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cornerofmadnessThe Light in the Upstairs Window
By D.M. Evans
Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al and funimition. I don’t make a profit, heck I probably lose money taking away time I should have been working.
Rating - FRT
Time line - Sort of goes AR during “Words of Farewell” (so certain characters don’t die), probably several months after Winry repairs Ed’s arm after Scar got to it
Pairing - Ed/Winry
Summary - When Winry goes along on an investigation, things become complicated
The rest of the story can be found Here
Chapter Four
“I can’t believe this snow,” Ed grumbled, going back into the Dew Drop Inn. Snowflakes, even fatter and wetter than the night before fell so hard and fast it was nearly impossible to tell sky from ground.
“It’s impressive,” Winry agreed, somewhere between sarcasm and actually being impressed with the frosty output.
“My legs are tired from trudging through snow that deep,” Ed groaned, rubbing his thigh. “The automail feels like it weighs as much as a tank. And it’s so cold my ba...um, never mind.” He blushed furiously. He was so used to being around men, or just Al, he had almost blurted out where the cold radiating up his metal leg had made his balls retreat to. Could he be more stupid?
“I believe you. Everything below the waist is burning like I’m on fire,” Winry moaned, sinking into a chair at one of the few empty tables.
“At least they found the skiers,” Al said.
“Poor Halia. She’ll be working through the night. She’ll be lucky to not have to do amputations for frost bite,” Winry said, blowing on her hands which were red in spite of the gloves she had just peeled off them.
“Would you make automail toes?” Ed wondered, waving for the waitress.
Winry shook her head, dislodging ice balls from the long blonde tendrils of hair, splattering Ed, Al and a few other patrons. She flushed. “Oops, sorry. And no, usually not. I make toes if we’re doing a whole leg, like the cute little ones I made you.”
“Cute?” Ed’s face squinched up. Al snickered. “Shut up, Al.”
“Cute toes.” Al giggled some more.
“They are cute. It’s the little details that count,” Winry pouted.
“Will you stop saying little,” Ed implored as a Sabrin came over to the table.
“You look cold...and feel it.” Her eyes cut over to Al, radiating cold enough to make other patrons scoot away as much as they could. “I’ll send over some soup. We have a nice caramelized onion and wine soup tonight.”
“Um, sounds good,” Winry purred.
“And do you have any of the meat pies?” Ed asked, a greedy glint in his eyes. “You’re pretty busy in here. I hope you’re not sold out.”
“We’ve got a few.” Sabrin smiled.
Winry’s eyes lit up. “I’ll have one, too.”
“Three meat pies and three soups?” Sabrin glanced over at Al who nodded. He didn’t want to draw even more attention to himself by not eating. He knew Ed would gobble up his share.
“Great. And I know the weather is frightful but I do hope you can stay awhile and hear the storyteller,” Sabrin said with an expansive wave to the little stage area.
“We’ll try,” Winry replied with an enthusiastic nod of her head.
“Good.” Sabrin bustled off.
Winry saw Ed’s look. “What? We might want to take a few minutes to blend in a little and look like tourists.”
“She has a point, Brother,” Al said, seeing Ed wasn’t mollified.
“I know. We’ll stay for a while but if that snow gets any deeper...”
Ed sighed. “Al will have to carry you on his shoulders.” Winry smiled.
Ed leapt up. “Who are you calling so puny he could be buried by a simple snowflake?”
“You!” Winry grabbed his braid and yanked him back down. “Seriously, Ed, being seen in public with you is so embarrassing sometimes. I don’t know how Al puts up with it.”
“You get used to it,” Al replied, with a clanging roll of his shoulders.
Ed glared at them both, pulling free of Winry and losing a few strands of hair in the process. “You know I don’t like short jokes.”
“You imagine short jokes even where they don’t exist,” Winry said sharply.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t imagine this one.” Ed released his braid and rubbed his scalp to warm up.
“Okay, sorry. Guess it gives us something to talk about other than what we want to and really shouldn’t,” Winry said, with a little grimace.
Ed’s shoulders jerked. “Not like we have anything to say about that. We never even got close, not with all the search parties surrounding us.”
“There’s tomorrow, Brother.” Al spread his hands wide.
“Something wrong?” Sabrin asked, bringing over the onion soup bowls. She gave them a concerned look.
“Oh, no. Al and I just wanted a little solitude away from our cousin the Mouth.” Ed stabbed a finger at Winry. “But, of course, we were all out helping with the search party.”
“Mouth!” Winry kicked Ed’s ankle hard and he yelped.
“Not the way to speak to a lady, even if she is your cousin,” Sabrin said, setting down the soup bowls.
“Guess not.” Ed rubbed his battered ankle woefully.
“We’re just glad the missing people were found,” Al put in.
“It can be treacherous out there. You boys keep that in mind,” Sabrin warned with a wag of her finger then headed back to the bar.
“Mouth?” Winry hissed again.
“What did you want me to do? I didn’t want her wondering why we were so hot to get back out there. Getting away from a mouthy cousin was the first thing that came to mind,” Ed said in his defense. “Do you need to be so violent?”
“You deserve it.” Winry glared, whacking him with her spoon.
“I should have you sit between us, Al.” Ed pouted, sampling the soup.
“I’m not a shield, Brother.” Al sounded very put out.
“This soup is very good,” Ed said, hoping to change the subject.
Winry gave him another pointed look but tried the soup. It passed muster with her as well. She and Ed ended up squabbling over their splits of Al’s soup and his meat pie. They had settled down with a second pot of tea and were ready to hear the storyteller when all the lights went out abruptly. Shouts from the patrons sounded at the sudden darkness and Ed could see Sabrin, in a beam of moonlight from the window, trying the lights in vain.
“Well, looks like the weather’s getting the best of the electricity,” Sabrin said, over the din of the pub. “I’ll break out some candles.”
Ed tapped Winry’s hand. “If it’s getting that bad, maybe we should go. Now we’re going to have to find our way in a snow squall in the dark.”
Winry nodded. “So much for looking like tourists.”
“Some of the others are going, too,” Al said, pointing to the door.
Winry got up. “So I see.”
They headed out into the deep snow. Ed and Winry were frozen through by the time they reached home. Al’s metal body dropped the temperature of the dismal little place as soon as he stepped in.
“Ugh, guess I won’t be bathing long tonight either,” Winry said, shivering.
“You’ll be lucky you don’t have to chip ice off just to use the toilet,” Ed replied, heading for the fireplace. He sat down on the hearth stone and cleaned out the ash from the night before.
“There’s a pleasant thought. Hope there’re no down drafts. We need that fireplace. Steam heat’s all well and good but useless without electricity to power the heater,” Winry groaned, collapsing on the old couch.
“I’ll go upstairs until the fire catches,” Al said softly, his helmet canting down. “You don’t need me radiating cold.”
“You don’t have to, Al,” Ed said, shoving kindling into his temple of wood.
“It’s okay, Brother.” Al dragged himself up the stairs, moving slow in the dark.
“Poor Al,” Winry whispered, looking at Ed’s face in the gloom as he tried to make the fire catch. She got up, lit a few candles that were on the mantle then went back to the couch.
“This is why we...” Ed swallowed hard. “I know you get mad that we don’t write or visit, Winry. This is why. My brother’s trapped. At least I’m still mostly human. I mean, as much as I hate the automail, lots of people have accidents and need it. I know that. But Al...I have to fix this.” The usually subtle creak of his automail sounded loud in the quiet room as he clenched his fist.
“You will.” Winry shook her head. He couldn’t quite meet her eyes, staring into the fire. “I mean that. I know that you will do anything you can no matter what. I have faith in you, Edward.”
He smiled faintly. “Thanks, Winry. Sometimes I need to hear it’s not hopeless. Days like today...it’s so hard to be so close to finding something, chasing down a lead and getting sidetracked.” Ed sat back, happy with how the fire was catching. “Not that I wouldn’t have gone to help those lost people.”
“You’re a good person, Ed, short tempered and impatient but good.” She laughed softly.
“There’s that word again,” he rumbled, putting one last big log on the fire.
“Would you prefer hot headed?” Winry smirked.
Ed snorted. “Yes!”
“Brother! Winry! We have a problem,” Al called from upstairs.
Ed leapt to his feet and charged up the steps. “What’s happening?”
“The roof’s leaking,” Al said. “In both rooms.”
