(no subject)
Title: The Bonds That We Save
Author: ningicoco
Recipient: rosemusek
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Winry, Rose
Summary: Winry thinks that Rose will understand.
Despite its ruined state, Reole is still brimming with life. People are constantly moving, swarming the streets at different intervals in a seemingly endless chain. Most have their arms filled- from beams that will be used to repair toppled buildings to sacks of potatoes needed for the daily brew of stew.
Winry can’t seem to tear her eyes away- and Rose notices.
“You want to be down there,” she says, and it’s said as a statement, not a question.
Winry turns and looks at Rose, who is staring at her with a bemused smile. She opens her mouth to protest but lets out a small sigh. Winry was never taught to hide her desires- more like the exact opposite. If you wanted something you made it known. That rule had only been reinforced growing up with someone like Ed, who was as subtle as a bag of bricks.
She takes a quick breath, trying to decide if she should appeal to this girl, this girl she has just met but has already given her food, clothes, and shelter for as long as she needs.
Winry thinks that Rose will understand.
“There’s no need for me to stay in your apartment all day. I can just as easily hide by blending in with the huge crowd of people outside. Plus,” and here she pauses, intent on making Rose focus on her next few words, “I’m an excellent mechanic and know a little about medicine as well. And right now Reole is in desperate need of more mechanics and first aid.”
Her breath catches in her throat as she looks into Rose’s compassionate eyes, but she manages to force the next few words around the lump in he throat.
“I know I can help people out there.”
For a few long moments neither say anything. Winry finds the silence unbearable, clenching her fists so tight that she feels her nails dig into her palms. No blood is drawn though- her nails are too short and her palms are too thick with calluses.
Rose keeps twitching her hands, turning them as if to look at her nails before letting them hang back down. Then she looks Winry in the eye and smiles, her expression warm and open, before speaking.
“You’re right, and if Al or Hohenheim don’t agree then they have no common sense. After all,” she adds with a sly grin, “Al is a lot more noticeable in his armor but he’s not hiding in my room so why should you?”
At this Winry lets out a chuckle before beaming as Rose grabs her hand, pulling them out of their apartment.
“I know the perfect job for you. Did you see the train station when you first walked into Reole? After the riots escalated the trains stopped coming in and out of the city, so the station is currently being used to shelter people who have lost their homes, and there have been several complaints about the plumbing...”
Winry feels a smile spread across her face, happy to finally be doing something useful but also because she enjoys being around Rose. She squeezes Rose’s hand, and when Rose squeezes back, she feels content for the first time in weeks.
*
“I can’t believe that the plumbing here is so bad. It’s almost as bad as this one hotel in Central. And let me tell you,” Winry grumbles as she falls onto Rose’s bed, “that hotel’s plumbing was crap. I had to temporarily fix some of the pipes in the bathroom just so I could use the sink!”
Rose laughs, scooting over so that Winry isn’t hanging on the edge. The first week one had slept on the floor while the other slept on the bed and they would alternate each night. However, once they had realized that neither moved that much while sleeping, they decided that the bed was big enough for both of them. Now, they would sit up and talk before falling asleep back-to-back.
“And does this hotel have a name?” Rose asks with a slight smile.
Winry’s eyes narrow in concentration, and her whole face scrunches up, as if she smelled something nasty. Then she sighs, burying her face in her pillow before slowly admitting, “I forgot it.”
Covering her mouth with her hands, Rose tries to stop herself from giggling. Of course, then Winry demands to know what’s so funny and Rose feels the giggles turn into laughter, holding her stomach as she rolls into Winry.
“You really hated it that much?” is all she can get out before she starts giggling once more and now Winry is laughing as well.
It’s a while before they both manage to get their breathing back to normal, and Rose can still feel her sides shaking as she straightens up.
“Ok, so you told me that the station’s plumbing is almost as bad as this horror of a no-name hotel,” and at this they both burst into giggles, “but how is it coming along?” Rose doesn’t try to hide the unbridled curiosity and excitement in her voice.
At this Winry sits up straighter, her eyes focused on the empty space in front of her, as if she can see the pipes right there. The plumbing in the station has proven to be a difficult task, having been badly damaged during the riots and it’s condition worsened by the winter cold. Winry and several others have been working on it for several weeks, but the process has proven slow, as many pipes have needed to be replaced. Yet Rose asks for an update every night and Winry happily obliges.
