Preview: Crimson and Clover, Ch. 3
Winry had meant to visit Ed on his birthday, but she excused herself using Ed’s own logic: it didn’t matter when she visited because he wouldn’t remember it anyway. Instead it took her nearly two weeks to work up the courage to see her friend, and she was nervous walking up to the gates of the place. A real mental institution, she told herself, shuddering, not sure what to expect. She gave her name at the front desk and was waved inside, being told that Ed was always allowed to have visitors because he never caused any problems. Never caused any problems? she thought, frowning somewhat. That doesn’t sound like Ed.
He was sitting at a table by a window playing solitaire when she found him, which she also found odd: Ed always said solitaire was no fun; playing cards alone was no fun. She looked around at the other people in the room, people with vacant stares, people who twitched, people who muttered to themselves or to the furniture. She shuddered again. She didn’t care how sick Ed was, she didn’t believe for a minute this place was good for him.
His eyes met hers when he looked up from his game, and he smiled and stood up. “Hi Winry,” he said, his voice sounding slightly subdued in some way. She couldn’t quite place what made it sound different, she just knew that it did.
She grabbed him in a hug, feeling the hard metal of his shoulder through the thin hospital shirt. “Happy birthday, Ed,” she said into the side of his neck, hugging him extra hard before letting go.
“Thanks, how old am I?” he asked cheerfully, but felt bad when he saw her face fall. “Oh, I’m kidding,” he assured her. “I know how old I am.”
“Ed!” she protested, trying to laugh but feeling like she was talking to an imitation of the Ed she knew. “That wasn’t funny!”
He grinned at her. “Come on, have a little fun. I got you with that one, didn’t I?” He folded his arms in front of him. “I know more than people think,” he said stubbornly, and she laughed for real this time. A stubborn Ed was familiar to her.
She raised her eyebrows. “Well, then you know your birthday isn’t today, so I should apologize for not coming sooner.” She could see him thinking about that for a few seconds, and got the feeling that he really didn’t know what day it is, but he just shrugged and waved her off.
“Whatever,” he said absently. “Come on, play cards with me?” he asked. He gestured to the other people in the room. “These guys can’t even play a decent game of Go Fish.”
She hung her purse on the back of the empty chair across from him and sat down, gathering up his solitaire game and shuffling the deck. “What should we play?” she asked, trying to do a fancy shuffling trick but dropping a few cards into her lap, causing Ed to snatch them away from her and shuffle them himself.
“What do you want to play?” he countered, re-shuffling the shuffled deck.
“What… what can you play?” she asked hesitantly, not wanting to insult him by implying that he couldn’t play a card game, but not wanting to suggest a game he couldn’t play, either. Card games required memory, didn’t they?
“Everything,” he said confidently. “What about rummy?” he suggested, already dealing her a hand. “It’s not that much fun with two people but we’d be hard pressed to find a third player in here.”
Edward seemed perfectly normal to her. A little calmer than usual, which was still strange, but other than that he seemed like an ordinary person would seem. He didn’t repeat conversations, he didn’t look at her blankly as if he had no idea where he was or how they got there. He didn’t seem like a sick person. He definitely didn’t seem like a person who would try to hurt himself. If anything, he seemed happy.
“I’m winning,” he said as he tallied their scores after three hands.
“I’m letting you win,” she tried telling him, but he wouldn’t hear it. This was an old conversation; Ed always won.
After coming out on top two more hands later, Winry began to suspect the truth. “You’re cheating,” she accused.
“Nope,” he said, feigning innocence.
“Edward Elric, you always cheat at cards!” she reminded him. “That’s why no one ever wants to play with you! Even Al doesn’t like to play cards with you.” She said it before she even thought about it, and she felt her face drain.
He stared at her panicked expression, then glanced down at his cards and laid another one down. “Hey, it’s all right,” he assured her. “You can talk about Al.”
“Okay…” she said slowly.
“I like talking about him,” he said. “I miss him.”
“I miss him too,” she said quietly. She was staring down at the table when she felt his cold metal fingers close over her own, and she jerked in her seat.
He withdrew his hand immediately. “Sorry,” he said, and switched hands, wrapping warm flesh fingers around her palm.
“It’s not that, its-“
“Don’t be sad,” he interrupted her, and her mind was racing. Ed wasn’t talking like a crazy person. He wasn’t acting like a crazy person. He wasn’t even acting like a person with memory problems.
“I- I’m not,” she told him. “You’re right, I like talking about Al too.” But they didn’t say anything else about Al, they merely sat next to each other, each still holding a hand of cards and neither of them remembering the game, instead remembering the younger Elric.