“Oh damn, are you serious?” Ed moaned. “Remind me to talk to Halia about putting us in such a crappy house.”
“There’s nothing to do for it now. Show us the leaks, Al,” Winry said.
“Brother’s bed is soaking but I think mine’s okay...I guess we’ll have to trade. The wet won’t bother me,” Al said, leading the way.
“I’ll go check my room.” Winry headed across the hall with her candle.
“While she does that...” Ed climbed up on the dresser, clapped his hands and placed them on the ceiling. “This will at least fix the roof.”
“Damn.” Winry swore from the next room.
“Soaked, too?” Ed guessed, jumping down from the dresser.
She came back. “Yes, and with the damp just coming through the roof, it’s going to be miserable up here. We should take the one dry mattress downstairs in front of the fire. It would be more comfortable.”
“For you. Where am I expected to sleep?” Ed crossed his arms.
Winry rolled her eyes. “With me on the bed, Ed.”
“With you?” Ed’s voice cracked and Al glanced over at Ed managing to convey a ‘what’s wrong with that?’ expression.
“Yes. Oh, grow up,” she said, seeing the look on Ed’s face. “We’ve done this before.”
“When we were eight!” Ed blushed deeply enough to be seen even by the candlelight. “Things have changed.”
“I should hope.” Exasperation leaked into her voice.
“It does make sense, Brother. It’s that or sleep on the floor. You can’t sleep up here on a wet bed.”
“You and I can transmute the water, Al. With the carbon in the bedding, it can become alcohol and that will evaporate fast,” Ed said, moving to touch palms.
Al stopped him. “Ed, open fireplaces.”
“Yes, Ed, think things through. Even if you didn’t explode the fumes, we’d have to live with them. It’s too cold to open a window and what happens to the bedding if you remove the carbon?” Winry’s eyes narrow impatiently. “It’s easier to just share the bed. Alchemy doesn’t solve everything.”
“There is the couch...but I guess it is cold. The bed works,” Ed said, seeing the rising fury in Winry’s eyes. “Come on, Al, let’s get the mattress downstairs.”
The brothers put the mattress in front of the fire after muscling it down stairs. Winry situated the bedding then peeled the covers back to let them warm.
“We should probably get to bed early,” Ed said. “I’d like to get out there before the rest of the tourists if at all possible tomorrow.” He kicked off his boots and pulled his long sleeved shirt off to expose the frigid automail. He tried to find the best position to warm himself, like a lizard on a sunning stone.
“I’ll go back upstairs. It’s still cold in here, isn’t it?” Al’s voice was laced with sadness. Winry could swear she heard tears, knowing he had to be so isolated because he couldn’t so much as feel the temperature of the room.
“You don’t have to go, Al,” Winry said. “The fire will be plenty warm. You can stay with us.”
“You’re not used to hearing me rattle around.” Al seemed to slouch as he headed to the staircase. “Brother is but I’ll keep you up. It’s not so bad. I’ll take one of the books Brother and I have been meaning to read and go through it.”
“You can’t read...” Winry licked her lips. “I guess you can read all night. Sorry, Al, I forgot you don’t sleep.”
“It’s okay, Winry,” Al said, going up the stairs.
“It really isn’t,” Ed whispered once Al was out of earshot.
“I know,” Winry replied, crawling into the bed. “Al must get so lonely being unable to sleep.”
Ed got off the hearth stone and came to bed. “He doesn’t complain. He never complains about much but I know it weighs on him.”
Winry rolled over so she could face Ed. “I can’t imagine. I wish we had a way of keeping him occupied at night but that would mean one of us being up all night.”
“That’s not a great schedule.” Ed tried to get comfortable. “Sometimes he talks to the soldiers who’ve pulled the night shift but they’re usually too busy.” Ed shut his eyes. “Otherwise he just studies or lies there in the dark, thinking. I’m not help. I can sleep through anything. This is why I need to push so hard, why I take so few breaks. Al’s life is-”
“A hell,” Winry broke in bluntly, brushing Ed’s hair back off his face. His eyes fluttered open in surprise. “I know you blame yourself.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” Ed’s voice filled with bitterness. “I forced him into it, Winry. Al says no I didn’t but I know if he was left on his own, Al wouldn’t have done it.”
“What might have been’s don’t matter, Ed. We don’t get those sorts of second chances. We can’t go backwards but we can take what we’ve learned and make better choices,” Winry said practically, her hand soothing his hair back again.
“I know but...Winry, I’ve got to push myself. I don’t say this ever...I don’t know if Al realizes it and I don’t want him to. I don’t know how long the blood seal will last. It’s already been years. If it weakens, I’ll lose him and I can’t...” Ed’s larynx bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Oh, Ed.” Winry’s throat constricted and she put her arms around Ed’s shoulders. She held on tight even though he had stiffened up. Slowly he relaxed against her. Winry pressed her lips to the warm flesh of his neck, hearing the soft sound of surprise rumbling in him.
Shifting so she could kiss his lips, Winry gently nudged them open with her tongue. She prodded his tongue until it rose to tangle with hers. Ed’s hand ran up and down her spine, the hot and cold of them raising gooseflesh.
He moaned lowly into her mouth as their tongues continued their explorations. Winry felt a sudden hardness pressing into her leg. She maneuvered her leg under his, the cool metal leaching through her clothing. Winry reached down to cup him wonderingly, having never touched an erection before, not even through clothing like now. Ed’s hips flexed as he pistoned in and out of her hand, groaning at the friction then the soft sounds of pleasure died as Ed’s eyes widened. He rolled away from Winry, nearly bailing out of the bed.
“What am I doing?” he hissed.
“Nothing I didn’t want you to do,” she said, looking into his flushed face.
“I can’t!” His voice was a tight whisper. “This is wrong.”
“Maybe it’s not the best place for it.” Winry’s gaze flicked to the ceiling as if suddenly remembering they weren’t alone in the house. “But it’s not wrong.”
“Yes, it is. I’ll...I’ll go sleep on the couch.” Ed tried to swing out of bed.
Winry grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Oh no you don’t. Edward, you don’t get to just run away.”
Edward glared at her, tearing out of her grip. “Let me go, Winry.”
She got a better grip on him. “No. Edward, talk to me. You can’t just do what we were doing and then run away.”
“Don’t you get it? I shouldn’t have been doing it at all.” His eyes narrowed into little slits of amber, his face hard as his automail.
“Because you think so little of me?” The words growled out of her.
Ed paled. He touched her shoulder. “No, Winry, I...I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how much I care. How much I want...this.” He gestured between them. “But I’m not the only one who did. Al’s always liked you, too.”
“I know that and it doesn’t really change how I feel about you, Edward. Al’s like my brother, too, but somehow between you and me, things changed,” Winry said, putting her hand over his.
“And it frightens me because the temptation to give in is so strong.” His gaze turned away from her towards the crackling fire.
“Why is this so horrible?” Her voice was as hot as the snapping flames.
He kept his gaze resolutely averted. “You know why. My life’s not my own, Winry. I owe Al. I have to make this right. I don’t have time for anything else just now. You know that. It’s not fair to make you wait until I’m free. It may be too long. I may be too broken if...” Tears formed in his eyes, one or two escaping. “If it doesn’t work.”
Winry caught the tears on a finger. “It will work and I’m pretty sure we had this conversation before too, Edward. I’ll always be the light in the upstairs window for you. I’ll wait. You have no say in that. I know I could get my heart broken. I accept it. It’s my choice to wait and you’re not going to discourage me so easily.”
Ed rubbed at his eyes, regaining control. “I wish I could.”
“No, you don’t, not deep down. Under all the guilt, there’s a place inside you where you buried your hopes and dreams. I know I’m somewhere in that treasure chest. Come on, lay back down. I promise, I’ll stay buried for now. Nothing happened tonight that we have to regret or anyone need to know.” Winry pushed him down on the mattress then laid down herself.
“You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for,” he said, rolling onto his side, facing away from her.
“I have a fair idea. You know, Edward, I could help you more than you realize. I know you don’t want me traveling with you or giving up my own career to help but if I do want to take time away to do just that, you shouldn’t refuse it so much,” she replied.