This night Winry seemed more satisfied than usual, and her bright grin makes Rose’s heart soar.
“We’ve found, and stopped, all the major leaks and have replaced most of the bad pipes, and should finish replacing the others in three days. After that all that’s left is a little fine-tuning, a few test runs to see of we missed anything, and its good to go! I say we’ll be done in...”
Her face scrunches up once more in concentration, mentally calculating each and every task, before smiling.
“We’ll be done in one more week!” Winry exclaims proudly, straightening only to pushed down as Rose hugs her tightly.
“That’s amazing Winry!” Rose can’t remember the last time she felt this happy, and the next words tumble out of her mouth without thought, “I’m so proud of you.”
As soon as she realizes what she said, Rose looks at Winry, hoping that it didn’t sound too strange. But Winry simply smiles and squeezes Rose’s hand before saying, “Thanks Rose”.
And when Winry goes to turn off the lights it hits Rose that no, it’s not weird to say that, because they’re friends. And friends tell each other how proud they are of what the other has accomplished.
Rose snuggles into her pillow and tucks the covers around herself tightly before drifting off to sleep.
*
“Winry, do you know how to make a meat pie?”
Winry tosses Rose a look over her shoulder as she removes a sack of flour from the shelf.
“I can make apple pie...” she says, her sentence trailing off as she shrugs her shoulders slightly. After the station’s plumbing had been fixed Winry has been doing various jobs, from putting wires into rebuilt buildings to disinfecting and bandaging wounds.
Today she is helping Rose cook the daily rations. The old man who usually works has caught a cold, and while it isn’t anything serious, he doesn’t want to get anybody else sick. Winry doesn’t mind- she knows how important the rations are to many of the people of Reole and she enjoys spending time with Rose.
“Perfect! You can make the crust while I gather the other ingredients.”
By the time Winry turns around Rose is already rummaging through the supplies. Winry smiles slightly to herself before heading to the counter, heaving the bag of flour onto the surface.
After doing a quick wipe down she heads over to where the butter is kept. Butter, cold water, and flour are all one needs for a good piecrust Gracia had told her, and through trial and error Winry had discovered that she was right.
Winry has to make enough dough for several meat pies, and mentally calculates how much of each ingredient is needed. She places butter in another bowl, chopping it into little pieces, before pouring flour in and mixing the two together. The butter has become hard from the cold, and it’s turns out to be quite a physical and demanding task.
When that’s done, and the mixture has the texture of crumbled cheese, she takes a moment to catch her breath before adding the water. Winry makes sure to pour slowly, and only a little at a time, mixing all the while to ensure that it doesn’t get too wet and sticky. Once the dough begins to look stringy Winry stops pouring and begins kneading the dough with her hands, forming several large balls.
It isn’t until after she has already sprinkled the counter with flour that Winry remembers something important.
“Rose, you know that the dough has to chill for a few hours before I can roll it out, right?”
“I know,” Rose’s voice says from behind the shelves. “That’s why you’re making it now, since it takes a while to cook the filling.”
Winry muses that that makes sense, flattening the balls of dough into firm, large disks before leaving them on the counter. The air outside is cold enough to chill the dough, and it saves her the trouble of having to find someplace to put them.
A loud scream of “Found it!” makes her jump, her nerves still rattled from being on the run. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Rose sauntering over proudly, cradling a box full of what appears to be canned food.
“Look what I found! I knew we had canned beef around here somewhere,” she says, waving a can over her head as one would wave a trophy after victory. Winry can’t help but smile at the sight.
Rose does a quick survey of the kitchen, taking stock of her familiar surroundings with poise and confidence. In this kitchen she is the veteran and it shows as she begins instructing Winry.
“Grab that pot over there and fill up about a quarter of it with water, then place it on the stove. You have to turn the dial all the way around at a medium speed to get it hot enough for the water to boil- if you turn either too slow or too fast the dial will get stuck.”
Winry nods, grateful that Rose is taking charge. She carefully follows each and every of Rose’s instructions, intent on her task. Winry enjoys cooking, and she wants to remember the recipe so that someday she might be able to make this for Al and Ed.
Rose is very thorough in her instructions, and takes time to answer Winry’s questions. They quickly fall into a rhythm, weaving around one another as if they have been working together for years instead of a few hours.
The sound of their chatter echoes through the empty alleys.
