Fic: Finding Sunshine After Rain (ch 10)
Got this out in time for 503 day! Achievement Unlocked!
Title: Finding Sunshine After Rain
Rating: R
Pairing: Edwin
Series: Anime 1. But there will be a few shout-outs to Brotherhood
Summary: In order to get revenge on the FullMetal Alchemist, someone sends Winry over to the other side of the gate and forces her to act like another Earth-lookalike of herself, but there's more at stake than just a broken heart...
chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9
Ed wasn’t sure how long he and Wendy-no, not Wendy-had been sitting there, unable to say a word, when he heard someone yelling. “Ed! Ed, are you in here? Where are-?”Lang emerged from above, unusually less-than-stealthy. “Ed! What happened? Hang on!” Lang leapt down next to him, seeing the pipe in his shoulder. “Ok, I can fix this all right? I can-”
Ed wasn’t listening, wasn’t watching what Lang was doing. He stared at her-his brain still trying to comprehend.
Winry.
Winry.
Here. On this side of the gate.
She had always been here-always here, with him.
But only as Wendy.
No, Wendy wasn’t a separate person, was she? She had always been Winry.
Always!
But…how…all this time…all this time he had beat himself up-mentally fought over it-agonized, frustrated over the choice between Wendy and Winry, and now, only now he realized there was no choice-Wendy was Winry!
“Ok, brace yourself, Edward, all right?” said Lang. Ed cried out in pain as Lang pulled the pipe from his shoulder-blood droplets flew in every direction, Wendy-Winry-cried out-and the flash of pain dear god the pain so much pain-
And then it was gone. The pain in his shoulder was still there, but not the searing, crippling variety anymore. His metal right arm cradled his pained left, still oozing blood as Lang reached for his ruined coat. “Ok, this should do it…” Ed heard something behind him ripping.
But he didn’t look, because he could still only keep his eyes on her.
From the first day he met her, she had always been Winry. How did he not see it until now?
He had known her all his life, so how could he have not known her when-?
“All right. This should do it for now.” said Lang, approaching him with strips torn from his coat. Ed didn’t even protest as Lang took his arm, wrapping the wound in the thick fabric. Ed grunted as Lang tightened it, but he hardly cared-hardly noticed-nothing mattered except Winry, his Winry was here right now, with him.
She had always been there.
“Winry…” he breathed, finally able to say. “Winry…why?”
She blinked again, a small gasp escaping her. Fear filled her eyes and, she stepped back. One step. Two. Three. With one last, pleading look, she turned around and fled, racing back to the entrance.
“Wait!” Ed yelled, pulling out of Lang’s grip just as he finished tying the knot. “Wait, Winry!”
Winry flew out the warehouse door; the cold, wet rain hitting her as she darted out into the street. When did it start raining? She had been so upset chasing after Edward at first that she didn’t notice and now-
She couldn’t stay in there, not with him, not when he finally knew. Oh God, he knew-all along she had lied, and even though she had been dying inside the whole time, it didn’t excuse her.
Nothing could excuse her.
“Winry! Winry!” Ed called to her in the distance. She ran faster down the wet sidewalk, her boots splashing in puddles, dampening her skirt and socks.
Though she knew she had to face him, had to beg him for forgiveness, she couldn’t stop. What would he say when he caught up? He’d be angry, wouldn’t he?
How could he forgive her when she knew how much pain she had caused? Tears coursed down her cheeks, mixing with the rain splattering her face.
She couldn’t run forever. Hair wet, clothes soaked, and exhausted, Winry could go no more. She slowed down and stopped, leaning on a streetlight for support, oblivious to the onlookers curious about her disheveled appearance. She wished she could just keep on running and never have to look back-never have to face this one moment she knew must come-
“Winry!” Ed yelled, as he caught up to her, the splash of his footfalls coming closer and- With a heavy heart, Winry turned to face him; he looked as wet and disheveled as she did, and she noticed the makeshift bandage on his arm was beginning to bleed through-now he was physically hurt because of her.
Those few seconds when he stared at her, eyes so full of emotion and confusion, accented by the incessant pattering of raindrops, were some of the longest in her life.
“Winry,” he said again, stepping closer. He shook his head slightly, his wet bangs sticking to his cheek. “Why?”
She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to step the new round of tears. “Because Ed, I didn’t want to see you hurt! He-he threatened to kill you if I didn’t agree. He had alchemy and you didn’t and I was just so afraid-I couldn’t let you get hurt because of me. I thought-I thought it would be nothing if I was hurt, as long as you-” She gulped and looked away, her eyes on a puddle on the ground. “But you got hurt anyway. And I know it was killing you, every day-it killed me too, Ed! Every day I…” She looked back at him now, feeling those hot tears spill out. “Every day it hurt so much, not being able to tell you who I was. So many times I just wanted to tell you, to let it all out but I couldn’t-and even though I knew you were upset I thought as long as he didn’t hurt you than everything would be-”
Ed continued to stare at her, his expression still unchanged. That settled it for her. She closed her eyes, squeezing out more tears. “I’m sorry…I know how much you suffered, Ed. I’m sorry and I never should’ve-I’ll just-” She turned away.
He grabbed her hand.