Ed sighed and said nothing. He was too tired to argue any more. They would get louder. Al would hear, would know what he had done and Ed couldn’t bear that. Maybe once she was asleep, he’d sneak out and lay down on the couch. He felt wrong being here. He wanted to roll back over and kiss Winry more. He had loved how it felt to have her hand on his cock. No one had ever touched him like that before. The sensation had been incredible and the way it flavored his guilt unbearable.
Winry snuggled up along his back, tucking her face against his living shoulder. Her breath curled warmly along his skin. It was nearly too much for him. He had to fight to remain in control of his flesh. He felt embarrassed, imprisoned by desires he wished he didn’t have and alternately wished he could indulge. In the end, he went nowhere and allowed himself to sleep in her embrace at last.
X X X
“What have you found out?” the alderman, Nicholas Clayworth, asked, swirling his beer around in his mug. He huddled across from Leatherby and Dance at their table in the Dewdrop Inn. The inn was closed finally for the night except for the last three patrons of note.
Leatherby’s eyes narrowed. “That we can find records for the Rockbells in Rezembool but only for a Pinako and Winry, automailers, so that much is true. There are no cousins to be found, at least not that a quick call to the town hall can uncover. However, the clerk there wondered if I meant Edward and Alphonse Elric.”
“That would make sense,” Dance broke in, fingering the silver insignia on her collar. “Unless Edward is really happy and really off center, he’s carrying something heavy in his front pocket. There is a state alchemist going by the name Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. That could be his pocket watch.”
“A state alchemist,” Nicholas bleated, his thick handlebar mustache dancing like a red silk scarf in the wind.
“This is bad,” someone said from the shadows of the Dewdrop Inn. “If the little runt is a state alchemist then he’s not here for the hunting.”
“You think the good doctor put them on our trail,” Leatherby said grimly.
“How much could she know?” Nicholas’ hands shook, nearly spilling his beer.
“Obviously enough to send state alchemists after us,” Dance replied, her voice sharp, her eyes filled with loathing for the weak town leader.
“They can’t be allowed to know about the stone we’re trying to craft,” the shadowy figure said. “We should add them into the mix if they’re so eager to know what we’re doing.”
“All of them?” Dance asked, obviously delighted at the prospect.
“All of them. The doctor will only continue to be a problem and the so-called cousins aren’t like to simply stop if just one of them disappears. No, they all need to go. It can be blamed on the heavy snow fall,” the shadowy figure replied. “Everyone knows the boys are always in the forest so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if an accident happened.”
“You and I can handle the brothers once they get out into the woods,” Leatherby said to the shadows. “Dance, you handle the doctor.”
Dance inclined her head to him. “Of course.”
“What should I do?” Nicholas asked.
“Do what you do best. Keep reassuring the townspeople and tourists there’s nothing wrong,” Leatherby replied, sourly.
“It’s settled then,” the shadowy figure said. “We should get home and get some rest. It’s going to be a harsh day tomorrow even without all we have to do.” The sound of breaking glass as the fourth member of the group slammed a bottle into the bar for emphasis made them all jump. “Nothing is going to interfere with the making of this stone.”
Chapter Five
Ed stomped through the snow, his temper foul. Al had stopped trying to talk to him. He didn’t know if something had happened in the night between Ed and Winry or maybe Ed just had a bad night but he was trying even Al’s vast patience. There were rare times that Al just wanted to sit on his brother until the crabbiness passed. This was one of them.
“Ed, there.” Al pointed across the river they had been follow, trying to find Zak’s building. He was sure he had found something important.
“Boot prints?” Ed sounded less impressed. “We’ve seen more than enough of those.”
“Not out this far, we haven’t,” Al replied, wishing he had teeth to grind. It would probably feel good right about now.
“Probably just a lucky hunter who finally managed to escape the skiers,” Ed huffed, waving his brother off impatiently.
“Well, the tracks parallel the river so we can follow them both for a little while,” Al said, thinking about burying Ed in the snow. Ed just shrugged.
They trudged on for a little while following the tracks before Ed stopped short. His eyes widened. “What the hell!”
“This is bad,” Al said, his gripes about Ed flying from his mind.
On a stone, a few yards away were the words, ‘Welcome, Elric Brothers,’ painted brightly. Al started running after his brother who had taken off toward the rock. The ground shifted under Al and the snow crumbled under his weight. Al dropped into the covered crevasse, his helmet nearly coming all the way off as he banged his way to the bottom. Al wasn’t dazed per se but he was disoriented. “Brother?” he queried, trying to tell top from bottom.
“Al! Al! Are you all right?”
Al glanced up and saw Ed backlit by the bright sunlight. “I’m okay. I don’t think anything came off or broke in the fall but I think my leg’s stuck.”
“I’ll get you out.” Ed clapped his hands but before his brother could do anything Al saw a log swinging toward Ed’s head.
“Brother!”
Ed didn’t have time to react. Al flinched, hearing the sickening concussion. Ed collapsed without a whimper. A shadow fell across the opening of the crevasse then was gone.
“Brother!” Al screamed again, scrabbling for his chalk inside his pouch. He made a sloppy array on the rock. This was too slow. No wonder State Alchemists carried their prime arrays. He needed to be able to do this like his brother could. Was that a motor he heard over the roar of the rock he was transmuting into a staircase? Rock shifted away from his trapped foot. Al found the climb out harder than he expected. When he had nearly lost his helmet, his hollow body had filled with snow. He couldn’t open his chest plate in the narrow ravine he was caught in and he was afraid to transmute the snow to a liquid form. He and Ed were both leery of the blood seal getting wet or scratched. Really he ought to transmute some metal around it to shield it better.
When Al finally reached the top, he evacuated his chest then transmuted what had fallen into his limbs into water. He hated this. Things like this only served to remind him he was no longer human, not really. He was little more than an animated doll his brother had created. Al knew Ed would be angry for him even thinking it but sometimes he couldn’t help it.
He glanced around. Blood, in a halo, spattered the snow. Al didn’t have a heart to clench but he could have sworn he felt something very much like that. It was beyond bad. Ed was hurt and whoever had set the trap obviously knew that they were alchemists if they knew their real names. Dr. Endymion had been right to fear the worse in this place.
Al looked around for footprints other than his and Ed’s and the ones he found ended with deep, ski-like ruts. The motor he had heard, it just had to be one of those strange machines, like motorized sleds, that Winry had seen in town and fallen in love with. Halia had one. They could move pretty fast over snow. Al might not be able to keep up but he could track them. He just hoped the trail wouldn’t intersect with cross-country skiers or he might never find Ed.
X X X
Winry trudged down the snowy sidewalk towards Halia’s clinic. The streets were nearly empty this early in the morning. She hated not being able to go with the brothers. They might need her, not that she knew what she could do that two alchemists couldn’t. She simply disliked cooling her heels and as much as she enjoyed helping Halia, what little useful gossip she heard at the doctor’s office wasn’t worth the effort. Winry wasn’t sure why she had bullied her way into coming on this trip. She thought it was because she wanted to spend time with the brothers, that she could help them. What a joke. She was just a distraction. She proved that last night.
Going to Halia’s early was just a dodge to keep from thinking about the night before. Winry didn’t want to be reminded how good it felt kissing Ed. Even better than the kissing was the feel of his erection pressing against her and the slick, wet feeling between her own legs. She had wanted to know what he felt like, what he looked like in that state. Was that moving too fast? Probably, since they had never actually dated, but they had known each other all their lives. Surely that shaved time off how fast they could go. She wanted to see those beautiful metal parts of him melding with the warm flesh of his body, see him in a way that wasn’t clinical for a change.
Wondering if Al had heard them, Winry's cheeks flushed guiltily. She loved both of the Elric brothers but she wasn't in love with Al. Even if he had his body back, it wouldn't make a difference. It wasn't that Al wouldn't make an excellent boyfriend; he was sweet, warm and caring. But Winry liked the thorny challenge presented by Ed. “Easy,” she told herself in a plume of air, “would get boring.”
No one was around when she got to the doctor’s office, not that it was a surprise, given the early hour. The front door was open so Winry went in calling, “Halia!” merrily.
In response, something crashed. A dreadful feeling washing over her, Winry charged into the office. She saw legs disappearing out the window. Halia lay on the floor, bleeding. The doctor lay very still and for a moment, Winry thought Halia might be dead. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Halia’s chest move.