*
Rose is pretty sure that the series of strange noises coming out of Winry’s mouth were meant to mean something like “Hand me the new light bulb” but she can’t help laugh. Winry, currently balancing on a ladder, clutching on with one hand while holding a dead light bulb in the other and a screwdriver in her mouth, dramatically rolls her eyes before once more gesturing for the new light bulb.
Rose gives Winry the new light bulb and takes the old one as Winry starts screwing the it into place.
“Done!” she exclaims triumphantly before scaling down the ladder, looking up proudly at her handiwork. During the two months she’s stayed here Winry has slowly been fixing Rose’s apartment despite her protests.
Rose smiles fondly at the memory of Winry telling her that she was determined to have her home running better whether Rose liked it or not.
Winry adjusts her ponytail and sleeves before walking towards the kitchen, grabbing a wrench from the toolbox she borrowed from Rose’s neighbor.
“You said the faucet in the kitchen keeps dripping right?”
“That’s right.” Rose finds it fascinating to watch Winry work. No matter the task she always takes her time, working carefully with a strong yet gentle touch. Winry’s shoulders are broader than Rose’s, and her arms are corded with muscle. She can see the tendons pop out in Winry’s hands and arms as she uses her wrench to tighten something under the sink.
“Alright,” Winry says as she stands up, “now turn it on and then off.” Rose complies, and when she turns the water off the faucet is no longer dripping. She beams at Winry and gives her a quick hug, her “Thank you” lost in the thick curtain of Winry’s hair.
Winry’s face flushes, and she mumbles about how it’s not a problem. After Rose lets go she fetches her tools, and starts cleaning them carefully. Rose observes how Winry handles each instrument with care and delicacy, so similar to how she herself handles her utensils when cooking.
“Hey Winry?”
Winry doesn’t look up from her task of cleaning. “Yeah?”
“How do you know so much about fixing things? I mean, why does an auto-mail engineer know so much about plumbing, tampering with stoves, and household electricity?”
It’s something that Rose has been wondering for a while now. Most mechanics, especially ones in such a specialized field as Winry, usually only knew the details about machinery they worked with, and Rose highly doubted that Winry had made an auto-mail arm that was also a mini-stove.
Though, Rose reckons, if anyone could make something like that it would probably be Winry.
“My Grandmother.” Winry is still cleaning the tools, but working at a much slower pace, focused on explaining this part of her training to Rose. “Before she would let me help her with even the smallest adjustments on a client’s auto-mail she made sure I had tampered with and improved every piece of machinery in our house.”
Winry picks up the clean tools and slowly places them back into the box. “Her reasoning was this: auto-mail is something that is used daily, so it is very important to the one who has it. So...” she pauses when closing the lid, her brows furrowed as she searches for the right words.
“So she wanted me to work on machinery that I used daily as well and therefore was very important to me. After all, if I can reassemble a stove and fix the plumbing then I have mastered the required skills of a delicate touch, correct placement, and a strong and steady grip!”
Rose nods at her friend’s explanation and giggles at the thought of a younger Winry holding a wrench that's probably almost as big as her. “Sounds like a strange apprenticeship.”
Winry chuckles at that. “It was, but she was right. It did teach me about what auto-mail really is.”
Rose can’t keep her eyebrows from shooting up. “And that is...”
“Machinery that improves people’s daily lives.” She pulls the lid to see if it is properly shut on the toolbox before picking it up and heading for the door.
“I’m just gonna return these tools to Mr. Harding real quick. I’ll be back in a few minutes!”
Rose nods, her mind elsewhere, and the sound of the door closing barely registers in her mind. She’s too busy thinking about the boy who told her to get up and start walking once more- and the girl who helped that boy do the same.
*
“So what’s going on between you and Ed?”
“Nothing!” Unfortunately Winry brings her head up sharply when she answer and bangs it on the shelf above her. She yells “Fuck!” as she tumbles to the floor.
Rose laughs, but leans over and helps her back up. However the twinkle in her eyes tells Winry that she isn’t ready to drop the subject.
“Don’t you ‘nothing’ me. I’ve seen Al tease you far too many times for it to be just nothing.”
Winry denies it once more, stating that they’re only childhood friends. She continues stating this over and over during the next half-hour, since Rose is determined to get a different answer.
“Rose,” and by this point Winry is exhausted, “we’re just friends. I swear!”
