FMA: 52 Flavours, Prompt 44
Title: Ain’t Nothing We Can Do
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist
Theme no.: 44. It is not for nothing he has chosen to shed tears.
Pairing: Ed/Winry
Rating: K
Summary: Ed breaks his promise but he also keeps it too.
Notes: First of three updates for 52_flavours. Manga-verse, with spoilers for the most recent two chapters (being 76 and 77 at the moment) and also a spoiler for chapter 48 - which isn’t much of a spoiler because I’m pretty sure any Ed/Winry fan is aware of the promise to which I’m referring. I figured I should get this one up before the next chapter comes out and it loses any possible sense of canonicity.
44. It's not for nothing he has chosen to shed tears
It’s when she sees the blood that it happens; when, utterly exhausted after traveling with Scar and being chased by Kimbley and worrying about Al, she looks at his side and sees the blood and knows that there’s way more of it outside of his body than there should be, that she sucks in a sharp breath and blinks hard.
It’s when she sees the blood that it happens; that one, heart-wrenching moment where his promise is broken, his solemn vow reduced to nothing.
Winry lets out a shuddery breath and tries in vain to wipe away the two or three tears that escape before he can see, but it’s too late and they both know it. He sits up and grabs her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face - though she’s already staunched any other ones that threaten to leak over - and for a few quiet minutes they just look at each other, both groping for the right words.
Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Ed simply murmurs, “I’m sorry. I - I wanted to make you cry tears of joy.”
Winry wrenches her arms from his grip then, almost violently, and to his total surprise throws them around his neck, drawing him close and burying her face in his shoulder. Something warm is sliding down his neck and it takes Ed a second before he realizes that it’s more tears -tears she doesn’t want him to see because they’re not supposed to exist. “Idiot,” she breathes against his skin. “I am crying tears of joy.”