Winry dashed into a treatment room and grabbed gauze and a medical kit. She knelt beside Halia and gingerly probed the gash on the back of the doctor’s head. Head wounds were always bloody affairs, sometimes misleadingly so. The tissue around the wound felt soft with the first rush of swelling but the bone underneath seemed firm and ungiving. Winry didn’t think Halia’s skull was broken. Hearing the front door opening, Winry’s heart thumped. Maybe whoever had done this was coming back to finish Halia off. No, that was silly. He would have just finished them both first and not run off only to come back.
“Morning, Halia!”
Winry let her pent up breath out. “Clare! Back here, hurry. Halia’s been hurt!” she called to Halia’s nurse.
The older woman raced in with young Tyler following her. The boy bore a fresh scrape on his forehead,. The woman’s papery skin paled to a pasty hue as her mouth flopped open. Tyler went white under his freckles, his body trembling. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I scared off whoever it was,” Winry said, thinking she did in fact know what happened. Whoever had taken Zak and killed the others had done this to Halia. They must be afraid the doctor knew too much.
“Is she?” Clare’s voice trailed off, kneeling next to Halia. Tyler hung back, burying his face against the wall.
“No, and I don’t think the wound is too serious. I interrupted whoever it was before he could finish the job.” Winry’s voice shook just a bit as it finally sank in how lucky she had gotten. The intruder must not have known her voice or she could have been killed too as part of it all. Surely if Halia was a target then so were she and the boys.
“This is because of the missing people,” Clare said and Tyler whimpered softly.
“I’m afraid so, and I have to find my cousins. They could be in danger if someone thinks they’re involved.” Winry got to her feet, noticing Tyler’s eyes drawn to her bloody hands. “Can you take care of Halia?”
“I can. And Winry, if someone thinks your cousins are involved, then they’ll think you are, too,” Clare warned, worry in her blue eyes.
“I know.” Winry sobered, looking at the open window. “They’re in the forest. I have to get out there but I don’t know where exactly. I only got a quick look at map.”
“I can take you,” Tyler piped up, steeling his jaw.
“It’s too dangerous,” Winry said, shocked that the boy would even think to offer. It was dangerous out there and she knew he was very aware of that. “I couldn’t risk you.”
“Zak is my friend, Halia, too,” the boy protested. “I want to help. We can take Halia’s snow sled.”
Clare looked Winry in the eye, worry reflecting in her face. “You’ll never find your way on your own, Winry. I don’t like it but you need a guide. Tyler knows these woods very well. We might not have time to haunt down another guide. Go on. I’ll care for Halia. Tyler, you don’t take any risks. You know how to hide. Winry, take Halia’s rifle.”
Winry followed Clare’s pointing finger to the rifle. Washing Halia’s blood off, Winry picked up the gun. It felt strange in Winry’s hand. She had handled them before, learning to implant weapons into her automail. She did find it offensive but could understand the soldiers’ desires to return to duty in an ‘improved’ manner. Maybe it was how her parents died that made guns repugnant. Abhorrent or not, Winry slung the gun over her shoulder and followed Tyler to the snow sled. She got on the thing, making sure her coat was completely buttoned.
“Do you know how to drive this?” Tyler asked, climbing on behind her.
“No, but I’m good with machines,” Winry replied, studying the vehicle. The boy didn’t look reassured. She pressed what she hoped was the starter button. The thing roared to life and, with starts and stops, Winry got the machine moving. Soon, she was gliding along the forest trails at a heart-fluttering pace. She had never been on anything so fast. What if she turned it over as she dodged branches, rocks and frozen creeks? She and Tyler would both die.
She didn’t know she could be so cold. It felt like the flesh was burning off her face from the icy wind.
Tyler tapped her shoulder at intervals to point out the way. Finally, Tyler rapped on her shoulders and waved his hands. Winry stopped. “Look!”
Winry brushed a hand over her frosted eyelashes and glanced up. She had been concentrating so hard on the trail and not killing them by hitting something that she missed seeing the graffiti on the rock. Her heart sank. Someone knew Ed and Al’s identity.
“Winry,” Tyler said, hesitantly pointing to something red marring the pristine snow.
She swung off the sled and went to investigate. Winry had seen enough of the sanguine substance to recognize blood when she saw it. Her legs quivered as the strength drained from them. “Oh, Ed.”
“Tracks,” Tyler said, pointing them out. “Something big and heavy.”
“Al. We need to follow them.” Winry ran on shaky legs back to the sled. Tyler wheeled about and followed her.
So she could see the tracks better, Winry drove so slowly that she almost bogged the machine down. Al seemed to be following other sled marks. It didn’t take long to see the sun glinting off Al’s armor. “Al!” Winry screamed then killed the engine so she could be heard. “Al!”
He spun around, tearing up huge gouts of snow. “Winry! What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”
“I know. I came to warn you and Ed.” She vaulted off the sled. “Someone nearly killed Halia.”
“And someone took Ed,” Al said plaintively. If he could tremble, Winry knew he would. Al and Ed were inseparable and Al must have seen his brother get hurt. He had to be frantic.
“I saw the blood. I was afraid…” Winry paused, a tremor racing through her. “We have to find him.”
“I think I know where they took him,” Tyler piped up from where he sat on the sled.
Winry glanced over her shoulder at the child. “What?”
“That’s the way to Zak’s building, the one he was so excited about finding,” Tyler replied, pointing to the tracks in the snow. “That’s where the tracks seem to be heading.”
“I guess that building really has something to do with everything that’s going on,” Winry said, relieved to have a target. That gave her hope. Maybe Zak and Ed were both there and she could help them. “We need to get there quickly before they do something worse to Ed. Al, get on. This thing is so fast.”
“I’m too big, Winry. I won’t fit and I’m heavy. It might not go with me on it. You’ll have to go on ahead.” Al’s shoulders seemed to slump. “I can run fairly fast and I don’t tire.”
“Tyler, maybe you should go with Al. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt. He can protect you and I’m not sure if I can,” she said quietly, her nerves catching up to her.
Tyler shook his head. “I’m not wearing snowshoes. I’m too short to go through these drifts without them. I’ll barely be able to walk. I’ll stay with you and hide when we get there. Besides, I know the way if you lose the tracks,” he pointed out, his body trembling, giving lie to his brave front.
Winry scowled then nodded. “Al, when I get there, I’ll go inside to try and find Ed.”
“Winry, it’s too dangerous. Wait for me,” Al protested, shaking his hands.
“Ed may not have time to wait and they won’t be expecting me. This time the element of surprise is mine. And...I have a gun.” Winry tried to smile encouragingly, not mentioning she wasn’t a good shot, or maybe she was. She could fling a mean wrench, after all.
Al’s leather and metal hand closed over her shoulder. “You be very careful.”
Winry wrapped her fingers over his. “You, too.”
Al’s fingers flexed. “I can’t let you do this Winry. It’s way too dangerous.”
Winry jerked free of his hand. “Please, Al, don’t argue. It’s the best way to do this. I’ll be careful.”
She could imagine Al’s human face over that horrible helmet, saw the fire in brown eyes, the knit of a pale brow from concern and impotent frustrations. When he started to protest again, reaching back out for her, Winry gunned the sled and took off. She felt terrible in doing that to Al. He meant well but Ed might not have time to waste while she convinced him this was for the best.
Tyler went back to giving her hand signals. Her belly twisted when the building came into view. She knew Al wasn’t far behind but it was enough should she get into trouble. Winry hoped her fear didn’t show as she parked behind a stand of trees. She swung off the sled. “You should be pretty well hidden here, Tyler. This is the starter. If someone comes, try to drive out of here. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay,” the boy said, shakily.
Winry wondered if he’d drive off in a panic as soon as he was out of sight. She really wouldn’t blame him. He’d been plenty brave just leading her here. She slung the rifle over her shoulder. It felt foreign and heavy. She hated guns but she’d rather have it than not.
Making her way towards the building, Winry steeled herself for what she’d find inside. She couldn’t let herself think that Ed wouldn’t be held captive here. The other sled trail did lead here. She couldn’t think that he might already be dead. She would be in time. Ed wasn’t beyond her reach. It was up to her to save him.
By D.M. Evans
Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al and funimition. I don’t make a profit, heck I probably lose money taking away time I should have been working.