“Alright, alright,” Rose sighs, seemingly tired of this argument as well. But her frown turns into a smirk and Winry feels her stomach drop.
“I’ll just ask Al later and he’ll give me a real answer!”
“My answer is a real answer!” Winry fumes.
When Rose shakes her head “no” in response Winry sticks her tongue out at her. Rose returns the gesture and isn’t long before they’re waggling fingers and pulling down eyelids, both laughing while trying to see who can make the funniest face.
The old man comes in just as Winry and Rose are pretending to be a dinosaurs, their arms bunched up as they walk on the balls of their feet while growling strangely. He looks at them both in confusion, his face seemingly frozen in shock.
“What are you- never mind. I don’t want to know.”
He simply shakes his head and walks right back out the door, leaving the two girls alone as they start cracking up once more, leaning against each other as their laughter rings throughout the city.
*
“Hey Rose.”
She turns around to face the girl laying beside her. “Yeah Winry?”
The other girl is silent for so long that Rose begins to think she fell back asleep, until her voice cuts through the quiet once more.
“Why did you want to see Ed?” Winry’s voice is steady for such an unusual question.
“I’m not jealous,” Winry adds, and Rose knows by the calm and even tone of her voice that she is telling the truth, “I’m just simply curious.”
Rose lays there, side by side with Winry, as she tries to put her feelings into words.
“I wanted him to see how we’re doing, how the people of Reole are rebuilding this city with our own hands. And,” and here the words seem to stick in her throat, “I wanted him to see how I’m doing as well.”
She feels Winry grab her hand and give it a tight but comforting squeeze.
“I know that Ed would be proud of how much you’ve done.” Her grip lessens but Winry still doesn’t let go of her hand completely. “I’m proud of how much you’ve done.”
Rose doesn’t fight the tears streaming down her face as she reaches over and envelopes Winry in a hug. Winry’s strong arms snake around her and Rose simply holds on even tighter.
After a while she manages to swallow the lump in her throat, and whispers into Winry’s ear, “I’m glad I got to meet you.”
This time it’s Winry’s arms that tighten their hold, and Rose feels the words vibrate through Winry as they’re being said.
“So am I.”
They hold onto each other the rest of the night.
*
“Are you ready to go Winry!”
“Just a second Al!” Winry doesn’t have very many belongings to pack but Rose insisted that she wear some of her clothes so as to better hide herself.
It’s been three and a half months since they arrived in Reole, and with the new year just around the corner it’s time for everyone to get into their positions. Hohenheim has already left for the Kanama slums, while she and Al are heading out to meet Mr. Miles and the Briggs troops right now.
Winry takes one last look at the apartment she has been sharing with Rose this whole time before she heads out the door.
Al is waiting for her by the train tracks. Since the Reole station is still closed she and Al are going to walk along the tracks to the next station where the Northern soldiers will then pick them up.
As she walks through the city, waving to the people who she has worked with, she feels as if she can already see the improvement made in only three months of repair.
“Winry!” She sees Al waving at her by the station up ahead, surrounded by a small crowd. Zanpano and Jerso are the first to step out and wish her farewell.
“Good luck kid.”
“Stay safe, alright?”
“I will.” Winry shakes their hands, smiling at them both. “Bye Yoki!” she calls to the him standing in the crowd- he gives a grumpy wave in response.
The old man then steps up to her and shakes her hand, jerking his other thumb at Al. “I gave him enough rations for you both. You take care now.”
She simply shakes his hand even harder, overcome with gratitude. “Thank you so much.”
Winry feels someone tap her shoulder and turns to see Rose standing behind her. The other girl’s eyes are shining with unshed tears, and her voice trembles as she says, “I think you’re forgetting someone.”
“I would never forget you.” Winry pulls Rose into a tight hug, and she doesn’t want to let go of her friend. At this point Rose’s arms feel familiar and the taller girl’s embrace is comforting.
Rose is the first to pull away, though her hands are still resting on Winry’s shoulders, and her stance laced with determination. “When this is all over,” she waves her arms in the general direction of Al and the tracks, “make sure you come back and visit Reole.” She tightens her grip on Winry’s shoulders.
“I want you to see how much Reole will have improved by then.”
Winry grabs Rose’s hands in her own and squeezes, trying to convey the pride and joy she gets from just being her friend, from seeing what she’s done for not only herself, but also for the people of Reole- and what she has done for her.