Slowly, she looked back up at him; his golden eyes were full of so much emotion. “Every day…” he said, staring intensely at her. “I thought of you every day for three years.”
“Ed…” she breathed, as his hand came to cup her cheek.
“Every single day I hoped I’d find a way back…” he said, his voice near-cracking in disbelief. “Winry…is it really…”
Despite the fact that she was wet and nearly shivering, despite the tears on her face, Winry couldn’t help but smile. “Ed, it’s me…I’m here.”
Without warning, Ed suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. And she hugged him back, clinging to him like he was the last thing on Earth.
He forgave her; he understood. The secret was out, and at last, things were the way they should be.
Ed pulled away, just enough that he could look into her eyes. He moved closer, close enough that she was slowly closing her eyes as she felt his breath on her face…so close…
“Um, maybe you guys should think about moving inside,” A voice said, as Ed and Winry instantly sprang apart, blushes on their faces. Lang was there, leaning against the lamppost.
“Lang!” Ed yelled, face still red as an apple. “Why didn’t you tell us you were there?”
“Well, you looked a bit busy,” Lang shrugged, causing Ed to growl and Winry to cover her blushing face. “But besides the fact that we’re getting soaking wet,” he pointed up to the sky, “We need to bandage up your arm properly.”
Ed glanced at it, seeing a trail of blood dribble down his arm. “It’s fine-”
“Ed,” said Winry, taking his arm and looking concerned. His hand came to hold hers.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “Let’s get going-”
“Let me take you back to my place,” said Lang. “We’re close by, anyway.”
Ed did not expect Lang’s “place” to be the top floor of a fancy apartment. “You live here?” he asked, staring at all the fine and expensive things adorning the rooms.
Lang grinned, “Well, I live here until the previous owner comes back from vacation.”
“Right,” Ed rolled his eyes, before noticing the woman that came into the room. She was a small Chinese woman, and she did not look happy at seeing Lang bring home guests. She glared at Lang and said something back to him in their own language. Lang laughed and responded to her.
“This is MaiLi,” Lang said, grinning as he introduced her. Ed glanced over at Winry, who was staring at Lang with a bit of confusion; Ed had almost forgotten that Wendy-Winry didn’t speak English. “She doesn’t speak English.”
Ed, feeling a bit of payback coming on, grinned, “Oh, so is she your woman then, Lang?”
A hidden knife flew at him, missing his face by inches. Ed Froze, eyes wide and shocked, as he stared at MaiLi, glaring at him and holding another knife at the ready. Winry looked about ready to throw something back at her, before Lang laughed, breaking the tension.
“I should’ve said, she doesn’t know much English.”
“Right,” Ed growled.
Now that the pleasantries were over, Lang got serious. Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a basic first aid kit. “Here, you’ll need this,” he handed it to Winry, who, despite not understanding what he said, nodded. “You guys go in the back room. MaiLi and I will keep watch out front.”
“Watch?” Ed asked, looking curious. “For what?”
“You’re still injured, right?” It was one of the few times Lang looked genuinely concerned. “And you obviously don’t know how to fight that guy right now-if he tries to come back, you’ll be defenseless. Best to keep an eye out; I’m sure he’ll appear again.”
Ed nodded, “Right…just yell if you hear something.” Lang returned the nod, with him and MaiLi taking up positions, sitting cross-legged in the entry hallway.
The “back room” Lang had directed Ed and Winry to was actually the master bedroom. Winry sat on the bed with the first aid kit, and Ed shut the door behind them. When he looked back at her, she was staring, before slowly nodding.
They both knew they needed to talk.
Ed sat on the bed, unwrapping his bleeding arm. He winced as he pulled off the strips of his ripped coat, and Winry was quick to grab it, “Here, let me help,” she said, holding his arm steady as she wrapped the rest of the makeshift bandage off. Dried blood cracked around the wound on his arm-damnit, it might take a while to heal.
“Um, Winry…” Ed said awkwardly, as she opened the kit at her side. “I’ve gotta ask something-”
Her hand froze on the box lid, “You want to know why I lied, didn’t you?”
“No,” he said quickly. “I know why-I understand-I just want to know, how did Smith bring you through the Gate? After Al came back through, it was supposed to be impossible.”
“I don’t actually know,” Winry said, not looking into his eyes. “He did something with an alchemy circle-it hurt, and I was out for a while afterward-I’m sorry, I don’t know any more.”
An alchemy circle? Maybe that circle he found in the warehouse? But that was erased now, damnit… “Don’t worry about it. I should’ve-I should’ve been there for you. When you first came here, you must’ve been alone and scared-”
“That’s why I agreed to what he told me. I was alone and I just-But I could’ve told you after I found you,” she said, reaching for the bandages, averting her eyes. “I should have done it; how would he have known? He didn’t watch us all the time.”
“Winry, he tried to hurt us so many times-we never knew when he was watching. I don’t blame you-”
“But I blame myself,” she whispered, so softly that Ed almost didn’t hear her.
But he had. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close-her eyes were wide as he rested his forehead on hers, sighing, “It doesn’t matter, all right? You’re here now-I mean, I know you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” He paused a moment, a slight blush on his face. “Oh, and um, Al will be happy to see you too.”