Rating - FRT
Time line - Sort of goes AR during “Words of Farewell” (so certain characters don’t die), probably several months after Winry repairs Ed’s arm after Scar got to it
Pairing - Ed/Winry
Summary - When Winry goes along on an investigation, things become complicated
The rest of the story can be found Here
Chapter Four
“I can’t believe this snow,” Ed grumbled, going back into the Dew Drop Inn. Snowflakes, even fatter and wetter than the night before fell so hard and fast it was nearly impossible to tell sky from ground.
“It’s impressive,” Winry agreed, somewhere between sarcasm and actually being impressed with the frosty output.
“My legs are tired from trudging through snow that deep,” Ed groaned, rubbing his thigh. “The automail feels like it weighs as much as a tank. And it’s so cold my ba...um, never mind.” He blushed furiously. He was so used to being around men, or just Al, he had almost blurted out where the cold radiating up his metal leg had made his balls retreat to. Could he be more stupid?
“I believe you. Everything below the waist is burning like I’m on fire,” Winry moaned, sinking into a chair at one of the few empty tables.
“At least they found the skiers,” Al said.
“Poor Halia. She’ll be working through the night. She’ll be lucky to not have to do amputations for frost bite,” Winry said, blowing on her hands which were red in spite of the gloves she had just peeled off them.
“Would you make automail toes?” Ed wondered, waving for the waitress.
Winry shook her head, dislodging ice balls from the long blonde tendrils of hair, splattering Ed, Al and a few other patrons. She flushed. “Oops, sorry. And no, usually not. I make toes if we’re doing a whole leg, like the cute little ones I made you.”
“Cute?” Ed’s face squinched up. Al snickered. “Shut up, Al.”
“Cute toes.” Al giggled some more.
“They are cute. It’s the little details that count,” Winry pouted.
“Will you stop saying little,” Ed implored as a Sabrin came over to the table.
“You look cold...and feel it.” Her eyes cut over to Al, radiating cold enough to make other patrons scoot away as much as they could. “I’ll send over some soup. We have a nice caramelized onion and wine soup tonight.”
“Um, sounds good,” Winry purred.
“And do you have any of the meat pies?” Ed asked, a greedy glint in his eyes. “You’re pretty busy in here. I hope you’re not sold out.”
“We’ve got a few.” Sabrin smiled.
Winry’s eyes lit up. “I’ll have one, too.”
“Three meat pies and three soups?” Sabrin glanced over at Al who nodded. He didn’t want to draw even more attention to himself by not eating. He knew Ed would gobble up his share.
“Great. And I know the weather is frightful but I do hope you can stay awhile and hear the storyteller,” Sabrin said with an expansive wave to the little stage area.
“We’ll try,” Winry replied with an enthusiastic nod of her head.
“Good.” Sabrin bustled off.
Winry saw Ed’s look. “What? We might want to take a few minutes to blend in a little and look like tourists.”
“She has a point, Brother,” Al said, seeing Ed wasn’t mollified.
“I know. We’ll stay for a while but if that snow gets any deeper...”
Ed sighed. “Al will have to carry you on his shoulders.” Winry smiled.
Ed leapt up. “Who are you calling so puny he could be buried by a simple snowflake?”
“You!” Winry grabbed his braid and yanked him back down. “Seriously, Ed, being seen in public with you is so embarrassing sometimes. I don’t know how Al puts up with it.”
“You get used to it,” Al replied, with a clanging roll of his shoulders.
Ed glared at them both, pulling free of Winry and losing a few strands of hair in the process. “You know I don’t like short jokes.”
“You imagine short jokes even where they don’t exist,” Winry said sharply.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t imagine this one.” Ed released his braid and rubbed his scalp to warm up.
“Okay, sorry. Guess it gives us something to talk about other than what we want to and really shouldn’t,” Winry said, with a little grimace.
Ed’s shoulders jerked. “Not like we have anything to say about that. We never even got close, not with all the search parties surrounding us.”
“There’s tomorrow, Brother.” Al spread his hands wide.
“Something wrong?” Sabrin asked, bringing over the onion soup bowls. She gave them a concerned look.
“Oh, no. Al and I just wanted a little solitude away from our cousin the Mouth.” Ed stabbed a finger at Winry. “But, of course, we were all out helping with the search party.”
“Mouth!” Winry kicked Ed’s ankle hard and he yelped.
“Not the way to speak to a lady, even if she is your cousin,” Sabrin said, setting down the soup bowls.
“Guess not.” Ed rubbed his battered ankle woefully.
“We’re just glad the missing people were found,” Al put in.
“It can be treacherous out there. You boys keep that in mind,” Sabrin warned with a wag of her finger then headed back to the bar.
“Mouth?” Winry hissed again.
“What did you want me to do? I didn’t want her wondering why we were so hot to get back out there. Getting away from a mouthy cousin was the first thing that came to mind,” Ed said in his defense. “Do you need to be so violent?”
“You deserve it.” Winry glared, whacking him with her spoon.
“I should have you sit between us, Al.” Ed pouted, sampling the soup.
“I’m not a shield, Brother.” Al sounded very put out.
“This soup is very good,” Ed said, hoping to change the subject.
Winry gave him another pointed look but tried the soup. It passed muster with her as well. She and Ed ended up squabbling over their splits of Al’s soup and his meat pie. They had settled down with a second pot of tea and were ready to hear the storyteller when all the lights went out abruptly. Shouts from the patrons sounded at the sudden darkness and Ed could see Sabrin, in a beam of moonlight from the window, trying the lights in vain.
“Well, looks like the weather’s getting the best of the electricity,” Sabrin said, over the din of the pub. “I’ll break out some candles.”
Ed tapped Winry’s hand. “If it’s getting that bad, maybe we should go. Now we’re going to have to find our way in a snow squall in the dark.”
Winry nodded. “So much for looking like tourists.”
“Some of the others are going, too,” Al said, pointing to the door.
Winry got up. “So I see.”
They headed out into the deep snow. Ed and Winry were frozen through by the time they reached home. Al’s metal body dropped the temperature of the dismal little place as soon as he stepped in.
“Ugh, guess I won’t be bathing long tonight either,” Winry said, shivering.
“You’ll be lucky you don’t have to chip ice off just to use the toilet,” Ed replied, heading for the fireplace. He sat down on the hearth stone and cleaned out the ash from the night before.
“There’s a pleasant thought. Hope there’re no down drafts. We need that fireplace. Steam heat’s all well and good but useless without electricity to power the heater,” Winry groaned, collapsing on the old couch.
“I’ll go upstairs until the fire catches,” Al said softly, his helmet canting down. “You don’t need me radiating cold.”
“You don’t have to, Al,” Ed said, shoving kindling into his temple of wood.
“It’s okay, Brother.” Al dragged himself up the stairs, moving slow in the dark.
“Poor Al,” Winry whispered, looking at Ed’s face in the gloom as he tried to make the fire catch. She got up, lit a few candles that were on the mantle then went back to the couch.
“This is why we...” Ed swallowed hard. “I know you get mad that we don’t write or visit, Winry. This is why. My brother’s trapped. At least I’m still mostly human. I mean, as much as I hate the automail, lots of people have accidents and need it. I know that. But Al...I have to fix this.” The usually subtle creak of his automail sounded loud in the quiet room as he clenched his fist.
“You will.” Winry shook her head. He couldn’t quite meet her eyes, staring into the fire. “I mean that. I know that you will do anything you can no matter what. I have faith in you, Edward.”
He smiled faintly. “Thanks, Winry. Sometimes I need to hear it’s not hopeless. Days like today...it’s so hard to be so close to finding something, chasing down a lead and getting sidetracked.” Ed sat back, happy with how the fire was catching. “Not that I wouldn’t have gone to help those lost people.”
“You’re a good person, Ed, short tempered and impatient but good.” She laughed softly.
“There’s that word again,” he rumbled, putting one last big log on the fire.
“Would you prefer hot headed?” Winry smirked.
Ed snorted. “Yes!”
“Brother! Winry! We have a problem,” Al called from upstairs.
Ed leapt to his feet and charged up the steps. “What’s happening?”
“The roof’s leaking,” Al said. “In both rooms.”
“Oh damn, are you serious?” Ed moaned. “Remind me to talk to Halia about putting us in such a crappy house.”
“There’s nothing to do for it now. Show us the leaks, Al,” Winry said.
“Brother’s bed is soaking but I think mine’s okay...I guess we’ll have to trade. The wet won’t bother me,” Al said, leading the way.
