Work Text:
The sound of Winry's drill rang from the workshop, out through her silent house as she made another screw hole in the plating for Edward's new automail.
He and Al has shown up three days ago, with Ed one arm short. The smashed remains of her precious automail were completely un-salvagable, and Winry got started on the long process of building a new one from scratch. And of course, like every other time, Ed had demanded a rush job so he could get back to whatever dangerous thing he would be up to next. Couldn't they just relax and enjoy some time home? They deserved a break every once in a while, and Winry wouldn't object to a few more days to work on his prosthetic. Though the extra charge for the rush job Winry had asked of the blonde alchemist made it worth while.
*Maybe I should have a back-up for Edward all the time. It's a pain staying up all night, day after day to build one fast enough for him. I could work on it little by little, whenever I have some free time and no customers.* Winry lay the steel plating atop the forearm of the half-built automail arm, placing special screws into each drill hole. *I'd have to make it adjustable though, in case his other arm grew...*
Winry snickered to herself. Edward wasn't going to grow anytime soon, why she had thought he might was beyond her.
"What is it, Winry?" a small, echoing voiced asked from across the room.
Winry jumped a little at the sound, then looked over at the source of the voice. She had forgotten Alphonse was in here. She was a little embarrassed, being caught giggling at what probably seemed like nothing from Al's point of view. Normally, Winry wouldn't have anyone - except maybe Granny - in the shop while she worked. But it was early, probably around six or seven now, and everyone would still be asleep. She wasn't going to leave him alone when she was up anyway. Besides, Al was quiet, and he kept himself busy with a light novel of Winry's she had let him borrow. She'd never let Ed in here with her while she worked. She discovered the problem with that not long after Edward had gotten his automail.
"Oh nothing, just thinking about Ed's shortness" Winry responded to the question, waving her hand to blow it off.
Alphonse gave a small laugh that vibrated through his metal body and returned to his reading, while Winry returned to the screw she had just finished tightening.
*Almost done...*
Edward didn't wake up until late that afternoon, all attempts at rousing him earlier having failed.
Winry was sitting at the kitchen table, giving Ed's new arm a quick once-over with some steel polish, when he finally made his appearance. The sound of Edward's uneven footsteps - *flesh, metal, flesh, metal* - came bounding down the staircase to Winry's left.
Edward's normally braided hair was loose, a gold tangle across each of his wide shoulders. He wore gray pajama pants that displayed the images of fluffy kittens, an obvious gift from his brother. He wasn't wearing a shirt, instead showing his scarred chest0 and empty automail port. One golden eye looking in Winry's direction, the other covered by Ed's left hand as he rubbed at it sleepily.
Winry loved seeing Ed like this. So relaxed, so casual, even with only one arm, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She loved to see his hair down as it was now, feeling it made him look young, more like the teenager he is and not the adult he portrays himself to be. His eyes were any even more rare beauty. Who else had golden eyes that made you feel like you were gazing into the sun? It wasn't an eye colour you see around, and though Alphonse shared this unique trait with his brother, Ed's were some how brighter to Winry. He was truly a golden man.
And as for him being shirtless...
Winry looked away from Edward as she felt herself blush at the thought.
"Mornin' Win," Ed said in a very alert voice, contradicting his tired demeanor. The tap of his metal foot against the wood floor told Winry he was heading for the fridge. Pushing her previous thoughts away, Winry turned to face Edward.
"More like afternoon, Ed, it's 1:30." Edward raised his eyebrows at that, looking towards the clock that hung on the wall.
Winry sighed, "Well, regardless of the time... I've just finished final checks on your new arm, so we can attach it after you eat something."
Ed's only reply was a groan as he turned his head to look into the fridge.
Winry pulled up a chair for Ed and set out her tools in the living room. The blonde alchemist was currently sitting on the couch with Al, reading an alchemy book together that they had brought with them from Central.
"Alright, Ed, come sit in this chair here. I'll start with adjusting your leg." Winry said as she pulled up two stools, one for Edward to put his leg up on, and one for Winry to sit on.
Edward raised his head with a grunt at this and handed the book off to Al, who closed it and placed it beside himself. Winry suspected he wasn't content with just reading while his brother went through such pain. It wasn't a sight Alphonse would likely enjoy, after all. Ed pushed himself up off the couch with his one flesh arm and crossed the room towards the chair.
He wore nothing but his boxers, making adjusting his leg and attaching his arm easier, so Winry wouldn't have to worry about holding back fabric as she worked.
"Alright, I'll do this as quick as I can. Then we'll hurry and give you the arm you need." Winry said as she got to work on Ed's leg. She spent a good 20 minutes at it, twisting bolts and rearranging wires. A bored express had spread across Edward's face, which was currently resting in his left hand. After tightening one last bolt, Winry stood and stretched her back.
"Okay, all done your leg. Now let's move onto your arm," Winry said. She walked over to grab Ed's ready made arm from the kitchen table.
"Yeah, great..." Edward mumbled into his left hand.
"You'll feel better when you have your arm attached, brother. Just relax," Al spoke up after being silent for so long.
"Yeah, and I'll feel even better when I have my real arm back. Automail is such a pain," Ed grumbled.
"What's so bad about automail?" Winry asked as she walked back to the brothers.
"It's not that it's bad, it's just... inconvenient," Ed stated.
"Having an arm and leg is 'inconvenient'?" Winry glared at Ed.
"N-no! Of course not! I obviously didn't mean it like that." Edward returned Winry's glare, which earned him a threatening wave from her wrench.
Winry placed the automail on the armrest of Ed's chair. After quickly checking the port, Winry lifted the shoulder of the arm and slid it into Edward's shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Then what's so inconvenient about it? It's stronger, and more durable than a flesh arm." Winry asked.