“He already knows,” Winry admitted, giving him a sort-of guilty smile. “He figured it out a while ago.”
“Al knew?” Ed pulled back, his automail hand scratching his head. “Al? But he didn’t say anything!”
Winry took his left arm gently, beginning to wrap it in gauze. “He said he wanted to wait until I told you…he said it was my duty.”
“Figures!” Ed groaned. “Well, at least no one else found out-”
Spots of pink appeared in Winry’s cheeks. “Actually…Madame knew, too.”
“What?”
“And possibly Sergeant Masten-”
“What?”
“And I think that friend of yours, Lang, knew too-he did wink at me a couple of times that made me wonder-”
“What?!”
By now, Ed was near seething. “How did-how did everyone else know but me? You didn’t say anything?”
“Of course not!” Winry snapped. “But, honestly, Ed…” she finished tying the bandage. “I did…I did try to give you hints. Even when I wasn’t trying, I screwed up so much that I thought-I thought you might one day get it, but you never…”
Now that Ed was free to think about it, there were several times that ‘Wendy’ had done or said something that reminded him so much of Winry, he remembered her slipping up, saying things she couldn’t possibly know-in hindsight, how could he have brushed it aside so easily?
But he knew why.
“This world, it has doubles of people on the other side of the gate, you know?” Ed glanced at Winry. His eyes were cautious. Hesitating. “I never thought, in all my dreams, that you would come here. The gate was supposed to be closed. Al and I-we searched for so long for a way back, but…I was just starting to lose hope. Though I still searched, I was beginning to doubt.” His automail hand clenched into a fist. “Al never wanted to give up but I-I was beginning to think we were just chasing dreams.”
“And then…” he paused, his eyes meeting hers. “You showed up. But you weren’t you. At least, I didn’t think so. I thought-I thought it was the universe’s way of taunting me, you know? I was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing you again and then, you show up, but it wasn’t you. I just-I didn’t know how to deal. I wanted more than anything to find a way back to you, but as I spent more time around Wendy, I felt…guilty. What if I stayed with Wendy, but you had been in Amestris waiting for me? What if I went back to Amestris and you hadn’t waited for me and Wendy was left alone? I couldn’t decide and I just…it just fucked me up.”
“Ed,” Winry said, placing a hand on his arm. “I did wait for you…I waited for so long because I had to believe you would come back. But once I was here, and saw you again, but couldn’t tell you who I was it killed me too.”
Ed swallowed. “Yeah, it was rough. Especially after-” He paused, his train of thought hitting a screeching halt. “After we…” A heavy blush flared on his face. “Oh fuck, we…”
Now the blush spread over to her face. “Well, yes,” she muttered, obviously remembering that as well.
The pause in conversation was a tad bit too long for Ed’ s liking. “Do we have to talk about this? We already talked about it!”
“Not really,” said Winry. At least she looked uncomfortable too. Though he had to admit, she was right. Last time they talked about…that…he thought she was a completely different person.
Ed twiddled his thumbs, staring at what looked to be a particularly interesting patch of floor. “Look, um…when that happened…I was kind of thinkingofyou…the real you. So, uhm…how was I supposed to tell Wendy that?”
Winry smirked-why was she smirking? “I kind of figured.”
“I was afraid that you’d think that I took advantage of you-”
Winry sighed, “Didn’t I tell you before that it was my choice too, Ed? You don’t have to act like before I was a different person. I’ve always been me. And no matter what’s happened over the years, you’ve always been you.”
She slid closer to him on the bed, smiling softly; Ed felt his heart thump in his chest. “What’s-what’s that supposed to mean?”
Winry poked him in the ribs, “It means, dummy, that no matter what’s happened to us over the years, we’re still the same people. Though,” she grinned, looking up at him. “You’ve grown up a bit.”
Ed grinned, “Yep! I’m tall now! Ha! If we ever go back home, I can’t wait to show Mustang-”
Winry giggled, “I meant that you’re more mature now, Edward.”
“Well, I had to grow up sometime. Can’t stay fifteen forever.”
Winry smirked “Yeah, you’re not the little boy that I knew back then who cried that time we swam in the river and a fish grabbed on to your-”
“Win-Winry!” Ed stammered, red-faced at the memory. “I thought you’d forgotten about tha-”
He was cut off as she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
She pulled away before he had a chance to react. She blushed, but she was smiling. “You don’t know how long I wanted to do that…as myself.”
Ed only smiled in unspoken acknowledgement, before pulling her into another kiss.
The only sounds in the room was the pattering of rain against the window, and their gasps of breath between kisses-the outpouring of passion after realizing that finally, finally, they were together. No more secrets or lies between them.
“Ed,” Winry let escape, as he kissed the slope of her neck. “You’re bandaged up now so…shouldn’t we go back and tell everyone we’re all right?” A moan escaped her lips second after, as his wandering hands started wandering under her blouse.
“Later,” he said in a raspy whisper, meeting her lips for another kiss. “After the rain stops.”
She nodded, and her lidded eyes fell shut as they both let the rest of the world drift away…
The noises from the back room were starting to get too loud to ignore. MaiLi was sporting a full on blush, but kept her eyes ahead; on the mission. Lang couldn’t contain his grin; how did he know this would happen? He was getting to know that Edward kid quite well.