“I’ll go check my room.” Winry headed across the hall with her candle.
“While she does that...” Ed climbed up on the dresser, clapped his hands and placed them on the ceiling. “This will at least fix the roof.”
“Damn.” Winry swore from the next room.
“Soaked, too?” Ed guessed, jumping down from the dresser.
She came back. “Yes, and with the damp just coming through the roof, it’s going to be miserable up here. We should take the one dry mattress downstairs in front of the fire. It would be more comfortable.”
“For you. Where am I expected to sleep?” Ed crossed his arms.
Winry rolled her eyes. “With me on the bed, Ed.”
“With you?” Ed’s voice cracked and Al glanced over at Ed managing to convey a ‘what’s wrong with that?’ expression.
“Yes. Oh, grow up,” she said, seeing the look on Ed’s face. “We’ve done this before.”
“When we were eight!” Ed blushed deeply enough to be seen even by the candlelight. “Things have changed.”
“I should hope.” Exasperation leaked into her voice.
“It does make sense, Brother. It’s that or sleep on the floor. You can’t sleep up here on a wet bed.”
“You and I can transmute the water, Al. With the carbon in the bedding, it can become alcohol and that will evaporate fast,” Ed said, moving to touch palms.
Al stopped him. “Ed, open fireplaces.”
“Yes, Ed, think things through. Even if you didn’t explode the fumes, we’d have to live with them. It’s too cold to open a window and what happens to the bedding if you remove the carbon?” Winry’s eyes narrow impatiently. “It’s easier to just share the bed. Alchemy doesn’t solve everything.”
“There is the couch...but I guess it is cold. The bed works,” Ed said, seeing the rising fury in Winry’s eyes. “Come on, Al, let’s get the mattress downstairs.”
The brothers put the mattress in front of the fire after muscling it down stairs. Winry situated the bedding then peeled the covers back to let them warm.
“We should probably get to bed early,” Ed said. “I’d like to get out there before the rest of the tourists if at all possible tomorrow.” He kicked off his boots and pulled his long sleeved shirt off to expose the frigid automail. He tried to find the best position to warm himself, like a lizard on a sunning stone.
“I’ll go back upstairs. It’s still cold in here, isn’t it?” Al’s voice was laced with sadness. Winry could swear she heard tears, knowing he had to be so isolated because he couldn’t so much as feel the temperature of the room.
“You don’t have to go, Al,” Winry said. “The fire will be plenty warm. You can stay with us.”
“You’re not used to hearing me rattle around.” Al seemed to slouch as he headed to the staircase. “Brother is but I’ll keep you up. It’s not so bad. I’ll take one of the books Brother and I have been meaning to read and go through it.”
“You can’t read...” Winry licked her lips. “I guess you can read all night. Sorry, Al, I forgot you don’t sleep.”
“It’s okay, Winry,” Al said, going up the stairs.
“It really isn’t,” Ed whispered once Al was out of earshot.
“I know,” Winry replied, crawling into the bed. “Al must get so lonely being unable to sleep.”
Ed got off the hearth stone and came to bed. “He doesn’t complain. He never complains about much but I know it weighs on him.”
Winry rolled over so she could face Ed. “I can’t imagine. I wish we had a way of keeping him occupied at night but that would mean one of us being up all night.”
“That’s not a great schedule.” Ed tried to get comfortable. “Sometimes he talks to the soldiers who’ve pulled the night shift but they’re usually too busy.” Ed shut his eyes. “Otherwise he just studies or lies there in the dark, thinking. I’m not help. I can sleep through anything. This is why I need to push so hard, why I take so few breaks. Al’s life is-”
“A hell,” Winry broke in bluntly, brushing Ed’s hair back off his face. His eyes fluttered open in surprise. “I know you blame yourself.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” Ed’s voice filled with bitterness. “I forced him into it, Winry. Al says no I didn’t but I know if he was left on his own, Al wouldn’t have done it.”
“What might have been’s don’t matter, Ed. We don’t get those sorts of second chances. We can’t go backwards but we can take what we’ve learned and make better choices,” Winry said practically, her hand soothing his hair back again.
“I know but...Winry, I’ve got to push myself. I don’t say this ever...I don’t know if Al realizes it and I don’t want him to. I don’t know how long the blood seal will last. It’s already been years. If it weakens, I’ll lose him and I can’t...” Ed’s larynx bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Oh, Ed.” Winry’s throat constricted and she put her arms around Ed’s shoulders. She held on tight even though he had stiffened up. Slowly he relaxed against her. Winry pressed her lips to the warm flesh of his neck, hearing the soft sound of surprise rumbling in him.
Shifting so she could kiss his lips, Winry gently nudged them open with her tongue. She prodded his tongue until it rose to tangle with hers. Ed’s hand ran up and down her spine, the hot and cold of them raising gooseflesh.
He moaned lowly into her mouth as their tongues continued their explorations. Winry felt a sudden hardness pressing into her leg. She maneuvered her leg under his, the cool metal leaching through her clothing. Winry reached down to cup him wonderingly, having never touched an erection before, not even through clothing like now. Ed’s hips flexed as he pistoned in and out of her hand, groaning at the friction then the soft sounds of pleasure died as Ed’s eyes widened. He rolled away from Winry, nearly bailing out of the bed.
“What am I doing?” he hissed.
“Nothing I didn’t want you to do,” she said, looking into his flushed face.
“I can’t!” His voice was a tight whisper. “This is wrong.”
“Maybe it’s not the best place for it.” Winry’s gaze flicked to the ceiling as if suddenly remembering they weren’t alone in the house. “But it’s not wrong.”
“Yes, it is. I’ll...I’ll go sleep on the couch.” Ed tried to swing out of bed.
Winry grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Oh no you don’t. Edward, you don’t get to just run away.”
Edward glared at her, tearing out of her grip. “Let me go, Winry.”
She got a better grip on him. “No. Edward, talk to me. You can’t just do what we were doing and then run away.”
“Don’t you get it? I shouldn’t have been doing it at all.” His eyes narrowed into little slits of amber, his face hard as his automail.
“Because you think so little of me?” The words growled out of her.
Ed paled. He touched her shoulder. “No, Winry, I...I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how much I care. How much I want...this.” He gestured between them. “But I’m not the only one who did. Al’s always liked you, too.”
“I know that and it doesn’t really change how I feel about you, Edward. Al’s like my brother, too, but somehow between you and me, things changed,” Winry said, putting her hand over his.
“And it frightens me because the temptation to give in is so strong.” His gaze turned away from her towards the crackling fire.
“Why is this so horrible?” Her voice was as hot as the snapping flames.
He kept his gaze resolutely averted. “You know why. My life’s not my own, Winry. I owe Al. I have to make this right. I don’t have time for anything else just now. You know that. It’s not fair to make you wait until I’m free. It may be too long. I may be too broken if...” Tears formed in his eyes, one or two escaping. “If it doesn’t work.”
Winry caught the tears on a finger. “It will work and I’m pretty sure we had this conversation before too, Edward. I’ll always be the light in the upstairs window for you. I’ll wait. You have no say in that. I know I could get my heart broken. I accept it. It’s my choice to wait and you’re not going to discourage me so easily.”
Ed rubbed at his eyes, regaining control. “I wish I could.”
“No, you don’t, not deep down. Under all the guilt, there’s a place inside you where you buried your hopes and dreams. I know I’m somewhere in that treasure chest. Come on, lay back down. I promise, I’ll stay buried for now. Nothing happened tonight that we have to regret or anyone need to know.” Winry pushed him down on the mattress then laid down herself.
“You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for,” he said, rolling onto his side, facing away from her.
“I have a fair idea. You know, Edward, I could help you more than you realize. I know you don’t want me traveling with you or giving up my own career to help but if I do want to take time away to do just that, you shouldn’t refuse it so much,” she replied.
Ed sighed and said nothing. He was too tired to argue any more. They would get louder. Al would hear, would know what he had done and Ed couldn’t bear that. Maybe once she was asleep, he’d sneak out and lay down on the couch. He felt wrong being here. He wanted to roll back over and kiss Winry more. He had loved how it felt to have her hand on his cock. No one had ever touched him like that before. The sensation had been incredible and the way it flavored his guilt unbearable.