“Deal.”
Author: ningicoco
Recipient: rosemusek
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Winry, Rose
Summary: Winry thinks that Rose will understand.
Despite its ruined state, Reole is still brimming with life. People are constantly moving, swarming the streets at different intervals in a seemingly endless chain. Most have their arms filled- from beams that will be used to repair toppled buildings to sacks of potatoes needed for the daily brew of stew.
Winry can’t seem to tear her eyes away- and Rose notices.
“You want to be down there,” she says, and it’s said as a statement, not a question.
Winry turns and looks at Rose, who is staring at her with a bemused smile. She opens her mouth to protest but lets out a small sigh. Winry was never taught to hide her desires- more like the exact opposite. If you wanted something you made it known. That rule had only been reinforced growing up with someone like Ed, who was as subtle as a bag of bricks.
She takes a quick breath, trying to decide if she should appeal to this girl, this girl she has just met but has already given her food, clothes, and shelter for as long as she needs.
Winry thinks that Rose will understand.
“There’s no need for me to stay in your apartment all day. I can just as easily hide by blending in with the huge crowd of people outside. Plus,” and here she pauses, intent on making Rose focus on her next few words, “I’m an excellent mechanic and know a little about medicine as well. And right now Reole is in desperate need of more mechanics and first aid.”
Her breath catches in her throat as she looks into Rose’s compassionate eyes, but she manages to force the next few words around the lump in he throat.
“I know I can help people out there.”
For a few long moments neither say anything. Winry finds the silence unbearable, clenching her fists so tight that she feels her nails dig into her palms. No blood is drawn though- her nails are too short and her palms are too thick with calluses.
Rose keeps twitching her hands, turning them as if to look at her nails before letting them hang back down. Then she looks Winry in the eye and smiles, her expression warm and open, before speaking.
“You’re right, and if Al or Hohenheim don’t agree then they have no common sense. After all,” she adds with a sly grin, “Al is a lot more noticeable in his armor but he’s not hiding in my room so why should you?”
At this Winry lets out a chuckle before beaming as Rose grabs her hand, pulling them out of their apartment.
“I know the perfect job for you. Did you see the train station when you first walked into Reole? After the riots escalated the trains stopped coming in and out of the city, so the station is currently being used to shelter people who have lost their homes, and there have been several complaints about the plumbing...”
Winry feels a smile spread across her face, happy to finally be doing something useful but also because she enjoys being around Rose. She squeezes Rose’s hand, and when Rose squeezes back, she feels content for the first time in weeks.
*
“I can’t believe that the plumbing here is so bad. It’s almost as bad as this one hotel in Central. And let me tell you,” Winry grumbles as she falls onto Rose’s bed, “that hotel’s plumbing was crap. I had to temporarily fix some of the pipes in the bathroom just so I could use the sink!”
Rose laughs, scooting over so that Winry isn’t hanging on the edge. The first week one had slept on the floor while the other slept on the bed and they would alternate each night. However, once they had realized that neither moved that much while sleeping, they decided that the bed was big enough for both of them. Now, they would sit up and talk before falling asleep back-to-back.
“And does this hotel have a name?” Rose asks with a slight smile.
Winry’s eyes narrow in concentration, and her whole face scrunches up, as if she smelled something nasty. Then she sighs, burying her face in her pillow before slowly admitting, “I forgot it.”
Covering her mouth with her hands, Rose tries to stop herself from giggling. Of course, then Winry demands to know what’s so funny and Rose feels the giggles turn into laughter, holding her stomach as she rolls into Winry.
“You really hated it that much?” is all she can get out before she starts giggling once more and now Winry is laughing as well.
It’s a while before they both manage to get their breathing back to normal, and Rose can still feel her sides shaking as she straightens up.
“Ok, so you told me that the station’s plumbing is almost as bad as this horror of a no-name hotel,” and at this they both burst into giggles, “but how is it coming along?” Rose doesn’t try to hide the unbridled curiosity and excitement in her voice.
At this Winry sits up straighter, her eyes focused on the empty space in front of her, as if she can see the pipes right there. The plumbing in the station has proven to be a difficult task, having been badly damaged during the riots and it’s condition worsened by the winter cold. Winry and several others have been working on it for several weeks, but the process has proven slow, as many pipes have needed to be replaced. Yet Rose asks for an update every night and Winry happily obliges.