One of the two in the back moaned something very loud in German. Barley able to contain his giggle, Lang said, “Good thing we don’t speak German then, huh?” to MaiLi.
She finally cracked, hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment.
“You ready?” Ed asked, hand in Winry’s, as they stood on the steps of Madame’s bar. The rain had stopped not long ago, and now it was time for the truth to come out.
Winry met his eyes, and nodded; she didn’t look afraid, or worried. She was strong, as he always knew her to be.
With one last look, he pushed the door open.
They were all there; they must’ve waited after Lang told them of their whereabouts, to give Ed and Winry a little more time alone. Madame, Al, Lang, Masten and a blonde woman with a very large gun slung over her shoulder sat at Masten’s side. By the way she had been leaning close to the sergeant, Ed realized this woman must be Masten’s wife.
Al rose to his feet as they entered-his eyes drifted to see their clasped hands. “So, you two made up?”
“Yeah,” Ed whispered, before turning to Winry. He tightened his hand around hers-giving his unspoken support. He knew as well as she did that it was time to come clean.
“Everyone…” Winry began, before pausing briefly. “I’m not…I’m not who I said I was.” She exhaled, not turning away as she continued on. “My name is Winry, and I’m not from Germany…I come from the same place Al and Ed come from. I’m sorry I lied but…that man said he was going to hurt Ed and Al if I didn’t, so…”
“It’s all right, Winry,” said Al, coming toward her with a smile on his face. “I figured it was something stupid like that.” Wasting no time, he captured her in a hug. “It’s good to see you, Winry.”
Ed smiled on as he saw her hug him back-she was truly smiling now for the first time in ages. And he was too-knowing that she was here with him now was the absolute best feeling in the world-
But it couldn’t last.
His shoulder still ached, he reached up his automail hand to massage it. “You hurt?” asked Masten, looking genuinely concerned.
“Yeah,” Ed grunted. “Thanks to that bastard Smith.”
Masten nodded. “We need to do something about him. Especially now that Miss Wendy-sorry, Winry’s identity is known, we can’t let him run free anymore.”
Ed nodded, “I know now how he’s using alchemy, but I’m not sure how to stop it-”
“What’s he doing?” Asked Al. “Using alchemy here should be impossible-”
“Not if you’re using a Philosopher’s Stone. As long as the souls last, he can use as much alchemy as he wants.”
Al stared, raising his hand as if he had half a mind to smack himself on his forehead. “A Philosopher’s Stone? Why didn’t we see it?”
“I know,” Ed grunted. His oversight had already wounded them, and could’ve cost several people their lives. “But even if we know now, there’s no way to stop it. The only way to destroy a Philosopher’s Stone is-”
“To use those souls,” Al finished, looking grim. “So…the Philosopher’s Stone? Is that how he made it on this side of the gate?”
“Probably. And if we want to go back…” he trailed off; he didn’t need to finish it for Al.
They had to go home someday, but if the only way to go back was to use those souls…
He decided to put those thoughts behind him for now. For now, they had to focus on taking out this Smith bastard before he did any more damage.
“So, did you learn anything more about Smith?” Masten asked, taking advantage of the break in conversation. No doubt he hadn’t understood a word of his and Al’s alchemy talk.
“Not really,” Ed shook his head. “He still hates me for some reason…He says because of me, he lost his lover, but I’m not sure how I…”
Is there anything I might’ve done to make people hate me?
Only seconds after that did Ed come to a realization; there was.
There was one thing that was his fault, one thing that led to the suffering of hundreds of innocents.
Winry must’ve seen it in his face. “Ed?” she asked, “Ed, what’s-”
Ed looked at Al, his eyes meeting his brother’s-“Lior,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Lior!” Ed yelled in realization, eyes wide at the horror. “Remember, what we did-when we ousted Cornello, there was rioting, remember? So many people were killed in the streets! We thought we were doing the right thing but-it all worked into Dante’s plan! I didn’t know-never thought it would end like that, and only after I went back to Lior and saw Rose again did I realize-”
“Ed!” Winry took him by his shoulders, looking into his distraught eyes. “Ed, listen to me-that was in the past, all right? You can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault-”
“Yeah,” said Al, staring at the floor. “It was my fault, too.”
“Not you, either!” snapped Winry, glaring at Al. “It wasn’t either of your faults. And if this Smith guy is blaming you for something you neither wanted nor caused, then it’s his fault, not yours!”
“She is right,” said Madame, taking a long drag on her cigarette. “If that man blames you for an unfortunate circumstance, he’s no better than that madman that shot up my bar those weeks ago.”
Winry smiled and nodded. “Ed, please,” she took his hand in hers. “Don’t blame yourself now, it’ll only make things worse.”
Ed glanced between her encouraging face, and Al, still looking conflicted. He would accept this, if only to keep Al from blaming himself as well. “Okay.”
“Good.”
“Well, this is no time to worry about the past, anyway,” said Masten, giving one last glance at his wife. “We need to think of the future. Namely, how we’re going to keep this madman from hurting us.”
“Yeah,” Ed agreed, with one last glance at Al, he sat down at the table, resting his chin in his automail hand. “So, what do you have in mind?”