Winry snuggled up along his back, tucking her face against his living shoulder. Her breath curled warmly along his skin. It was nearly too much for him. He had to fight to remain in control of his flesh. He felt embarrassed, imprisoned by desires he wished he didn’t have and alternately wished he could indulge. In the end, he went nowhere and allowed himself to sleep in her embrace at last.
X X X
“What have you found out?” the alderman, Nicholas Clayworth, asked, swirling his beer around in his mug. He huddled across from Leatherby and Dance at their table in the Dewdrop Inn. The inn was closed finally for the night except for the last three patrons of note.
Leatherby’s eyes narrowed. “That we can find records for the Rockbells in Rezembool but only for a Pinako and Winry, automailers, so that much is true. There are no cousins to be found, at least not that a quick call to the town hall can uncover. However, the clerk there wondered if I meant Edward and Alphonse Elric.”
“That would make sense,” Dance broke in, fingering the silver insignia on her collar. “Unless Edward is really happy and really off center, he’s carrying something heavy in his front pocket. There is a state alchemist going by the name Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. That could be his pocket watch.”
“A state alchemist,” Nicholas bleated, his thick handlebar mustache dancing like a red silk scarf in the wind.
“This is bad,” someone said from the shadows of the Dewdrop Inn. “If the little runt is a state alchemist then he’s not here for the hunting.”
“You think the good doctor put them on our trail,” Leatherby said grimly.
“How much could she know?” Nicholas’ hands shook, nearly spilling his beer.
“Obviously enough to send state alchemists after us,” Dance replied, her voice sharp, her eyes filled with loathing for the weak town leader.
“They can’t be allowed to know about the stone we’re trying to craft,” the shadowy figure said. “We should add them into the mix if they’re so eager to know what we’re doing.”
“All of them?” Dance asked, obviously delighted at the prospect.
“All of them. The doctor will only continue to be a problem and the so-called cousins aren’t like to simply stop if just one of them disappears. No, they all need to go. It can be blamed on the heavy snow fall,” the shadowy figure replied. “Everyone knows the boys are always in the forest so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if an accident happened.”
“You and I can handle the brothers once they get out into the woods,” Leatherby said to the shadows. “Dance, you handle the doctor.”
Dance inclined her head to him. “Of course.”
“What should I do?” Nicholas asked.
“Do what you do best. Keep reassuring the townspeople and tourists there’s nothing wrong,” Leatherby replied, sourly.
“It’s settled then,” the shadowy figure said. “We should get home and get some rest. It’s going to be a harsh day tomorrow even without all we have to do.” The sound of breaking glass as the fourth member of the group slammed a bottle into the bar for emphasis made them all jump. “Nothing is going to interfere with the making of this stone.”
Chapter Five
Ed stomped through the snow, his temper foul. Al had stopped trying to talk to him. He didn’t know if something had happened in the night between Ed and Winry or maybe Ed just had a bad night but he was trying even Al’s vast patience. There were rare times that Al just wanted to sit on his brother until the crabbiness passed. This was one of them.
“Ed, there.” Al pointed across the river they had been follow, trying to find Zak’s building. He was sure he had found something important.
“Boot prints?” Ed sounded less impressed. “We’ve seen more than enough of those.”
“Not out this far, we haven’t,” Al replied, wishing he had teeth to grind. It would probably feel good right about now.
“Probably just a lucky hunter who finally managed to escape the skiers,” Ed huffed, waving his brother off impatiently.
“Well, the tracks parallel the river so we can follow them both for a little while,” Al said, thinking about burying Ed in the snow. Ed just shrugged.
They trudged on for a little while following the tracks before Ed stopped short. His eyes widened. “What the hell!”
“This is bad,” Al said, his gripes about Ed flying from his mind.
On a stone, a few yards away were the words, ‘Welcome, Elric Brothers,’ painted brightly. Al started running after his brother who had taken off toward the rock. The ground shifted under Al and the snow crumbled under his weight. Al dropped into the covered crevasse, his helmet nearly coming all the way off as he banged his way to the bottom. Al wasn’t dazed per se but he was disoriented. “Brother?” he queried, trying to tell top from bottom.
“Al! Al! Are you all right?”
Al glanced up and saw Ed backlit by the bright sunlight. “I’m okay. I don’t think anything came off or broke in the fall but I think my leg’s stuck.”
“I’ll get you out.” Ed clapped his hands but before his brother could do anything Al saw a log swinging toward Ed’s head.
“Brother!”
Ed didn’t have time to react. Al flinched, hearing the sickening concussion. Ed collapsed without a whimper. A shadow fell across the opening of the crevasse then was gone.
“Brother!” Al screamed again, scrabbling for his chalk inside his pouch. He made a sloppy array on the rock. This was too slow. No wonder State Alchemists carried their prime arrays. He needed to be able to do this like his brother could. Was that a motor he heard over the roar of the rock he was transmuting into a staircase? Rock shifted away from his trapped foot. Al found the climb out harder than he expected. When he had nearly lost his helmet, his hollow body had filled with snow. He couldn’t open his chest plate in the narrow ravine he was caught in and he was afraid to transmute the snow to a liquid form. He and Ed were both leery of the blood seal getting wet or scratched. Really he ought to transmute some metal around it to shield it better.
When Al finally reached the top, he evacuated his chest then transmuted what had fallen into his limbs into water. He hated this. Things like this only served to remind him he was no longer human, not really. He was little more than an animated doll his brother had created. Al knew Ed would be angry for him even thinking it but sometimes he couldn’t help it.
He glanced around. Blood, in a halo, spattered the snow. Al didn’t have a heart to clench but he could have sworn he felt something very much like that. It was beyond bad. Ed was hurt and whoever had set the trap obviously knew that they were alchemists if they knew their real names. Dr. Endymion had been right to fear the worse in this place.
Al looked around for footprints other than his and Ed’s and the ones he found ended with deep, ski-like ruts. The motor he had heard, it just had to be one of those strange machines, like motorized sleds, that Winry had seen in town and fallen in love with. Halia had one. They could move pretty fast over snow. Al might not be able to keep up but he could track them. He just hoped the trail wouldn’t intersect with cross-country skiers or he might never find Ed.
X X X
Winry trudged down the snowy sidewalk towards Halia’s clinic. The streets were nearly empty this early in the morning. She hated not being able to go with the brothers. They might need her, not that she knew what she could do that two alchemists couldn’t. She simply disliked cooling her heels and as much as she enjoyed helping Halia, what little useful gossip she heard at the doctor’s office wasn’t worth the effort. Winry wasn’t sure why she had bullied her way into coming on this trip. She thought it was because she wanted to spend time with the brothers, that she could help them. What a joke. She was just a distraction. She proved that last night.
Going to Halia’s early was just a dodge to keep from thinking about the night before. Winry didn’t want to be reminded how good it felt kissing Ed. Even better than the kissing was the feel of his erection pressing against her and the slick, wet feeling between her own legs. She had wanted to know what he felt like, what he looked like in that state. Was that moving too fast? Probably, since they had never actually dated, but they had known each other all their lives. Surely that shaved time off how fast they could go. She wanted to see those beautiful metal parts of him melding with the warm flesh of his body, see him in a way that wasn’t clinical for a change.
Wondering if Al had heard them, Winry's cheeks flushed guiltily. She loved both of the Elric brothers but she wasn't in love with Al. Even if he had his body back, it wouldn't make a difference. It wasn't that Al wouldn't make an excellent boyfriend; he was sweet, warm and caring. But Winry liked the thorny challenge presented by Ed. “Easy,” she told herself in a plume of air, “would get boring.”
No one was around when she got to the doctor’s office, not that it was a surprise, given the early hour. The front door was open so Winry went in calling, “Halia!” merrily.
In response, something crashed. A dreadful feeling washing over her, Winry charged into the office. She saw legs disappearing out the window. Halia lay on the floor, bleeding. The doctor lay very still and for a moment, Winry thought Halia might be dead. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Halia’s chest move.
Winry dashed into a treatment room and grabbed gauze and a medical kit. She knelt beside Halia and gingerly probed the gash on the back of the doctor’s head. Head wounds were always bloody affairs, sometimes misleadingly so. The tissue around the wound felt soft with the first rush of swelling but the bone underneath seemed firm and ungiving. Winry didn’t think Halia’s skull was broken. Hearing the front door opening, Winry’s heart thumped. Maybe whoever had done this was coming back to finish Halia off. No, that was silly. He would have just finished them both first and not run off only to come back.
