisingly cheerful, had apparently forgotten all about their conversation just a few minutes earlier, or had at least decided to push it as far out of her mind as she could. She smiled the entire time, laughing at Ed's jokes as well as his "inner battle" (as she liked to call it) with milk. Pinako also seemed happier, in a calm, quiet way. She sipped at the stew appreciatively, her approval only increasing Winry's elation.

Even Joan, who barely spoke a word during the entire meal, seemed more at ease as she munched on her salad. Edward had been worried that she'd lash out at him the moment he was in her sight, but much the opposite had happened. The girl was reserved towards him, even refusing to make eye contact, although it seemed more out of shame than hatred.

Towards the end of the meal, after much stalling similar to what he went through with Winry, Edward broke the silence between them. "Hey, Joan," he started, praying his words were much more casual that he felt. "Why don't you come with me to the hospital tomorrow? There's someone there I want you to meet."

Joan's entire body perked up, her head raising in order to meet Edward's eyes. "Do you mean your brother?"

Ed nodded, ripping off a huge bite of roll. "Uh-huh."

There was a pause while Joan stared at the boy, her eyebrows slightly knitted in quiet confusion.

"Are you sure that's a-" Winry began, but Joan cut her off.

"Sure," she said thoughtfully, a small smile playing on her lips. "I'd like that."

Hi again! I hope you liked my chapter. As I said in the opening note, I have finally figured out an actual rock-solid plot, so there should be some interesting developments (and action, hopefully) to come! Thank you all so much for reading my writing, it really means so much more than I can convey. Reading has always been a fun pastime for me, so the fact that some of my writing is giving that same kind of pleasure is just amazing to me. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and you can all be sure you were one of the top things I am grateful for. I hope you had a happy holiday (if you're American, I mean. Otherwise, I hope you had a happy Thursday :) ).

As always, please message me with any critiques, questions, comments, confusions, speculations, corrections, hypothe, opinions, suggestions, or just to say hi. Thanks again, for everything you all have done for me!

All the best,

~Lauren-kun