This night Winry seemed more satisfied than usual, and her bright grin makes Rose’s heart soar.
“We’ve found, and stopped, all the major leaks and have replaced most of the bad pipes, and should finish replacing the others in three days. After that all that’s left is a little fine-tuning, a few test runs to see of we missed anything, and its good to go! I say we’ll be done in...”
Her face scrunches up once more in concentration, mentally calculating each and every task, before smiling.
“We’ll be done in one more week!” Winry exclaims proudly, straightening only to pushed down as Rose hugs her tightly.
“That’s amazing Winry!” Rose can’t remember the last time she felt this happy, and the next words tumble out of her mouth without thought, “I’m so proud of you.”
As soon as she realizes what she said, Rose looks at Winry, hoping that it didn’t sound too strange. But Winry simply smiles and squeezes Rose’s hand before saying, “Thanks Rose”.
And when Winry goes to turn off the lights it hits Rose that no, it’s not weird to say that, because they’re friends. And friends tell each other how proud they are of what the other has accomplished.
Rose snuggles into her pillow and tucks the covers around herself tightly before drifting off to sleep.
*
“Winry, do you know how to make a meat pie?”
Winry tosses Rose a look over her shoulder as she removes a sack of flour from the shelf.
“I can make apple pie...” she says, her sentence trailing off as she shrugs her shoulders slightly. After the station’s plumbing had been fixed Winry has been doing various jobs, from putting wires into rebuilt buildings to disinfecting and bandaging wounds.
Today she is helping Rose cook the daily rations. The old man who usually works has caught a cold, and while it isn’t anything serious, he doesn’t want to get anybody else sick. Winry doesn’t mind- she knows how important the rations are to many of the people of Reole and she enjoys spending time with Rose.
“Perfect! You can make the crust while I gather the other ingredients.”
By the time Winry turns around Rose is already rummaging through the supplies. Winry smiles slightly to herself before heading to the counter, heaving the bag of flour onto the surface.
After doing a quick wipe down she heads over to where the butter is kept. Butter, cold water, and flour are all one needs for a good piecrust Gracia had told her, and through trial and error Winry had discovered that she was right.
Winry has to make enough dough for several meat pies, and mentally calculates how much of each ingredient is needed. She places butter in another bowl, chopping it into little pieces, before pouring flour in and mixing the two together. The butter has become hard from the cold, and it’s turns out to be quite a physical and demanding task.
When that’s done, and the mixture has the texture of crumbled cheese, she takes a moment to catch her breath before adding the water. Winry makes sure to pour slowly, and only a little at a time, mixing all the while to ensure that it doesn’t get too wet and sticky. Once the dough begins to look stringy Winry stops pouring and begins kneading the dough with her hands, forming several large balls.
It isn’t until after she has already sprinkled the counter with flour that Winry remembers something important.
“Rose, you know that the dough has to chill for a few hours before I can roll it out, right?”
“I know,” Rose’s voice says from behind the shelves. “That’s why you’re making it now, since it takes a while to cook the filling.”
Winry muses that that makes sense, flattening the balls of dough into firm, large disks before leaving them on the counter. The air outside is cold enough to chill the dough, and it saves her the trouble of having to find someplace to put them.
A loud scream of “Found it!” makes her jump, her nerves still rattled from being on the run. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Rose sauntering over proudly, cradling a box full of what appears to be canned food.
“Look what I found! I knew we had canned beef around here somewhere,” she says, waving a can over her head as one would wave a trophy after victory. Winry can’t help but smile at the sight.
Rose does a quick survey of the kitchen, taking stock of her familiar surroundings with poise and confidence. In this kitchen she is the veteran and it shows as she begins instructing Winry.
“Grab that pot over there and fill up about a quarter of it with water, then place it on the stove. You have to turn the dial all the way around at a medium speed to get it hot enough for the water to boil- if you turn either too slow or too fast the dial will get stuck.”
Winry nods, grateful that Rose is taking charge. She carefully follows each and every of Rose’s instructions, intent on her task. Winry enjoys cooking, and she wants to remember the recipe so that someday she might be able to make this for Al and Ed.
Rose is very thorough in her instructions, and takes time to answer Winry’s questions. They quickly fall into a rhythm, weaving around one another as if they have been working together for years instead of a few hours.
The sound of their chatter echoes through the empty alleys.