Title: Finding Sunshine After Rain
Rating: R
Pairing: Edwin
Series: Anime 1. But there will be a few shout-outs to Brotherhood
Summary: In order to get revenge on the FullMetal Alchemist, someone sends Winry over to the other side of the gate and forces her to act like another Earth-lookalike of herself, but there's more at stake than just a broken heart...
chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9
Ed wasn’t sure how long he and Wendy-no, not Wendy-had been sitting there, unable to say a word, when he heard someone yelling. “Ed! Ed, are you in here? Where are-?”Lang emerged from above, unusually less-than-stealthy. “Ed! What happened? Hang on!” Lang leapt down next to him, seeing the pipe in his shoulder. “Ok, I can fix this all right? I can-”
Ed wasn’t listening, wasn’t watching what Lang was doing. He stared at her-his brain still trying to comprehend.
Winry.
Winry.
Here. On this side of the gate.
She had always been here-always here, with him.
But only as Wendy.
No, Wendy wasn’t a separate person, was she? She had always been Winry.
Always!
But…how…all this time…all this time he had beat himself up-mentally fought over it-agonized, frustrated over the choice between Wendy and Winry, and now, only now he realized there was no choice-Wendy was Winry!
“Ok, brace yourself, Edward, all right?” said Lang. Ed cried out in pain as Lang pulled the pipe from his shoulder-blood droplets flew in every direction, Wendy-Winry-cried out-and the flash of pain dear god the pain so much pain-
And then it was gone. The pain in his shoulder was still there, but not the searing, crippling variety anymore. His metal right arm cradled his pained left, still oozing blood as Lang reached for his ruined coat. “Ok, this should do it…” Ed heard something behind him ripping.
But he didn’t look, because he could still only keep his eyes on her.
From the first day he met her, she had always been Winry. How did he not see it until now?
He had known her all his life, so how could he have not known her when-?
“All right. This should do it for now.” said Lang, approaching him with strips torn from his coat. Ed didn’t even protest as Lang took his arm, wrapping the wound in the thick fabric. Ed grunted as Lang tightened it, but he hardly cared-hardly noticed-nothing mattered except Winry, his Winry was here right now, with him.
She had always been there.
“Winry…” he breathed, finally able to say. “Winry…why?”
She blinked again, a small gasp escaping her. Fear filled her eyes and, she stepped back. One step. Two. Three. With one last, pleading look, she turned around and fled, racing back to the entrance.
“Wait!” Ed yelled, pulling out of Lang’s grip just as he finished tying the knot. “Wait, Winry!”
Winry flew out the warehouse door; the cold, wet rain hitting her as she darted out into the street. When did it start raining? She had been so upset chasing after Edward at first that she didn’t notice and now-
She couldn’t stay in there, not with him, not when he finally knew. Oh God, he knew-all along she had lied, and even though she had been dying inside the whole time, it didn’t excuse her.
Nothing could excuse her.
“Winry! Winry!” Ed called to her in the distance. She ran faster down the wet sidewalk, her boots splashing in puddles, dampening her skirt and socks.
Though she knew she had to face him, had to beg him for forgiveness, she couldn’t stop. What would he say when he caught up? He’d be angry, wouldn’t he?
How could he forgive her when she knew how much pain she had caused? Tears coursed down her cheeks, mixing with the rain splattering her face.
She couldn’t run forever. Hair wet, clothes soaked, and exhausted, Winry could go no more. She slowed down and stopped, leaning on a streetlight for support, oblivious to the onlookers curious about her disheveled appearance. She wished she could just keep on running and never have to look back-never have to face this one moment she knew must come-
“Winry!” Ed yelled, as he caught up to her, the splash of his footfalls coming closer and- With a heavy heart, Winry turned to face him; he looked as wet and disheveled as she did, and she noticed the makeshift bandage on his arm was beginning to bleed through-now he was physically hurt because of her.
Those few seconds when he stared at her, eyes so full of emotion and confusion, accented by the incessant pattering of raindrops, were some of the longest in her life.
“Winry,” he said again, stepping closer. He shook his head slightly, his wet bangs sticking to his cheek. “Why?”
She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to step the new round of tears. “Because Ed, I didn’t want to see you hurt! He-he threatened to kill you if I didn’t agree. He had alchemy and you didn’t and I was just so afraid-I couldn’t let you get hurt because of me. I thought-I thought it would be nothing if I was hurt, as long as you-” She gulped and looked away, her eyes on a puddle on the ground. “But you got hurt anyway. And I know it was killing you, every day-it killed me too, Ed! Every day I…” She looked back at him now, feeling those hot tears spill out. “Every day it hurt so much, not being able to tell you who I was. So many times I just wanted to tell you, to let it all out but I couldn’t-and even though I knew you were upset I thought as long as he didn’t hurt you than everything would be-”
Ed continued to stare at her, his expression still unchanged. That settled it for her. She closed her eyes, squeezing out more tears. “I’m sorry…I know how much you suffered, Ed. I’m sorry and I never should’ve-I’ll just-” She turned away.
He grabbed her hand.