After a few minutes Ed put his cards down. “I don’t really feel like playing any more,” he told her, his voice low. She watched, astonished, as he pulled a few more cards out of his pant leg and put them with the rest of the deck.
He was sitting at a table by a window playing solitaire when she found him, which she also found odd: Ed always said solitaire was no fun; playing cards alone was no fun. She looked around at the other people in the room, people with vacant stares, people who twitched, people who muttered to themselves or to the furniture. She shuddered again. She didn’t care how sick Ed was, she didn’t believe for a minute this place was good for him.
His eyes met hers when he looked up from his game, and he smiled and stood up. “Hi Winry,” he said, his voice sounding slightly subdued in some way. She couldn’t quite place what made it sound different, she just knew that it did.
She grabbed him in a hug, feeling the hard metal of his shoulder through the thin hospital shirt. “Happy birthday, Ed,” she said into the side of his neck, hugging him extra hard before letting go.
“Thanks, how old am I?” he asked cheerfully, but felt bad when he saw her face fall. “Oh, I’m kidding,” he assured her. “I know how old I am.”
“Ed!” she protested, trying to laugh but feeling like she was talking to an imitation of the Ed she knew. “That wasn’t funny!”
He grinned at her. “Come on, have a little fun. I got you with that one, didn’t I?” He folded his arms in front of him. “I know more than people think,” he said stubbornly, and she laughed for real this time. A stubborn Ed was familiar to her.
She raised her eyebrows. “Well, then you know your birthday isn’t today, so I should apologize for not coming sooner.” She could see him thinking about that for a few seconds, and got the feeling that he really didn’t know what day it is, but he just shrugged and waved her off.
“Whatever,” he said absently. “Come on, play cards with me?” he asked. He gestured to the other people in the room. “These guys can’t even play a decent game of Go Fish.”
She hung her purse on the back of the empty chair across from him and sat down, gathering up his solitaire game and shuffling the deck. “What should we play?” she asked, trying to do a fancy shuffling trick but dropping a few cards into her lap, causing Ed to snatch them away from her and shuffle them himself.
“What do you want to play?” he countered, re-shuffling the shuffled deck.
“What… what can you play?” she asked hesitantly, not wanting to insult him by implying that he couldn’t play a card game, but not wanting to suggest a game he couldn’t play, either. Card games required memory, didn’t they?
“Everything,” he said confidently. “What about rummy?” he suggested, already dealing her a hand. “It’s not that much fun with two people but we’d be hard pressed to find a third player in here.”
Edward seemed perfectly normal to her. A little calmer than usual, which was still strange, but other than that he seemed like an ordinary person would seem. He didn’t repeat conversations, he didn’t look at her blankly as if he had no idea where he was or how they got there. He didn’t seem like a sick person. He definitely didn’t seem like a person who would try to hurt himself. If anything, he seemed happy.
“I’m winning,” he said as he tallied their scores after three hands.
“I’m letting you win,” she tried telling him, but he wouldn’t hear it. This was an old conversation; Ed always won.
After coming out on top two more hands later, Winry began to suspect the truth. “You’re cheating,” she accused.
“Nope,” he said, feigning innocence.
“Edward Elric, you always cheat at cards!” she reminded him. “That’s why no one ever wants to play with you! Even Al doesn’t like to play cards with you.” She said it before she even thought about it, and she felt her face drain.
He stared at her panicked expression, then glanced down at his cards and laid another one down. “Hey, it’s all right,” he assured her. “You can talk about Al.”
“Okay…” she said slowly.
“I like talking about him,” he said. “I miss him.”
“I miss him too,” she said quietly. She was staring down at the table when she felt his cold metal fingers close over her own, and she jerked in her seat.
He withdrew his hand immediately. “Sorry,” he said, and switched hands, wrapping warm flesh fingers around her palm.
“It’s not that, its-“
“Don’t be sad,” he interrupted her, and her mind was racing. Ed wasn’t talking like a crazy person. He wasn’t acting like a crazy person. He wasn’t even acting like a person with memory problems.
“I- I’m not,” she told him. “You’re right, I like talking about Al too.” But they didn’t say anything else about Al, they merely sat next to each other, each still holding a hand of cards and neither of them remembering the game, instead remembering the younger Elric.
After a few minutes Ed put his cards down. “I don’t really feel like playing any more,” he told her, his voice low. She watched, astonished, as he pulled a few more cards out of his pant leg and put them with the rest of the deck.