*
Rose is pretty sure that the series of strange noises coming out of Winry’s mouth were meant to mean something like “Hand me the new light bulb” but she can’t help laugh. Winry, currently balancing on a ladder, clutching on with one hand while holding a dead light bulb in the other and a screwdriver in her mouth, dramatically rolls her eyes before once more gesturing for the new light bulb.
Rose gives Winry the new light bulb and takes the old one as Winry starts screwing the it into place.
“Done!” she exclaims triumphantly before scaling down the ladder, looking up proudly at her handiwork. During the two months she’s stayed here Winry has slowly been fixing Rose’s apartment despite her protests.
Rose smiles fondly at the memory of Winry telling her that she was determined to have her home running better whether Rose liked it or not.
Winry adjusts her ponytail and sleeves before walking towards the kitchen, grabbing a wrench from the toolbox she borrowed from Rose’s neighbor.
“You said the faucet in the kitchen keeps dripping right?”
“That’s right.” Rose finds it fascinating to watch Winry work. No matter the task she always takes her time, working carefully with a strong yet gentle touch. Winry’s shoulders are broader than Rose’s, and her arms are corded with muscle. She can see the tendons pop out in Winry’s hands and arms as she uses her wrench to tighten something under the sink.
“Alright,” Winry says as she stands up, “now turn it on and then off.” Rose complies, and when she turns the water off the faucet is no longer dripping. She beams at Winry and gives her a quick hug, her “Thank you” lost in the thick curtain of Winry’s hair.
Winry’s face flushes, and she mumbles about how it’s not a problem. After Rose lets go she fetches her tools, and starts cleaning them carefully. Rose observes how Winry handles each instrument with care and delicacy, so similar to how she herself handles her utensils when cooking.
“Hey Winry?”
Winry doesn’t look up from her task of cleaning. “Yeah?”
“How do you know so much about fixing things? I mean, why does an auto-mail engineer know so much about plumbing, tampering with stoves, and household electricity?”
It’s something that Rose has been wondering for a while now. Most mechanics, especially ones in such a specialized field as Winry, usually only knew the details about machinery they worked with, and Rose highly doubted that Winry had made an auto-mail arm that was also a mini-stove.
Though, Rose reckons, if anyone could make something like that it would probably be Winry.
“My Grandmother.” Winry is still cleaning the tools, but working at a much slower pace, focused on explaining this part of her training to Rose. “Before she would let me help her with even the smallest adjustments on a client’s auto-mail she made sure I had tampered with and improved every piece of machinery in our house.”
Winry picks up the clean tools and slowly places them back into the box. “Her reasoning was this: auto-mail is something that is used daily, so it is very important to the one who has it. So...” she pauses when closing the lid, her brows furrowed as she searches for the right words.
“So she wanted me to work on machinery that I used daily as well and therefore was very important to me. After all, if I can reassemble a stove and fix the plumbing then I have mastered the required skills of a delicate touch, correct placement, and a strong and steady grip!”
Rose nods at her friend’s explanation and giggles at the thought of a younger Winry holding a wrench that's probably almost as big as her. “Sounds like a strange apprenticeship.”
Winry chuckles at that. “It was, but she was right. It did teach me about what auto-mail really is.”
Rose can’t keep her eyebrows from shooting up. “And that is...”
“Machinery that improves people’s daily lives.” She pulls the lid to see if it is properly shut on the toolbox before picking it up and heading for the door.
“I’m just gonna return these tools to Mr. Harding real quick. I’ll be back in a few minutes!”
Rose nods, her mind elsewhere, and the sound of the door closing barely registers in her mind. She’s too busy thinking about the boy who told her to get up and start walking once more- and the girl who helped that boy do the same.
*
“So what’s going on between you and Ed?”
“Nothing!” Unfortunately Winry brings her head up sharply when she answer and bangs it on the shelf above her. She yells “Fuck!” as she tumbles to the floor.
Rose laughs, but leans over and helps her back up. However the twinkle in her eyes tells Winry that she isn’t ready to drop the subject.
“Don’t you ‘nothing’ me. I’ve seen Al tease you far too many times for it to be just nothing.”
Winry denies it once more, stating that they’re only childhood friends. She continues stating this over and over during the next half-hour, since Rose is determined to get a different answer.
“Rose,” and by this point Winry is exhausted, “we’re just friends. I swear!”