Slowly, she looked back up at him; his golden eyes were full of so much emotion. “Every day…” he said, staring intensely at her. “I thought of you every day for three years.”
“Ed…” she breathed, as his hand came to cup her cheek.
“Every single day I hoped I’d find a way back…” he said, his voice near-cracking in disbelief. “Winry…is it really…”
Despite the fact that she was wet and nearly shivering, despite the tears on her face, Winry couldn’t help but smile. “Ed, it’s me…I’m here.”
Without warning, Ed suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. And she hugged him back, clinging to him like he was the last thing on Earth.
He forgave her; he understood. The secret was out, and at last, things were the way they should be.
Ed pulled away, just enough that he could look into her eyes. He moved closer, close enough that she was slowly closing her eyes as she felt his breath on her face…so close…
“Um, maybe you guys should think about moving inside,” A voice said, as Ed and Winry instantly sprang apart, blushes on their faces. Lang was there, leaning against the lamppost.
“Lang!” Ed yelled, face still red as an apple. “Why didn’t you tell us you were there?”
“Well, you looked a bit busy,” Lang shrugged, causing Ed to growl and Winry to cover her blushing face. “But besides the fact that we’re getting soaking wet,” he pointed up to the sky, “We need to bandage up your arm properly.”
Ed glanced at it, seeing a trail of blood dribble down his arm. “It’s fine-”
“Ed,” said Winry, taking his arm and looking concerned. His hand came to hold hers.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “Let’s get going-”
“Let me take you back to my place,” said Lang. “We’re close by, anyway.”
Ed did not expect Lang’s “place” to be the top floor of a fancy apartment. “You live here?” he asked, staring at all the fine and expensive things adorning the rooms.
Lang grinned, “Well, I live here until the previous owner comes back from vacation.”
“Right,” Ed rolled his eyes, before noticing the woman that came into the room. She was a small Chinese woman, and she did not look happy at seeing Lang bring home guests. She glared at Lang and said something back to him in their own language. Lang laughed and responded to her.
“This is MaiLi,” Lang said, grinning as he introduced her. Ed glanced over at Winry, who was staring at Lang with a bit of confusion; Ed had almost forgotten that Wendy-Winry didn’t speak English. “She doesn’t speak English.”
Ed, feeling a bit of payback coming on, grinned, “Oh, so is she your woman then, Lang?”
A hidden knife flew at him, missing his face by inches. Ed Froze, eyes wide and shocked, as he stared at MaiLi, glaring at him and holding another knife at the ready. Winry looked about ready to throw something back at her, before Lang laughed, breaking the tension.
“I should’ve said, she doesn’t know much English.”
“Right,” Ed growled.
Now that the pleasantries were over, Lang got serious. Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a basic first aid kit. “Here, you’ll need this,” he handed it to Winry, who, despite not understanding what he said, nodded. “You guys go in the back room. MaiLi and I will keep watch out front.”
“Watch?” Ed asked, looking curious. “For what?”
“You’re still injured, right?” It was one of the few times Lang looked genuinely concerned. “And you obviously don’t know how to fight that guy right now-if he tries to come back, you’ll be defenseless. Best to keep an eye out; I’m sure he’ll appear again.”
Ed nodded, “Right…just yell if you hear something.” Lang returned the nod, with him and MaiLi taking up positions, sitting cross-legged in the entry hallway.
The “back room” Lang had directed Ed and Winry to was actually the master bedroom. Winry sat on the bed with the first aid kit, and Ed shut the door behind them. When he looked back at her, she was staring, before slowly nodding.
They both knew they needed to talk.
Ed sat on the bed, unwrapping his bleeding arm. He winced as he pulled off the strips of his ripped coat, and Winry was quick to grab it, “Here, let me help,” she said, holding his arm steady as she wrapped the rest of the makeshift bandage off. Dried blood cracked around the wound on his arm-damnit, it might take a while to heal.
“Um, Winry…” Ed said awkwardly, as she opened the kit at her side. “I’ve gotta ask something-”
Her hand froze on the box lid, “You want to know why I lied, didn’t you?”
“No,” he said quickly. “I know why-I understand-I just want to know, how did Smith bring you through the Gate? After Al came back through, it was supposed to be impossible.”
“I don’t actually know,” Winry said, not looking into his eyes. “He did something with an alchemy circle-it hurt, and I was out for a while afterward-I’m sorry, I don’t know any more.”
An alchemy circle? Maybe that circle he found in the warehouse? But that was erased now, damnit… “Don’t worry about it. I should’ve-I should’ve been there for you. When you first came here, you must’ve been alone and scared-”
“That’s why I agreed to what he told me. I was alone and I just-But I could’ve told you after I found you,” she said, reaching for the bandages, averting her eyes. “I should have done it; how would he have known? He didn’t watch us all the time.”
“Winry, he tried to hurt us so many times-we never knew when he was watching. I don’t blame you-”
“But I blame myself,” she whispered, so softly that Ed almost didn’t hear her.
But he had. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close-her eyes were wide as he rested his forehead on hers, sighing, “It doesn’t matter, all right? You’re here now-I mean, I know you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” He paused a moment, a slight blush on his face. “Oh, and um, Al will be happy to see you too.”
“He already knows,” Winry admitted, giving him a sort-of guilty smile. “He figured it out a while ago.”