Edward sighed in exasperation. "Winry, you may have spent your whole life around automail, attached many different limbs, and seen lots of people scream from the pain, but you don't have any automail yourself. You don't know how painful it really is. Of course, it's nothing I can't handle, but it's still inconvenient."
"Well, you'll just have to suck it up and deal with it until you and Al get your original bodies back." Winry said harshly, but the look it put on Ed's face made her regret saying anything. "Um... well, I'm ready to attach the nerves now" she said quietly.
"'Kay." Edward straightened up in his chair, preparing for the harsh sting he would soon feel.
Winry placed her wrench around the bolt that would send pain shooting through her best friends small body. She'd never thought of it like that before... then she twisted her wrist. Small sparks danced around her hand as the nerves were connected.
Edward's head shot back and his eyes scrunched closed as he suppressed a cry of pain. He pulled his flesh hand into a fist, toes curling on his flesh foot. Winry could hear his teeth scrape tightly together. Edward let his head fall forward, still grunting. He took short, quiet breathes once the worst of the pain subsided.
"And that is why it's inconvenient" Ed said quietly.
Winry looked at her friend sadly. "At least you have working limbs"
"Yeah. Thanks, Win," he paused "other than that, there's really only one perk to this automail." Ed spoke this quietly, to himself, but Winry heard anyway.
"What's the perk?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Ed looked up at Winry from the chair, his face slightly red as he realized she had heard him.
"O-oh... well, uh... I-I can transmute it into all kinds of different weapons!" Edward said frantically, blushing even harder. He sat up quickly from the chair. "A-anyways... Al and I better pack up, we're leaving in the morning." He turned to leave the room, but Winry stopped him, grabbing his arm.
"Is that all my automail is to you, Ed?! A weapon!" Winry looked furious.
"N-no, it's...! I... Never mind!" Edward pulled his arm out of Winry's grasp and stomped out of the room, metal and flesh hitting the ground and retreating upstairs. Winry and Alphonse were left staring after him in confusion.
-
Edward hadn't left his room since he'd gone storming up there last night. He'd even locked the door, a sure sign that he wanted to be left alone. Winry just couldn't figure out what she had said to make him so upset. Or was he upset? He hadn't looked angry, exactly. He'd looked more... embarrassed. But why? She couldn't think of any reason to be embarrassed. "No matter..." Winry thought to herself, "I'll just ask him when he comes down from upstairs."
Just as Winry finished her thought, she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her.
The early sunshine that shone in from the window turned the young alchemist's hair gold, Winry noticed. At Winry's right, Al appeared from the kitchen and nodded to his brother.
"We'll be off now, Winry." Al said softly.
"Alright. You two be careful, okay? Don't go getting yourselves into too much trouble."
"We'll be careful, Winry, don't worry!"
Winry smiled at Alphonse, then turned her attention towards Ed. "And make sure to keep up with your automail maintenance, Ed, I don't know how many times I've told you now," Winry said lightly.
" 'kay."
Winry frowned. Edward hadn't looked at her once since he came downstairs, and he was still refusing to. Had she made him mad yesterday, acting like she new about the real pain of automail? Winry doubted Edward would get mad about something like that, and he still didn't look angry. His face still held that odd sort of embarrassed look. Could it have been talking about the pain that he was so embarrassed about? He was so stubborn when it came to looking weak!
Winry was about to say something about it to Ed, but when she finally brought her thoughts back to the present, the brothers were already descending the stairs.
"Goodbye, Winry!" Al called.
"G-Goodbye...!"
Winry watched the brothers walk down the dirt path, the sun rising in front of them, making Al's body glisten, and Edward's golden hair shine. The automail mechanic stared after them, entranced by their radiance. She sighed when they disappeared from sight, wondering how long it would be until she could see them again. Winry turned back into her doorway and stepped inside. With the sun just barely rising, she figured she could get a few hours more sleep until she was expected up.
Winry yawned on cue with her tired thoughts, then walked up the stairs, heading for her room. She stopped at the top when she noticed the door open to the guest room, where Ed had been sleeping.
She walked towards the room, with the intention of closing the door. As Winry reached for the door knob and began to pull it closed, she stopped to look back inside when she noticed that the sheets had been folded on left on the bed, supposedly by Edward. Winry went in the grab the dirty sheets, smiling to herself about Ed actually doing something kind like this. He wasn't exactly one for chores.
When she reached the edge of the bed, Winry saw a folded piece of paper ontop of the stack of sheets. She stared at the paper for a few moments before picking it up. 'What's this?' she wondered as she flipped the paper open, and began to read.
Winry,
I'm sorry for ignoring you, and for what I said about the automail only being good to use as a weapon. To be honest, that isn't the perk I had in mind for, though it does come in handy. I didn't want to say what the real perk was in front of Alphonse, I didn't want to sound stupid. The real perk about having your automail is that, wherever I go, I always have something with me to remind me of you. I guess that sounds pretty stupid... It's kind of embarrassing, that's why I wasn't talking to you, but I thought you
deserved an explanation, so there you go.
~Ed
Winry couldn't believe it. Had Edward really written this? It seemed so unlike him. Had Al written it to get his brother on her good side? No, it was definitely Edward's messy writing.
Winry smiled at the note, then closed her eyes and pulled it to her chest. This was one of the nicest things Edward had ever said to her - or written, she mused.
She'd keep his note, with his kind words and his messy writing, as a reminder of him, the same way her automail reminded him of her. Winry's automail is what seemed to keep them connected, after all. Whenever it was broken or needed maintenance, he would always come to her. They would forever be always connected, through the connections of that automail.