“Morning, Halia!”
Winry let her pent up breath out. “Clare! Back here, hurry. Halia’s been hurt!” she called to Halia’s nurse.
The older woman raced in with young Tyler following her. The boy bore a fresh scrape on his forehead,. The woman’s papery skin paled to a pasty hue as her mouth flopped open. Tyler went white under his freckles, his body trembling. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I scared off whoever it was,” Winry said, thinking she did in fact know what happened. Whoever had taken Zak and killed the others had done this to Halia. They must be afraid the doctor knew too much.
“Is she?” Clare’s voice trailed off, kneeling next to Halia. Tyler hung back, burying his face against the wall.
“No, and I don’t think the wound is too serious. I interrupted whoever it was before he could finish the job.” Winry’s voice shook just a bit as it finally sank in how lucky she had gotten. The intruder must not have known her voice or she could have been killed too as part of it all. Surely if Halia was a target then so were she and the boys.
“This is because of the missing people,” Clare said and Tyler whimpered softly.
“I’m afraid so, and I have to find my cousins. They could be in danger if someone thinks they’re involved.” Winry got to her feet, noticing Tyler’s eyes drawn to her bloody hands. “Can you take care of Halia?”
“I can. And Winry, if someone thinks your cousins are involved, then they’ll think you are, too,” Clare warned, worry in her blue eyes.
“I know.” Winry sobered, looking at the open window. “They’re in the forest. I have to get out there but I don’t know where exactly. I only got a quick look at map.”
“I can take you,” Tyler piped up, steeling his jaw.
“It’s too dangerous,” Winry said, shocked that the boy would even think to offer. It was dangerous out there and she knew he was very aware of that. “I couldn’t risk you.”
“Zak is my friend, Halia, too,” the boy protested. “I want to help. We can take Halia’s snow sled.”
Clare looked Winry in the eye, worry reflecting in her face. “You’ll never find your way on your own, Winry. I don’t like it but you need a guide. Tyler knows these woods very well. We might not have time to haunt down another guide. Go on. I’ll care for Halia. Tyler, you don’t take any risks. You know how to hide. Winry, take Halia’s rifle.”
Winry followed Clare’s pointing finger to the rifle. Washing Halia’s blood off, Winry picked up the gun. It felt strange in Winry’s hand. She had handled them before, learning to implant weapons into her automail. She did find it offensive but could understand the soldiers’ desires to return to duty in an ‘improved’ manner. Maybe it was how her parents died that made guns repugnant. Abhorrent or not, Winry slung the gun over her shoulder and followed Tyler to the snow sled. She got on the thing, making sure her coat was completely buttoned.
“Do you know how to drive this?” Tyler asked, climbing on behind her.
“No, but I’m good with machines,” Winry replied, studying the vehicle. The boy didn’t look reassured. She pressed what she hoped was the starter button. The thing roared to life and, with starts and stops, Winry got the machine moving. Soon, she was gliding along the forest trails at a heart-fluttering pace. She had never been on anything so fast. What if she turned it over as she dodged branches, rocks and frozen creeks? She and Tyler would both die.
She didn’t know she could be so cold. It felt like the flesh was burning off her face from the icy wind.
Tyler tapped her shoulder at intervals to point out the way. Finally, Tyler rapped on her shoulders and waved his hands. Winry stopped. “Look!”
Winry brushed a hand over her frosted eyelashes and glanced up. She had been concentrating so hard on the trail and not killing them by hitting something that she missed seeing the graffiti on the rock. Her heart sank. Someone knew Ed and Al’s identity.
“Winry,” Tyler said, hesitantly pointing to something red marring the pristine snow.
She swung off the sled and went to investigate. Winry had seen enough of the sanguine substance to recognize blood when she saw it. Her legs quivered as the strength drained from them. “Oh, Ed.”
“Tracks,” Tyler said, pointing them out. “Something big and heavy.”
“Al. We need to follow them.” Winry ran on shaky legs back to the sled. Tyler wheeled about and followed her.
So she could see the tracks better, Winry drove so slowly that she almost bogged the machine down. Al seemed to be following other sled marks. It didn’t take long to see the sun glinting off Al’s armor. “Al!” Winry screamed then killed the engine so she could be heard. “Al!”
He spun around, tearing up huge gouts of snow. “Winry! What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”
“I know. I came to warn you and Ed.” She vaulted off the sled. “Someone nearly killed Halia.”
“And someone took Ed,” Al said plaintively. If he could tremble, Winry knew he would. Al and Ed were inseparable and Al must have seen his brother get hurt. He had to be frantic.
“I saw the blood. I was afraid…” Winry paused, a tremor racing through her. “We have to find him.”
“I think I know where they took him,” Tyler piped up from where he sat on the sled.
Winry glanced over her shoulder at the child. “What?”
“That’s the way to Zak’s building, the one he was so excited about finding,” Tyler replied, pointing to the tracks in the snow. “That’s where the tracks seem to be heading.”
“I guess that building really has something to do with everything that’s going on,” Winry said, relieved to have a target. That gave her hope. Maybe Zak and Ed were both there and she could help them. “We need to get there quickly before they do something worse to Ed. Al, get on. This thing is so fast.”
“I’m too big, Winry. I won’t fit and I’m heavy. It might not go with me on it. You’ll have to go on ahead.” Al’s shoulders seemed to slump. “I can run fairly fast and I don’t tire.”
“Tyler, maybe you should go with Al. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt. He can protect you and I’m not sure if I can,” she said quietly, her nerves catching up to her.
Tyler shook his head. “I’m not wearing snowshoes. I’m too short to go through these drifts without them. I’ll barely be able to walk. I’ll stay with you and hide when we get there. Besides, I know the way if you lose the tracks,” he pointed out, his body trembling, giving lie to his brave front.
Winry scowled then nodded. “Al, when I get there, I’ll go inside to try and find Ed.”
“Winry, it’s too dangerous. Wait for me,” Al protested, shaking his hands.
“Ed may not have time to wait and they won’t be expecting me. This time the element of surprise is mine. And...I have a gun.” Winry tried to smile encouragingly, not mentioning she wasn’t a good shot, or maybe she was. She could fling a mean wrench, after all.
Al’s leather and metal hand closed over her shoulder. “You be very careful.”
Winry wrapped her fingers over his. “You, too.”
Al’s fingers flexed. “I can’t let you do this Winry. It’s way too dangerous.”
Winry jerked free of his hand. “Please, Al, don’t argue. It’s the best way to do this. I’ll be careful.”
She could imagine Al’s human face over that horrible helmet, saw the fire in brown eyes, the knit of a pale brow from concern and impotent frustrations. When he started to protest again, reaching back out for her, Winry gunned the sled and took off. She felt terrible in doing that to Al. He meant well but Ed might not have time to waste while she convinced him this was for the best.
Tyler went back to giving her hand signals. Her belly twisted when the building came into view. She knew Al wasn’t far behind but it was enough should she get into trouble. Winry hoped her fear didn’t show as she parked behind a stand of trees. She swung off the sled. “You should be pretty well hidden here, Tyler. This is the starter. If someone comes, try to drive out of here. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay,” the boy said, shakily.
Winry wondered if he’d drive off in a panic as soon as he was out of sight. She really wouldn’t blame him. He’d been plenty brave just leading her here. She slung the rifle over her shoulder. It felt foreign and heavy. She hated guns but she’d rather have it than not.
Making her way towards the building, Winry steeled herself for what she’d find inside. She couldn’t let herself think that Ed wouldn’t be held captive here. The other sled trail did lead here. She couldn’t think that he might already be dead. She would be in time. Ed wasn’t beyond her reach. It was up to her to save him.
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Date: 2006-05-04 07:53 am (UTC)Its a shame that not as many people seem to appreciate your work. Others in the list are praised time and time again for the poetry in their words or whatever and that's all fine and good, but what you write has SUBSTANCE and is always a damn good read. Keep going, despite the lack in support. You have at least one loyal follower. ^_^
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Date: 2006-05-04 01:08 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you like the story. Hopefully chapter six will be out shortly. Need to get my butt moving on ch 7.
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Date: 2006-05-04 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-05 02:13 am (UTC)But you already know I love this.
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Date: 2006-05-05 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-06 01:22 am (UTC)