“Al knew?” Ed pulled back, his automail hand scratching his head. “Al? But he didn’t say anything!”
Winry took his left arm gently, beginning to wrap it in gauze. “He said he wanted to wait until I told you…he said it was my duty.”
“Figures!” Ed groaned. “Well, at least no one else found out-”
Spots of pink appeared in Winry’s cheeks. “Actually…Madame knew, too.”
“What?”
“And possibly Sergeant Masten-”
“What?”
“And I think that friend of yours, Lang, knew too-he did wink at me a couple of times that made me wonder-”
“What?!”
By now, Ed was near seething. “How did-how did everyone else know but me? You didn’t say anything?”
“Of course not!” Winry snapped. “But, honestly, Ed…” she finished tying the bandage. “I did…I did try to give you hints. Even when I wasn’t trying, I screwed up so much that I thought-I thought you might one day get it, but you never…”
Now that Ed was free to think about it, there were several times that ‘Wendy’ had done or said something that reminded him so much of Winry, he remembered her slipping up, saying things she couldn’t possibly know-in hindsight, how could he have brushed it aside so easily?
But he knew why.
“This world, it has doubles of people on the other side of the gate, you know?” Ed glanced at Winry. His eyes were cautious. Hesitating. “I never thought, in all my dreams, that you would come here. The gate was supposed to be closed. Al and I-we searched for so long for a way back, but…I was just starting to lose hope. Though I still searched, I was beginning to doubt.” His automail hand clenched into a fist. “Al never wanted to give up but I-I was beginning to think we were just chasing dreams.”
“And then…” he paused, his eyes meeting hers. “You showed up. But you weren’t you. At least, I didn’t think so. I thought-I thought it was the universe’s way of taunting me, you know? I was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing you again and then, you show up, but it wasn’t you. I just-I didn’t know how to deal. I wanted more than anything to find a way back to you, but as I spent more time around Wendy, I felt…guilty. What if I stayed with Wendy, but you had been in Amestris waiting for me? What if I went back to Amestris and you hadn’t waited for me and Wendy was left alone? I couldn’t decide and I just…it just fucked me up.”
“Ed,” Winry said, placing a hand on his arm. “I did wait for you…I waited for so long because I had to believe you would come back. But once I was here, and saw you again, but couldn’t tell you who I was it killed me too.”
Ed swallowed. “Yeah, it was rough. Especially after-” He paused, his train of thought hitting a screeching halt. “After we…” A heavy blush flared on his face. “Oh fuck, we…”
Now the blush spread over to her face. “Well, yes,” she muttered, obviously remembering that as well.
The pause in conversation was a tad bit too long for Ed’ s liking. “Do we have to talk about this? We already talked about it!”
“Not really,” said Winry. At least she looked uncomfortable too. Though he had to admit, she was right. Last time they talked about…that…he thought she was a completely different person.
Ed twiddled his thumbs, staring at what looked to be a particularly interesting patch of floor. “Look, um…when that happened…I was kind of thinkingofyou…the real you. So, uhm…how was I supposed to tell Wendy that?”
Winry smirked-why was she smirking? “I kind of figured.”
“I was afraid that you’d think that I took advantage of you-”
Winry sighed, “Didn’t I tell you before that it was my choice too, Ed? You don’t have to act like before I was a different person. I’ve always been me. And no matter what’s happened over the years, you’ve always been you.”
She slid closer to him on the bed, smiling softly; Ed felt his heart thump in his chest. “What’s-what’s that supposed to mean?”
Winry poked him in the ribs, “It means, dummy, that no matter what’s happened to us over the years, we’re still the same people. Though,” she grinned, looking up at him. “You’ve grown up a bit.”
Ed grinned, “Yep! I’m tall now! Ha! If we ever go back home, I can’t wait to show Mustang-”
Winry giggled, “I meant that you’re more mature now, Edward.”
“Well, I had to grow up sometime. Can’t stay fifteen forever.”
Winry smirked “Yeah, you’re not the little boy that I knew back then who cried that time we swam in the river and a fish grabbed on to your-”
“Win-Winry!” Ed stammered, red-faced at the memory. “I thought you’d forgotten about tha-”
He was cut off as she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
She pulled away before he had a chance to react. She blushed, but she was smiling. “You don’t know how long I wanted to do that…as myself.”
Ed only smiled in unspoken acknowledgement, before pulling her into another kiss.
The only sounds in the room was the pattering of rain against the window, and their gasps of breath between kisses-the outpouring of passion after realizing that finally, finally, they were together. No more secrets or lies between them.
“Ed,” Winry let escape, as he kissed the slope of her neck. “You’re bandaged up now so…shouldn’t we go back and tell everyone we’re all right?” A moan escaped her lips second after, as his wandering hands started wandering under her blouse.
“Later,” he said in a raspy whisper, meeting her lips for another kiss. “After the rain stops.”
She nodded, and her lidded eyes fell shut as they both let the rest of the world drift away…
The noises from the back room were starting to get too loud to ignore. MaiLi was sporting a full on blush, but kept her eyes ahead; on the mission. Lang couldn’t contain his grin; how did he know this would happen? He was getting to know that Edward kid quite well.