“Alright, alright,” Rose sighs, seemingly tired of this argument as well. But her frown turns into a smirk and Winry feels her stomach drop.
“I’ll just ask Al later and he’ll give me a real answer!”
“My answer is a real answer!” Winry fumes.
When Rose shakes her head “no” in response Winry sticks her tongue out at her. Rose returns the gesture and isn’t long before they’re waggling fingers and pulling down eyelids, both laughing while trying to see who can make the funniest face.
The old man comes in just as Winry and Rose are pretending to be a dinosaurs, their arms bunched up as they walk on the balls of their feet while growling strangely. He looks at them both in confusion, his face seemingly frozen in shock.
“What are you- never mind. I don’t want to know.”
He simply shakes his head and walks right back out the door, leaving the two girls alone as they start cracking up once more, leaning against each other as their laughter rings throughout the city.
*
“Hey Rose.”
She turns around to face the girl laying beside her. “Yeah Winry?”
The other girl is silent for so long that Rose begins to think she fell back asleep, until her voice cuts through the quiet once more.
“Why did you want to see Ed?” Winry’s voice is steady for such an unusual question.
“I’m not jealous,” Winry adds, and Rose knows by the calm and even tone of her voice that she is telling the truth, “I’m just simply curious.”
Rose lays there, side by side with Winry, as she tries to put her feelings into words.
“I wanted him to see how we’re doing, how the people of Reole are rebuilding this city with our own hands. And,” and here the words seem to stick in her throat, “I wanted him to see how I’m doing as well.”
She feels Winry grab her hand and give it a tight but comforting squeeze.
“I know that Ed would be proud of how much you’ve done.” Her grip lessens but Winry still doesn’t let go of her hand completely. “I’m proud of how much you’ve done.”
Rose doesn’t fight the tears streaming down her face as she reaches over and envelopes Winry in a hug. Winry’s strong arms snake around her and Rose simply holds on even tighter.
After a while she manages to swallow the lump in her throat, and whispers into Winry’s ear, “I’m glad I got to meet you.”
This time it’s Winry’s arms that tighten their hold, and Rose feels the words vibrate through Winry as they’re being said.
“So am I.”
They hold onto each other the rest of the night.
*
“Are you ready to go Winry!”
“Just a second Al!” Winry doesn’t have very many belongings to pack but Rose insisted that she wear some of her clothes so as to better hide herself.
It’s been three and a half months since they arrived in Reole, and with the new year just around the corner it’s time for everyone to get into their positions. Hohenheim has already left for the Kanama slums, while she and Al are heading out to meet Mr. Miles and the Briggs troops right now.
Winry takes one last look at the apartment she has been sharing with Rose this whole time before she heads out the door.
Al is waiting for her by the train tracks. Since the Reole station is still closed she and Al are going to walk along the tracks to the next station where the Northern soldiers will then pick them up.
As she walks through the city, waving to the people who she has worked with, she feels as if she can already see the improvement made in only three months of repair.
“Winry!” She sees Al waving at her by the station up ahead, surrounded by a small crowd. Zanpano and Jerso are the first to step out and wish her farewell.
“Good luck kid.”
“Stay safe, alright?”
“I will.” Winry shakes their hands, smiling at them both. “Bye Yoki!” she calls to the him standing in the crowd- he gives a grumpy wave in response.
The old man then steps up to her and shakes her hand, jerking his other thumb at Al. “I gave him enough rations for you both. You take care now.”
She simply shakes his hand even harder, overcome with gratitude. “Thank you so much.”
Winry feels someone tap her shoulder and turns to see Rose standing behind her. The other girl’s eyes are shining with unshed tears, and her voice trembles as she says, “I think you’re forgetting someone.”
“I would never forget you.” Winry pulls Rose into a tight hug, and she doesn’t want to let go of her friend. At this point Rose’s arms feel familiar and the taller girl’s embrace is comforting.
Rose is the first to pull away, though her hands are still resting on Winry’s shoulders, and her stance laced with determination. “When this is all over,” she waves her arms in the general direction of Al and the tracks, “make sure you come back and visit Reole.” She tightens her grip on Winry’s shoulders.
“I want you to see how much Reole will have improved by then.”
Winry grabs Rose’s hands in her own and squeezes, trying to convey the pride and joy she gets from just being her friend, from seeing what she’s done for not only herself, but also for the people of Reole- and what she has done for her.
“Deal.”