One of the two in the back moaned something very loud in German. Barley able to contain his giggle, Lang said, “Good thing we don’t speak German then, huh?” to MaiLi.
She finally cracked, hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment.
“You ready?” Ed asked, hand in Winry’s, as they stood on the steps of Madame’s bar. The rain had stopped not long ago, and now it was time for the truth to come out.
Winry met his eyes, and nodded; she didn’t look afraid, or worried. She was strong, as he always knew her to be.
With one last look, he pushed the door open.
They were all there; they must’ve waited after Lang told them of their whereabouts, to give Ed and Winry a little more time alone. Madame, Al, Lang, Masten and a blonde woman with a very large gun slung over her shoulder sat at Masten’s side. By the way she had been leaning close to the sergeant, Ed realized this woman must be Masten’s wife.
Al rose to his feet as they entered-his eyes drifted to see their clasped hands. “So, you two made up?”
“Yeah,” Ed whispered, before turning to Winry. He tightened his hand around hers-giving his unspoken support. He knew as well as she did that it was time to come clean.
“Everyone…” Winry began, before pausing briefly. “I’m not…I’m not who I said I was.” She exhaled, not turning away as she continued on. “My name is Winry, and I’m not from Germany…I come from the same place Al and Ed come from. I’m sorry I lied but…that man said he was going to hurt Ed and Al if I didn’t, so…”
“It’s all right, Winry,” said Al, coming toward her with a smile on his face. “I figured it was something stupid like that.” Wasting no time, he captured her in a hug. “It’s good to see you, Winry.”
Ed smiled on as he saw her hug him back-she was truly smiling now for the first time in ages. And he was too-knowing that she was here with him now was the absolute best feeling in the world-
But it couldn’t last.
His shoulder still ached, he reached up his automail hand to massage it. “You hurt?” asked Masten, looking genuinely concerned.
“Yeah,” Ed grunted. “Thanks to that bastard Smith.”
Masten nodded. “We need to do something about him. Especially now that Miss Wendy-sorry, Winry’s identity is known, we can’t let him run free anymore.”
Ed nodded, “I know now how he’s using alchemy, but I’m not sure how to stop it-”
“What’s he doing?” Asked Al. “Using alchemy here should be impossible-”
“Not if you’re using a Philosopher’s Stone. As long as the souls last, he can use as much alchemy as he wants.”
Al stared, raising his hand as if he had half a mind to smack himself on his forehead. “A Philosopher’s Stone? Why didn’t we see it?”
“I know,” Ed grunted. His oversight had already wounded them, and could’ve cost several people their lives. “But even if we know now, there’s no way to stop it. The only way to destroy a Philosopher’s Stone is-”
“To use those souls,” Al finished, looking grim. “So…the Philosopher’s Stone? Is that how he made it on this side of the gate?”
“Probably. And if we want to go back…” he trailed off; he didn’t need to finish it for Al.
They had to go home someday, but if the only way to go back was to use those souls…
He decided to put those thoughts behind him for now. For now, they had to focus on taking out this Smith bastard before he did any more damage.
“So, did you learn anything more about Smith?” Masten asked, taking advantage of the break in conversation. No doubt he hadn’t understood a word of his and Al’s alchemy talk.
“Not really,” Ed shook his head. “He still hates me for some reason…He says because of me, he lost his lover, but I’m not sure how I…”
Is there anything I might’ve done to make people hate me?
Only seconds after that did Ed come to a realization; there was.
There was one thing that was his fault, one thing that led to the suffering of hundreds of innocents.
Winry must’ve seen it in his face. “Ed?” she asked, “Ed, what’s-”
Ed looked at Al, his eyes meeting his brother’s-“Lior,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Lior!” Ed yelled in realization, eyes wide at the horror. “Remember, what we did-when we ousted Cornello, there was rioting, remember? So many people were killed in the streets! We thought we were doing the right thing but-it all worked into Dante’s plan! I didn’t know-never thought it would end like that, and only after I went back to Lior and saw Rose again did I realize-”
“Ed!” Winry took him by his shoulders, looking into his distraught eyes. “Ed, listen to me-that was in the past, all right? You can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault-”
“Yeah,” said Al, staring at the floor. “It was my fault, too.”
“Not you, either!” snapped Winry, glaring at Al. “It wasn’t either of your faults. And if this Smith guy is blaming you for something you neither wanted nor caused, then it’s his fault, not yours!”
“She is right,” said Madame, taking a long drag on her cigarette. “If that man blames you for an unfortunate circumstance, he’s no better than that madman that shot up my bar those weeks ago.”
Winry smiled and nodded. “Ed, please,” she took his hand in hers. “Don’t blame yourself now, it’ll only make things worse.”
Ed glanced between her encouraging face, and Al, still looking conflicted. He would accept this, if only to keep Al from blaming himself as well. “Okay.”
“Good.”
“Well, this is no time to worry about the past, anyway,” said Masten, giving one last glance at his wife. “We need to think of the future. Namely, how we’re going to keep this madman from hurting us.”
“Yeah,” Ed agreed, with one last glance at Al, he sat down at the table, resting his chin in his automail hand. “So, what do you have in mind?”